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Cityscape 

In this provocation, students will engage in a creating their own city or town, develop their map skills and understand common community helpers. 

Objective:

  • Can you create an imaginary city or town with buildings, roads and homes?

  • Can you design a map of your town?

Problem-solving and strategic thinking:

  • Students will use materials provided to build a model of a complete cityscape or town 

  • Students will label and/or create signs to identify roads and buildings

Standards/Objectives addressed:

  • CIV K.1 Describe roles and responsibilities of people in authority (local/state/national e.g., judge, mayor, governor, police) 

  • CIV K.2 Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play an important role in a community.

  • CIV K.3 Describe how communities work to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities, and fulfill roles of authority.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1: Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes.

  • NGSS.K-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.

  • NGSS.K-2-ETS1-2: Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

Background knowledge needed:

  • How to make a plan - sketch a design

  • Understanding of cities, towns, roads

  • Community background: who and what makes a community?

Materials:

  • Blocks, legos, cardboard, tape, paper, recycled materials, items from nature

Prompts – questions or statements to elicit engagement:

  • Who will live/work in your town? How will they get from place to place?

  • How will people know where to find people and places in your town/city?

  • What about rivers? How do they change the layout of your city?

  • What materials could you use for….?

  • What things need more space?

Vocabulary:

  • map, city, town, community, design, structure, blue print, water way, road

Reflection prompts:

  • What worked well? What part of your design do you like best or would you change? Why?

  • When you made your design, how did you decide where things should go?

  • Can you give me a tour of your town?

Extension:

  • What worked well? What part of your design do you like best or would you change? Why?

  • When you made your design, how did you decide where things should go?

  • Can you give me a tour of your town?

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