In this creative lesson plan, the teacher will show the students a passport, explaining the process of leaving, visiting and returning to a country. The students will take a virtual “field trip” to another country, using photographs from the TIDES website. Once the students return from their trip, they will create a scrapbook to show what they learned.

Created by Donna Bass, September 2006

The student is expected to connect life experiences with the life experiences, language, customs, and culture of others.
TEKS §110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2. (b)(13)(A)

locate the community, Texas, the United States, and selected countries on maps and globes

compare information from different sources about places and regions.

The student is expected to identify ways in which people depend on the physical environment, including natural resources, to meet basic needs.
TEKS §113.4. Social Studies, Grade 2. (b)(8)(A)

The student is expected to:

obtain information about a topic using a variety of visual sources such as pictures, graphics, television, maps, computer software, literature, reference sources, and artifacts

use various parts of a source, including the table of contents, glossary, and index, as well as keyword computer searches, to locate information.

Lesson Objective: The student will be able to compare information about one community with that of another. The student will also apply new vocabulary.

Teacher will show the students an actual passport and explain that one must have a passport to enter and exit another country. Explain to the students that to enter or leave a foreign country requires following certain procedures. Inform students that they too will be going on a trip, only this time they will be visiting the Rainforest of the Yucatan, Mexico. They will be experiencing some of the same things that children in this region experience. At this time, the teacher can point out the significance of the different stamps found in a person's passport. Upon completion of this activity, they will also receive a stamp on their passport.

The teacher will use a map in the classroom to point out the location of the class' community and that of the Yucatan in Mexico. Vocabulary words to be introduced:
Transportation Market
Dwellings
Community
Citizen
Customs

Invite students to guess the meanings of these words, as they apply to their own lives. Give examples and list on a classroom chart. The teacher will show the classroom the photographs listed from TIDES. As the photographs are shown, the teacher will list observations (comparisons and contrasts) on a bubble map which is in view for all students.

Now that the students have completed the bubble map activity, the teacher will instruct them in completing their very own scrapbook. The students will select two items from each heading on the bubble map, illustrate each item, and write a description. It should be no fewer than two complete sentences. The teacher will move around the room to ensure that students are on task and demonstrating an understanding.

Bring the students together and ask for volunteers to show and read their scrapbooks. Display in a visible place for other students to view and handle.

Teachers may take digital photos of the students and allow students to create their personal passports. In addition, students can receive their own stamp from a foreign country.