WHERE WE LIVE - UNIT PLAN
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Subject/Topic: Social Studies: Where We Live
Disciplines: Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Duration: 2-3 Weeks
Description of School and Students:
The name of the school is P.S. 86. It is located in an urban area, in Kingsbridge Heights, New York. The population in the class consists of 30 students. They are all diverse in race, gender, and nationality. There are 14 boys, and 16 girls in the class. Most of the students are bilingual, Spanish speaking students, but some are monolingual. There is one boy who speaks Chinese. There are no ESL, special education, or inclusion students in the class. The classroom is equipped with 3 computers, one overhead, a smart-board, and a radio.
Brainstorming Cognitive Map (WEB):
(Where we live) -> New York City, neighborhood, communities, rural, suburb, urban, work, play, shop, eat, citizens, voting, laws, stop signs, yield signs, railroad crossing signs, classroom rules, changing a law, apartment buildings, houses, farms, schools, churches, China Town, Little Italy, skyscrapers, taxis, cars, buses, subways
Content Overview:
This unit will consist of children learning all about where they live. This includes learning about living in a neighborhood, taking a walk through a community, and comparing and contrasting communities. Children will be learning about neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are places where people live, work and play. They will be learning about laws, and how people in a neighborhood can vote on laws, just like rules at school. A law is a rule that everyone must follow, and to vote is to make a choice about something. Laws keep neighborhoods safe and clean. Different signs such as, yield and stop signs show the kinds of laws we have. When we vote, we are making a change. Children will also be learning about a community, specifically Little Italy and Chinatown. They are two diverse communities in New York City. They will also be comparing these neighborhoods in the community with neighborhoods in their own community. Little Italy and Chinatown are different from each other for many reasons. Most of the people who live in Little Italy are Italian, and those who live in Chinatown are Chinese, but not all have to be Italian or Chinese. They also speak different languages, such as Italian or Chinese. The buildings are also different because they vary in size. There are also many different activities that you can do in both neighborhoods, like eat at an Italian restaurant versus eating at a Chinese one. Students will compare communities using vocabulary words such as rural, urban, and suburban. A rural community is an area with small communities called towns that are far apart. An urban community is a city and the places around it. A suburb is an area located near a city. They will learn about how these communities differ in some ways, but are alike in other ways. In an urban area, many people move around by walking or driving a car, as well as taking a subway, bus, or taxi. There are a lot of roads and buildings, with people crowding the streets to go to work, shop, or visit parks and museums. A suburb is usually quieter than an urban area. There are also shopping malls in suburbs. In rural areas the towns are spread far apart from each other. Usually rural areas have farms to grow food, like fruits and vegetables, and to raise animals.
Rationale:
This unit is being taught so children have a deeper understanding of the neighborhood and community they live in. It will be taught in many different ways using language arts, science, and social studies as curriculum connections. The students will think about laws that might help cut down noise and littering. They will write about these laws and describe in detail how the law will help make streets safe for walkers. Science will be tied into the unit by having students solve an environmental problem on water pollution, air pollution, and littering. We will come up together with a step by step problem solving program. Children need to understand that there are so many things about the communities they live in that are very important, including the neighborhoods: how they are alike and different, the citizens of the neighborhoods: what people do in terms of work, and the laws that we have and why they keep up safe.
Goals:
1. Students will understand what living in a neighborhood is all about, and how a neighborhood has rules and laws they have to follow.
2. Students will understand how to vote to make laws and rules.
3. Students will look at different communities, and understand how each community is different.
4. Students will compare communities and identify between rural, urban, and suburban communities.
Refined Cognitive Map:
(Where We Live)
Neighborhoods-> Communities: New York City, China Town, Little Italy
Neighborhoods: Work, play, shop, eat
Community: New York City -> law, vote, citizens, stop signs, yield, railroad crossings
Communities-> Rural: farms, animals, food, land, houses, skyscrapers
Suburban: houses, schools, backyards, churches
Urban: apartment buildings, buses, taxis, subways, trucks, schools, churches
Content Outline:
I. Neighborhoods
a. Citizens
b. Rules
c. Laws
d. Voting
II. Looking at Communities
a. Different neighborhoods
b. How are neighborhoods alike/different?
c. New York City
III. Comparing Communities
a. Urban
b. Rural
c. Suburban
I. Culmination Activity
a. “My Neighborhood” Poster
Activity #1: Solving Environmental Problems
Activity #2: Neighborhood Questions
Lesson Plan for Activity #2
Topic: Living in a Neighborhood
Grade/Subject: 2nd grade/Social Studies, and Language Arts (Writing)
Activity #3: All About Your Community
Lesson Plan for activity #3
Topic: A Walk through a community
Grade: 2nd/ Subject: Language Arts
Activity #4: Build a Diorama
Activity #5: A Friendly Letter
Lesson Plan for Activity #5
Topic: Comparing Communities
Grade/Subject: 2nd/ Social Studies and Language Arts (Writing)
Resources for entire unit: (all internet sources)
•Task Stream: New York City Performance Standards
Books:
•Foresman, Scott. Social Studies: People and Places. Pearson Education. 2008
Evaluation/Assessment of Unit: Upon completion of this unit students will have developed a “Where We Live” portfolio that includes the following work samples:
● Step by step problem solving program of how to solve an environmental problem
● Neighborhood questions worksheet
● All about your community worksheet
• A picture of their dioram
● Friendly letter of their chosen community
Culminating Activity: Students will make a “My Neighborhood Poster” and be assessed based on a 5 point rubric system. Students will use a poster board to make posters about their neighborhoods. Their posters should include five places that are important to the students. They should draw a picture of each place and beside the picture write the purpose or function of the place and why it is important. Students should label their posters with “My (urban, suburban, rural) Neighborhood.”
“My Neighborhood Poster” Assessment Rubric
6 - Identifies five distinct places and explains their importance. Correctly identifies the type of neighborhood.
5- Identifies five distinct places. Sometimes explains their importance. Correctly identifies the type of neighborhood.
4- Identifies fewer than five distinct places. Sometimes explains their importance. Correctly identifies the type of neighborhood.
3- Identifies five distinct places. Neglects identifying their importance. Correctly identifies the type of neighborhood.
2- Identifies fewer than five places. Sometimes explains their importances. Correctly identifies the type of neighborhood.
1- Identifies fewer than five places. Does not identify the type of neighborhood.
