Class Effort

For several months, starting in January, sixth-grade students at Triopia Grade School, in Illinois, collected supplies for an animal shelter. “We spent time discussing what a service project is and why we should do them,” teacher Lindsay Beck told TIME for Kids.

First, the students brainstormed × brainstorm to try to find an answer in a flurry of suggestions by a group of people (verb) causes to support. Hunter French, 12, suggested helping animals. “There are pets out there who don’t have help,” he says. “Lots of them don’t have owners.” The students voted to collect supplies for the PAWS animal shelter in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Next, the students made posters to promote × promote to call attention to (verb) the drive, and shared them with other classrooms. Some were hung in local businesses. The students gathered donated supplies in February and March, and then took them to PAWS.

Everett Debolt, 11, says the project felt “like it was going to do something in the real world.” Hunter agrees. He says working on it felt different from doing standard schoolwork. “We actually got to see our actions play out,” he says. “It felt better to see how we can affect, in some way, how the world is.”

What’s Next?

The students are already thinking up ideas for their next project. One suggested holding a fundraiser to support school sports. Another suggested running a donation drive for a food bank.

Whatever cause they choose, Triopia’s sixth graders are ready to continue their service journey. “My students like to be helpful, to have a purpose and be needed in some way,” Beck says. “It was a good experience for them.”