Creating a Community2nd Grade Social Studies

Designed and Implemented by Anna Williams

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Table of Contents

1. Driving and Sub-Driving Questions…………………………………………………………………………........2

2. Explanation and Analysis of the Virtual Learning Environment………………………………………4

3. Connection to Students………………………………………………………………………………………………….7

4. Lesson #1 “Services in My Community”…………………………………………………………………………9

5. Lesson #2 “Zone It”………………………………………………………………………………………………………11

6. Lesson #3 “Where Should It Go?”…………………………………………………………………………………13

7. Lesson #4 “Zone It Part 2”……………………………………………………………………………………………15

8. Lesson #5 “What Do We Need?”………………………………………………………………………………….17

9. Lesson #6 “What Was It Like?”…………………………………………………………………………………….19

10. Lesson #7 “Who Makes History?”…………………………………………………………………………………21

11. Lesson #8 “What Can I Do?”…………………………………………………………………………………………22

12. Assessment Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..23

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Driving and Sub-Driving Questions

Driving Question: What shapes my community to make it the way it is?

Initial List of Sub-Driving Questions:

What did my community look like 100 years ago? What types of businesses are there in my community? How is my community set up? Why is my community set up the way it is? How do I use a map to find where things are located in my community? How can I make a visual representation of my community? How are the businesses in my community similar or different to those in other communities? What services are provided in my community? Why are they important? What can I do to help my community? How do the businesses in my community meet the needs and wants of the people who live there? How is our school important to the community? What does it take to be a local business owner? What businesses could I start to meet the needs and wants of our community? Who are some of people who have made a difference in my community? What are important issues in my community? What changes have been made in my community over the last 100 years? How are changes in my community made? What is my job in my community?

Chosen Sub-Driving Questions (Italicized Above) and Explanations

LESSON 1: What services are provided in my community? Why are they important?—This question was chosen because it builds upon a concept students are already familiar with, but requires them to look at it through a different lens. Although, in this instance, “my community” is focused on Albion, students from Marshall and Homer also are able to make significant contributions to the class discussion because the three communities are very similar. This is also a good first sub-driving question to focus on because it ties in with the previous unit, and insist that students not just look at what is there, but be able to consider why each these services are important in a community.

LESSON 2: How is my community set up?—This question was chosen because it is a logical transition from the last lesson. In the first lesson, students began thinking about what services their community provided, and why those services are important. In this lesson, they consider where those services fit in with the rest of the community. How do I use a map to find where things are located in my community?—This question relates directly to the first sub-driving question chosen for this lesson because it provides a medium for students to

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visually see how their community is set up. It also presents an opportunity for students to begin working on developing map skills.

LESSON 3: Why is my community set up the way it is?—Another logical transition, this question was chosen because it takes the previous question one step further. In the last lesson students focused on how their community is set up. In this lesson, they use reasoning skills and discussion to determine why communities are set up the way they are. Discovering the why makes the previous lesson more meaningful because it provides an explanation for the how. Additionally, this connects back to the first lesson because people who work on zoning the community provide another service.

LESSON 4: Why is my community set up the way it is?—This lesson builds directly upon lessons two and three, requiring students to continue to think about why their community is set up the way it is. Since students make their final zoning maps, this is an appropriate question to end this section of the unit.How can I make a visual representation of my community?—This question was chosen because in this lesson students make their own zoning maps, in which they illustrate that they understand the concepts that have been presented in these first four lessons.

LESSON 5: What types of businesses are there in my community?—This question was chosen at this point because students have been focusing on the community as a whole, and now are narrowing their focus to individual components of the community, and those components’ roles within the community. It is also a topic students have a lot of prior knowledge about because many of them live in Albion, have visited Albion, or can extend their knowledge of businesses in Marshall and Homer to provide responses.

What business could I start to meet the needs and wants of our community?—This question was chosen because it requires that students use knowledge from the previous lessons, knowledge about wants and needs (which was covered in the previous Social Studies unit), and use their own interests to create a business to put in Albion. It allows for creativity while requiring critical thinking.

LESSON 6: What changes have been made in my community over the last 100 years?—This question was chosen at this point in the unit because by this point students have gained enough knowledge about present-day Albion to be able to compare it to Albion of the past. It gives a specific time frame for students to consider and requires that they recognize similarities and differences between then and now, and think about why those changes might have been made.

LESSON 7: Who are some of people who have made a difference in my community?—This question was chosen because it relates directly to the previous lesson. In the previous lesson students learned about the changes that have been made to the Albion community over the last hundred years. This question has them focus on the individuals who have helped implement those changes, or who have made a difference.

LESSON 8: What can I do to help my community?—This final question was chosen because it provides students with the opportunity to consider how, like the historical individuals they’ve been reading about, they can make a difference. It also allows them to use knowledge learned from the entire unit in a way they feel is meaningful to them.

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Explanation and Analysis of the Virtual Learning Environment

Strand Seven of the Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers states that educators should be able to “demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to create an online learning experience, and demonstrate continued growth in knowledge of technology operations, resource evaluation for quality, objectivity, and reliability and concepts including strategies for teaching and learning in an online environment; plan, design, and evaluate effective technology-enhanced learning environments and experiences aligned with Michigan’s Content Standards and Grade Level Content Expectations and Michigan Educational Technology Standards for each student; and implement curriculum plans that include effective technology-enhanced methods and strategies to maximize student learning.”

