Day One: Similarities and Differences in a Community

Explain that one of the most important parts of a community are the people - just like we have in our class. This is also a good opportunity to discuss diversity in communities. For example, people in a community may have a lot in common and there are also lots of things that make them unique. A potential question to pose during this discussion could be: “What are some things that make us the same and what are things that make us different?” These might include surface culture questions (favorite foods, hobbies, languages spoken) but also deeper questions like “Do you like to spend time alone, or with lots of people?” “Do you prefer to learn new things with friends or by yourself?” Questions like these help as we are trying to develop a better understanding of people's individual needs - and how we can try to hold multiple perspectives rather than getting angry or feeling hurt when these characteristics or ideas differ. 

Play the game Common Ground (adapted for your age group) as a way to introduce things that children have “in common” or “different from one another.” 

Whole-class game suggestion: Would you rather…

In a meeting or in small groups, ask students questions.  For example, “Would you rather be an eagle or a whale?” “Would you rather fly or be invisible?” Students can show hand signals to respond (such as a one hand raised for the first option or two hands raised for the second option). The purpose of this game is to help students understand how people in the community have different perspectives and opinions. You could also take surveys and chart findings. *If this unit corresponds to data collection, surveys and graphs, you might consider extending this milestone to include math learning goals such as data and surveys.

Read children a book that highlights a character or characters who find strength in their unique qualities. A resource list of suggested read alouds can be found at the end of this milestone.

 Day Three: Who am I as a member of my community? 

Remind students how their questions for this project focus on getting to know each other. Refer to “Need to Know” questions about family, pets, or hobbies and facilitate a discussion around some of students’ favorite things to do (play, eat, places to go, etc). Record their comments on paper or on Google Slides/Zoom Whiteboard. 

Suggested Read-Aloud: My Favorite Thing (According to Alberta) by Emily Jenkins

Favorite Things to Do and Places to Go

Depending on the need-to-know questions, have children share something about themselves - pets, hobbies, or places they like to go with their family. Have students draw a picture illustrating these ideas (in-person or using a digital tool) and dictate to adults their description or audio record via Seesaw or another tool. Hold/Save these for the public product. 

If in-person: Have students draw on paper and dictate their comments

Day Five: Family Portraits  

After reviewing some of the details children shared about their families, have students draw a picture of their family or use the family photo (collected in Week One) and add labels (who is there, where are they, what kinds of things do they like to do with their families?) Keep for public product and store in child’s folder/portfolio.

Online: Students can audio record themselves explaining the drawing or photo.

In-person: Have students explain their drawing or photo and dictate their comments and/or label.

Read Aloud Suggestions:

The Family Book by Todd Parr

The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman

If online, students can share their family portraits and audio record their explanations on Seesaw or Flipgrid.

In-Person: Students can take turns sharing about their families in pairs or small groups.