Looking Around Communities Second Grade Lesson ED 417-01 By: Mallory Boreman

Objectives The students will learn about the different types of communities. The students will learn about their communities by examining the physical and hand-made features found in different communities.

What is Geography? Geography is the study of the Earth and its people.

Earth The earth has a many features. Some are human-made and others are physical features. Both human-made and physical features affect how people live.

Community A community is the place where people live and the people who live there. People live in communities of all different populations and sizes.

Types of Communities One place where people can live is in a city. Cities are big places with many people and lots of things to do.

Types of Communities A Suburb is a community near a city. People who live in a suburbs work and shop in the city.

Types of Communities People can also live in small towns or on farms.

How About You What kind of community do you live in? How do you know? How are the three communities different from one another?

Making an Comparison In which picture would you see the most animals? In which picture would you see the most people.

Can you think of landforms? Physical Features The earth also has physical features. Physical features of the earth include different types of landforms that were not human-made. Landforms are shapes of the land. Can you think of landforms?

Landforms Mountains are the highest kind of land.

Landforms Between mountains or hills are lower lands called valleys.

Landforms Plains are the large, flat parts of the earth.

Landforms Deserts are dry lands that get little rain.

Landforms Oceans are the largest bodies of water.

Landforms Island is a landform with water all around it.

Landforms Rivers flow down the mountains and across land to the oceans. The water in a river is fresh water, not salt water.

Landforms Lakes are bodies of still water with land all around them.

Activities Travel Postcards Objectives: Compare physical features of the land. Recognize human-made features of the land. Show students samples of postcards and explain people can sometimes send these to friends and family when on vacation. Then have each child create a postcard to send to their family with a picture of some place they are pretending to write from. Materials: drawing paper, sample postcards, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, magazines

Activities Travel Guides Objectives: The students will distinguish between city, suburban, and small-town or farm settings. Pair students into groups of four and have them develop a travel plan. Each group will be responsible for developing a travel guide that includes what to bring, what to do for fun, and what to see. The groups will then present their travel plans and guides to the class. Materials: magazines, travel books, brochures, maps scissors, glue and paper.

Activities Venn Diagram Objective: The students will use the Venn diagram to compare different types of landforms. Label each circle a landform. Then have children come up with words that describe activities people can do there. Materials: Large paper, markers, Venn Diagram, handouts, pencils

Activities Write a Narrative Objective: The students will use narrative writing to describe physical features of land. Children will write about places they would like to visit and the landforms they would see there. Then the children will draw a picture of these places and the landforms from the area. Materials: writing paper, drawing paper, crayons, pencils

Activities “The Bear Went Over the Mountain” Objective: The students will identify various landforms and bodies of water. Lead the children in singing “The Bear Went Over the Mountain.” Then as a class come up with other types of landforms and water. After singing these new verses ask the students to name some things that the bear would see in that type of environment. Materials: CD, The Bear Went Over the Mountain”, and poster paper to write verses, markers

Websites http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/ This website allows kids to test their knowledge of a globe and label countries. http://www.kidport.com/Grade2/SocialStudies/SocStudiesIndex.htm This website is a great place for kids to learn about social studies. http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/ This website can used for students to learn about different communities around the world. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com This website is allows children to learn all about social studies. http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/ This is a great place for children to explore social studies. http://kids.discovery.com/