voluntary (adjective) by one’s own choice; not forced

• Sample Sentence: President Barack Obama wanted to develop national service programs; however, he believed participation should be voluntary.

• Turn and Talk: Should community service be a voluntary or mandatory part of school? Explain.

literacy (noun) the ability to read and write

• Sample Sentence: Volunteers improve community literacy by teaching reading and writing in after-school programs.

• Turn and Talk: Which part of literacy do you prefer: reading or writing? Explain.

impose (verb) to force somebody to accept

• Sample Sentence: Supporters suggest that it is only fair to impose a requirement for each person to give back through service.

• Turn and Talk: What consequence does your teacher impose for submitting late work?

• allocate (verb) to set apart for a specific purpose; to distribute

• Sample Sentence: A new law requires that all young people allocate one year to community service after high school.

• Turn and Talk: About how much time do you allocate to doing homework each night?

rigid (adjective) strict or unbending

• Sample Sentence: Some people point out that a rigid requirement to spend time doing service could disrupt career or family plans.

• Turn and Talk: Would you describe your school dress code as flexible or rigid? Explain your answer.