Urban Communities- 2nd grade
By: Megan L. Hart
NCSCOS: 4.03 Describe human movement in the establishment of settlement patterns
such as rural, urban, and suburban.
Objectives: TSW describe characteristics of an urban community by participating in a
PowerPoint tour of New York City.
Focus/Review: Has anyone ever been to New York City? What kind of things can we
see if we go to New York City? How would it be different than Greenville?
Statement of Objective: Today we are going on a trip to New York City. We are going
to get to see lots of things and learn all about city life. Let’s go!
Teacher Input: New York is an example of a city. A city is a type of community just
like Greenville is a type of community. Is New York bigger or smaller than Greenville?
We know that Greenville is a suburban community. Does anyone know what kind of
community New York City is? New York City is an urban community. Urban
communities are big cities. They have tall buildings and a lot of people. People travel by
taxis or subways. A lot of people also walk. Read the book New York State of Mind by
Billy Joel. Tell children to listen for things they would like to see while on our trip to
New York. After reading the book, discuss the buildings and other pictures in the book.
Make sure children realize how different the city is. Next, show the children the
PowerPoint. (attached) You can give them fake money to use for the cab fare. You can
also arrange the desks like seats in a car so that they can pretend they are in a taxi.
Throughout the PowerPoint discuss the different pictures. You can also compare them to
the pictures in the book.
Guided Practice: Draw a Venn diagram on the board. Have students compare and
contrast New York and Greenville. Remember to discuss differences in population and
transportation.
Independent Practice: Have students create a postcard for New York City. Tell them
on one side to draw a picture of their favorite place in New York. Then on the other side
tell them to write a letter to someone telling them what they did in New York. Encourage
them to talk about how it is different than rural and suburban communities.
Closing: What kind of community is New York City? What are some features of an
urban community?