Seniors Are Smart: a service learning idea

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Seniors Are Smart: a service-learning activity for the first semester focusing on local seniors

Overview: Publish an anthology of stories from local seniors. Students interview local seniors at a senior center/home or host a day at a local library and invite seniors to come in and share their stories.
1) collaboration is key: ask your Librarian how to best set this up for a group of students to interview a group of seniors; pay attention to permission from facility and/or family of the seniors as well as safety, limitations, and logistics for all involved
2) investigate how to do a power-interview: questions, transcription, etiquette/manners
3) interview seniors
4) in class - students transcribe and read stories out-loud to the class
5) together, determine criteria for evaluating stories to include in an anthology
6) create a publishing house/company in the classroom (editor, copywriters, proofreaders, designers, illustrators, photographers, promotion)
7) compile and publish anthology of interesting stories
8) get photos of the publishing company and each of the seniors that made it into the anthology
9) publish and promote the book at the library or center/senior home if the seniors cannot leave their facility

If you have permissions from the seniors and/or their families/facilities please link your books to my Community Narratives blog at http://communitynarratives.blogspot.com/