Unit 1: Getting to Know Your Community

Grades K-1

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Lessons: Homes in our Community, Mapping the Neighborhood, Working People in Our Community, Neighborhoods and Communities Change, We All Have Jobs

Introduction: A student’s earliest learning experiences take place within the home and community. As they visit their neighbors, the library, post office, grocery store, restaurant and doctor’s office, their world grows. This unit is designed to build upon their knowledge of their surroundings. Students learn about the jobs and services in their community by reading stories, interviewing guest speakers, role playing and taking field trips to important places in the neighborhood. They gain a deeper understanding for how the services in their community came to be what they are today by looking at what they were like in the past. In the end, students will recognize that they are members of the community with important responsibilities. The jobs they do contribute to their community and make it a nicer place to live.

Desired Academic Results

Essential Academic Learning Requirements in Social Studies

History

EALR #3 The student understands the origin and impact of ideas and technological developments on history and social change.
3.1 Explain the origin and impact of an idea on society
3.2 Analyze how historical conditions shape ideas and how ideas change over time

Geography

EALR #1 The student uses maps, charts and other geographic tools to understand the spatial arrangement of people, places, resources and environments on the Earth’s surface.
1.1 Use and construct maps, charts and other resources
1.2 Recognizes spatial patterns on earth’s surface and understand the processes that create these patterns

EALR #2 The student understands the complex physical and human characteristics of places and regions.
2.1 Describe the natural characteristics of places and regions

EALR #3 The student observes and analyzes the interaction between people, the environment and culture.
3.2 Analyze how the environment and environmental changes effect people

Economics

EALR #1 The student understands basic economic concepts and analyzes the effect of economic systems on individuals, groups and society.
1.2 Observe major forms of business and related careers

Overarching Understandings

• A community is a place where people live and work together.
• Changes in technology affect our community and us.
• We contribute to our community by doing our jobs well.

What the Students Will Understand

• We live in a community.
• People in a community work in different places, such as homes, schools, offices and stores.
• People use special tools or machines when they work.
• Changes in technology can be seen around our community.
• We can contact important community helpers at the time of an emergency by dialing 911 on the telephone.
• Every job and each worker is important to make the neighborhood a healthy, safe and pleasant place to live.
• We are all members of our community.
• Members of a community can help to make it a nicer place to be by volunteering to take on responsibilities or jobs.

Overarching Questions

• What is a community?
• Who are our community helpers?
• What jobs do they do today? How have these jobs changed over time?
• Why are they important to our community?
• How has technology changed our community?

Unit Questions

• Are all houses alike in a community?
• In what ways are they different?
• Are all jobs in the community the same?
• In what ways is our community dependent on human resources?
• How does our community benefit from the library, post office, grocery store, police department and fire department?
• Where are they located?
• How can we get there?
• What are some changes in our own lives and community? Are changes good? Bad?

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Assessment: The Evidence That Will Demonstrate Student Understanding

• Collage of what makes up a community
• Service learning project where students choose a way the entire class can help the community

Other Evidence

• Participation in classroom discussions
• Formulation of questions for guest speakers and tour guides
• Informal observations while students work in small groups

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Learning Experiences and Instruction

• Read and develop a simple graph.
• Read, interpret and create a simple map.
• Ask questions and interview a visiting community worker.
• Identify community workers and the roles they play.
• Know how to contact the police/fire dept. by dialing 911.
• Use a computer with support.

Field Sites

Post Office
Fire Station
King County Public Library
Safeway

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Lessons

Pre-Assessment: What is a Community?

Introduce the unit by telling the students that for the next few months, we will be studying our community. Begin by talking about what is a community. Are we in a community? Where is it? What else is in a community? Have students make a collage of things they would find in a community using pictures from magazines, newspapers or drawings of their own. This can be done in small groups. Have each group share what they put in their community.

Part 1: Homes in our Community

Materials: This is My House by Arthur Dorros, poem entitled Houses

Basic Needs: Shelter lesson, butcher paper for making a classroom graph, house pattern worksheets and construction paper.

1. Review the Basic Needs: Shelter lesson. Read This is My House. Review the different types of homes then have students draw their home on the worksheet provided. Graph the different types of homes students in the class live in. Using the materials and the poem, put together a “My Little Book of Houses,” or combine all of the students’ work to make a classroom book of houses.

2. Talk about the importance of neighbors. Many neighbors do things together. What do you and your neighbors do? List the different things students do with their neighbors. (Play games, visit, have picnics, take walks, have yard sales, build things, look out for each other, share things, take care of plants, pets, etc during vacations, etc.) Fold a large, light-colored piece of construction paper in half widthwise and trace the outline of a simple house along the fold. The children cut out the houses. When they unfold the paper, there are two connected houses. Have them draw a picture of their family on one house, and their neighbors on the house next-door. On the back, students can write three things they do with their neighbors in their community.

