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Title: How Communities are Different

Grade Level: 3

Length: appox. 45 min.

Objective: The students will create a Venn diagram to show how their community is different from other communities they know about.

Materials:

Marker (1)

1 large sheet of paper (Venn diagram)

Post-it Notes - medium sized (1pad)

Postcards/pictures of communities (students may bring in their own)

Masking tape or scotch tape (4 short pieces)

Procedures:

Introduction

Read the poem titled "The Folks Who Live in Backward Town" aloud to the class and remind them that every community is special in its own way. (ex: size of buildings, presence of trees, amount of open space, etc.)

Development

Read the book Winter Barn aloud to the class and explain that they should pay special attention to the characteristics of the community in which the story takes place. After the book has been read, allow some time for discussion between the students. Ask questions such as:

1. Where do you think the story took place?
2. What makes you think that?
3. What were some of the characteristics of the community?
4. What type of community was portrayed in this book?
5. How is this similar/different from the community you live in?

Once the discussion has taken place, divide the students into several groups, consisting of about four students each. Give each group a photograph or postcard of a community. Use as many different community settings as possible so the students will be studying different areas. Ask the groups to make a list of characteristics of the community that is represented on the postcard. Allow 10 minutes for the children to work in their groups. If the students have trouble listing characteristics, they could answer the questions listed above. Once the students have completed their lists, each group should share the picture and the list that they created, one group at a time. After each group has shared emphasize several points:

1. Communities are in different places. (near a river, lake, ocean, mountains, deserts)
2. Communities are known for different things. (growing food - wheat grown in Kansas, making things - automobiles made in Detroit, MI, beauty - Mt. Rushmore, Rocky Mountains)
3. Some communities may be known for raising crops or livestock, for mining, for lumbering, or for fishing. Some communities are huge business areas and communities located in beautiful places often become tourist resorts.
4. Amish communities are very different from most other communities in the world. (possible, depending on your audience)

Tape the large sheet of paper onto the wall, using scotch/masking tape and overlap two circles. Label one circle "My Community" and the other circle "Other Communities". As students give you ideas as to the difference between their community and others that they have visited or have knowledge about, write the idea down on a Post-it Note. Use a marker to write with so the students can read what ideas have already been given. Once an idea has been given, write it down and post it under the corresponding circle. Discuss what differences/ similarities the communities have.

If time allows, read aloud an article about Amish communities. Discuss how these communities are different from most other communities. Be cautious! This may not be appropriate in some classrooms!

Closure

Ask the students to give some characteristics of different communities. Discuss why the characteristics are similar/different.

Assessment:

The students should complete an exit slip, describing what they learned in the lesson. What they write about is up to them as long as they tell me about three things they learned from the lesson. However, it does need to pertain to the lesson.

Consideration:

There shouldn't be many considerations for disabled (wheel-chair bound, etc.) because no part of the activity requires the children to be out of their seats. However, to accommodate for those children who are above or below the average of the class, I will group the students in a wide variety of skill levels. For example, group two average students with one above average and one below average student. The above average student could help the average students and the average students could help explain to the below average student. I think that this will allow the students to help one another, rather than relying on one person.

Adaptation:

I would like for the students to bring in pictures or postcards to use in the lesson. However, the children would need to be notified prior to the lesson.

This could be tied in with Science by talking about Science communities, such as habitats, etc.

The students could also write about their community in a Language Arts lesson. There are also many books available on "communities".

References:

Bacon. (1991). Communities Grow and Change. Dr. Phillip Bacon, Communities (pp. 230-250). NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Ripley, Dorothy. (1994). Winter Barn. New York: Random House.

The Folks Who Live in Backward Town

The folk who live in Backward town

Are inside out and upside down.

They wear their hats inside their heads

And go to sleep beneath their beds.

They only eat the apple peeling

And take their walks across the ceiling.

By: Mary Ann Hoberman

Sing A Song of Popcorn

Poem from the text sited above, Communities.