Neighborhood+walks

Neighborhood walks

To do:
 * permission slips
 * get cameras
 * Decide which kids are in which groups and with which adults

First walk: Forest Hills
Learning targets:
 * I can explain how my artifact makes its neighborhood a good place to live, and how it helps people get what they need.
 * I can describe what I built or drew.

Note catcher: [|neighborhood walk notecatcher.doc]

This walk is primarily to:
 * practice taking notes
 * practice stopping and listening at the quiet signal
 * practice focusing during fieldwork
 * collect evidence of what makes a neighborhood a good place to live

AFTER THE WALK

Continue work on our huge web of what makes each neighborhood a good place to live. These ideas should be easily moveable so we can sort them later. Look at what we already came up with; have kids write new ideas on index cards or half pieces of paper with a partner. Share your idea; get a paper to write it on; share another idea, etc. Make it on kidspiration?

Or have kids say ideas and an adult notes them -- otherwise it is hard to read.

=Jackson Square=

Same as Forest Hills walk

AFTER THE WALK

As a class, we will pick one subject from the walk to create. We model the process of representing your subject. Then we will do shared writing about the subject that describes the artifact, explains how the subject makes the neighborhood a good place to live, and explains how it helps people get what they need.

OR


 * Day 1:** (Potential lesson) Look at murals from Jackson. Talk about why the artist chose to include the imagine he / she chose. What do they mean? Why are they there? What might the artist be trying to do for people in Jackson Sq?

There is a mural of Africa in the T stop, with broken chains around it and patterns from animals on it -- very beautiful.

There are beach scenes on the mural in Mozart Park -- reminiscent of the islands where many residents are from.

etc.

Make a chart with 2 columns: what we see; why the artist put it in


 * Day 2:**

Learning targets:
 * I can describe my subject. This means I can write what it looks like.

Review what things were in the murals in Jackson Square. They should put some of those things in their murals. THIS IS NOT A MADE-UP MURAL. They are representing something they saw in Jackson.

Have kids plan what they will draw or build or paint. Use a sentence frame: "I plan to make a mural of..." or something similar.

Students work on this plan with a partner.

Step 1: Say the sentence you plan to write to yourself. Step 2: Say your sentence to your partner. Step 3: Write your sentence. Step 4: Read your sentence to your partner while they read along. Step 5: Your partner checks: does it make sense? can they read it? do they see anything you should change or fix or add? (capital and a stop sign?) Step 6: When you have changed and fixed it, your partner signs their name at the bottom.

After students have gone through these steps, they may paint / build / etc.


 * Day 3:**

Learning Target:
 * I can explain why my subject is important to its neighborhood.

Students follow the same steps as yesterday to do the second sentence in their plan: "It is important to Jackson Square because..."

Practice and share some ideas of why the murals might be important to people in Jackson Square.

They do the same buddy check with each other before going to paint again.