Books

Carlson, Nancy. Loudmouth George and the New Neighbors. Minnesota. Carol Rhoda Books. 1983.

Dorros Arthur. This is My House. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1992.

Komaido, Leah. My Perfect Neighborhood. Harper & Row. 1990.

Soto, Gary. Neighborhood Odes. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1992.

Wheatly, Nadia and Rawlins, Donna. My Place. Kane/Miller Book Publishers. 1992.

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Part II: Mapping the Neighborhood

1. Many neighborhoods close together make up a community. Discuss what neighborhoods are in your community. Show a map of your area. If you don’t have one, the city of SeaTac will send you one for free or visit www.yahoo.com and go to maps. Which places are walking distance? (Library, grocery store, police station, school, fire station, etc.) Which ones require us to drive? Demonstrate how you would walk from your house to a place in your community by sketching a map on the board. Talk about the symbols you used. Lines represent streets; squares can represent houses or buildings, etc. Have students draw a map of a place they could walk to from their homes. Have them share their maps with each other in pairs.

2. Ask students to find out their home address. Mark each child’s home on the community map.

3. Have students type their address into the yahoo’s map service site. Zoom in to get a close up of their neighborhood. Print out the map and have students draw in the missing homes and buildings. To expand the map for printing, right click on the map and go to copy. Paste it in a new document. (MS WORD will work.) Then click on a corner and stretch it out.

Resources

Hartman, Gail. As the Crow Flies- A First Book of Maps. Macmillan. 1991.

Norris, Jill. My Neighborhood. Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. 1996.

Oetken, Rachel. My Home and My Neighborhood. Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 1999.

Sweeney, Joan. Me on the Map. Crown Publishers. 1996.

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Part III: Working People in Our Community

The United States Postal Service

Materials: Mr. Griggs’ Work, by Cynthia Rylant, mail and pictures of early mail delivery.

1. Read Mr. Griggs’ Work. It is an amusing book about a postal worker who truly loves his work. Have a classroom discussion about the story by asking some of the following questions: Is important to like the job you do? Why or why not? Why do you feel Mr. Griggs loved his job as much as he did? Besides the fact that Mr. Griggs loved his work, why did people like him so much? Do you think Mr. Griggs would make a good neighbor? Why? What do you think would happen if there were no postal services? Would you enjoy working in the post office? Why or why not? What do you think is the most important job in your neighborhood?

2. Bring in one day’s worth of mail to school. Ask, ”What do we know about mail?” Record responses. Have students predict what mail carriers do in their jobs. Show mail from home and school mailboxes. Use this mail to sort, group, classify, graph and count.

3. Create a school letter carrier position. Get a hat and canvas bag for the student to use. It is the responsibility of this student to check the teacher’s mailbox or take notes to other teachers, etc.

4. Have students write a letter and address an envelope to themselves or to friends and see if it reaches its destination. How long did it take to get there?

5. Show pictures of early mail delivery. Read stories about the Pony Express. Discuss how mail delivery has changed? Think of questions to ask the tour guide at the post office about changes in the postal service.

6. Take a field trip to visit your local post office. Watch how the mail is sorted, sized and classified by zip codes for distribution. Be sure to ask your tour guide how changes in technology have affected the postal service.

7. Discuss computer email. Try communicating with someone or another class via email. Send a letter and an attachment such as a photograph or a student drawn picture through email. Compare and contrast the two ways of communicating. When would you use email? When would you use the Postal Service? Which do you like better? Why?

Resources

Ahlberg, Allan. The Jolly Postman and Other People’s Letters. London. Heinemann. 1986.

Anderson, Peter. The Pony Express. New York: Grolier Publishing, 1996.
A fine resource for background information for educators.

Dicerto, Joseph J. The Pony Express, Hoofbeats in the Wilderness. New York:
Franklin Watts, 1989.
Good teacher resource. Reference text only.

Gibbons, Gail. The Post Office Book. T.Y. Crowell, Jr. 1982

Glass, Andrew. The Sweetwater Run, The Story of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Pony Express. Italy: Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1996.
A fine book to read aloud to students and discuss ideas. Great illustrations!

Harness, Cheryl. They're Off! The Story of the Pony Express. New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 1996.

Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Grigg’s Work. New York. Orchard. 1989.

http://www.usps.com/
This site tells an extensive history of the U.S. Postal Service.

www.epals.com Set up a classroom profile then find a partner classroom with similar interests. The resource list includes; teacher-monitored webmail, instant language translation, world maps, international weather network, world events and projects and lesson plans.

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The Fire Station

1. Ask students what they know about fire stations. Read books to learn more about fire stations. Have students brainstorm questions they want to ask before going. How do people get emergency help today when they need it? Tell the students that before 911 was used, people had to either look up the phone number in the phone book or have an operator connect them. Talk about how fire fighters know they are needed for an emergency. Tell them about the days before radio, beepers and cell phones when communities would sound an alarm or bell that could be heard for miles.

