Our Community: "Then and Now"

Erin Dowling
Theme: Community
Grade: Kindergarten

Day 9: Our Community “Then and Now”

Lesson Description:
With a firm grasp of the elements within communities today and how they function, the children will be challenged to analyze how communities functioned long ago. Through the examination of primary photographic artifacts, the children will be able visually see the dominant differences. It will be their job to compare the aspects of today’s communities to communities long ago, by looking at historical photos in comparison to present day photos. The broad theme of community will hit home, while they reexamine their own community, Winona, Minnesota.



















































































Materials Needed:
• A Little Prairie House by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• “Now and Then” Poster
• Photos from Winona Historical Society

Goals:
1. The students will learn about what Winona looked like long ago.
2. The students will increase their understanding of how communities
change over time.

Objectives:
1. The students will examine photos of their downtown long ago and today.
2. The students will categorize different photos from long ago and the present.
3. The students will see how places such as: stores and offices have played major roles in the community long ago and still do today.

Procedure:
a. Read A Little Prairie House (10 min.)
Remind the children that Laura and her family lived many years ago, so they should notice how life was different for her family. Show the children a map of Pepin, Wisconsin in relation to Winona, Minnesota. Discuss how the Winona community has changed over time. Explain to them how many people have lived in Winona before us. Ask the children what they might think would be different about communities long ago, compared to existing communities today. Describe to them how people living in communities did not have cars and grocery stores like we do.

b. Winona Then and Now (20 min.)
1. Ask the children where they go to buy their food, clothing, and toys. As they mention places, place photos of those places on the board. Remind the students that two hundred years ago, people didn’t have big toy stores and grocery stores. Stick the picture of Winona’s General Store from the 1800s on the board (4 min.)
2. Talk about other places that are in a community, besides the ones depicted on the chalkboard. Suggest how dentist offices and pharmacies might appear different long ago. Pass around photos of Winona’s old dentist office and pharmacy. Encourage the children to point out different aspects of the pictures they may notice right away that are different form community life today (4 min).
3. Ask the children about how they travel from place to place throughout their community. Encourage them to think about how they get to and from school. Children may bring-up cars, trucks, vans, and buses. Stick a picture of an old fashion horse drawn school bus next to the photo of a present day school bus. Ask the children what they think it would be like to ride in that to school. (4 min.)
4. Scramble all the photos on the board. Have the students come up, one at a time, and place the photo they choose in either the “Now” side of the poster or the “Then” side of the poster (8 min.)

c. Learning About Long Ago (5 min)
1. Have the children draw what they have learned from their exploration of the past. Encourage them to use their imagination, as they may want to draw themselves in a scene from community life in the 1800s. They may want to illustrate their family riding in a carriage or themselves on an old fashion school bus.

Assessments:
1. Make sure the children are able to distinguish the difference between the photos of the past and the photos of the present.
2. When viewing the children’s drawings of the past, have them identify and explain the different objects in their drawing that pertain to community life in the past.

Community Safety

Erin Dowling
Theme: Community
Grade: Kindergarten

Day 10: Community Safety

Lesson Description:
Children become introduced to emergency situations in a non-threatening manner. Understanding basic emergency situations presented in Emergency by Margaret Mayo and “Danger Rangers: Mission 547 Safety Rules!”, will help the children know when and how to respond to emergency situations people face in everyday life. The children will discuss the importance of community safety, both long ago and today. They will learn how to determine and take charge of emergency situations, by responding effectively.

















Materials Needed:
• Emergency by Margaret Mayo
• Telephone
• Star stickers
• “Danger Rangers: Mission 547 Safety Rules!” movie
• Photos from Winona Historical Society

Goals:
1. The students will increase their knowledge of different kinds of emergencies.
2. The children will broaden their awareness of how fire fighters, ambulance drivers, and police officers can help maintain community safety.

Objectives:
1. The kindergarteners will learn how to respond in emergency situations.
2. The students will learn about fire safety procedures in their community.
3. The students will learn when and how to call "9-1-1" for an emergency situation.

Procedure:
a. Read Emergency by Margaret Mayo (5 min.)
Emergency situations can arise anyplace at anytime. Discuss with the children how safety has been important both now and long ago. Fire Stations and Police Stations have been around in our community for many years. Pass around a photo of a fire truck used in Winona in the 1800s, and then pass around a photo of a Winona fire truck that is used today. Point out the differences within in the two photographs. Point out how fire trucks today have hoses to put out fires, while firemen long ago carried buckets filled with water on their fire trucks.

b. How To Respond In Emergency Situations (35 min.)
1. Discuss with the children how emergencies can be scary; therefore, it is important to know what to do when one happens. Remind children to be thankful for their community helpers that protect them and help keep their community safe during emergency situations. (5 min)
2. By using a real unplugged telephone, demonstrate how to react and call for help during an emergency. Reinforce the steps to take: Be calm (don’t scream or panic), Call for help (dial 9-1-1), Tell the operator the situation, Give the operator necessary information (address), Stay on the line until help arrives. (5 min.)
3. Describe different situations and ask the class if they think it is an emergency situation or not (ex: burglary, fire, extreme illness, swallowed poison, drowning). If the class agrees the scenario is an emergency, have a student volunteer come up to the front to use the phone to practice calling for help
4. Go through the steps together as a class, while the student demonstrates. (5 min.)
5. Have the children watch “Danger Rangers: Mission 547 Safety Rules!” (20 min.)

c. Danger Rangers (5 min)
Give the kids each a star sticker. Tell them how proud you are of them for learning about community safety. Tell the children that they are now Danger Rangers too, because they know what to do in emergency situations.

Assessments:
1. When each child comes to the front to use the phone, make sure they go through the steps in the correct order.
2. When describing real life scenarios, check to see that the children are able to distinguish an emergency situation from a non-emergency situation.
3. When asking the children, “Who maintains safety in the community?” make sure the children correctly name the community helpers.