Walking the Five Themes – Your Community to Ours
Adapted from Philomath to Portland by Myrna Dunnigan and Pam Wilson

Overview:

Two classrooms will share information about their classrooms and communities throughout the school year. Share information through games, letters, maps, reading projects, exchange of research date, video and other ideas that may develop during the year.

Connection with the Curriculum:

Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, and Geography

Teaching Level: 2-12

Connection to State Content Standards:

2 Identify the physical and human characteristics of places and regions and how they change through time.
3 Describe the distribution and migration of human populations, ideas and products and predict future trends.

Connection to National Standards:

Standards 4 The physical and human characteristics of places.
Standards 10 The characteristics, distribution and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

Materials:

Envelopes
Stamps
Video camera and film
Standard classroom supplies
State and world maps
Community and neighborhood maps

Each month's lesson may need specialized additional materials.

Procedure:
  1. September: Geography box. Theme: Introduction
  2. October: Pen pal letter and neighborhood maps. Theme: Location/Place
  3. November/December. Pen pal letter with book project. Theme: Cultural
  4. January: Gathering and sharing data. How far is it from school to home? How do you get around your community? Begin keeping mileage chart of walking from Philomath to Portland (one community to the other). Theme: Movement
  5. February/March: Issues of your community. Make and share a video. Theme: Human/Environment Interactions
  6. April: Take a look at your parks. Video maps or tapes. Theme: Human/Environment Interactions, Place.
  7. May: Culminating activity: cooperative field research together with other class.