From Neighborhood to Community

From Neighborhood to Community
Cora Miyakawa
Grade 2
Summer 1999

Purpose: Our Neighborhood is Keolu Hills. Our community encompasses the Keolu and Enchanted Lakes area. The square area of our community is built around a man-made lake. Included in this area are three elementary schools, two shopping complexes, a business building, several service stations and churches.

During this unit, the students will learn about and be able to tell what makes up a 1) neighborhood and 2) what comprises a community. They will have practice looking at many different kinds of neighborhoods and communities from the National Geographic Magazine and from photographs. By using observation skills, the students will learn how to be acute to details around their own neighborhood and community. Students will also learn how to use the tally system as a method of recording. The students will take a walking field trip of their community. At this time, they will know how to tally the number of vehicles, homes, and pets. At the end of the unit, the students working in cooperative pairs will describing, drawing, planning, and then selecting one of the businesses to recreate as they recreate the Keolu-Enchanted Lakes community. (the "community" is displayed on the stage in the cafeteria as part of our culminating program entitled "Our Neighborhood")

Focus Questions: What is a neighborhood? What is a community? What do you need to recreate the Keolu-Enchanted Lakes community?

Geographic Theme: Location, Place, Human Environment Interaction, Region

Geographic Standards:
#2: The geographically informed student knows and understands how to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
#4: The geographically informed students knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places.

Hawaii Content and Performance Standards:
#2: Identify and describe geographic characteristics of home, school, and community as one's unique place in the space.
#6: Explain, use, and apply geographic themes of place, human-environment interactions movement, and region.

Geographic Skills:
1. Asking Geographic Questions: What is a neighborhood? What do you find i n a community? What causes stores to open and/or close? Why is the neighborhood significant to the growth and the completion of a community?

2. Acquiring Geographic Information: Use a variety of resources (literature books, photographs, magazine pictures, etc.) to see what makes up a neighborhood and community.

3. Organizing Geographic Information: Use of mental maps and sketches, use of graphic organizers (venn diagram, T-chart, circle chart, observation chart), use of cooperative learning skills in line-up, pair-share (star attraction activity).

4. Analyzing Geographic Information: Use the information to recreate the Keolu-Enchanted Lakes neighborhood and community for the culminating program.

5. Answering Geographic Questions: Students make an accordion fold book on different aspects of the community. Author a poem and or book on the neighborhood/community.

Objectives: The student will be able to:
1. Use a Mental Map to identify the location of places in the neighborhood and community by drawing a sketch from memory.

2. Use Observation skills to describe the various modes of transportation used in this particular area and to describe the different kinds of building materials used to build homes in the neighborhood.

3. Describe the physical characteristics of the local community through oral and written language and in sketches.

4. Describe and explain the physical and human processes that shape the characteristics of places.

5. Use the Tally Method in taking as accurate count as possible of the different kinds of transportation seen during a given time frame. Tally will also be used with homes, pets, and anything else the children may see and want to take a count of (ex. trees on the street side, mailboxes, crosswalks, stop signs, streetlights, etc.).

6. Compare and describe the differences and similarities between two different communities (community in picture card and our community).
(***extension - comparing two or three of the neighboring communities, ***comparing our community and that of another country as we study various countries throughout the year)

Extensions:
1. Comparing neighboring communities.
2. Comparing communities from various countries from around the world.
3. Building a scaled model of the community.
4. Write a class book about the community "Our Keolu Community".
5. Write a letter to the owners of the shopping complex asking about the reasons for a tenant to move out. What are some of the causes?
6. Discuss potential issues of concern, merit, sadness. List. Pick one or two as a cause and write a letter to the appropriate officials.
7. Research the past. Involve the family - parents, grandparents, older friends and relatives who may have photos of Keolu past. Make copies. Begin a time-line. Continue on to predict the future.

Materials Needed:
Variety of pictures of neighborhoods/communities, graphic organizers, construction paper, chart paper, colored markers, crayons, pencils, scissors, and glue.

Vocabulary:

Neighborhood:

Community:

Tally: a method of recording. Used when needing to count many things quickly.

Structures: Line up: everyone lines up in a straight line according to direction given.

Fold: once in a straight line, the middle parson will begin to "fold" in half so that those from the middle to the end will be facing someone from the beginning of the line to the middle.

Pair-share: two students working together.

Interview: one person asking the question - the other answers. The process is reversed and then repeated so that each has a chance to share.

Procedure:
1. Mental Map: Close your eyes for a minute or so and imagine our Keolu neighborhood and our community. Keep in your mind all the things you see. Now draw and or list as many of the things that came to your mind.

2. K-W-L Chart: List everything you know about a neighborhood/community. What are some things you want to know about a neighborhood/community? - List.

3. Picture Cards: Pass out picture cards to each person. Take a few minutes to look at your picture. Keep in mind what is it that makes up a neighborhood or a community.

4. T-Chart: List all the things you see/observe in your picture that are qualities of a neighborhood/community. On the other side, list things you have observed in our community.

5. Line-up: Everyone stand up and line-up according to birth month and day. The middle person will begin the fold. So the first person will be facing the last person. Be sure that everyone has a partner. Let's begin with those on the outside. Share your T-Chart for 1 minute - now your partner will share for 1 minute. Please be sure to thank your partner at the end of your sharing.

6. Venn Diagram: Together with your partner, return to your seat and using your T-Charts fill in the Venn Diagram. Discuss similarities and differences between the communities.

7. Star Attraction: Together with your partner come up with some kind of agreement as to what comprises a community. Fill in each part of the star with one of the components of a community. When completed, cut out the pieces, put pieces together to form a star, glue onto construction paper. You should now have the major components of a community.

8. "Stars": put up the stars on the chalk board.

9. Discuss what makes up a neighborhood/community. Referring back to the focus question.

10. Return to K-W-L chart: Fill in what you have learned, if there is anything new to add to your list.

11. Read story: in preparation of walking field trip. Discuss observation skills, using tallies as a method of recording, and sequencing.

12. These beginning activities set the stage for the continuation of the unit which concludes with the re-creation of the community.

Assessment:

1. All activities the students take part in acts as an evaluation tool.

a. T-Chart
b. Venn Diagram
c. Line-up
d. Discussion of Picture Cards
e. Star Attraction
f. K-W-L charts

2. A simple rubric will be used in assessing the students knowledge.

Appendix:

1. Create a Mental Map.
2. K-W-L chart
3. T-Chart
4. Venn Diagram
5. Circle Chart
6. Observation Chart

References: (books)

1. Geography From A to Z a Picture Glossary by Jack Knowlton
2. The Trip to Grandma's by Cass Hollander
3. Journey Cake, Ho! by Ruth Sawyer
4. The Chalk Doll by Charlotte Pomerantz
5. The Little House by Virginiaa L. Burton
6. The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse by Janet Stevens