Exploring Our Community

Overview

Lesson 1 of 10: Our Place, Our Stories. Students investigate the people, places, stories and environments that shape their local community. Through images, maps, objects and sensory observations, they build shared vocabulary and generate questions for the unit.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify people, places, stories and environments in our local community.
• WALT discuss observations using place vocabulary.
• WALT explain why one local feature matters.
• WALT create questions to guide our inquiry.

Success criteria

• I can name or describe local features.
• I can share an observation with a partner or group.
• I can use place words such as community, neighbour, environment, local and important.
• I can explain why one community feature matters to people or the environment.

Curriculum links

• Oral language: listening, speaking, sharing ideas and responding respectfully.
• Written language: recording words, observations and questions for a shared inquiry.
• Understanding and responding to texts: interpreting information from photographs, maps, objects and short captions.
• Identity, belonging and place: recognising connections between people, communities and environments through an inquiry-based learning approach.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Welcome and hook Display the opening images in the community investigation slides: a local street, a natural feature, a community gathering place and an unfamiliar community. Ask: “What makes a place feel like a community?” Briefly introduce the unit and share the WALT and success criteria in child-friendly language.

2. 5–15 minutes – Notice and wonder Show the image sequence, map and object photographs in the community investigation slides. Students silently notice details, then turn and talk: “I notice…” and “I wonder…”. Invite a range of responses, accepting spoken descriptions, pointing, drawing or gestures. Record key ideas under the headings people, places, stories and environments.

3. 15–25 minutes – Vocabulary exploration In groups of three, students examine and discuss the local community vocabulary cards. Ask each group to choose three words they think belong in a local community word bank. Clarify meanings through examples from the school or neighbourhood. Add the selected words to the class display, including words students contribute.

4. 25–38 minutes – Map and sensory investigation Refer to the map and observation prompts in the community investigation slides. Pairs identify familiar features, such as a school, road, shop, park, river, marae, library, sports ground or bus stop. They complete the community observations and questions sheet by drawing or writing:

• one local place or feature;
• one person or group connected with it;
• one sensory observation;
• one reason it matters;
• one question they would like to investigate. Younger students may label pictures or dictate their ideas to an adult or partner.

5. 38–48 minutes – Explain and compare Each pair shares one feature and explains its importance using the frame: “_____ matters because _____.” Encourage students to consider belonging, safety, connection, recreation, history, culture or caring for the environment. For students ready for greater challenge, display the comparison prompt in the community investigation slides and ask them to compare one local feature with a feature in another community.

6. 48–56 minutes – Class word bank and inquiry wall Groups contribute their best vocabulary and questions. Build a shared word bank and inquiry wall, grouping questions under people, places, stories and environments. Model improving a question from “What is the park?” to “How do people use and care for our park?” Students place their worksheet question in the appropriate category or read it aloud.

7. 56–60 minutes – Plenary and check-out Revisit the success criteria using the final slide in the community investigation slides. Students complete the oral or written stem: “One feature that matters in our community is _____ because _____.” Collect the community observations and questions sheet and preview that future lessons will investigate selected questions.

Resources

• the community investigation slides
• the community observations and questions sheet
• the local community vocabulary cards
• Local map or simple school-neighbourhood map
• Photographs of familiar local places, people and environments
• A small selection of local objects, such as a leaf, bus card, sports item or library card
• Chart paper or whiteboard
• Thick pens, pencils and drawing materials
• Optional tablet or audio recorder for oral responses

Assessment

• Listen for students naming local features and using vocabulary accurately during pair and group discussions.
• Check worksheets for an observation, a relevant explanation and an inquiry question.
• Note whether students can connect a feature with people, belonging, community use or environmental care.
• Use student questions to plan the next lessons and identify areas needing vocabulary or place-based support.

Differentiation

• Provide visual prompts, real objects, a labelled map and repeated oral modelling. Pre-teach and revisit words from the vocabulary cards.
• Offer sentence starters: “I notice…”, “This place is…”, “People use it to…”, “It matters because…” and “I wonder…”.
• Allow students to draw, point, dictate, use an audio recording or respond with a partner before sharing with the class. Provide a scribe or speech-to-text support where needed.
• Pair students strategically and reduce the number of required responses for learners needing support. Extend confident learners by asking them to compare two communities and explain a meaningful similarity and difference, including how each place is cared for.