What is community? Who are the members of my community?
Overview
Students define the idea of community in small groups and as a class, come up with a working definition for the word, and spend twenty minutes reflecting on what it means to be from the community that they call home.
This activity was developed as part of the Penobscot River Watershed Education Program, a collaborative project led by Maine Sea Grant, the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center, and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, working in partnership with Old Town Elementary School and the City of Old Town, Maine.
Standards (MLR)
Social Studies
D1. Geographic Knowledge, Concepts, Themes, and Patterns.
3-5 Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world.
6-8 Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world and the geographic influences on life in the past, present, and future.
D2. Individual, Cultural, International, and Global Connections in Geography.
3-5 Students understand geographic aspects of unity and diversity in the community, Maine, and regions of the United States and the world, including Maine Native American communities.
6-8 Students understand the geographic aspects of unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and various world cultures, including Maine Native Americans.
Learning Objectives
Students develop a working definition of community
Students identify essential elements/characteristics of community
Students identify essential characteristics of the community/communities in which they live
Students understand that the idea of community can encompass both human and non-human elements, such as plant and animal species and local geographic features
Materials
Black board, white board, or flip chart paper and writing utensils
Dictionaries or internet connection and computers/laptops
Blank drawing paper and markers, crayons, or colored pencils
Time Needed
One 40-50 minute class period
Activity Procedure
Part I – 15-minute group brainstorm: define community within small groups, and then as a class.
Start in small groups of 3-5 students. Each group writes down all the words/ideas that come to mind when thinking about the concept of community and generates some examples of communities they belong to (family, city/town, school, sports teams, community of faith, etc.).
Each group selects and shares three words/ideas from their list, and all are recorded on a board or flip chart at the front of the room.
The whole class reflects on the similarities and differences among the words on the list, and reflects on the fact that community can mean different things to different people.
Each group looks up community in the dictionary to see how their ideas fit within the standard definition. If they haven’t noted it before, draw out student observations of the fact that most dictionaries include at least one definition for communities as populations of interacting species that are not simply made up of humans (i.e. communities of plant and/or animal species that may or may not include humans). The students should also note that the formal definition includes the common place where these humans, plants, and/or animals reside (i.e. the town/city, local geographic features, and other natural elements).
As a class, the students rephrase the dictionary definition to create a working definition that makes sense to them.
Part II – 20-minute individual reflection: students’ individual ideas about their community of residence.
20-minute individual reflection (written or drawn): What does it mean to me to be from this town/city? What makes the town/city different from other places in Maine? What are they proud of about their hometown and its surroundings? Would they miss anything if they moved away?
NOTE: for students who feel isolated or alone, this can be a challenging exercise, so be prepared to offer extra support for these students as they discover ways to identify with their community.
Gallery walk/reading: put all the writings/drawings in a central location, or travel around the room as a group. Encourage students to make observations about their classmates’ work, and ask students who feel comfortable to share some of the ideas/images from their own work.
If any of the students’ community reflections include descriptions or depictions of natural watershed resources (local bodies of water, forested areas, parks, trails, industry or jobs dependent on local resources, the local climate, etc.), make a verbal note of this, and let them know they’ll be thinking more about those aspects of community life later on.
Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas
Two reflection exercises are included in the activity description. In Part I, the whole class stops to reflect on the similarities and differences in the small groups’ ideas about community. In Part II, the gallery walk is a way to organize a group reflection on individual students’ thinking/drawing about their personal connections to their community.
A First Word – Last Word formative assessment probe (Science Formative Assessment, pg 88) can help teachers to get a sense for students’ understanding of the concept of community before and after this lesson, or before and after the Community Connections Watershed Experience as a whole.
To use this probe, students write the letters COMMUNITY in a vertical orientation down the left side of a sheet of paper. They then write nine statements about what the word means to them, starting with each letter in the word, as in an acrostic poem. Administer this probe twice, using the First Word probe to help students organize their thoughts about community, and to establish a record of their pre-instruction ideas. Repeat the same exercise (Last Word probe) at the close of the lesson, or the close of the Community Connections Watershed Experience. Give students their original work as a reference, and give them a fresh piece of paper so they can revise or expand upon their original ideas if their thinking has changed.
Extension Ideas
Invite the art or language arts teachers in your school to get involved in the students’ exploration of the concept of community. Review this lesson with them and discuss ways you could collaborate with one another. If the other teachers wish to be involved, the students could create artwork (drawings, paintings, videos, etc.) about their community as part of their instruction in art, or they could write personal essays, poetry, or letters to the editor focused on issues of importance in their community, as part of their instruction in language arts.
Keeley, P. (2008). Science Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning. A joint publication of Corwin Press, and the National Science Teachers Association Press.
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Get to Know Your Community
Author(s):
Beth Bisson, Maine Sea Grant Program
Table of Contents
Question(s)
What is community? Who are the members of my community?
Overview
Students define the idea of community in small groups and as a class, come up with a working definition for the word, and spend twenty minutes reflecting on what it means to be from the community that they call home.
This activity was developed as part of the Penobscot River Watershed Education Program, a collaborative project led by Maine Sea Grant, the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center, and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, working in partnership with Old Town Elementary School and the City of Old Town, Maine.
Standards (MLR)
Social Studies
D1. Geographic Knowledge, Concepts, Themes, and Patterns.
3-5 Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world.
6-8 Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world and the geographic influences on life in the past, present, and future.
D2. Individual, Cultural, International, and Global Connections in Geography.
3-5 Students understand geographic aspects of unity and diversity in the community, Maine, and regions of the United States and the world, including Maine Native American communities.
6-8 Students understand the geographic aspects of unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and various world cultures, including Maine Native Americans.
Learning Objectives
Materials
Time Needed
One 40-50 minute class period
Activity Procedure
Part I – 15-minute group brainstorm: define community within small groups, and then as a class.
Part II – 20-minute individual reflection: students’ individual ideas about their community of residence.
NOTE: for students who feel isolated or alone, this can be a challenging exercise, so be prepared to offer extra support for these students as they discover ways to identify with their community.
Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas
Two reflection exercises are included in the activity description. In Part I, the whole class stops to reflect on the similarities and differences in the small groups’ ideas about community. In Part II, the gallery walk is a way to organize a group reflection on individual students’ thinking/drawing about their personal connections to their community.
A First Word – Last Word formative assessment probe (Science Formative Assessment, pg 88) can help teachers to get a sense for students’ understanding of the concept of community before and after this lesson, or before and after the Community Connections Watershed Experience as a whole.
To use this probe, students write the letters COMMUNITY in a vertical orientation down the left side of a sheet of paper. They then write nine statements about what the word means to them, starting with each letter in the word, as in an acrostic poem. Administer this probe twice, using the First Word probe to help students organize their thoughts about community, and to establish a record of their pre-instruction ideas. Repeat the same exercise (Last Word probe) at the close of the lesson, or the close of the Community Connections Watershed Experience. Give students their original work as a reference, and give them a fresh piece of paper so they can revise or expand upon their original ideas if their thinking has changed.
Extension Ideas
Invite the art or language arts teachers in your school to get involved in the students’ exploration of the concept of community. Review this lesson with them and discuss ways you could collaborate with one another. If the other teachers wish to be involved, the students could create artwork (drawings, paintings, videos, etc.) about their community as part of their instruction in art, or they could write personal essays, poetry, or letters to the editor focused on issues of importance in their community, as part of their instruction in language arts.
Resources
References