Using Your Community as a Learning Resource

Introduce learners to the concept of perspective by examining how two different groups of people—children and residential community members—might view the prospect of a carnival arriving in town.

Class members are each assigned a state's natural resource to research. In pairs, they engage in silent debates: they pass a paper back and forth, writing a line on each turn about why their resource is most important. At the end,...

Help fight hunger in your community by growing food in a garden. Young gardeners grow vegetables and maintain their gardens in order to donate their food to local organizations. The project is a great way to incorporate the study of...

Teach children about all the people that help to make our communities safe and healthy places to live with this printable book. From firefighters and mail carriers to doctors and trash collectors, students practice reading as they...

This Veterans Day, be prepared to honor our country's military with a host of links that direct you to a variety of posters, lesson plans, background information, videos, activities, a quiz, and suggestions for how to show respect for...

Who helps our community run smoothly? Read a short passage about community members and helpers. After kids finish the passage, they answer five short questions on the other side of the page.

Foster contributing members of society with a social studies unit focused on five aspects of community. First graders discuss themes of culture, groups, location, scarcity, and change with discussion questions and activities about...

What natural resources are available in your area? Your learners can consider this question after reading a brief passage about natural and renewable resources. After reading, class members respond to five questions related to the reading.

Encourage class members to get involved in their community with a lesson that highlights the benefits of helping others. Through grand conversation and a visual aid that sheds light on the interconnectedness within community service,...

Students explore bicycle safety. In this service learning lesson, students build a bicycle safety course to be used by children in their community.