WHAT IS A COMMUNITY?

OBJECTIVE: Students will understand the varied meanings of community and what their community comprises.

MATERIALS NEEDED:
"What is a community?" worksheet (print a copy for each student)
Community templates (print copies for each student)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Read the following to the students: Each day you go to many different places. You leave your home and go to school. You go to stores to shop and to parks to play. Each day you see many different people. You see your family and friends. You see the people who live and work nearby. All these people and places are part of your COMMUNITY.
2. Have students define "what is a community?" on their "what is a community?" worksheets.
3. Discuss the idea of community as a group. Who is part of their community? What is part of their community? Is a community the same as a neighborhood?

Do one or more of the following activities:
1. Have students write a story about their community, including several reasons why someone would want to move there.
2. Have students design a billboard advertising why their community is a great place to live. Students will share their billboards with the class.
3. Have students use the community template, their own drawings, and magazine pictures to design their idea of a perfect community.

Conclusion:
Students will share their "perfect community" with the class.