Activity

Around the Block

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Arthur and his friends help children explore the concepts of family, community, and diversity in a fun series of activities. From performing peer interviews to mapping out the different places students have lived or visited, this resource offers great ideas for building a strong classroom community in the early weeks of the school year.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Create and display a classroom directory for parents to read through during Back-to-School Night
  • After teaching about cardinal directions, refer to them throughout the year during lessons and activities to reinforce students' understanding
  • For the pen pal activity, consider pairing up with another class in your school, assigning big buddies and little buddies. They can write letters to each other throughout the year
  • After completing the included map activity, have students draw maps of their own neighborhoods
Classroom Considerations
  • Resource mentions viewing specific episodes of Arthur, which may or may not be available at your school or local public library
Pros
  • Includes graphic organizers and worksheets that support the described activities
  • Clear descriptions are provided for each of the suggested activities
  • Activities can be adapted to a range of grade levels
Cons
  • None