2. Arrange a tour at your local fire station. The tour offered to kindergarten classes teaches students that fire fighters are your friends. Students learn about the gear that is used, they can try on a mask, look at the equipment on a fire truck, and learn about fire safety. There are lots of interesting technological changes that can be seen in a fire station. When you call to arrange your tour, be sure to ask your tour guide to talk about this. Some of these changes include the gear fire fighters wear. Today they wear air packs; however 40 years ago fire fighters would fight fires without them. The gear fire fighters wear is more resistant to fire, allowing them to get closer to fires to better fight them. Everyone has a radio and personal alert. The personal alert goes off when a fire fighter doesn’t move for more than 20 seconds.

3. After the tour, talk about the importance of the fire fighter’s job and ways we could help with fire prevention. Write a thank you letter using the U.S. Postal Service.

Resources

Brown, David. Someone Always Needs a Policeman. New York. Simon and Schuster. 1972.

Brown, Margaret Wise. The Little Fireman. New York. Scholastic Books. 1975.

Bundt, Nancy. The Fire Station Book. T.Y. Crowell, Jr. 1982.

Hannum, Dottie. A Visit to the Police Station. Children's Press. 1985.

Rev, H.A. and Margret. Curious George Visits a Police Station. Houghton Mufflin.

Slater, Teddy. Big Book of Real Fire Trucks. New York. Putnam Publishing Group. 1987.

http://www.cityofseattle.net/fire/text/employment/t_ffjob_overview.htm The career of a firefighter, fire safety and fire fighting from the Seattle Fire Department.

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The Library

Arrange a tour of your nearest public library. The King County Libraries are aware of this curriculum and will be expecting your call. Students will learn first hand how technology has changed libraries by placing a hold on a book they wish to check out from the classroom computer. (You might invite some older students in to help with this.) Call your local librarian first so that s/he knows to set your class books aside. Give yourself 1-2 weeks to do this before you go on your trip. You don’t want some of the students to arrive and not have their books there. Keep in mind that your students will need library cards in order to place holds. Be sure to ask your tour guide about the ancient card catalogue.

Resources

www.kcls.org
King County Library System’s site

Alexander, Martha G. How My Library Grew, by Dinah
Neither Dinah nor her Teddy Bear have ever been to a library, but when one is built just down the street, she looks forward to the opening day.

Jaspersohn, William. My Hometown Library.
The author describes the resources and services at his hometown library and how they have changed over the years

Rockwell, Anne F. I like the library
Young child describes all the things that are available at the library.

Tester, Sylvia Root. A Visit to the Library. Children's Press. 1985.

West, Dan. The Day the TV Blew Up.
Bored and downhearted because his television set is broken, Ralph Bean discovers an unexpected new world, the library.

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The Grocery Store

1. Read stories about grocery stores. What service does a grocery store provide? Arrange a field trip to your local grocery store.

2. Safeway stores regularly offer field trips to primary grade students. Call your local store and talk with the manager about what you’d like your class to see. They can demonstrate how changes in technology have affected the grocery store business by showing students the bar code scanners and talking with them about how products are ordered. Laborious price tag stickers no longer have to be slapped on to each item at the store. Now, prices are entered into the computer when products are ordered from the warehouse simply by scanning the bar code. Ask the manager to talk about this ordering/pricing system called the Telzon Unit. Tim May, manager of the McMicken store, recommends calling a week in advance and planning for a trip during the slow times of the day, either around 9:00 –9:30 or 1:00 – 1:30.

3. Discuss how shopping for food has changed? Does anyone order his/her groceries on the computer via the Internet using homegrocer.com? Demonstrate how this can be done. Plan a menu for a class party, order and see what happens. Be sure to ask the deliverer to kindly show the students the truck.

4. Compare and contrast the two services using a floor-sized Venn Diagram with string. Have students think of ways they are the same and different. Write their thoughts on a card, give the card to the student and have him/her find where they should go in the diagram.

Resources

www.homegrocer.com

www.safeway.com

Lewin, Ted. Market! New York. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books. 1996.

Zeigler, Sandra. A Visit to a Bakery. Children's Press. 1987.

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Project Assessment: What is in a Community?

Have students look at their first project at the beginning of the unit. Given what you know now, what changes would you make? Have them list all the different things they believe make up a community. Tell them that they are going to design a new community using building blocks. The blocks can represent the different kinds of buildings one would find in a community. Remind them to include streets. They can have fun naming them. Have a model to present to the class. After completing, students can share their communities with the class and explain why they are laid out the way they are. Assess their map skills by having them transfer their blocks onto butcher paper and draw around them, labeling the buildings, houses, streets and other features. Color the butcher paper to look like an aerial view of the community.