This implementation of a virtual learning environment occurs in the third lesson (and fourth day) teaching this lesson. In Where Should It Go? students explore the BBC Education website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/wwww/buildings/enhanced/index.shtml), which has two games about buildings. In the first one, “Where Would Be Good?” which is the game I wanted students to focus most of their time on, students are presented with a map of an imagined community with some buildings already put in place. There were also blank spaces on the map, and students have to decide on what building would be good for each location. The website provides feedback on each decision, and provides the opportunity to change one’s choice, if the location isn’t ideal for that particular building. In this game, students need to use their developing knowledge of zones in a community in order to reason what building would be good in each location. Additionally, they need to be paying careful attention to the surroundings of each empty location in order to make sure that they’re not placing a hospital next to another hospital, or a police station across the way from an already-situated police station.

Prior to the lesson, students have the opportunity to create a layout for their own community and learn how to read and use a zoning map; following this lesson, students create a final “zoning” map based on what they have learned about where locations in a community are situated. The use of the website is intended to give students another medium to explore how communities are arranged. According to Chip Wood’s book Yardsticks, seven-year-olds tend to enjoy computer games, and at eight years old, children are beginning to master using computers. In a class in which most of the students are seven or eight years old (with two not turning seven until the end of November), being able to use the computers is not only a novelty, but is also cognitively and developmentally appropriate for this age group. This is an education-based website, conforming to all of the school and districts’ requirements of appropriate websites. Instead of being strictly informational and exhibiting a significant amount of text, this website is interactive, allowing students to learn based on their actions. Although all students were expected to complete the first game, students were able to do so at their own pace. This way, students who work better at slower paces, who take longer to read or to make decisions, were able to complete the task without feeling rushed. Students who felt more confident about the task could work through it at a pace they were comfortable with, and then move onto the other building game, which connected back to the first lesson in this unit, in which the second graders identified services provided in their

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community. Students who finished that game had the opportunity to further explore the website, by clicking on the tabs at the top of the screen, which are more reading and informational-based.

My initial plan for the virtual learning environment was to discover or design a site in which students could create their own zoning maps. However, this was too challenging of a task, and anything I created would be difficult for seven-and eight-year-olds to use productively. By chance, I came across the BBC website, which fit in perfectly with the unit. I reviewed the website, making sure that it, in fact, was what I was expecting. The website incorporated everything I was looking for: students were given an interactive experience which allowed them to help design the layout and map of a given community, the task required them to use their growing knowledge of how communities are set-up, it provided an opportunity for them to use decision-making skills, and allowed students to work at their own pace. The timing of the lesson—directly following the lesson in which the second graders were first asked to consider how to set up a community, and were introduced to zoning maps; and before they were required to take their new knowledge and create a final zoning map which would be presented to the class—is effective because students have enough knowledge to interact productively with the website, but the website also provides them with the opportunity to recognize patterns about where buildings are placed in a community.

Once students were able to get onto the website and use it, it proved to be an effective teaching tool. However, actually accessing the website proved to be slightly difficult. Since we were in the computer lab, there was no way for me to set the computers up to the correct web address before class began. Therefore, I had to instruct the students step-by-step as to how to get to the correct website. Not all the desktops are set up exactly the same, so even though I used the projector, certain students had difficulty finding even the internet icon. Then, for many second graders, typing in a web address proved to be a challenge. In order to simplify what they had to type in, I instructed students to go to Google and then type in “BBC Education Buildings,” which is far less complicated than the web address http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/wwww/buildings/enhanced/index.shtml, but still was a struggle for some. Therefore, I had to walk around and assist students typing into the search bar, and getting to the correct website. Some students were able to help one another, but even with the peer assistance, logging onto the computers took much longer than I had anticipated.

It was also a bit of a challenge because, while some students were at the website and ready to go, others still were struggling to get to Google. I requested that the second graders not begin playing the game until everyone was ready because I wanted to guide them through getting started and make sure that they understood how to correctly use the site. However, this meant that there were a few students waiting for their peers, with nothing to do.

The website proved to be an effective resource once everyone was actually able to get started, however. The second graders were excited to be able to use the computers, and everyone followed directions and remained on the website. I was able to walk around and assist the students who needed help, and all learners were able to work at their own pace. Those who finished early played the other game, and then read about buildings. Students who tend to work more slowly still had sufficient time to

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work through the entire game, even if they did not have the opportunity to engage in the other resources on the site.

When I taught this lesson with my second graders, I did not have them complete any worksheets during or after working with the website. Instead, we engaged in a class discussion about what students noticed about the placement of the buildings, and why they might be that way. Should I repeat this lesson, I would continue to let students use the time in the computer lab to simply interact with the website. Especially with second graders, I feel as though needing to work through the game and fill out a worksheet would be a bit overwhelming. However, upon a return to the classroom, I would have students complete a brief worksheet about things they noticed about the location of the buildings in the game, and provide explanations or reasons for this. Then, students could share with their teams what they learned, and I could walk around and listen to the conversations. This way more students would have the opportunity to share, and I would also have to opportunity to more formally assess the efficacy of the virtual learning environment. (It should be noted that this change has been implemented in the lesson present in this unit plan.)

