If World Village

Overview

This first lesson of the unit “If The World Was A Village” introduces the idea that people across the world can be different yet still connected through community. Students explore diversity using stories and simple visual comparisons, linked to place and belonging.

Learning intentions

• Year 0–2 students will notice that a village/community has many different people.
• Students will explain (with help) how people share needs like food, safety, and friendship.
• Students will identify ways communities include and welcome different cultures.
• Students will use drawings, photos, and spoken words to share ideas about “our village”.

Success criteria

• I can describe who lives in a village/community (people, families, friends).
• I can name one similarity between people in our village and a village/community elsewhere.
• I can share one way we can be kind and include others.
• I can show my ideas using a picture, model, or sentence starter.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences: Students begin to understand communities, diversity, and relationships between people and places.
• The New Zealand Curriculum: Learning through talking, listening, and creating to make meaning about people in communities.
• Key competencies: Thinking (making connections), Communicating (sharing ideas), Relating to others (kindness and belonging).
• This lesson supports later unit learning by building the foundation for understanding “global scale” ideas through a familiar micro-scale comparison.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome & community circle. Teacher greets students and sets a calm circle routine; students sit in a circle and respond to “What do we do in our class community?” (e.g., listen, share, be kind).
2. 5–15 min · Story prompt: “Our Village”. Teacher reads an age-appropriate picture book or tells a short story about a village with many characters; students follow the story, and teacher pauses to ask “Who is in this village?” and “How are they different?”
3. 15–25 min · Visual “Village Map”. Teacher shows a large image or poster of a village scene (shops, homes, school, park) with small character cards (different skin tones, languages, clothing, family structures); students point and name who they see, then choose one character card to describe (“This person likes…/This person speaks…”).
4. 25–35 min · Needs & connections game. Teacher introduces 4 simple need cards (food/meals, safe places, learning/school, helping others) and places them around the room; students walk to match a “need” and explain using a sentence starter: “In our village, we need… so that…”.
5. 35–48 min · Diversity & inclusion mini-lesson. Teacher models kind behaviours and inclusion language (e.g., “We can learn each other’s words,” “We can invite others to play,” “We can share stories and food”) using two quick scenarios (at the playground, at a community event); students vote with thumb signals for which action helps people feel included, then share one idea out loud.
6. 48–57 min · Make: “If the World Was a Village” model. Teacher hands out materials (paper plate/large paper, sticky dots, crayons, small collage pictures); students create a class “village” display showing:

• one similarity (a shared need), and
• one difference (a cultural sign or a clothing/food/word idea). Teacher circulates and uses sentence starters for speaking support.

7. 57–60 min · Share & exit check. Teacher prompts two students to share their work; students complete a quick oral check with an adult: “One thing people share is…” and “One way we include others is…”

Resources

• Picture book or teacher story cards about a community/village
• Large village scene image/poster
• Character cards (diverse people: clothing, families, languages, roles)
• Four need cards: food, safety, learning, helping
• Sentence starters strips for display
• Paper plates or large paper sheets, crayons/markers
• Stickers or sticky dots, glue, pre-cut collage images (food, clothing, symbols)
• Quiet corner option for regulation (soft toy/visual calm prompt)

Assessment

• Ongoing formative assessment through teacher observations during circle talk, point-and-say activities, and the needs-matching game.
• Check for understanding using sentence starters: “In our village, we need…” and “We can include others by…”.
• Quick exit check at the end (oral response or teacher marks a simple checklist: similarity named, inclusion named, participation shown).

Differentiation

• Support: Provide picture-based sentence starters, gesture prompts (pointing, thumb voting), and a word bank with simple visuals (friend, learn, share, safe).
• Support: Offer choice of communication mode (speaking, pointing to pictures, drawing labels, or showing a sticker).
• Extension: Challenge students to add one more connection (another shared need) or include a second difference (a second cultural sign or a second character role).
• EAL/SEN: Use consistent routines, pre-teach 3–5 key words shown on visuals, and allow rehearsal time with a buddy before sharing.