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Preinstructional Planning

During Instruction

Post Instructional







Lesson Directions

Part 1: The Neighborhood Walk

Step 1: Tell students that they will be going on a walking tour of their school neighborhood. However, they must first predict what they will see, hear, and smell during their walk. Reveal the Prediction Chart you created ahead of time. Fill in each column with student responses and post the chart paper so you can check the predictions after the walk.

Step 2: Share the Places Around Us Neighborhood Walk: Recording Chart printable with students. Explain that the students' job is to observe what they see, hear, and smell during their walk and record their observations in the appropriate columns. Tell them to also look for other things they might find on the walk, like houses, buildings, street signs, bill boards, bus stops, and store signs.

Step 3: Break students into small groups and give each student a copy of the Places Around Us Neighborhood Walk: Recording Chart printable, a clipboard, and a pencil. Assign each group a parent volunteer and explain that the volunteers will be available to help.

Step 4: Embark on the school neighborhood walk. Take digital photos if possible. You should print them when you return so you can refer to them later in the lesson.

Step 5: When you return to the classroom, gather the students around the Prediction Chart and review. Ask students what can be added and/or deleted. Process the walking tour with a brief discussion of what the children observed. Collect their Places Around Us Neighborhood Walk: Recording Charts for assessment.

Part 2: Map Making

Step 1: Review the walking tour with the students. Tell them that they'll be helping you create a Map Key that includes all the things they saw. Later, they'll split into groups to make maps of their school neighborhood using the Map Key. Use the Prediction Chart you revised after the walk to review the things students observed.

Step 2: Discuss the things that should be on a map of their school neighborhood and list them on your Map Key chart paper. Explain the way a map key functions. Show students how they can draw pictures to represent items on their maps.

Step 3: Decide as a group what the pictures should look like for each item. If desired, have the "artists" of the class help draw the pictures on the chart paper. Post this Map Key for students to refer to while creating their maps.

Step 4: After the Map Key is complete, share the sheets of white poster/tag board with the students, pointing out how you have designated the neighborhood "block" and street names. Tell them that they'll be working in the same groups from the walking tour to draw in all the things that they saw, like the buildings, people, signs, cars, and fire hydrants.

Step 5: Remind students that they'll be using the Map Key pictures to represent neighborhood things, and they'll need to work together to decide who will draw each item. Give some examples of how they might do this. For example, designate one student to draw all the buildings, another to draw the signs, and so forth.

Optional: If you have digital photo prints available from the walk, share them with the students to "revisit" the neighborhood before getting started.

Step 6: Assemble the groups and help them decide where to work. Give them a block map sheet and drawing materials, and let them begin. Encourage groups to refer to the class-created Map Key and to use those pictures to represent each item.

Step 7: When the maps are complete, allow time for each group to present their map to the class. Post these maps and the digital photos near the Map Key. Supporting All Learners

Parent volunteers can help students who have difficulty writing what they see, hear, and smell on the tour. Make sure to ask these students to give verbal responses to check for understanding.

Lesson Extensions

Home Connections




Lesson Assessment


Featured Reproducibles Places Around Us Neighborhood Walk Parent Letter Places Around Us Neighborhood Walk: Recording Chart Urban Planner Homework Worksheet

Arts and Crafts Five Senses Maps and Globes Neighborhood Life Outdoor Activities and Recreation
Part of This Unit Plan
Unit Plan
The People and Places Around Us

Teach your students to use their five senses to learn about their local community, including their homes and neighborhoods.

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