Overall, however, I found that this was an engaging, useful, and interactive experience for the students that helped to further their understanding of how communities are arranged.

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Connection to Students

Within this unit, there is a brief description explaining the rationale of each lesson and the lesson’s connection to the students. This section is designed to explain how the overall unit relates to the second graders it was designed for.

The second grade Social Studies curriculum is about the community. This means that students have an abundance of background knowledge about the topic, and are able to relate the new knowledge to their lives because it is clear that—and how—it is relevant to them. Since Mar Lee School is located in Marshall, Marshall tends to be the community that is focused on throughout the school year. However, since Mar Lee is a school of choice, many of the students are from Albion, and in order to accommodate and recognize their experiences, this unit is centered on Albion.1 Albion and Marshall have many similarities, and most students are at least familiar with both cities. Those who live in Albion have the unique advantage of being able to share knowledge about the city their peers may not know, but even students who are unfamiliar with Albion are not at a disadvantage because their knowledge of their community can be applied to the lessons as well.

This unit directly follows a unit about community, in which students learned about opportunity cost; wants and needs; goods and services; natural, human, and capital resources; and local businesses. Although the primary focus was on Marshall, aspects about Albion were integrated into the unit. Mu unit, “Creating a Community,” takes certain concepts learned in the previous lesson into greater and more specific depth. Concepts such as goods and services and local businesses reappear and are applied to the students’ lives in new ways. The last lessons in this unit, which provide a brief history of Albion, are a good transition into the next unit, which is about the history of Marshall.

Students’ prior knowledge—including their experiences living in Albion and the surrounding community—and the previous unit made this unit appropriate for this group of second graders at this time. Students were able to make personal connections to the new information, making it more relevant to their lives.

This group of students tends to be chatty and enjoys working in groups. In the classroom they are arranged in four four-person teams, which make group-work an appropriate activity for certain lessons. This provides the opportunity for students to work cooperatively together, to learn from one another, and to be held responsible for their actions within the tam. I am fond of the teams because they promote a classroom environment that is more community-like in nature. However, all group activities in this unit can be modified to exist as independent assignments. My initial lesson plans, “Zone It Part 2” had students creating their zoning maps in groups again. However, the day I taught the lesson, the students had been separated from their teams and placed in rows for the day due to behavior difficulties. This change in the arrangement of the classroom, and the students’ behavior made group work a far less viable option. Therefore, I had each student complete his or her own zoning map. These individual maps allowed me to assess whether individual students understood the concept, and I modified it in my lesson plans. Certain students in the class also have the opportunity to move their

1 Although I designed this unit about Albion, it can be easily modified for any given community.

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desk out of their team and into an “island” if they feel as though they will work more productively if working independently. There were two students, in particular, who chose to do this on a fairly regular basis, so I would modify my lesson plans so that they could either do them independently, or I would temporarily move back to a team to participate in a group activity, if it seemed as though they could handle it.

Many of the second graders also are very artistically inclined, leading me to attempt to incorporate forms of drawing into my lessons. Although zoning maps are not intended to show symbols, I let students draw houses to represent the residential areas and allowed them to color their final maps if they were ready to move on before the rest of the class had completed the assignment. I also attempted to include an opportunity to illustrate in as many of the writing activities as possible. I want my students to be able to see themselves as writers, but for many of them illustrating is a part of that process, and is something that engages them in the assignment, so many lessons incorporate an artistic element.

This unit provided me with additional knowledge about my students as individuals as well as their academic progress, not only within Social Studies, but within other subject areas as well. Independent journal assignments gave me insight into students’ interests, as well as their developing writing skills. By paying attention to their needs, I was able to add additional days to certain lessons in order to make sure that they were given sufficient time to accomplish everything they needed to. In reading their journal entries, I was also able to see recurring grammatical challenges, which I was able to incorporate in my Writing Workshop mini-lessons and during our Morning Message the next few days. Certain difficulties with finding the most important points when reading the nonfiction excerpts about historical individuals’ lives indicated to me that the students needed additional practice with the Very Important Points strategy we had been working on in Reading, which I was able to focus on the next day. On the final day of the unit, when students focused on ways that they could help their community, I discovered that the majority of the second graders are most interested in helping the environment and providing food for the needy (this lesson was also taught two weeks before Thanksgiving, which may explain the focus on food). If I were to create a service project with the second graders later in the year, which is a GLCE that we touched on, but did not fully engage in during this lesson (P4.2.2 Participate in projects to help or inform others), I would use one—or both—of these interests to engage the second graders in an activity that would be both academically simulating and provide an opportunity for the second graders to truly make a difference.

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Services in My CommunityCreating a Community Lesson #1

GLCE: C3.0.2 Identify services commonly provided by local governments (e.g., police, fire departments, schools, libraries, parks).

