Learning Activities Bank
Lesson 1Title of Lesson: Who’s important in our community?
Teacher: Abigail Jones
Date: Day 2, Week 1
Time Allotted: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Grade Level: 2nd grade (could adapt to k-4)
Number of Learners: 30
Unit Theme: “How can we value everyone in our community?”
Standards Met: (see below)
Goal: The Learners will be able to give examples and describe the importance of cultural
unity and diversity within and across groups (NCSS Ie); identify and describe ways
family, groups, and community influence the individual’s daily life and personal choices
(NCSS IVe); recognize how groups and organizations encourage unity and deal with
diversity to maintain order and security (NCSS VId).
Objectives: Given [materials], the learners will take on roles of members in the
community, answer questions about the importance of each person, and brainstorm ideas
for class community book, in order to describe behaviors that influence relationships with
family and friends and characteristics of healthy relationships (Utah 2.1).
Materials Needed: community member role labels (30), extra pencils (30), paper for
community class book, and community journal notebook for each student (30).
Motivation: Ask students to close their eyes and picture the community in which they
live, the people they might see, places, streets, family, homes, etc. Have students share
their thoughts. Review the “members of the community” that they discussed on the first
day of week 1. (3 minutes)
Procedures:
1. Have students gather to group interaction area of classroom. Teacher chooses 3
students to come to the front of the class to begin role play activity. Teacher
distributes a community member role label (tag) to each student to wear. Have
them tell the class what role they are and if they know someone who does this role
in our community. (3 minutes)
2. Have the students one by one demonstrate or tell what the person who holds their
role does for and in our community. Ask for any additional knowledge from
class. (2 minutes)
3. Teacher restates roles and asks a question to entire class: “Which member here is
most important?” Give appropriate wait time for students to think. Listen to
responses, guide students in discussion- All are equally important, we need
everyone. Make sure they understand this answer by their responses. (3 minutes)
4. Go through additional groups of 3 students (total of 10 groups) to take on roles of
the community and ask the class the same question or rephrase it. “Is this role
more important then this one?” They will begin to see the idea that every time,
everyone is equally important. (15 minutes)
5. Introduce the idea of the class book-“Our Community”. Tell them they will be
adding to the book every week and they will share it in a final program they put
on for their parents, school, and community. These first few pages will be shared
with the elderly at a nursing home. (5 minutes)
6. Brainstorm with the class what they would like to include in the class book.
Write these ideas on chart paper to post in classroom for students to refer to later.
(5 minutes)
7. May want to write several of the roles and vocabulary for people on the board.
Also, write the phrase “We value everyone on our community”. Students should
also draw pictures to accompany their words. Vocabulary should be added to
word wall. (3 minutes)
8. Teacher should model a brief example for students. (2 minutes)
9. Have students return to their tables. Distribute paper to students at their tables
and have them begin making their first pages for the class book. These pages will
focus on the people in the community and various roles. (15 minutes)
10. Have students write a quick response in their community journal about their
feelings about everyone being important in our community. They can write
which role they played in the activity. (10 minutes)
Accommodations: For students that have difficulty reading, writing or spellinginclude pictures with the titles of roles and members of the community. They may
illustrate a community page without words or give them a card with a role written on
it. If a student is not able to role play in front of class, allow them to pick another
student or teacher chooses another student to do role. Have extra materials.
Closure: Invite a few students to share their community book pages and tell about
them. Discuss how our classroom is a community and we are all important too.(3
minutes)
Assessment/Evaluation: Teacher will observe the student responses to questions
about roles, importance of each role, responses during brainstorming time, evaluate
book pages and journal entries for understanding. Teacher will also conference with
students while working at tables.
Extension: Have students who finish early make additional book pages, write about
additional roles that they want to hold in the future in their journal, or read books on
community in book box area.
Teacher Reflection:
Lesson 2Title of Lesson: Culture Pizza- How communities differ?
Teacher: Abigail Jones
Date: Day 1, Week 2
Time Allotted: 1 hour
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Number of students: 30
Unit Theme: “How can we value everyone in our community?”
