Elementary Syllabus
Course: Social Studies (Read Aloud Extension)
Dates: May 28-31
Vocabulary
Tuesday
Assets: a useful quality,
person or thing. Something
that is usually thought to be
positive.
SY 2012-13
Unit Title: Our Community
Teacher: Mahajan
Essential Questions:
 What is the history of Anacostia?
 Who lives in our community?
 How does our community fit into the greater DC area?
 Why should we be proud of our community?
 How can we make our community better?
Wednesday
Thursday
Ideal: Perfect; without
Problems: a source of stress.
problems
something that needs to be
solved
Standard
Objectives
SL 3.1
SWBAT determine the
assets of their community.
SL 3.1
SWBAT describe and visualize
an ideal community.
Assessment
You are a tour guide of
Anacostia. Plan a tour
highlighting the most
exciting parts of your
community! You may draw
pictures to supplement
your tour plan.
-Every community has
assets, or positive things
about it.
You are a city planner. Create
and label a map of “ideal
Anacostia”.
Key Points
-When we think about the
assets of a community, we
think about things that we
do not want to change, or
-City planners are people who
plan out what cities and
communities should look and
feel like.
-Before we think about what
parts of our community we
would like to change, it is
Solutions: a method for solving
a problem
SL 3.1
SWBAT determine the key
problems that challenge their
community.
SWBAT pick one problem and
brainstorm solutions.
With a partner, pick one
problem that plagues your
community and come up with a
plan to solve it.
-Every community has
problems that they face.
Friday
Social change: altering something in
society by coming together and
solving a problem
W.3.1
SWBAT write a letter to the mayor
detailing a problem she sees in the
community and how she proposes to
change it.
Write a letter to the mayor
describing a problem you see in your
community. Describe why the
problem needs to be solved. Propose
a way to solve it. Make sure that
your letter has correct punctuation!
-Some examples are crime,
pollution, bad schools ect.
-Many times, problems in
communities are solved by the
people who live in those
communities. These people decide
that there needs to be a change.
-When we think about the
problems in a community, it is
-Tell the story of Room 405 and
explain how WE are the agents of
Elementary Syllabus
things that we love about
our community.
-Assets can be people,
places, or things.
-When we brainstorm the
assets of our community,
think about the following
questions:
“What am I proud of in my
community?”
“What do I not want to
change in my community?”
“What are my favorite
places in my community?”
“Who are my favorite
people in my community?
Who are good leaders in my
community?”
Do Now
SY 2012-13
important to think about what
our “ideal” community would
look like.
-We want our ideal
community to be realistic, and
to include the assets that we
talked about yesterday.
Why do people visit our
community?
Close your eyes. What would
your ideal community look
like?
-Do Now
-Do Now. Share what an ideal
community would look like for
scholars.
Agenda
-Explain KPs
-Begin brainstorming the
assets of Anacostia. For
each one, ask:
Why is this an asset?
Why are you proud of it?
Lead a discussion about
why each of these elements
-Go over vocabulary and key
points.
Ask leading questions and
lead a discussion on what an
ideal community would look
like. Allow for a lot of student
led discussion!
important to not get caught up
complaining. Think
constructively, identify the
problem and then move on.
- Most problems can be solved
in many different ways. We can
brainstorm different ways to
solve a problem.
Think about the city in Maniac
Magee. What are some
problems that that community
has?
-Do Now
change in our own communities.
(Teachers, use this link to learn
about more about Room 405:
http://www.projectcitizen405.com/
Background/pushingjustice_cabrini.p
df)
We can use letters to communicate
with important leaders and get them
to support causes that are important
to us.
Watch the Kid President Video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l
-gQLqv9f4o
-Do Now. Watch video. How can you
make a change in your community?
-Explain KPs.
-Explain KPs
-Brainstorm a list of problems
on chart paper so you can save
it for tomorrow.
-Discuss why each one is a
problem.
-Once you have an extensive
list of problems, choose one
-Model finding a solution to one of
the problems we brainstormed
yesterday.
-Model crafting a well written letter
by passing out copies of the Room
405 letter. Do a shared reading of it,
and then ask students what they
Elementary Syllabus
is an asset.
-Give students 5-10 minutes
to continue brainstorming
at their desk.
-Explain that tour guides
often show people the
assets of a community.
Introduce assessment and
have students complete it.
SY 2012-13
-Would your ideal community
have a lot of parks? What kind
of stores would it have? What
would the people be like?
What parts of Anacostia
would you include in your
idea community? Would it
look exactly like what your
community looks like now?
-Independent activity:
students create and label a
map of ideal Anacostia. They
must be able to defend why
they include each element!!
.
and model how to solve it.
-Split students into pairs and
have them come up with a plan
to solve one problem.
-Have a few students share
their plans.
notice about the letter. Point out
important elements of a letter.
-Independent activity: Write a letter
to Mayor Gray about a problem that
you see in your community. Make
sure to include why this problem is
important (why should he care) and
how it can be solved.
-Teachers edit letter and then
students write final draft for HW.