Connection to Students: In the previous Social Studies unit, students learned about goods and services, and were able to identify goods and services that their families provided. The final project for this unit was creating a business in which students had to identify the goods and services that were provided, and list the natural, human, and capital resources that would be needed to begin this business. Therefore, the term service is not a new one to the second graders, although now they are looking at it through a new lens: what services does the local government provide to the community? This is a logical order because they began thinking about services on a personal level, and now are learning how to expand that idea to the greater community.This lesson is a good initial lesson because it reviews terms students are already familiar with, allowing them to review information from the previous unit. Additionally, this is a class in which many of the students enjoy art and creative projects. Therefore, giving them the opportunity to choose the service they are most interested in, and both write about why that given service is important, and then provide an accompanying illustration reaches learners with a variety of interests. It also accommodates students of varying skill levels. Students who are stronger writers and are able to more readily engage in higher level thinking will be able to write more, and students who are not yet there can write a few sentences, which make take them just as long as it takes the other students to write an entire paragraph. Students are also more likely to feel motivated to complete the project because they get to choose what to write about.

Sub-Driving Question: What services are provided in my community? Why are they important?

Objective 1 (Mastery): As a class, students will be able to list the services provided by the local government in their community.

Objective 2 (Engagement): Students will be able to write and illustrate why they think a given service provided by the local government (i.e., police station, fire departments, school, etc.) is important.

Evaluation 1: I will know that, as a class, students are able to list the services provided by the local government in their community when the list on chart paper that we create together contains the majority of the services provided on my master list.

Evaluation 2: I will know that students are able to write and illustrate why they think a given service provided by the local government is important when they present their written work and illustration at the end of the class period.

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Materials: Community Helpers from A to Z by Bobbie Kalman Writing Utensil for each studentChart Paper Colored pencils/crayons for each teamMarkers List of the services provided in the community Journal Paper (1 for each student)

Instructional Sequence:

Day 1

1. Write the word “service” on the whiteboard. What does “service” mean? Have students share with their shoulder partners, then call on a volunteer to explain. 1-2 minutes

2. Explain to students that we are going to start learning about services the local government provides for our community. Engage class in a brief discussion about how these services will be different than the services that their families provide. 2-3 minutes

3. On a piece of chart paper, write “Services Provided by the Local Government” and ask students to come up with ideas to list. It might also be helpful for students to engage in a “Bottoms Up,” in which they talk with their team members about the prompt. 5-7 minutes

4. Once it seems as though students have come up with as many ideas as they can on their own, go through Bobbie Kalman’s Community Helpers from A to Z, asking students to think about what services mentioned in the book could add to our list. Explain to students that not all of the services listed in this book are services provided by the local government. Read aloud the descriptions of the professions and services that are applicable 10-15 minutes

5. After the story is over, ask students if they can think of any additional services that have not already been included, and add these to the list on the chart paper. 3-5 minutes

6. Engage the class in a brief discussion about why these services are important. Why does the local government provide them? Could individual people provide these services themselves? Why don’t they? 5-7 minutes

Day 2

1. Review list from the previous class period and briefly discuss why these services are important and why the local government provides them for us. 3-5 minutes

2. Explain to students that they are going to choose one of the services listed on the chart paper and write about why it’s important. Then, they can draw an illustration of that service. Model an example on the whiteboard. “I think that [school] is the most important service the local government provides because. . .” When handing out paper, ask each student what he/she is going to write about. This will help the students who are a little more hesitant or likely to be slow to start to have a solid beginning point. 5-7 minutes

3. Students should work independently on their writing and illustrations. Walk around and assist students as necessary. 12-15 minutes

4. Use the remainder of the period to have students share what service they chose and why they think it’s important. 7-10 minutes

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Zone It!Creating a Community Lesson #2

GLCE: G1.0.2 Use maps to describe the spatial organization of the local community by applying concepts including relative location and using distance, direction, and scale.

Connection to Students: In the previous lesson, students began thinking about services provided in the community by the local government. In this lesson, students begin to see how communities are set up, and therefore, where these services are likely to be located. The opening activity in this lesson may be slightly difficult for some students, but will be a good challenge for the more advanced learners. These students will be able to assist members at their team, requiring group cooperation. This lesson is also a good precursor to the following lesson, in which students will participate in an interactive activity which has them choosing their own locations for services (and other buildings) in a community.The zoning map used in this lesson is from Albion, which is particularly appropriate because a third of the class lives in Albion. Students from Marshall and Homer, however, will be able to extend this knowledge into thinking about why their community is set up the way it is.

Sub-Driving Question 1: How is my community set up?

Sub-Driving Question 2: How do I use a map to find where things are located in my community?

Objective 1 (Mastery): Students will begin to be able to articulate how communities are set up.

Objective 2 (Engagement): Students will work in teams to create a “zoning map” of their own imaginary community.

Evaluation 1: I will know that students are able to articulate how communities are set up when they describe to me features of where elements are located on the City of Albion zoning map, and use that knowledge in the creation of their own city “zoning maps.”

Evaluation 2: I will know that students are able to work in teams to create a “zoning map” of their own imaginary community when I see the map each team presents at the end of the period.