Standards Met: (see below)
Goal: The learners will be able to give examples and describe the importance of
cultural unity and diversity within and across groups (NCSS Ie); identify and describe
ways family, groups, and community influence the individual’s daily life and personal
choices (NCSS IVe); recognize how groups and organizations encourage unity and deal
with diversity to maintain order and security (NCSS VId).
Objectives: Given [materials], the learners will discuss how communities can be
different, why this occurs, and begin creating a culture pizza describing how their family
makes our community a more diverse place, in order to examine important aspects of the
community and culture that strengthen relationships and compare communities (Utah
2.2).
Materials: blank culture pizza sheet (31 copies), pencils, markers, crayons (extra),
scratch paper.
Motivation: Gather students to group interactive area of classroom. Ask students
question: “What makes our community different?” , “What would our community be like
if everyone was the same?” (5 minutes)
Procedures:
1. Take responses from motivation and direct discussion to the people of our
community. (5 minutes)
2. Ask students to talk with their neighbor about one thing that is different about
them. Have groups share out their answers with class. (3 minutes)
3. Discuss how we each have some similarities and many differences that make us
unique and valuable to those around us. (3 minutes)
4. Have students come to the board or chart paper and write words that represent
things about their families that might make them different. Discuss how these
differences can make us better people and a better community. (10 minutes)
5. Introduce the idea of the “Culture Pizza” to students and model an example for
them. (10 minutes)
6. Tell students that they will be able to begin on their family culture pizza today in
class and then they are to take it home and ask their parents to help them learn
some things that make their family different that they can include. They are to
illustrate it and color it. Tell them they will be able to share them with the class
on day 5, week 2 and display them in the classroom. (5 minutes)
7. Allow students to go back to tables, give them scratch paper to practice on and
give them the blank culture pizza sheet to put in folder to take home. (2 minutes)
8. Time for culture pizza. (15 minutes)
Accommodations: Allow students to draw pictures about their family instead of
writing words if they are unable to write. When using chart, include pictures and
allow students more time for culture pizza if needed. Some children will not have
access to parents at home to help them or an unhealthy working environment at home
so teacher may assist this student.
Closure: Invite students to share the beginnings of their culture pizza and ask
students to share one thing they learned about someone else in the class today from
discussion.
Assessment/Evaluation: Teacher will be able to observe student responses to
discussion and sharing of differences in class for understanding of concept. Teacher
will conference with students while working on culture pizza.
Extension: Allow students to begin a culture pizza on our community or one about
themselves.
Teacher Reflection:
Lesson 3Title of Lesson: How have communities changed over time?
Teacher: Abigail Jones
Date: Day 1, Week 3
Time Allotted: 1 hour
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Number of Students: 30
Unit Theme: “How can we value everyone in our community?”
Standards Met: (see below)
Goal: The learners will be able to give examples and describe the importance of cultural
unity and diversity within and across groups (NCSS Ie); identify and describe ways
family, groups, and community influence the individual’s daily life and personal choices
(NCSS IVe); recognize how groups and organizations encourage unity and deal with
diversity to maintain order and security (NCSS VId).
Objectives: Given [materials], the learners will discuss a brief history of Logan and its
changes, view pictures, maps, timelines, and create a timeline as well, in order to
examine important aspects of the community and culture that strengthen relationships,
and explain how families and communities change over time (Utah 2.1, 2.2).
Materials Needed: Internet access in classroom or print off overhead pictures, maps,
timelines of Logan, Chart paper, markers, crayons, community journal.
Motivation: Show students a few pictures of early Logan, Utah, but do not reveal to
them it is Logan yet. Ask students to guess where they think these pictures are taken?
Discuss with students that our community has greatly changed from back then. (5
minutes)
Procedures:
1. Ask students question: “What year do you think Logan was settled?” Discuss
with students a brief history of Logan. (see teacher background- websites). You
may include stories and relate events, homes, needs, etc to students and our
community today. (7 minutes)
2. Show students additional pictures and have them guess where the buildings might
be located in Logan today. Ask students to discuss as a table what differences
they see from the pictures between then and now. Have groups share answers
with class. (7 minutes)
3. Show students the timeline of Logan and explain what a timeline is and what it
can show. Go through timeline-pick out some key points. (10 minutes)
4. Tell students that they are to make a timeline of some of the changes that occurred
in Logan’s history that they particularly like. They are to illustrate these as well.
