MarcoGram December 2004 -- It Takes a Village: Neighbors and Community Life

It Takes a Village: Neighbors and Community Life
Children often are reproached for their seemingly relentless efforts to be accepted by their peers. While it's true that some kids go to almost comical extremes to achieve this goal, they are merely acting on an inherent human desire to belong to a community. This month's MarcoGram celebrates the important role communities play in our lives. Use the activities below to get your students thinking about what the concept of community means to them, then scroll down for more links and resources on this topic.

My Own Native Land song sheet courtesy of American Memory, Library of Congress (Digital ID: as109220).

1. "There's no place like home...." This is the lesson Dorothy learns after her thrilling journey through the Land of Oz in the fictional masterpiece The Wizard of Oz. There are plenty of real-life tales from people who have traveled far and wide to support the notion that there is something special about coming back to one's home and neighborhood.

Have students think about their own community. What do they like about it? What makes it special? What would they miss the most if they moved to another community? How might their community be improved?

Challenge students to identify problems in their community and brainstorm ways the problems might be solved. Students should choose problems that affect a significant number of community members and can realistically be solved. The ask them to write essays on why they chose those issues, what steps they could take to develop solutions, and how their community would be improved as a result.

Get to know the people and places in your community in:

"Adopt a Lot" (6-8) from Xpeditions, National Geographic Society

"Heroes Around Us" (6-8) from ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English

"Measuring Up: Off the Scale" (6-8) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

"Your Special Town" (3-5) from Xpeditions, National Geographic Society

2. The word "neighborhood" comes from the Old English neahgeburhad, which generally means a place where farmers live near one another. That might surprise some younger students, whose ideas about neighborhoods are most likely derived from educational television programs like the city-based Sesame Street and the suburban Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Gauge students' level of understanding about what a neighborhood is. What makes up a neighborhood? (streets, buildings, people) What kinds of neighborhoods do they live in? (urban, rural, suburban) What makes their neighborhoods different from other kinds of neighborhoods?

Explain that even though neighborhoods come in all shapes and sizes, most share similar features, such as a schools, post offices and police stations. Let students try the Ben's Guide to U.S. Government: Neighborhood activity, an EconEdLink-reviewed resource that identifies and defines a few of these universal neighborhood stops. Then supply students with paper, colored pencils and rulers. Ask them to draw maps of their neighborhoods that show where they live and include location of other important places (i.e., school, church, bank, park, grocery store, etc.). Ask that they also include transportation routes (i.e., roads, bike paths, subway stops, train tracks, etc.) to illustrate how they get from one place to another.

Find out more about neighborhoods and what makes them work together in:

"Communities: What They Provide for Us" (K-2) from EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education

"Community Buildings" (K-4) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

"Exploring Neighborhoods Through Art" (K-4) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

3. In 1516, reacting to dramatic socioeconomic inequities between the British ruling class and the peasant masses, Sir Thomas More published Utopia, a fictional account of a "perfect community." Though More is a highly regarded scholar and his work has been read and analyzed by millions for nearly 500 years, his visions have never been realized by any society.

Ask students to describe their vision of a "perfect community." Encourage them to consider issues such as taxation, employment, the role of government, education, public security, health care, etc. How close does the United States come to fulfilling their vision? How does the United States compare to other countries?

As the class discusses the elements that make up a perfect community, the question sure to arise is, "Is a perfect community possible?" Divide the class into two groups for a debate. One group will argue that it is possible to have a perfect community, and the other will argue that it is not. Allow time for each group to formulate its arguments, and then reconvene the class for a formal debate. Establish rules for the debate, such as time limits and speaking order. At the end of the debate, discuss the following: Why hasn't Sir Thomas More's vision of Utopia ever been realized?

Explore the differences between More's ideal society and real-life historical communities in:

"African-American Communities in the North Before the Civil War" (6-8) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

"Not Everyone Lived in Castles During the Middle Ages" (3-5) from EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

"Utopian Visions" (9-12) from ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

4. "Ecosystem" is a biological term for a community. An ecosystem is made up of all the living and non-living things that exist together in an environment. Keeping an ecosystem in good shape can be difficult -- especially if human beings are involved. Humans generate notoriously high levels of waste, including paper, plastics, glass and metals. Managing this waste is a very important function of any community, and recycling waste materials has become an essential waste management solution.

Studies show that recycling is not only good for the ecosystem, it's good for the economy. According to the National Recycling Coalition, more than 1 million Americans are employed in the recycle/reuse industry. The Can Manufacturers Institute reports that 105,784 aluminum cans are recycled every minute in the United States. Given that fact, ask students how many cans are recycled in one hour? (6,347,040) One day? (152,328,960) One week? (1,066,302,720) One year? (55,447,741,440) Estimating the U.S. population at 295 million people, how many cans is that per person? (188) Now that's a lot of cans!

Learn how to keep your ecosystem healthy with:

"Garbage 2: Recycling" (3-5) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science

"Mathematics and Environmental Concerns: Aluminum Cans" (3-8) from Illuminations, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

"Urban Ecosystems 1: Cities Are Urban Ecosystems" (6-8) from Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science