Jamie-Lee Berends

Social Studies Curriculums

October 15th, 2014
Rural and Urban Communities
These 10 links provided concentrate on the social studies topic of Rural and
Urban Communities and is directed towards grades 3 but can be altered for up to grades
5. The links vary in activities; some of them are informational videos, others are work
sheets and some are building activities or computer activities. These 10 different websites
cover many different SCOs and GCOs for the curriculum outcomes of: social studies,
language arts, health, science, art and many more.
Web sources:
1) Introduction to Communities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3d5ZZG63TY
This video would be great to start off a quick introduction about the differences between
urban and rural areas. The video is only 3 minutes and 7 seconds long so it a quick and
easy way to jump right into the topic and is great for grades 2 and up.
2) Community Study
http://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/divisions/text/wright/data/Activity_Ideas.pdf
This source is a lesson plan created for grades 3 for a group activity. The lesson involves
the students being divided up into groups to create models of either urban or rural areas
using the materials provided. They will then do some short presentation on what they did
and why.
IMP: the lesson plan for grade 3 on the topics of rural and urban communities is on page
283.
3) Urban Suburban and Rural Communities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuF2o7SaRWU
This link is a short podcast video created by Ms. Palmer or jennamurphee as she is
known on YouTube. This video is great for teaching grade 3 about the differences
between these types of communities. It goes at a slow pace but is also easy to follow and
interesting to hear.
This video can be used if the students need another quick overview of the differences
between the rural and urban communities. It should be used as something to help remind
the students what the differences are and how they know.

4) Grade 3 Social Studies Summary

http://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/resources/lesson-plans/critical-thinking-grade-3-socialstudies-urban-rural-communities/
This activity is used to have students create an imaginary community (either rural or
urban based) and to create a pamphlet to try and persuade people into moving there.
This link is to a website for the Ontario Teachers Federation which is designed for
teachers to use to teach about urban and rural communities in Canada. IMP: The link will
bring you to a the front page of the website and you will need to open the download
located under Lesson Plans called Grade 3 Social Studies Summary. This will then be
opened as a PDF file that you can save.
5) Types of Communities
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/books/applications/imaps/maps/g3_u1/index.html
This is a link that could be used by students who may need more time learning the
differences between rural and urban communities. By clicking on the options provided it
shows the students what kinds of buildings are located in each area examples being:
Urban = hospitals, malls, banks etc. and Rural = farmers markets, small shops, etc. There
are also questions available for the teacher to give out to their students.
Note: Computers will be needed for students to complete this task
6) Worksheet
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/communities/urban-suburban-rural_W.pdf
This link could be used after some information of urban and rural communities has been
discussed in class. The students would need to know some basic information before being
able to complete this worksheet but it works great to see if the students understand the
basic concepts.
7) Urban cutouts
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/communities/urban-cut-out_WMZWT.pdf
This link to a free PDF is great for teaching students about just the urban side of
communities. It allows the students to build their own city by cutting out buildings,
coloring them in and making them into a model city.
8) Reading about urban and rural communities
http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit83/lesson3.html

This link could be used to teach a short 45-minute class on urban and rural communities
through a lesson that includes reading the book: City Mouse & Country Mouse: A Classic
Fairy Tale by Isabelle Chantellard. You as the teacher would then follow the lesson plan
and do an interactive activity which involved the students being divided into groups and
assigned urban, suburban or rural areas, they would then discuss the differences and draw
what they think would go in that community.

9) Global Wiki Lesson Plan: Rural, Urban, and Suburban Environments

http://www.brainpop.com/educators/community/lesson-plan/global-wiki-lesson-planrural-urban-and-suburban-environments/
This link is a great way to use many resources for teaching the differences between rural
and urban communities. The webpage has links throughout the lesson plan that connect to
the website BrainPop for quizzes, activities and interactive videos. This website is great
because not only are the activities fun to do with students but the BrainPop website links
allow the students to both read and have the questions read allowed. This is a huge
advantage to any student how may have difficulty reading.
IMP: Students will need access to a computer and have access to cameras and video
cameras for the activity.
10) Grade 3 Comprehensive Curriculum Links Unit 1
http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/3rd/homework/ss/ss/3rd_ss_units/un1/3rd_Un1Act5/Un1Act5.
htm
This link is great for the grade 3 units on communities. It gives both the background
information for refresher lessons on things like maps, directions etc. as well as
information that would be useful to the communities unit. The link provides the teacher
with other links that are useful such as websites based around rural communities, urban
communities and suburban communities and interactive links that contain power points,
history and geography.