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Subject

Social Studies (NYS K-12 Framework Common Core)

Description

The United States is composed of three types of communities – urban, rural and suburban. Students will investigate that rural communities are influenced by geographic and environmental factors. Life in rural in agricultural areas represents a dramatic contrast to city life in the United States. This lesson is a second of the sequence of five and explores advantages and challenges of life in rural areas.

Essential Question

What environmental and geographic factors define lifestyles in rural communities?

Objectives

Students will be able to

• define rural as: living in the country, including people, places, careers and lifestyles
• list 3 advantages and 3 challenges of life rural communities
• describe what a rural area looks like using physical characteristics regarding space, size, buildings and natural environment.

Duration

Two 45-minute classroom sessions

Procedure

Session One

• Read the book I Grew up on a Farm by Alan K. Lewis. This book is an autobiographical sketch of life on a working farm in Middletown, New York during the 1950s. Uniquely illustrated with black and white photographs expanded to full color drawings, this early reader is for ages 4-8.
• Discuss the author’s life on the farm.
• Explain that they are taking a Virtual Farm Trip . Using the SMART Board, you will take the 4-H Virtual Farm tour. They will find out why farming is part of your life even if they have never visited a real farm.
• At the end of each type of farm use the interactive challenge at the end of each farm to test their knowledge.

Session Two

• Collectively create a definition of farm life using the term rural. Be sure to include what it looks like, what people do, how they live, etc.
• Using Read Write and Think’s Postcard Creator – have the students create a postcard of rural farm life. The postcard should include definition of what is rural life. It should have 3 facts about advantages and 3 facts about disadvantages of how people live in the country.

Website(s)

Read Write and Think
I Grew Up On A Farm

Materials and Resources

PostCard Creator.notebook
Rubric for Rural Postcard.doc

Assessment

Rubric

Related Academic Standards

New York State

SS.1.GEO.6.b Roads, dams, bridges, farms, parks, and dwellings are all examples of how people modify the physical environment to meet needs and wants.

SS.2.ID.1 A community is a population of various individuals in a common location. It can be characterized as urban, suburban, or rural. Population density and use of the land are some characteristics that define and distinguish types of communities.

SS.2.ID.1.c Rural communities are characterized by a large expanse of open land and significantly lower populations than urban or suburban areas.

SS.E.3.1A Students study how people live, work, and utilize natural resources.

SS.E.3.1B Students draw maps and diagrams that serve as representations of places, physical features, and objects.

SS.E.3.1D Students identify and compare the physical, human, and cultural characteristics of different regions and people.