Students build a picture of their own town on this 1st grade mind map. The center reads "Our Community," and four branches ask about places we go, people who help us, things for fun, and getting around, with a fifth box for the student's own idea. Each branch has two clue questions, and a word bank of ten words (school, park, library, bike, and others) supports spelling. It is two pages with no answer key, and it connects to the C3 Framework indicator D2.Civ.2.K-2.
D2.Civ.2.K-2
“Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community.”
The People Who Help Us branch, with "Who keeps us safe" and "Who helps us when we are sick," has students name community members and the jobs they do.
A box lists school, park, teacher, firefighter, bus, car, library, store, doctor, and bike. The center topic explains that a community is where we live, work, and play together.
Students draw and write one answer for each clue: where we get food and where we learn, who keeps us safe and who helps when we are sick, where we play outside and what we do on weekends, and how we travel to school.
A last box asks what else makes the community special, with suggestions like a favorite food place or the animals, and a space to draw it.
Neighborhood walk
Take the class around the block before you hand this out. Students then answer the Places We Go branch from what they actually saw.
Family homework
Send the Getting Around and Things For Fun branches home. Families know how their child gets to school and what they do on weekends, and the answers vary a lot.
Show and tell
Give each student one minute to share the Your Own Idea box. It is the one part of the sheet where no two answers match.
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