Language Arts Activity
As children study their own community, they also develop the framework for
learning about other communities. In this activity, children interview a
classroom visitor to learn about another community and discover what it has in
common with their own.
WHAT YOU NEED
WHAT TO DO
- Create a take-home letter asking family members if they
know of anyone who has recently moved to the area from another community who
would be willing to share information about that community with the class.
- Once you have contacted this person, suggest that he or
she bring to class memorabilia of his or her former community: maps, picture post
cards, photographs, newspapers, and so forth.
- In preparation for the visit, have children think about questions they
might ask their visitor about his or her original community. Explain that the
questions should help them learn in what ways their community and the other community are alike
and how they differ. As children volunteer ideas, write them on newsprint
taped to the chalkboard.
- What kind of community do you live in? A small town, city, or suburb?
- Does it have more people or fewer than our community?
- What do you have more of: trees, fields, houses, or big buildings?
- How big are the schools? How many playgrounds are there?
- Are there any traffic lights there? Parks? Museums?
- What kinds of transportation do people use?
- What kinds of businesses are there?
- What landforms are there? Is it hilly or flat? What bodies of water are
- What is the climate like? Does it snow in the winter? Is it very hot in
- Suggest that children welcome the visitor by sharing information
they have learned about their own community that might be helpful
to a new-comer. Children might do any or all of the following:
- Draw pictures of interesting places in their neighborhoods and label
- Draw up lists of interesting things to do or see in the community
- Share photographs and picture post cards
- Display a map of the area, perhaps with trips to special sites
highlighted in different colors and labeled
- Make a booklet of children's writings about special events and
celebrations held during the year
- Have children interview their visitor in a comfortable and welcoming
atmosphere. This might include supplying a comfortable chair and refreshments. If
possible, have the children seated informally, for example
in a semi-circle on the floor. Pre-select children to ask the questions you have
prepared. You may wish to make an audio tape of the interview.
For an oral summation, ask children to explain if they would like
to visit the community described by their visitor, and to tell why.
Ask students to show what they have learned by comparing their
community with the one their visitor described. Create a comparison chart of
the two communities. On newsprint, make two columns, one for SAME and one for
DIFFERENT and have children dictate what information should be in each column.
Have children write thank-you notes to their visitor, in which they tell
what they especially enjoyed about his or her visit.
If you find you have more than one choice for visitors, you may wish to
repeat the activity with another guest, especially if that person's former community
is quite different from the first visitor's.
Activity Search |
Reading Center |
Math Center |
Social Studies Center
Education Place |
You may download, print and make copies of this page for use in your classroom, provided that you include the copyright notice shown below on all such copies.
Copyright © 1997 Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.