Model for students the beginning of a timeline. (7 minutes)
5. Distribute chart paper to students (they may work in pairs if they wish, can spread
out in classroom). Allow them time to work on these timelines. (20 minutes)
6. Ask students to clean up materials and return to tables. (5 minutes)
7. Have students write in their community journals about a favorite event or change
that they included on their timeline. (10 minutes)
Accommodations: Allow students to sit closer if have trouble seeing. Allow
students to use pictures on their timeline instead of word labels. Allow students more
time to work on timeline and less on journal entry if needed.
Closure: Invite a student to share their timeline with the class and walk us through
the events that took place or changes that occurred to the community of Logan. Ask
students to respond on- Is our community better now? Should we value those people
that worked hard to help our community grow? (5 minutes)
Assessment/Evaluation: Teacher will observe responses to comments during
discussion, observe students’ interest in topic and visuals, group discussion and
responses, evaluate timelines and conference with students as they are working.
Extension: Ask students to write or draw a picture about the old community of Logan
and share with a buddy. Ask students to think about, write, and draw a picture about
a kid their age back then and what they would be doing or what life was like.
Teacher Reflection:
Lesson 4Title of Lesson: Interviews with the Community
Teacher: Abigail Jones
Date: Day 3, Week 4
Time Allotted: 1 hour
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Number of Students: 30
Unit Theme: “How can we value everyone in our community?”
Standards Met: (see below)
Goal: The learners will be able to give examples and describe the importance of cultural
unity and diversity within and across groups (NCSS Ie); identify and describe ways
family, groups, and community influence the individual’s daily life and personal choices
(NCSS IVe); recognize how groups and organizations encourage unity and deal with
diversity to maintain order and security (NCSS VId), recognize and interpret how the
“common good” can be strengthened through various forms of citizen action (NCSS Xj).
Objectives: Given [materials], the learners will interview guests from the local
community with questions they prepared on being a good citizen, valuing everyone in the
community, and reflect on the experience in their community journal, in order to examine
important aspects of the community and culture that strengthen relationships, and
participate in activities that promote the public good (Utah 2.2).
Materials needed: community journals for each student, extra pencils, name tags for the
students when guests arrive.
Motivation: Because students are already aware that guests are coming, ask them to put
their interview questions in order of how they will ask them. Have students practice their
“community” song they wrote as a class because they will perform it for our guests. (5
minutes)
Procedures:
1. Have students place their name tags in front of them on the table for guests to see.
Brief students on manners when we have guests come to our classroom. Ask
them what they recall first, then fill in the gaps. (5 minutes)
2. Have students welcome the guests to our classroom and ask guests to introduce
themselves to class. (7 minutes)
3. Tell guests what it is that we are studying and why we have our guests here with
us today. (2 minutes)
4. Ask students to begin asking their interview questions to our guests. Let the
interviews begin! (20-25 minutes)—(certain guests may have brought props or
special “vehicles” to show the kids. Allow them to show these and take students
outside to view if needed).
5. Once interviewing time is over, ask class to thank guests for coming and have
them perform their “Community” song. (5 minutes)
6. Ask students to come back to tables and write or draw in their community
journals about the guests and what they learned about being a good citizen. (10
minutes)
Accommodations: For this lesson, there are not many accommodations that should need
to be made. In the journal writing a student may draw instead of write.
Closure: Ask students to share how they can be a good citizen? Ask students how being
a good citizen can help others to feel valued in our community? (5 minutes)
Assessment/Evaluation: Teacher will be able to observe students asking their interview
questions and look at their journals. Also, teacher will observe the students’
understanding in the closure activity of asking questions for them to respond on what
they learned.
Extension: Allow students to write a thank you note to a particular guest that visited our
classroom today. They may illustrate as well.
Teacher Reflection: