This lesson can be integrated into the primary curriculum on many levels. While useful for Social Studies units on self, family and school, this lesson is also designed to address the Language Arts curriculum and can be used for teaching about making connections. This unit also addresses Social Responsibility as it considers issues of respect, fairness, kindness and cooperative behaviour.
Objectives
It is expected that students will:
work cooperatively and productively in groups
apply criteria in lesson 1 to selected archival pictures to determine if the people in each picture are demonstrating neigbourly behaviours/actions
Review criteria for a good neighbour developed in the previous lesson and ask if there are any other qualities/actions that students might want to add to the list
Introduce archival pictures to students
-this can be done by printing the pictures out for pairs or groups of students to look or by copy pictures onto overhead transparencies to use in a whole class discussion
Explain that they are to examine each picture in order to determine what neighbourly qualities and/or actions the people in the pictures are demonstrating
Ask questions such as:
How do you know this?
What parts of the picture tell you what these people are like?
What types of words do you think these individuals were using?
Can you think of a time when you were a good neighbour or someone was a good neighbour to you?
After looking carefully and critically at each picture and after a discussion involving the above questions, invite students to create a dialogue or role play for one of the pictures, where pairs or groups of students develop their own interpretation of what a neighbourly conversation and interaction looks like and sounds like.
It may be helpful to generate a list on the board of “neighbourly” words that students may want to use in their skits/dialogues. Remind students they may also refer to their criteria list for a good neighbour for this activity.
Closure
Have students present their skits/dialogue to the class and invite classmates to identify and discuss the neighbourly qualities and actions they observed
Assessment
Anecdotal: As students participate in the activities and discussion, take note of how students apply the criteria developed from the previous lesson (ie. Are they thinking about and applying the qualities and actions talked about as they develop their dialogue?)
Refer to the Critical Thinking Rubric (BLM 1.2) to assess students’ capacity and ability to use critical thinking skills/li>
Extension
Some suggested readings on being a good neighbour and friend:
- Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed
Written by: Emily Pearson (ISBN 0879059788) This is a story about an ordinary girl who decides to pick some blueberries for her neighbour and in doing so starts a chain reaction that multiplies around the world until eventually the deed comes back to Mary.
- Mrs. Katz and Tush
Written by: Patricia Pollaco (ISBN 0440409365) This is a story about an African-American boy who gets to know his neighbour, an elderly Jewish widow, when he gives her a kitten to adopt. Mrs. Katz teachers the young boy about Jewish cultural traditions and tells him about her experiences with slavery and freedom. Over time, an unusual yet warm friendship develops.
Lesson Ideas
The story of Mrs. Katz and Tush presents an opportunity to talk about how neighbours can be different types of people and that friendship can be found in the most unusual places/situations
Students could be asked to add to the list of criteria for what makes a good neighbour after reading this story (ie. someone who shares and listens, someone who teaches and is willing to learn from others, etc.)
The story Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed invites students to explore some of the ways in which a person can demonstrate neighbourly actions in very simple ways as well as considering how these actions can impact on others (this could also be done from the opposite point of view where students identify qualities that do not align with being a good neighbour and could discuss the impact of these negative actions).