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Part IV: Neighborhoods and Communities Change

1. Talk with students about the changes that have taken place in their lives and in the neighborhood. How has school changed from preschool to kindergarten? What kinds of changes are happening on your block or in your neighborhood and community? Show the students the cover of the book, Heron Street. Help them recognize the title page as a picture of a town or community. Flip through the pictures. Which pictures look most like the picture opposite the title page? How are the pictures toward the end of the book different from the pictures at the beginning? Have them predict what they think the book will be about. Write down responses. Read the story and compare it with their predictions. Make a list of the changes that happened to the place called “Heron Street.” What did Heron Street look like at the beginning of the book? How did Heron Street change when people began to move there? Why do you think the animals moved away? Did the changes you saw take place on Heron Street happen in our community too? How do you know? What do you think our community looked like before people began living here?

2. Show some old photographs and postcards of what the community used to look like. Encourage students to interview older relatives and neighbors to find out what life was like when s/he was young. Ask, “When did you start living in this neighborhood? What things, such as buildings or parks, have been in the neighborhood since the time you began living here?" Invite a longtime Highline area resident in the classroom to speak. An excellent resource is former Highline Superintendent, and recent Citizen of the Century Award winner, Carl Jenson.

Resources

Baker, Jeannie. Window. Greenwillow Books. 1991.

Burton, Virginia Lee. The Little House. Houghton Mifflin. 1942.

Giblin, James. Skyscraper Going Up. New York. Crowell Jr. Books. 1981.

Henry, Joanne Landers. Log Cabin in the Woods. Four Winds Press. 1988

Turner, Ann. Heron Street. New York. Scholastic. 1989.
Over the centuries as people settle near the marsh by the sea, herons and other animals are displaced.

Yolen, Jane. Letting Swift River Go. Little, Brown and Company. 1992.

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Part V: We All Have Jobs

1. Introduce the idea that they have jobs at home. Discuss what jobs they do. How do they help their families? Have students draw pictures of the jobs they do.

2. Learn about the different jobs at school. Have pairs of students interview different workers in the school. Invite the principal, custodian, office manager, librarian, volunteer or 6th grader to come into the classroom to talk about the job they have here at school. Make a book of the jobs the people at your school do.

3. Invite parents to come to class for a career day. Have them wear any uniforms or bring objects or tools that help them with their job. Students can ask questions, touch artifacts and role-play a job.

4. Play Who Am I? The teacher places a picture of an occupation on a student’s back. They must ask yes or no questions to find out who they are.

Service learning projects are extremely valuable and successful for teaching citizenship skills. The level of involvement is up to you. You can do something simple such as make artwork for the local hospital or collect plastic bags for the Chicken Soup Brigade. Or you can do something more complex such as intergenerational partnerships with email, or beautify the school or neighborhood by planting flowers and trees like Miss Rumphius.

Read Miss Rumphius. Discuss what Miss Rumphius did to help her community. Why did she do that? Who makes our community a nicer place to live? Do we, as members of our community, have a responsibility to help make it a better place? Ask students if they would like to do just that. (If I know kindergartners, they will all shout with excitement.) Ask them how they would help. Brainstorm ways in which the community, or school community, could use their help.

If you’re interested in having assistance with a service learning project, pre-service teachers at Seattle University’s Master in Teaching program are required to participate in a service learning project for their graduation. SU is always looking for new schools in which these interns can be placed. While this won’t guarantee you help, it’s worth a try. Contact Jeffrey Anderson through the School of Education at (206) 296-5760. SU interns serve from late September to early December, or from January to March. You will need to contact him months in advanced to make arrangements.

Resources

Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius. New York. Viking Press. 1982.

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Additional Children’s Literature

Brisson, Pat. Wanda's Rose. Boyds Mills. 1994.

Costa-Pau, Rosa. The City. Chelsea House Publishers. 1994.

dePaola, Tomie. Georgio’s Village. New York. Putnam Publishing Group. 1982.

Elinson, H. Down Our Street. USSR. Progress Publishers. 1975.

Field, Rachel. General Store. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1988.

Kalmar, Kathy. My Community and Me. MN. T.S. Denison and Company, Inc. 1991.

Lenski, Lois. Sing a Song of People. Little, Brown and Company. 1987.

Milford, Susan. Hands Around the World. Williamson Publishing. 1992.

Rice. City Night. New York. Greenwillow. 1987.

Robins, Ken. City/Country: A Car Trip in Photographs. New York. Viking Kestrel. 1985.

Videos

The Communities Video Collection : Citizenship in the Community, Communities Around the World, Community Rules and Laws, How Communities are Alike and Different, How Communities Grow and Change, Production Works, and Service Workers.

P.O. Box 4440/ El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-0018

(800) 483-3383

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