1. Time, Continuity, and Change 2. Power, Authority, and Governance 3. People, Places, and Environment
Essential Questions:
1. What makes a community? 2. What causes communities to change? 3. To what extent has our community changed?
GLEs:
1. History
4.1.1 Understands and creates timelines for events in a community to show how the present is connected to the past.
2. Civics
1.2.1 Understands the basic organization of government in the community.
1.2.2 Understands the basic function of government and laws in the community.
3. Geography
3.1.2 Understands the physical characteristics of places in the community.
Lesson One: Places in our Community
GLEConnection: Geography 3.1.2: Understands the physical characteristics of places in the community.
Learning Target: I can create and explain the different physical parts of my community.
SuccessCriteria:Students can accurately name and place the different physical parts of their community (rivers, mountains, lakes, parks, etc.).
What: Students will create a map (flip book) of the different physical parts within their community. They will draw and label the different locations within their community (rivers, mountains, lakes, parks, etc.). Why: In order to do this activity, students will need to look at their community in a physical sense. By creating a map of their community students will look at their community in parts as well as in wholes.
Modifications:
More Support:Students can create a list or outline of places in their community before creating the flipbook. This way those students are thinking about the places in their community one step at a time.
More Challenge: Students can create an additional map of their state or another area that has different attributes.
Formative Assessment:As a class or in groups, students will create an outline of all the different places on their community.
Lesson Two: Our Local Government
GLE Connection:Civics 1.2.1: Understands the basic organization of government in the community.
Learning Target: I can name the titles of my local government.
Success Criteria:Students can accurately name (some of) the types of local government in their community (the mayor and city council, parks and recreation, fire department, public library, police department)
What:Students will match images of local government to their titles. Have cut outs of pictures and titles at the front of the room. Have students come up and correctly match the image to the title. Why: As participants in the local community, students need to know who is part of the government that surrounds their local community and impact their life.
Modifications:
More Support:Students can have a list of the correct items to support them.
More Challenge:Students can research the names of the people who are in their local government (ex. Who is their major? Police chief? Etc.)
Formative Assessment: Students will fill out a worksheet where they correctly match pictures to titles.
Lesson Three: Charting Our Local Government
GLE Connection:Civics 1.2.2: Understands the basic function of government and laws in the community.
Learning Target:I can explain the roles of my local government.
Success Criteria: Students can accurately explain the duties of the police, the mayor, judges, and city council.
What:After learning what the duties of our government are (the mayor and city council, police department, and local judges) students will write on a sticky note one duty of at least one category and place it on the chart. Why:As participants in the local community, students need to understand the duties of the government that surrounds them and impact their life.
Modifications:
More Support:Students can have sticky notes with duties already listed and have to place them with the correct title.
More Challenge:Students will write a sticky note for all 5 of the government categories (talked about in activity 2).
Formative Assessment: 3-2-1 exit slip of 3 things they learned, 2 things they found interesting and 1 question they still have about the duties of local government.
Lesson 4: Our Schools Then and Now
GLE Connection: History 4.1.1 Understands and creates timelines for events in a community to show how the present is connected to the past.
Learning Target:Students can compare and describe how schools have changed over time.
Success Criteria: Students will identify and describe how school have changed over the last 100 years, including technology, books, and overall setting.
What: Students will compare classrooms from then (picture on left) to now (picture on right). They will then answer questions that ask them about the technology used then compared to now, how the classroom set up is different, how they stayed warm then, etc. Why: This lesson will get students thinking about how school was for people then vs. now. It will also get us talking about how our community has changed over the years, leading to the next lesson.
Modifications:
More Support: Students can create a t-chart or a venn-diagram to help create a specific set-up for them to identify items in schools from 100 years ago to now.
More Challenge: Students can broaden their view of physical items in the school that have changed and think about the people (students, teachers, principals, bus drivers, janitorial staff, lunch staff, etc.). They could also create a timeline of how people dressed in school from 100 years ago to now.
Formative Assessment: Students will create a list of items used in the classroom and in the schools today (ex: books, computers, busses, whiteboards, etc.).
Lesson 5: Our Community Then and Now
GLE Connection: History 4.1.1 Understands and creates timelines for events in a community to show how the present is connected to the past.
Learning Target:Students will identify and compare multiple items from the past to the present.
Success Criteria:Students can accurately identify, draw, and describe the difference of items from the past (then) to the present (now).
What: Students will compare multiple items that were different then, than they are now. Students will create a t-chart (or t-chart book) with the item/topic they are comparing from then to now. For example, transportation, clothes, shopping, food, housing, etc. The students will draw and write a sentence of how things have changed over time. Why: This is a great way to get students engaged by comparing how things have changed over time within their community. This activity will also get students thinking about how people lived in the past and compare it to how we live now.
Modifications:
More Support: Students would be given an example of what it was in the past and have them identify and draw the now.
More Challenge:Students could create another row and label it "future". They would then think of reasonable ideas of how that item/topic is going to be 10, 20, or 50 years from now.
Formative Assessment: Students will create a list of commonly used items today and used in the past.
Summative Assessment
Create a map of your OWN fictional community, that has pieces of your local community including:
Two physical attributes of your community (rivers, mountains, etc).
Locations of the mayor and city council office, parks and recreation, public library, police department and a fire department.
One thing that was in our historical community but is no longer around