Make a Difference Ideas

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Guide for Middle School

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Planning Guide For
Middle Schools

In grades 6-8, students have abundant energy, curiosity, and a keen interest in what is happening around them. They want to be challenged as problem solvers. When students initiate their own Make A Difference Day service projects, their motivation is high as they figure out what to do, apply what they know, and use their natural energy to take action to meet a community need. Particularly in a group project, students depend on each other to get the job done, nurturing mutual respect.

Planning Make A Difference Day projects
Remember: To qualify for awards, a significant part of a Make A Difference Day project must occur Saturday, October 27.
Idea: Teach ecology the week before and clean a creek near the school on Saturday. Service can be done in many settings.

Getting Started

• Current events: Working in groups, students find news stories about people who make a difference by helping others. Present to class. Then, compile all the stories in a poster display.
• Books: Encourage students to read about a person who made a difference by helping others. Ask your librarian for suggestions.

Language Arts Connections

• In pairs, students interview each other about interests, skills, and talents. Compile all the information into a class inventory to use as a reference when planning projects.
• Students write and perform skits dramatizing local problems. Discuss ways students can help.
• Document your project with photos and stories. Create a scrapbook.

Math Connections

• Have students survey students in other classes, school staff, and family members asking respondents to identify national and community problems; graph the results. Discuss the significance of the students’ findings.

• Use local newspapers and magazines to create collages that show national or local problems and what people are doing to help.

Parent Connections

• Brainstorm ways students can involve parents and community members as they plan and carry out their projects.

Recognition

• Arrange to have students describe service experiences to other classes, your parent-teacher organization, or your school board.
• Display photos of the students’ Make A Difference Day projects in a prominent place in the school.
• Acknowledge students for their volunteer efforts by presenting certificates of recognition at end-of-year awards assemblies.

Real-Life Examples of How KIDS This Age Make a Difference
While planning their fourth annual food and clothing drive, a group of middle-schoolers in suburban Pittsburgh decided to take their efforts one step further. In previous years, they joined forces with a non-profit group run by former homeless people to hand-deliver the donations directly to the “people on the streets.” Inspired by their visits, which provided much needed human contact for the homeless and gave students personal insight into the problem, they extended the idea to a hospital for homeless veterans. They now regularly bring food to both groups.

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