Lesson 4 — My Communities

Summary

Learners name the circles they belong to — family, class, and neighborhood, plus others such as a faith community, a sports team, a market, or a language group. They build a “community web” with themselves at the center and celebrate that communities exist everywhere on Earth, each with its own way, and none is “correct” or better than another.

Objectives

• Name several communities they belong to, such as family, class, and neighborhood. (D02.S3.01.01)

Connection

You do not live alone — you belong to circles of people. Your family is one community. Your class is another. Your neighborhood is another. So are a faith community, a sports team, a market you visit, or a group of people who speak your language. A community is a group of people who share something and do things together. Communities look different all over the world — some gather around a well, a market, a festival, or a game — and no community is better than another. They are just different ways people belong.

Materials

• Drawing paper and crayons
• Chart paper and markers

Preparation

• Set out drawing supplies.
• Prepare chart paper for listing communities.
• Plan a simple example of a community web to model.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). Its commitment is that no community is “correct” and none is better — the goal is belonging, not ranking. Honor every community a learner names, including ones outside the usual list (a language group, a market, a place of worship, a team, a care circle). Keep the global view visible: communities vary worldwide, and each has its own way. For a learner who is blind or has low vision, build the web tactually — place an object for each community around a center object that stands for the learner, and name each one aloud. A learner who does not use a speaking voice names communities by pointing to pictures or objects.

Procedure

1. Gather (5 min). Think of all the circles you belong to. How many can you name? Start with three everyone shares in some form: your family, your class, and your neighborhood.
2. Name my communities (15 min). Name several — family, class, neighborhood, and any others: a faith community, a team, a market you visit, a language group. Draw yourself in the middle of your page, then draw a circle for each community and a line from you to it. This is your community web.
3. What we do together (10 min). Pick one community and name one thing people do together there. (In my family we eat together; in my class we read together; in my neighborhood we greet each other.)
4. Communities everywhere (10 min). Communities look different all over the world — some gather around a well, a market, a festival, or a game. Notice: every community has its own way, and none is “correct” and none is better. They are all real homes of belonging.
5. Close (5 min). You belong to many circles, and every circle is a place where you are known. All of them together are part of who you are.

Differentiation

• Support: Name just two communities (family and class) and draw them.
• Support (non-speaking): Point to pictures of communities and circle the ones you belong to.
• Support (blind/low-vision): Build a tactile web with objects; name each community as it is placed.
• Extension: Name one thing each community does together, or add a community you would like to belong to someday and say one thing you would do there.

Assessment

• Formative (observation): Can the learner name several communities they belong to (family, class, neighborhood, plus at least one more)?

Home connection

Ask someone at home what communities they belong to, and add one new circle to your web.