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My Town / My City / My State Card Game

Source: Arthur Mee and Holland Thompson, eds. The Book of Knowledge (New York: The Grolier Society, 1912)

  Introduction

Part of understanding one's place in the world is being familiar with the names, events, physical features and other elements that make that place special. This lesson is a game that generates a common vocabulary for students of the various elements that give Massachusetts its special definition and character.

For demonstration purposes, the game is described below using Massachusetts as the geographical area. It can - and should! - be adjusted to apply to the local community, town, city or region - in fact, to any area under study.

Grades 3 - 8.

1. The class brainstorms a list of Massachusetts' or local community's characteristics:

   • Physical Features (Examples: Cape Ann, Merrimack River, Connecticut Valley...)

   • Cities/Towns (Examples: Springfield, New Bedford, Worcester...)

   • Recreational Places/Events (Examples: Tanglewood, Great Woods, Boston Common...)

   • Cultural Sites (Examples: Plymouth Plantation, Sturbridge Village, Lowell Mills...)

   • Historic Spots/Events (Examples: Freedom Trail, Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Deerfield...)

   • Educational-Schools/Museums (Examples: UMass, MIT, B.C., Fine Arts, Higgins Armory...)

   • Athletic Teams (Examples: Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, Celtics...)

   • Prominent People (Examples: Ted Kennedy, William Weld, Paul Revere...)

   • Flora/Fauna (Examples: cranberries, lobster, clams, apples...)

   • Economic Activities (Examples: computers, fishing, the Lottery...)

   • Transportation Systems (Examples: Route 128, Route 495, Mass Pike, the T...)

2. Students write each item one side of a 3x5 card.

3. Have students select a card face down and at random they then attach it with tape to the back of another student. They should be careful not to let the receiving student see the text on the card, although everyone else can.

4. Students then mill about until they see other people's cards.

The object of the activity is for the student to identify the Massachusetts characteristic taped to their back by asking yes/no questions to their classmates about their card: Am I a place? Am I on or near the coast? Am I a person? Am I a place where my family might go?

Once they have correctly guessed the word on their back, they put the card on their front and become helpers. Only people who guess their card can put it on their front and give hints to others who are stuck. Once the whole class has cards on their front have them use a map (may be printed out from maps.google.com) map, sheet map or transparency map to locate the items. This exercise also works to introduce a unit or as a review before a test for any region under study.

One 3 x 5 card for each student

Markers

Map of the neighborhood, town, city, state or region under study - maps.google.com offers satellite, mapped and hybrid views of a given area.

Students will be evaluated