Materials:

City of Albion Zoning Map for each student Writing Utensil for each student

Whiteboard Whiteboard Markers 2 Pieces of “map” paper per team List of places in a community

Instructional Sequence:

1. Hand out a blank “map” to each team and a list of locations in a community (i.e. houses, downtown, “big” businesses, factories/industry, park, etc.) facedown. 1-2 minutes

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2. Explain to students that they are community builders, and their job is to determine where each of the items on the list will go in their community. They need to decide as a team how they want to set up their community. Model an example of how to fill out the “map” on the whiteboard. 3-5 minutes

3. Students should begin working on their maps. Walk around and assist teams as necessary, making sure that all team members are participating in the assignment. Collect the maps when finished. 12-15 minutes

4. Explain to students that they have just designed their own zoning map. Zoning means deciding how land is going to be used. In a community, there is a given amount of land, and you have to decide how to use it most wisely. A group of committee members decide how the land will be used when a community starts. 5-7 minutes

5. Distribute the zoning map of Albion. What do the students notice about how things are set up? Why would they be set up like that? Engage class in a discussion about the location of the downtown area, businesses, houses, and industry. 7-10 minutes

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Where Should It Go?Creating a Community Lesson #3

GLCE: G1.0.2 Use maps to describe the spatial organization of the local community by applying concepts including relative location and using distance, direction, and scale.

Connection to Students: In the previous lesson, students began thinking about how communities are set up, and got to see (and create their own) examples of zoning maps. In this lesson, students have the opportunity to implement that knowledge by choosing where to place buildings in a virtual community for the virtual learning environment. The second graders typically like games, and this allows them to use the computers, which is a novelty. The ending activity, once we return to the classroom gives them the opportunity to return to their small, cooperative groups to use the knowledge they have obtained the last two days to create their own community.

Sub-Driving Question: Why is my community set up the way it is?

Objective 1 (Mastery): Students will be able to articulate where various buildings in a community should go.

Objective 2 (Engagement): Students will work online to decide where various buildings in an imagined community belong.

Evaluation 1: I will know that students are able to articulate where various buildings in a community should go when they explain to me what they discovered by manipulating the “Building” BBC website.

Evaluation 2: I will know that students are able to work online to decide where various buildings in a community should go when I see them utilizing the BBC “Building” website.

Materials:

Personal computer for each student Writing Utensil for each student

Whiteboard Whiteboard Markers 1 Piece of “map” paper per team

Instructional Sequence:

1. Ask a volunteer to explain what activity we did in Social Studies the previous day. Then, have students share with their shoulder partner something they learned about how communities are set up. 3-5 minutes

2. Explain to students that today they are going to take that information they learned yesterday and put it into practice. Using a website, they are going to decide where in a community certain buildings should go. As a class, go over the expectations for the computer lab. Explain that any student not following these expectations will complete an alternate assignment. 3-5 minutes

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3. Once in the computer lab, write the website on the board: http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/wwww/buildings/enhanced/index.shtml. It might also be helpful to have students go to Google and then type in “BBC Buildings Enhanced.” Walk around and assist students navigating to the site. No one should log in yet. 3-5 minutes

4. Explain to students how the website works. Using the projector, show them how to begin. Explain that, as they place the buildings in the community, pay close attention to the other surrounding buildings and what they learned in the previous lesson. 3-5 minutes

5. Students will have the majority of the class period to manipulate the website and find various locations to put the buildings. Walk around and assist students as necessary, making sure that everyone understands the assignment and is on task. 10-12 minutes

6. Have students log off the computers. Before leaving, ask students to share out some things they noticed as they were placing the buildings in the community. How does this compare to the activity they did the previous day? How is it different? Make sure students push in chairs before lining up and returning to the classroom. 5-7 minutes

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Zone It Part 2Creating a Community Lesson #4

GLCE: G1.0.2 Use maps to describe the spatial organization of the local community by applying concepts including relative location and using distance, direction, and scale.

Connection to Students: While the first “Zone It” lesson required that students work in their small, cooperative groups, this lesson has students complete the assignment independently, using the knowledge they gained from the previous two lessons (how land is used in a community and where various buildings and important community resources are located) to create their own zoning map for an imagined community. This activity allows students to have a little more freedom in the execution of the activity because they need to choose what to include in the community, and then how to arrange those areas. It also allows for a bit more creativity than the last two activities, which will appeal to those students who are more artistically inclined. This lesson is likely to take more than one day, including presentation time.

Sub-Driving Question 1: Why is my community set up the way it is?

Sub-Driving Question 2: How can I make a visual representation of my community?

Objective 1 (Mastery): Students will be able to articulate and illustrate where various buildings and land areas in a community should be located.

Objective 2 (Engagement): Students will work independently to create a “zoning map” of their own imaginary community.

Evaluation 1: I will know that students are able to articulate and illustrate where various buildings and land areas in a community should go when each student presents his or her “zoning map” to the class and explains his or her choices.

Evaluation 2: I will know that students are able to work independently to create a “zoning map” of their own imaginary community when I observe students working productively during the time they are given to complete the assignment.

