As part of their neighborhood study first graders created their version of a Model Park. Teachers asked children to think about why we need parks. They had many conversations about what things they thought should go into a park. After in class discussions, children interviewed grown ups they knew to learn how people used parks in their neighborhoods. They took field trips to recreational areas around the school community to further observe what individuals they didn’t know use parks for and why. Children took notes during these field trips using a worksheet of specific questions that would generate information needed to design their own area of leisure. Once back in the classroom children used their math skills to organize the data they collected. They created graphs of information to help in their planning and decision-making process. Once children reached consensus on the park’s design, they consulted with the art teacher to determine which materials would be the best to use for a variety of structures. Students drew upon their knowledge of scale to make sure their park features weren’t “too big” so they could “have room for other important stuff, like benches and trees.”
The model park built by children was user friendly and environmentally focused. It included a playground, a bike lane, a skating rink complete with Zamboni, a bathroom complete with toilets, knobs for the sink and signs for the outside. The food bar included a menu, chairs, tables and a hexagon floor. Students also built a farmer’s market that included small fruits and vegetables made from plasticene. They built a tent to keep the food really fresh because it “stays in the shade.” A pond and a grassy field completed this well thought out design.
If you were a fly on the wall during the above creation process this is what you might have heard:
“Community is a group of people who are together.”
“We can do whatever we want with this, and build whatever we want, because this is our park!”
“I don’t think there’s a big difference between animals and nature because animals are a part of nature.”
“It’s ok for us to build a food place anyway. Not all people don’t like to eat in the park! Only the people we talked to, and we didn’t talk to all people!”
This exciting social studies project reflects an integration of social studies, literacy, math, art and community building. Children also learned about the diverse needs of people in inside and outside of their classroom. What an innovative and wonderful snapshot of progressive education in practice.