Mapping Our Community

Overview

In this first lesson of Our Voice, Our Democracy, students build a shared understanding of community. They explore the groups and places around them, identify shared needs, and consider how their own actions contribute to a community where people can enjoy their rights.

Learning intentions

• WALT describe what makes a community.
• WALT identify diverse groups and shared needs within communities.
• WALT explain one way we participate and contribute.
• WALT listen to different viewpoints and build ideas together.

Success criteria

• I can define community in my own words.
• I can identify diverse groups and shared needs.
• I can explain one way I participate in a community.
• I can listen respectfully and add to a shared community web.

Curriculum links

• Civics and Society — informed citizens participate in democracy.
• Civics and Society — having rights also means doing our part so others can enjoy theirs.
• Civics and Society — people protect everyone’s rights, and everyone benefits when people contribute.
• The refreshed curriculum capabilities of communication, critical thinking, relating to others, and participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Display the opening question in the community hook slide: “Where would you belong if you moved to a new place?” Students think independently, then share one group, place, or activity they belong to with a partner. Record a few responses without judging or correcting them.

2. 5–12 min · What is a community? Use the community definition and examples slides to introduce the idea that a community is a group of people connected by place, identity, interests, experiences, relationships, or shared needs. Explain that people can belong to several communities at once, such as whānau, school, sports, cultural, online, local, or national communities. Students sort examples orally into “community”, “not a community yet”, or “it depends”, explaining their reasoning.

3. 12–20 min · Class community map. Give each student a small sticky note or use the class board shown in the class mapping instructions. Students add one community they belong to, or a community they notice in Aotearoa New Zealand. They may use the community mapping sheet to draw or write. Invite students to place contributions under headings such as people, places, interests, culture and identity, and shared needs. Discuss similarities and differences, ensuring students understand that communities are diverse and membership may overlap.

4. 20–32 min · Group community web. Arrange 30 students into six groups of five. Each group receives a large sheet of paper and follows the community web activity instructions. In the centre, students write or draw “Our community”. Around it, they add groups and places, then connect them to shared needs such as safety, belonging, respect, learning, care, fairness, or clean spaces. Students add one contribution people make, for example helping others, following agreed rules, including people, caring for places, sharing ideas, or taking responsibility. Circulate and ask: “Who benefits from this contribution?” and “Whose viewpoint might we need to hear?”

5. 32–40 min · Share and compare. Groups display their webs. One speaker explains a connection, while another identifies a shared need or contribution. Use the discussion and comparison prompts to compare a local community with a national community: What is similar? What is different? How can people contribute to both? Reinforce that rights and responsibilities are connected: contributing thoughtfully helps others participate and enjoy their rights.

6. 40–45 min · Individual reflection and exit check. Students complete the reflection prompts by defining community, naming two diverse groups or shared needs, and explaining one way they participate. Finish with the Success Criteria exit ticket slips. Students tick the criteria they achieved and write one idea they learned from another person. Collect responses to identify learners who need further support in Lesson 2.

Resources

• the complete community introduction and activity deck
• the community mapping and reflection worksheet
• the Success Criteria exit ticket slips
• Sticky notes or small paper squares
• Six large sheets of paper and coloured markers
• Whiteboard or interactive display
• Blu Tack or tape
• Picture cards showing community groups, places, and activities
• Word bank and sentence-starter cards

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk and example sorting for accurate understanding of “community” and the ability to recognise multiple forms of belonging.
• Check mapping sheets and group webs for diverse groups, shared needs, and a clear connection between participation and contribution.
• Use the exit tickets to assess the three success criteria. Note students who need oral, visual, or vocabulary support before the next lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide picture cards, a word bank, and sentence starters such as “A community is…”, “People in this community need…”, and “I contribute by…”.
• Allow students to draw, speak, label, scribe, or write their ideas. Pair learners strategically and offer an adult or peer scribe where appropriate.
• Pre-teach and revisit community, belong, shared need, contribute, rights, and responsibilities. Accept home-language discussion before students share in English.
• For learners needing additional support, provide partly completed web headings and a reduced choice of visual examples. Extend confident learners by comparing local and national communities and explaining how one contribution can benefit different groups.