Materials:

Piece of “draft” paper for each team Writing Utensil for each student

Whiteboard Whiteboard Markers 1 Piece of “map” paper per team Colored pencils for each team

Instructional Sequence:

Day 1

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1. Ask a volunteer to explain what a zoning map is and what information zoning maps provide. 1-2 minutes

2. Explain to students that today they are going to take the information they have learned the last few days and work independently to create a “final copy” zoning map. Explain to students that, since this is a final draft, they should look very neat. 2-3 minutes

3. Ask students to share some important points to keep in mind when completing their zoning maps with their teams (i.e. industry should not be right next to the houses, the downtown area is typically in the middle of the community, etc.). Then have students list some of the “zones” that are typically included in a community, and list these on the whiteboard (industrial, residential, downtown, business, etc.). Additionally, have them list the buildings that would be in the downtown area. 5-7 minutes

4. Give each team a sheet of “draft” paper. On this, students should list the different zones they are going to include in their community, along with the different buildings that will be located in the downtown area. Once they show me the list, they will receive the blank “zoning” map to fill in. 5-7 minutes

5. Students will have the remainder of the time to work on their maps. A few minutes before the end of the period, let students know so they have time to wrap up their ideas. 10-12 minutes

Day 2

6. Remind students that they are going to have the first part of the period to work independently to finish the maps. This should be quiet work time. 2-3 minutes

7. Students will work on their maps. Walk around and assist students as necessary, making sure that everyone is on-task and using their work time efficiently. Warn students five minutes before they have to finish. 20 minutes

8. Student will come up and present their team’s zoning map, and briefly explain why they made the choices they made. 10-12 minutes

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What Do We Need?Creating a Community Lesson #5

GLCE: E1.0.3 Describe how businesses in the local community meet economic wants of consumers.

Connection to Students: This lesson builds upon information covered in the previous unit, in which students learned about wants and needs. Since the terms are already familiar to them, it should be sufficient to simply review the term and ask students to provide a few examples. It also shows students that the terms do not exist in isolation to the single Social Studies unit. This is a good lesson to follow the creation of the students’ zoning maps because it focuses on one area—downtown—and what businesses it provides, and how those businesses are important to the community. For some students this lesson will be easier to contextualize because they live in Albion, and are more familiar with the businesses there. However, students who are more familiar with downtown Marshall and downtown Homer will be able to compare their communities to Albion, and might give them ideas about a new business to “create” in Albion.

Sub-Driving Question 1: What types of businesses are there in my community?

Sub-Driving Question 2: What business could I start to meet the needs and wants of our community?

Objective 1 (Mastery): Students will be able to identify businesses in Albion and describe how these businesses meet the wants and needs of people in the community.

Objective 2 (Engagement): Students will choose a new business to put in Albion and explain how it would meet the wants or needs of the community.

Evaluation 1: I will know that students are able to identify businesses in Albion and describe how these businesses meet the wants and needs of people in the community when we create a list of Albion businesses and discuss the way each business meets the wants and needs of consumers.

Evaluation 2: I will know that students are able to choose a new business to put in Albion and explain how it would meet the wants or needs of the community when they present their businesses to the class.

Materials:

Draft paper for each student Writing Utensil for each student

“Final copy” paper for each student Markers Chart paper Colored pencils for each teamMaster list of Albion businesses

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Instructional Sequence:

Day 1

1. Review the terms “wants” and “needs.” Ask a volunteer to explain what a each term is. What makes something a want versus a need? 2-3 minutes

2. Explain to students that today they are going to focus on one area of the zoning maps they have been working on: downtown. What sorts of buildings are typically located in downtown areas? 1-2 minutes

3. Tell students that we are going to focus on what businesses are in downtown Albion. Ask students to recall the buildings they listed as being part of a downtown area when they created their zoning maps. It may be necessary to re-distribute students’ zoning maps at this point. Which of these buildings are businesses that are present in downtown Albion? As an alternative, students can come up with five businesses each in their teams. 5-7 minutes

4. On chart paper, write the businesses that students volunteer. Remind students that Albion and Marshall have many similar businesses, so even if students are not as familiar with Albion businesses, they still have knowledge of a similar community. 10-12 minutes

5. Ask students about how each of the businesses meets the wants and needs of people who live in the community. What makes a business successful in a community? Why do some businesses not last? Engage class in a discussion. End by summarizing that businesses are most successful when they meet the economic wants and needs of the consumers. 10-12 minutes

Day 2

6. Review with students the list of businesses in downtown Albion that was created in the previous lesson. What makes these businesses important to the community? Students should be able to identify that the businesses that are most successful in a community are those that meet the wants and needs of the people in the community 3-5 minutes

7. Explain to students that they are going to create a business that they think downtown Albion should have. Students first need to write, on draft paper, about why they think this business belongs in Albion. Once they show me their draft, I will help edit it for them, and provide them with final copy paper. Students will neatly copy what they have written onto final copy paper and will use the top of the paper to illustrate the business. 20 minutes

8. Each student will come to the front of the room and share their new business, explaining what it is and why they think it’s an important business to locate in Albion. 10-12 minutes

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What Was It Like?Creating a Community Lesson #6

GLCE: H2.0.2 Describe changes in the local community over time (e.g., types of businesses, architecture, landscape, jobs, transportation, population).

