 Lesson 1
Where in the World Is Our Community? In this lesson, students learn where their community is located in the world. During a four-part visual discovery activity, students act as space shuttle astronauts who are returning to Earth and learning about the geographic features of the globe as they get nearer and nearer to their landing site.
Lesson 2
Where in the United States Is Our Community? In this lesson, students learn how to use a map. Social Studies Skill Builders guide students in using geography skills to map and measure distances from their own community to other locations in the country.
Lesson 3
What Is the Geography of Our Community? In this lesson, students learn about the geography of communities around the country. Writing for Understanding activities lead students to create travel brochures for communities, discovering what is special and important about other cities in the U.S.
Lesson 4
How Do People Become Part of Our Country? In this lesson, students learn about the immigrant experience by participating in an Experimental Exercise. They explore why people immigrate, the challenges that immigrants face in getting to the United States, and some of the benefits and drawbacks of life as an immigrant.
Lesson 5
What Makes Our Community Diverse? In this lesson, students learn how people of different cultures have made important contributions to life in America. In a Response Group activity, they read about cultural contributions in various categories – such as foods, languages, and holidays – and brainstorm other contributions in each category.
Lesson 6
How Do People Improve Their Communities? In this lesson, students learn about individuals who helped make a difference in their communities. In a Problem Solving Group Work activity, students create human statues commemorating four individuals profiled in the text.
Lesson 7
How Are We Alike Around the World? In this lesson, students learn how their lives compare to the lives of children in other countries. In a Writing for Understanding activity, they work in pairs to read about and study “artifacts” belonging to six children from communities around the world. Students note similarities and differences between their lives and those of the other children. They then write a letter to one of the children describing what they learned.
Lesson 8
How Does Our Economy Work? In this lesson, students learn about supply and demand and how it relates to their lives. In an Experimental Exercise, they discover what happens to prices when demand exceeds supply and when supply exceeds demand. As a part of this lesson, we will visit the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market where the kids will have a chance to shop locally, learning about supply and demand from local farmers.
Lesson 9
How Does Global Trade Affect Our Community? In this lesson, students learn about global trade ties many parts of the world together. In an Experimental Exercise, they take on the roles of countries around the world. Sitting in a circle, they trade goods with students representing other countries. They symbolize each trade by rolling a ball of yarn across the circle, eventually forming a trade web connecting all students to each other.
Lesson 10
What Are the Public Services in Our Community? In this lesson, students learn about public services. Through a Social Studies Skill Builder, they analyze artifacts related to certain public services and learn more about those public services by reading the text.
Lesson 11
Who Works at City Hall? In this lesson, students learn about some of the positions and departments in the government of a community and what the people in those positions do. In a Writing for Understanding activity, they read letters written to “city hall” and deliver them to the person or department they think is best suited to deal with the issue highlighted in the letter. Students then read and take notes on what the people in that position or department do. Finally, they select and write a letter to someone in their own community government.
Lesson 12
How Do We Have a Voice in Our Community? In this lesson, students learn about ways in which people have a voice in their communities. In Visual Discovery activities, students use their acting skills to bring to life images about public meetings, demonstrations, and voting.
Lesson 13
Whose Planet Is It, Anyway? In this lesson, students investigate three case studies of how people have solved environmental problems in and around their communities. In a Response Group activity, they work in small groups to discuss how they would solve each problem. For each case study, they present their chosen solution using a different format. Afterward, students find out what each community did to solve their problem.
Lesson 14
How Can We Help the Global Community? In this lesson, students learn about things people do to help global community. In groups of four, they complete a Problem Solving Group Work activity, proposing and implementing a class project. |