A Map of Your Community Thematic Unit
Our Map of our Town!
The only thing more important to a child beside themselves and their families are the communities in which they reside. This week we have been studying our community as part of our Social Studies curriculum.
To begin the unit, I introduced my students to Google Earth. It is fabulous! I started with the earth small in the sky and then brought it in closer and closer. I then zoomed into the United States. We talked about our country, the United States. Next we zoomed in to see the markings of the individual states. Then we zoomed to our state, Utah. We looked around at the names of some of the communities. We then began to look for our town. We scrolled to the south-eastern side of the state and found it! (This caused some excited cheers)! We then took a look around our town to see some of the sites. Next we went to street view to see our individual houses. We looked for businesses, hotels, the swimming pool, hospital, etc. Anything that had meaning to the students!
Next, we made up a song to the tune of "The Sidewalk Went All Around." and also of that tune, "The Green Grass Grew all Around." (A song my class is very familiar with). I drew along as we sang to give more concrete meaning to where our town fits in the scheme of things.
We have a planet. It is our earth.
The best little earth. That you ever did see.
And the twinkly stars go around, all around.
The twinkly stars go around.
And, on that planet. There is a country.
The best little country. The ______!
And the twinkly stars go around, all around.
The twinkly stars go around.
And in that country. There is a state.
And it's call _______. The bestest state!
And the twinkly stars go around, all around.
The twinkly stars go around.
And in that state. There is a town.
______ our town. The best little town.
And the twinkly stars go around, all around.
The twinkly stars go around.
And in that town. That ______ town.
There is my house. The best little house.
And the twinkly stars go around, all around.
The twinkly stars go around.
The Next Step:
Now it is time to put our Google Earth map making skills to work! Each child was assigned to make a family project of something in our community. A favorite building, a favorite site, a favorite place, etc. The model could be made from 2D or 3D (a little common core there) shapes. The students then could bring in their models as finished. Below are a few examples of projects.
In class, we constructed roads, vehicles, our own houses, paper doll versions of us (photos with a white screen showing action), and painted landscape, etc. Here is the project as it is being constructed.
Can you see the rock crawler on top of the red rock cliff? As the students got into this project they began to create for it during free choice. The rock crawler is such an example.
I kept this wall display for a full month. It never grew old and the children loved it! We could put the bulk of our Social Studies Core into this one activity.
Also available at Teachers Pay Teachers!
Product Description
This thematic unit on transportation is a favorite of all children! Contents are systematically linked to academic core objectives and are clearly stated. All curriculum contents are linked to the study of transportation.
Contents include:
Songs/Fingerplays
My Car
Down By The Station
Engine Engine Number Nine
Art Projects
Paint a Plane
Shape Train: Using Shapes to Create a Larger Shape
Construct Vehicles: Developing Spacial Reasoning
Vehicle Wheel Paintings:Using Nontraditional Tools
Transportation Mural: Cooperative Art
Make a Map: Use the Mural to Make Maps
Science
Ramp It Up: Exploring Properties of Physics
Paper Airplanes
Guided Reading Books
Take a Ride
Class-Made Books
My Vehicle
Writing
Transportation Word Wall
Writing Prompts: Take a Ride, To Town
Writing Center Activities:
How To (Level 1 & 2) , Label It, Make a List
Math Activities
Derby Race Car: Identifying Numerals 0-100
One Up Tune Up: Adding One to Make a Sum
Transportation Graph: Graphing Parking Lot Subtraction: Subtraction
Parking Cars: Connecting Numbers to Quantity
On The Plane: Solving Addition Problems 0-5
Counting Cars: Observing and Recording Data
Literacy Activities
Road Racer: Reading Sight Words
Flying High: Reading and Sorting Real and Pretend Words
Vacation Destination: Alphabet Letter and Sound Fluency
Breakdown: Using Letter Sounds to Read Words
Road Trip: Writing Upper and Lowercase Alphabet Letters
Planes Trains and Everything Else: Rhyming Words
The Missing Letters: Writing Letters and Sounds
Also available at Teachers Pay Teachers!
Product Description
This family thematic unit is a collection of themed activities that will connect all facets of the Kindergarten, Pre-K, or Homeschool curriculum to family life. All activities are connected to Core Academic standards.
Contents Include:
Literacy Games/Activities:
Family Vacation: Segmenting Words
The Family Reunion: Producing and Generating Rhyming Words
Family Camping: Identifying Upper and Lowercase Alphabet Letters or Naming Letter Sounds
Family Camping: Identifying Sight Words
Animal Families: Fluently Naming Upper and Lowercase Alphabet Letters or Naming Letter Sounds
Animal Families: Fluently Naming Sight Words
Math Games/Activities:
Birth Order: Gathering, Sorting, and Interpreting Data
Family Counting Tree: Addition and Subtraction
Cookie Jar: Counting On
The Family Tree: Matching Quantity and Numerals
Guided Reading Books
The Family
Songs/Fingerplays
With My Family
Families
My Family Tree
Writing
My Family Tree: Scaffolded Writing Lesson
Family Word Wall
My Family: Writing Prompt
Social Studies
Family Traditions: The Patchwork Quilt
Birth Order: Family Combinations
My Family: A Family Home-Connection Activity
Art
My Family: Shape People
Also available at Teachers Pay Teachers!
This Fireman and Other Community Helpers Thematic Unit, reaches across the curriculum to meet the common core standards! It is divided into areas of literature/media, music, art, literacy, math and science activities, creative writing, word wall, and guided reading.
The activities are clearly written, easy to use, and need limited amounts of preparation. Ding Ding, Let the Firemen in!
Unit Includes the Following:
Literacy Activities:
ABC Firemen: Letter Identification
Race Up the Ladder: Identifying Syllables
Help The Helpers: Beginning Sounds
Fireman Fluency Flash: Beginning Fluency
Math Activities:
Fireman Number Race: Matching Numerals to Quantity 1-6
Cop Patrol: Identifying, Creating & Extending Patterns
The Fire Station: Five Frames
Fire Truck 1-10: Ordering Numbers
Worksheets
The Fireman Race
Around the Town
Fireman Portfolio Page
Art Projects
Construct a Fire truck
Construct a Fireman
Fire Safety Arm Band
Policeman/Fireman Hat
Draw a Fireman
Writing Prompts/Word Wall
Word Wall Words
All About Fireman
What Might I be?
Guided Reading Books
The Fireman
Songs
My Neighborhood
People Who Help
Ding Ding Ding
Five Little Firemen
The Policeman
The book “The Family” is a great example of a paper book that awards opportunity to provide strategic practice with text. To make this book, simply copy pages 1 and 2, 3 and 4 on the back of each other, cut in half and collate. Copy page 8 and cut in half to make the last page of the book and a blank outside cover.