current thoughts on my project and course

Positives:

1. students are actually connecting the dots this semester for the first time ever between the NCSS goals of social studies education and these current event projects.  I think it is because I actually had them explicitly make these connections by having them read articles I obtained at the NCSS conference on citizenship government and civic duty and also remembering the branches of government etc...and really the biggest thing is these governing agencies, which it all kind of comes down to.  They get involved with their project and find out who these agencies are and it gives them a better context for remembering how these branches work.  I think it connects them to content as well as why they are doing these projects

Negatives:

1. I think that I could have them do their projects earlier:  I think the service learning ideas are awesome at the beginning of the semester but by the time they are supposed to go out and do them, they lose interest.  I think that this is something about how the course work builds in block and it might be more helpful to do these early on. 
2. The other thing I could do, which I am hesitant to do, but could, is to have them all do something to do with food.  Have food be the running theme and they could choose what they want to do with this theme, for instance they could go into GMO etc or go another route.  Then I could set us up to do a whole class project at green valley. I know this is what my FLC would like me to do since they really buy into the defn of service learning as something that the faculty member kind of sets up etc.  I really have bought into the notion it should 100% come from the student.   I also have bought into the idea that they should be the ones to set it up since when they teach they should set it up.
3. OK if I continue with having them set it up, then I should have them assess whether or not they met the needs of the community they served, and set up a questionnaire for them to ask their people who they served...the only thing is those who did a beach clean up etc, I wonder about that...and how they could do that?