Connection to Students: This lesson provides an overview of the history of Albion. It allows students to view two different forms of media dealing with history. Students already have some experience with the history of the area because the classroom has a timeline of the history of Marshall. Up until this point, however, students have done very little with learning about history in second grade. Social Studies lessons have focused on the present, with the exception of one story, and all other subject areas have also focused on present-day. Since this lesson is taught in early November, which is around the time students are beginning to learn about the Pilgrims and Native Americans, in preparation for Thanksgiving, they have recently been exposed to events and circumstances in the past, meaning that for some this will be an easy transition for them because they are already adjusted to considering how things were different during other time periods; but for others it will be more difficult because they will struggle to consider the difference between pre-colonial times and the turn of the twentieth century.

Sub-Driving Question: What changes have been made in my community over the last 100 years?

Objective (Mastery): Students will be able to identify how their community has changed in the last hundred years.

Evaluation: I will know that students are able to indentify how their community has changed in the last hundred years when we complete the “Similarities and Differences” T-chart as a class.

Materials:

Albion in the 20 th Century by Frank Passic Writing Utensil for each student

A Short History of Albion, Michigan film Chart paper “Similarities and Differences” T-chart for shoulder partners Markers

Instructional Sequence:

Day 1

1. Explain to students that they are going to watch a short film about the history of Albion, and they should pay very close attention to how Albion has changed over time 1-2 minutes

2. Students should watch the film A Short History of Albion, Michigan 25 minutes3. Distribute individual T-charts to pairs of students, and explain to them that they should fill out

the chart about the similarities and differences between Albion now and Albion in the past. Model an example 3-5 minutes

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4. Students should work with their shoulder partner to complete the chart. Walk around and assist pairs as necessary. 10-12 minutes

5. Ask each pair to share one similarity and one difference with the entire class. Record responses on a piece of chart paper set up like the T-charts students filled out. 5-7 minutes

Day 2

6. Review with students the T-charts they created the day before. Explain that today they are going to look at another resource: a book about the history of Albion. Each pair is going to receive a few pages to look at, and they are going to add new information to their own charts. 3-5 minutes

7. Shoulder partners will go over the pages they are given, and add to their charts. Walk around and assist students as needed. 20 minutes

8. Each pair will share the similarities and differences they have found in their selection, and I will add it to our classroom “Similarities and Differences” chart. Conclude the lesson by asking students to share the most interesting thing they learned, from either the book selections they looked at, or the movie they watched the day before. 10-12 minutes

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Who Makes History?Creating a Community Lesson #7

GLCE: H2.0.3 Use an example to describe the role of the individual in creating history.

Connection to Students: This lesson is an appropriate follow-up lesson from the previous one because it takes the larger idea of history and focuses on the individuals who created it. This lesson also builds upon skills the second graders have been working on in Reading. When reading nonfiction, students have been working on identifying main ideas by using a strategy called “Very Important Points,” in which they use sticky tabs to mark the three most important points in an article. Here students use that strategy in Social Studies in order to summarize how individuals shaped Albion’s history.

Sub-Driving Question: Who are some of people who have made a difference in my community?

Objective (Mastery): Students will choose an individual in Albion’s history and explain his or her importance or role in the city’s history.

Evaluation: I will know that students have chosen an individual in Albion’s history and explain his or her importance or role in the city’s history when they briefly present to the class about their chosen individual.

Materials:

Brief article/description of important individuals in Albion’s historySticky tabs for each student Writing utensil for each student “VIP” worksheet for each student

Instructional Sequence:

1. Explain to students that they are going to use the “VIP” strategy they’ve been working on in Reading and choose three very important points in an article about an important person in Albion history. Ask a volunteer to remind the class about how to choose important points Distribute brief article and three sticky tabs to each student 3-5 minutes

2. Students should read and mark the three main points in their article. When they have marked the main points, give them the “VIP” worksheet to complete. Remind students to write in complete sentences. 15-20 minutes

3. Each student should share the three main points about their individual and how that person helped shape the history of Albion with the class. 10-15 minutes

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What Can I Do?Creating a Community Lesson #8

GLCE: P4.2.2 Participate in projects to help or inform others.

Connection to Students: This lesson is an appropriate follow-up lesson from the previous one because it allows students to apply the idea of making a difference to their own lives. In the previous lesson students learned about how an individual helped change history and made a difference. Here, students determine what they can do to make a difference in their community, which allows individuals to focus on their own interests and strengths while also seeing that it is possible for even second graders to make a difference.

Sub-Driving Question: What can I do to help my community?

Objective 1 (Mastery): Students will be able to list ways they can help their community

Objective 2 (Engagement): Students will choose a project or activity that they could participate in, which would help further the public good of their community.

Evaluation 1: I will know that students are able to list ways they can help their community when we generate a list of ideas as a class, and I write them on a piece of chart paper.

Evaluation 2: I will know that students have chosen a project or activity that they could participate in, which would help further the public good of their community when students turn in their journals to me at the end of the period.

