Service-learning projects can be a great way to get youth involved in service. Here are seven tips for planning effective service-learning projects.

Choose age appropriate projects. Younger students will respond well to projects that have a lot of action and that have results that are easy to see. Projects like park cleanups and helping to sort food in a food pantry are great for younger students. Older students usually like longer-term projects that allow them to get more involved with the work they’re doing and the people they’re serving.

Keep it simple! Meaningful projects don’t have to involve extended planning – they can be simple and take place at the students’ school.

Have the students help plan the project. Involving students in planning the project from the start will help to give them a sense of ownership to the project and help them to get more involved.

Develop partnerships. Setting up a partnership with your local HandsOn Action Center or volunteer center can be helpful in planning a variety of projects. Ask students to suggest a group they’d like to serve and build a relationship with an organization that serves that group of people.

Engage students in reflection. Reflection on the service aspect of students’ service-learning experience is a key element of the project. The time spent in reflection allows for teachable moments and can improve students’ understanding of both the service that they did and how the lessons they’ve learned relate to their service. Some good questions to ask during your reflection time are:

• How did our project make a difference? Is there anything else we could have done?
• What did we learn that we can apply to other parts of our lives?
• How did helping people make you feel?
• Should we do a follow up project? What more can we do?

Celebrate efforts. It’s important to recognize the work that students are doing for their service-learning projects. Make sure to praise students during the planning and implementation phases of their projects, and afterwards when you come together to reflect on the work that was done. If organization staff or clients come to you to thank you for your work, graciously accept their thanks but remind them that the students are the ones who planned the project and are doing the work so that they can thank the students directly.

Have fun. Service-learning projects are teaching tools, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun! Make sure to build fun into the project, even though there is a lesson attached to it and the service project may be serious. Service and volunteering is as much about having fun as it is about helping others.

Have you planned a service-learning project with students? How did it turn out? Let us know in the comments!

Today’s post on the Points of Light blog talks about the importance of service learning in instilling an ethic of service in youth. You can read it here.

Read this post on the National Conference on Volunteering and Service to find out about sessions that deal with youth service and using service as a tool in education.