Our Classroom Community
Standards:
- NCSS Standard: Individual Development and Identity - assist learners as they work independently and cooperatively within groups and institutions to accomplish goals.
- NCSS Standard: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions - guide learner analysis of the extent to which groups and institutions meet individual needs and promote the common good in contemporary and historical settings.
- NCSS Standard: Power, Authority, and Governance - enable learners to examine the rights and responsibilities of the individual in relation to their community.
- MMSD Standard (4): Behavioral Science - Explain how personal opinions and choices are shaped by one’s family and community.
Materials:
- Disposable cameras
- Developed pictures
- Materials to build a poster
- Resources to write a paper
- Computer Lab
Objectives:
- Students will reflect on what they have learned throughout the community unit by formulating a personal poster and writing an essay about community.
- Students will create a representation of what is important to them in the community.
Lesson Context:
The students have come to the end of the community unit. Before this lesson, I will have assigned the students to take the disposable cameras and take 3-5 pictures of places in the community, whether around the school, around their homes, or both. The students will do this outside of class time with permission from their guardians. It would be great to have the students in the pictures as well, but if that’s not the case, then I can give them a picture of themselves. I want the observers of the posters to know which student chose which places. The students will have recorded which pictures are theirs for the teacher to hand them out accordingly. The pictures they take are for the students to choose knowing they have to be able to describe in writing what the picture represents in their community and why they choose it. This portion of the assignment may take a few days.
Lesson Procedures:
- The developed pictures will be handed out to each student. They will also receive small poster paper in which they will create a poster representing the 3-5 places that are important to them in their community. The students will have time to work on this portion of the assignment in class with the resources from the teacher. The students will be told to label each place on the poster and give a brief description of each for others who observe what they’ve created.
- After the poster is completed, the students will go to the computer lab or stay in the room and hand-write if they want. The students will create a 1-2 page paper that gives great description of the places they chose and why they chose them. Further, the essay must include what a community is and how these places benefit the community around them. These requirements will be on the board for them to refer to throughout their writing process.
- After this has been completed, I will create a bulletin board that includes all the posters of their community pictures. I will also include mine. The bulletin board will be entitled “Our Classroom Community”. Further, I will have developed a picture of our class together and post that on the board as well.
Assessment:
The final assessment to this process would be the essay they create that describes what is a community, why they chose the places they did, and why these places benefit them and their community. The students will be assessed on the content they include in the essay, the organization, as well as the grammar. In particular, I will be looking at what the students are writing about what a community is to see if they have formulated knowledge throughout the unit. The students will also be assessed on the posters they make. I will see if they have included appropriate places that benefit them and the community – rather than just choosing places randomly without proper explanation.
Next Steps:
The following unit would stem from the community unit. I would create more lessons for the students to become actively involved in their community. I would have them be collaborating with the other school again in order to formulate ways in which we can sustain the places and elements of our community, or improve them. It will be an environmental awareness unit, while also giving the students a chance to act for what is around them. The class will reflect on what they learned throughout the community unit and begin thinking about how people directly affect the community we live and the types of things we can do to protect it or better it.
Next Step Standards:
- NCSS Standard: Civic Ideals and Practice – create opportunities for learner participation in activities to strengthen the “common good”.
- MMSD Standard (4): Behavioral Science – demonstrate an ability to interact within a group while performing various group role including organizing, planning, and goal setting.