Research a coastal community, profiling physical, cultural, and other characteristics.

• 1.

  Research a coastal community. Gather information about the village, town, or city: Locate it on a map, find out about its physical geography, cultural climate, and typical architecture.

• 2.

  Make two lists with Crayola® Markers. First, imagine what you might see (natural and manufactured things) in the water if you looked out from the land. Then list what you might see on the land when looking from the water. What building styles and visible clues to cultural characteristics are evident?

• 3.

  With Crayola® Oil Pastels, make a detailed drawing of the coastal community you selected. Begin by dividing your drawing paper for land and water. Blend pastels by rubbing with a fingertip or paper towel. Add details by using pastel over pastel.

Standards

• LA: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
• LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• LA: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• SCI: Construct models to describe weather and climate patterns which are produced by the interactions among the atmosphere, the ocean, and landforms.
• SCI: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information describing the impacts human activities has on Earth’s systems and generate examples of actions individuals and communities have taken to conserve Earth’s resources and environments.
• SS: Describe and speculate about physical system changes, such as seasons, climate and weather, and the water cycle.
• SS: Examine the interaction of human beings and their physical environment, the use of land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and regions.
• SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.
• VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.
• VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: Living Near a River by Allan Fowler; I Live in Brooklyn by Mari Takabayashi; Follow That Map!: A First Book of Mapping Skills by Scot Ritchie; I Live in Tokyo by Mari Takabayashi
• Organize a field trip to visit landmarks in a local coastal town or city, if possible. Students observe and sketch what they see, including people passing by and other activities. Upon returning to the classroom, students can continue their observations by viewing photographs of coastal towns or cities, noting similarities and differences with where they live. Have small groups of students note, in writing, similarities and differences. Post in the classroom as a reference.
• After completing their sketch of a coastal town or city, students use Crayola Model Magic to create a 3-D model of the same scene. Students write a summary of their scene and post it with the 3-D model.
• What is life like in a coastal town? Students collaborate to write a story of a day in the life of a child that lives in a coastal community. Illustrate significant scenes in the story using Crayola Colored Pencils.