Marilyn Weiser [Using David Smith's book If the World Were a Village]

Overview

The National Standards of each area of the curriculum address the need for students to practice and develop skills to solve and understand ‘real world’ problems and solutions. If the World Were a Village, as stated by the author, is about ‘world-mindedness.’ My interpretation of that includes being mindful of one’s purpose, passion and position in life. Guiding children to understand the global village, as described by the author, helps them to develop and nurture values that are sure to produce tolerant and productive citizens. Understanding the interdependence, environment and cultures of the global village will steer students toward making reasonable and good decisions. The outcomes of this lesson plan include the application of the knowledge of geographical concepts, mathematical concepts of the framework of the village and an appreciation for the diverse aspects of life on this planet and their responsibility for the future.

Connection to the Standards

• Geography for Life National Geography Standards
  • Standard 4 The physical and human characteristics of places
  • Standard 9 The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human population on earth’s surface
  • Standard 11 The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on earth’s surface
  • Standard 18 How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future
• Principles and Standards for School Mathematics National Mathematics Standards
  • Standard 2 Mathematics as communication
  • Standard 6 Number Sense and Numeration
  • Standard 11 Statistics and Probability
• Standards for the English Language Arts National Language Arts Standards
  • Standard 1 Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
  • Standard 8 Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
  • Standard 12 Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for leaning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

• Students will investigate the meaning of what one person represents in the village of 100
• Students will create at least one graph to represent one topic
• Students will become aware of the difference and distribution of wealth, resources and population
• Students will collect data and construct a North Dakota village of 100

Geography, Mathematics, Technology, Language Arts; K-4, adaptable to all grades

Duration

Six 45-minute class periods

Vocabulary

• Village-A settlement usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town.
• Ratio-The relationship in number, quantity or degree between two or more things.
• Population-The people or number of people in an area.
• Census-A periodic governmental count of population.
• Data-Factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion or calculation.

Materials/Resources

• If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith
• Class set of world atlases
• Graphing computer program
• Class set of world map worksheets
• Colored pencils
• Zero Population Growth video (if available)
• Web sites: North Dakota Agriculture 2002 www.agdepartment.com/news.html, North Dakota Ag Statistics Service www.nass.usda.gov/nd, US Census Bureau http://quickfacts.census.gov

Classroom Instructions

• Opening the Lesson
  1. Ask students what they think the meaning is of If the World Were a Village? What is a village? Name several.
  2. Discuss the purpose of maps and globes-the discussion should lead the students to understand that it would be impossible to study the world in its actual size.
  3. Discuss the purpose of studying and understanding the complexity and diversity of the earth on a lower scale. Students should understand that, in this book, one person equals 62,000,000.
  4. Students participate in an activity, which reviews place value to a billion. The ratio of the world population (6,200,000,000) and what one person would equal is demonstrated. Students practice, using a calculator, determining what more than one person equals. They will understand why it is easier to work with smaller numbers, while realizing their symbolism.
• Developing the Lesson
  1. Give the students a ‘feel’ for the village by selecting two or three illustrations and discuss their purposes.
  2. Read the “Welcome” and select several topics in If the World Were a Village. Find the countries on a map.
  3. Study each corresponding illustration.
  4. Read information about the author at www.mapping.com
  5. Students will learn the process of the technology program titled Graph Maker. They will create, label and print at least five graphs using the title and data from the book If the World Were a Village.
  6. Students will discuss their ideas for topics, illustrations and technology tools for a North Dakota village of 100.
• Concluding the Lesson
  1. Students will research, compile, calculate and graph North Dakota statistics to create a village of 100.
  2. Students will publish a book titled Villages of 100! They will interpret all of their data in relation to their future as responsible, productive citizens.
• Assessment
  1. Student participation in class discussion.
  2. Can student identify in which data sets they are included?
  3. Depending on grade level, evaluate each student’s graph and label.
  4. Project-based rubric
• Extending the Lesson
  1. Draw an illustration to go with each topic.
  2. Answer the following questions:
     1. Does our village look different than it would have 10 years ago or 10 years from now?
     2. Is ND a true representation of the world population? What is the same, what is different?
     3. How does it compare to another state? How would the illustrations of a ND village look different from the ‘global village?’