Materials:

Chart paper MarkersJournal paper for each student Writing utensil for each student Master copy of activity list of ways to help in the community

Instructional Sequence:

1. Ask students to share a few of the ways the individuals they learned about in the previous lesson made a difference or shaped history. 3-5 minutes

2. Explain to students that today they are going to come up with ways that they can help their community. Why is it important to help your community? Students should first talk with their teams and brainstorm ideas. Then, teams should share out their ideas, which will be recorded on a piece of chart paper. 10-12 minutes

3. Each student should choose a way they would like to help the community, how they can accomplish that, and explain what they would do and why it is important. Explain to students that, although going out and participating in this activity is not part of their grade, you encourage them to do so. Pass out journal paper, and students have the remainder of the time to write. Students should turn in their journal paper at the end of the period. 10-15 minutes

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Assessment Plan

Assessment occurs in a variety ways throughout this unit. Each lesson assesses the students’ understanding of the concepts presented. Additionally, the assessment on the last day of the unit requires that students consider what people have done historically to help the community, what services there are in the community to help them, and other knowledge (prior or recently learned) about their community in order to come up with a way that they can make their community a better place. This formal, summative assignment incorporates multiple aspects of the entire unit to create an authentic assessment, which is meaningful and relevant to the students because it is something that they can actually do.

Grant Wiggins, author of Educative Assessment, explains that performance tasks should be authentic (addressing realistic problems with realistic options, constraints, criteria, and standards, a realistic audience, and a genuine purpose), credible (valid and reliable while addressing rigorous content and performance standards), and user-friendly (appropriate for the students, enticing and engaging, and rich in feedback) (Wiggins 139). The second graders’ final assignment as an explanation of what they can do to help their community, how they can accomplish that, and why it is important is a performance-based task. It is authentic in that it addresses real issues in the community—issues that the students feel are important—and asks that students come up with ways to address them in order to make the community a better place. The assignment is set up in such a way that students actually can go out and make a difference by implementing their plan, although it is not a required portion of the assignment. (Although requiring action would make this assessment be even more authentic, it is a difficult requirement to request of seven-year-olds, who are dependent on their guardians for transportation, money, and other needs.) However, those students who do implement their plan will get even more meaning out of the task. The task of writing about what, how, and why students should help their community has a genuine purpose in helping students become more deliberate in thinking about the ways they can make a difference, and in helping make the community a better place.

The second graders’ task of writing about how they could help their community is also credible and user-friendly. It presents an assignment which students can actually partake in outside of the classroom—should they choose to do so—and it allows students to become engage in based on their own interests. Students who are more interested in the environment have the opportunity to determine ways they can contribute to making the Albion/Marshall community greener; students who are more concerned about taking care of families in need can focus on how to raise awareness of or help those families. One of the second grade Social Studies GLCEs states that students should participate in projects to help or inform others. This is the first step toward meeting that standard in a very real way. Later in the year the students will return to this standard, as well as what they wrote, and work on helping the community even further.

There is also assessment present in each lesson. At the very beginning of the unit we reviewed the term “service, “ and students shared what they thought the word meant with their shoulder partner before I called on a volunteer to explain the vocabulary word with the entire class, which was a front-end embedded assessment. Such embedded assessments were very common, both as front-end and

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formative assessments, throughout the unit. When students were asked to brainstorm ideas before going through a book or reading about the information, they were participating in another front-end embedded assessment. When I asked students to explain what a zoning map is or what are services provided in our community when we did the Morning Message, they were partaking in a formative, embedded assessment. The initial zoning map students completed in teams was a formal front-end assessment, designed for students to be exposed to the idea of creating a map in such a way, and to see how they would locate the different areas. The individual zoning maps students created at the end of “Zone It Part 2” were summative, formal assessments that were also performance tasks because they were an assignment that provided a real-life situation, were appropriate given the students’ knowledge, and allowed students to make critical thinking decisions about where to place each location.

Throughout the unit, assessment is included in each lesson, in various forms. This unit and the assessments were designed to be engaging and educative in nature. The following lists each lesson and how assessment was used.

Lesson 1: Services in My Community

Front-end, embedded: Prior knowledge about services Formative: Examples of services provided by the local government, after reviewing the book

together; why are these services important? Summative, formal: Drawing and illustration about what service each student thinks is the most

important and why

Lesson 2: Zone It!

Front-end, formal: Initial zoning map completed in teams Embedded: “Thumbs up if you think you should put a factory next to the houses. . .”

Lesson 3: Where Should It Go?

Formative, formal: Students’ success with online building game

Lesson 4: Zone It Part 2

Summative, formal: Students’ independent zoning maps

Lesson 5: What Do We Need?

Front-end, embedded: Reviewing the terms “wants” and “needs” Formative: Discussion about what makes a business successful Summative, formal: Creating a business that they would want to build in Albion and explaining

why

Lesson 6: What Was It Like?

Formative, formal: T-chart describing similarities and differences

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Lesson 7: Who Makes History?

Summative, formal: Brief presentation about how the individual the student read about helped shape history

Lesson 8: What Can I Do?

Summative, formal: Written description about what the student would like to do to help the community, how they could accomplish that goal, and why it’s important.

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