Lesson 07 — A Place I Have Been

Learners talk about and draw a place they have been — near or far, big or small — using their senses to describe it.

D08 P4: Contextual & Ecological Awareness D08.S3 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

D08.S3.K.01 Talk about a place they have been or a family story of moving, and draw or describe it.

Essential question

How do I describe a place I have been?

Key vocabulary

placerememberdescribedrawnearfar

Materials

Standard materials

Paper and crayons or paints · per learner For drawing a remembered place

Low-tech / no-cost

Voice and body Describe the place aloud with senses; no paper needed
Found outdoor materials Sticks, leaves, and stones to build a small map or model of the place on the ground

Enriched / lab & device

Photo or map of a local place (optional) · 1 set Real images to spark remembering, if learners struggle to call one to mind
Class "places" wall · 1 wall A growing display of every learner's place drawing with their spoken caption

Works in different contexts

large-group Learners share in small circles so each voice is heard; collect one sentence from each for the class wall
self-directed The learner draws their place alone, then describes it to a grown-up or peer using the sense words
outdoor-only Describe a place you can see right now — the sky, a tree, a path — and then draw it with a stick in the dirt or with found objects

Four place panels, a city, a village, a sea, and mountains, each with a small sense icon of an eye, an ear, a nose, and a hand, to prompt describing a remembered place.

Lesson 7 — A Place I Have Been

Summary

Learners talk about and draw a place they know — near or far, big or small — and describe it with their senses. Every place a person has been is part of their story.

Objectives

Talk about a place they have been or a family story of moving, and draw or describe it. (D08.S3.K.01)

Connection

You have been to places that are yours alone: a corner of your room, a market, a park, a grandparent’s home. Each place holds sights, sounds, and smells only you remember. Sharing a place is sharing a little piece of your own map of the world.

Materials

Paper and crayons or paints

Preparation

Set out drawing materials.
Prepare a few sense-word prompts: What did you see? hear? smell? feel?

Facilitator note

Written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. No travel is required. “A place” can be a room, a doorstep, a path, a tree — any place a child knows. Some children have moved often or have few places they call their own; let “here” and “now” count fully. Never rank places as more or less special. There is no “correct” place.

Procedure

Gather (5 min). Close your eyes and think of a place you know well. It can be big or small, near or far.
Describe it (10 min). Tell a partner or the group about it using your senses: what did you see, hear, smell, or feel there?
Draw it (15 min). Draw your place. Add one detail that only you would know — a crack in the step, the color of the door.
Share (10 min). Show your drawing and say one sentence about your place.
Close (5 min). Every person has places that matter. No two people’s places are exactly alike, and each is worth hearing.

Differentiation

Support: Draw the place together with a grown-up while describing it aloud.
Extension: Add people to the drawing and tell who was there with you and what you did together.

Assessment

Formative (observation): Can the learner describe a place using at least one sense word (saw, heard, smelled, felt)?
Artifact (portfolio): The place drawing with its spoken caption.