- Who did we meet in the video?
- What different places did they visit?
- Do you have places like these in your neighborhood?
- How are the places you visit the same or different from these?
People around the world have special places they go to in their neighborhoods. As you watch the videos from Yemen and Jordan, you will see children at two of these special places. In the video from Yemen, the children go to a souk, or market. In the video from Jordan, children go to their madrasa, or school. After watching, continue the learning by exploring your own neighborhood and its distinctive places.
School | Madrasa
[pronounced mah-dra-sa]
means "school" in Arabic.
Say this chant together. Act out the words in bold.
So many places that I know,
So many places we can go!
Madrasa is where we read.
Madrasa is where we write.
Madrasa is where we play.
So many places that I know,
So many places we can go
(Now try the chant with the word souk, or market, in place of madrasa. Replace read, write, and play with shop, look, and walk.)
Materials:
- Paper
- Crayons or markers
Activity: Children will use their senses to explore and make observations about places they know.
- Have children create a picture of all the things they see, hear, and smell on their way to school. (This can be done all at once, or you can encourage children to visit the art table sometime during the day to make their pictures.)
- After children make their pictures, it's time to give a tour! Gather children onto the imaginary tour bus by sitting them in two lines in chairs or on the floor.
- Choose one child to stand or sit at the front of the bus. She will be the tour guide. Explain that she will show everyone what's in the neighborhood by calling out the different things she sees, hears, and smells along the way. You might ask, "What do you see first? What does it look like? What's inside? What do you hear?"
- Now, it's someone else's turn to be the guide. As each child takes a turn, talk about the ways a person's neighborhood sights are both similar and different. "Wow, Ashanti and Ben both passed a library, but only Lorena had a swimming pool in her neighborhood."
