Neighbors & Neighborhoods

Exploring neighbors and neighborhood in the classroom, using I Know a Lady
	In I Know a Lady, a group of children --- their names are not given, nor is that of “the lady” --- tell their collective view of the older woman who lives on their street. They notice when she waves to them, they enjoy her Christmas cookies and Easter cupcakes, they see her working in her garden and observe that she even knows their dogs' names. (Left, the Lady, in James Stevenson's loose illustration, pets the dog of one of her young neighbors.)
Questions to explore in the classroom
Here’s a series of open-ended questions and discussion topics about the neighborhood --- the child’s intermediate non-school world (the first being the world within the family). Most of these can be used, with slight adaptation, for students in second, third, and fourth grades; a few are oriented towards older students, even high school age, as are most of the projects which follow.
After reading I Know a Lady aloud in class, explore some of these:
The children “know a lady” in Charlotte’s book, but the lady clearly knows them, too. How? How do you think she knows their dogs’ and cats’ names? Why does she give them candy apples and cupcakes? She seems to enjoy knowing the children; do you think she does? Why?
The lady lives alone. Do you think she is lonesome or contented? Why?
In the book, the lady and the children live in a neighborhood --- one particular block. What makes a particular place a “neighborhood”? How big do you think a neighborhood is?
What is your neighborhood? Where is it and how big is it? Why is it a neighborhood?
If your neighborhood had a color, a taste, a smell, and a feeling (texture), what would it be? If it was a song or a kind of music, what would that be?
Who lives on your block / in your apartment?
What do you know about them? How do you know this?
Are they aware of you? Are you aware of them? How do they, and you, express this? Do you like them, or not? Why? Do you think they like you, or not? Why?
What makes a person a neighbor? Can you live on the same block as someone and not feel they are "neighborly" ? Why?
What do you think “being a good neighbor” is? What are some examples?
Have you ever had a neighbor who was mean, or scary? What did you do?
Has there ever been an emergency or accident in your neighborhood? What happened, and how did people react?
What noises do you hear regularly in your neighborhood? (Garbage trucks, birds, lawn sprinklers, sirens, doors slamming, cars going by, someone practicing piano… ?)
What’s good about your neighborhood --- what do you like about living there? What’s not so good; what’s missing that would make it better, or is there that shouldn’t be?
Are there particular games or activities in your neighborhood? (This could be anything from hopscotch to families watching videos together or playing in sprinklers or turned-on hydrants to potluck dinners to block parties.) How does it affect the feeling or flavor of your neighborhood?
What animals live in your neighborhood, both pets and wild animals? How do they get along with the human beings and with each other?
What grows in your neighborhood? Trees, flowers, grass, weeds? What kinds?
Do you find garbage on the street in your neighborhood? What do you find? How does it get there? Who puts it there and who picks it up?
Are the houses in your neighborhood new or old? Do you think they were built at the same time, or at different times? How are they alike and how are they different? Do the buildings or houses themselves seem to get along?
For Middle Grade students
Sometimes people talk about countries being neighbors. What does this mean? Does the United States have neighbors? Who are they?
Do you think we, America, are good neighbors to our neighbors, Mexico and Canada? Why? Are they good neighbors to us? Why?
The lady gives the children, her neighbors, various gifts as the year goes along. In a different way, countries that are our neighbors exchange “gifts.” What are some of the gifts Mexico and Canada has given the U.S. ? What do you think we have given them?
A lot of the lady’s gifts seem to do with food. Do either of our neighboring countries “give” us gifts of food? How have Mexican gifts changed the way their neighbors, we in the U.S., eat
Some people think the Internet makes everyone in the world neighbors in a new way --- not by sharing the same physical area, but sharing an area of interest. Do you think you can be neighbors this way, with someone you have never met who lives far away? Or must your neighbors live right next door? Or are both possible?
For older students
Print out and read the Robert Frost poem Mending Wall which contains the famous line “Good fences make good neighbors.” Do you agree or disagree? What do you imagine “the lady” and the children think about the ideas in this poem? Are there differences between being neighbors and living in a neighborhood? What are they? What do you think makes a good or bad neighbor; a good or bad neighborhood?
Project ideas about the ‘hood
Good neighbors list: Do you have neighbors you are extra-friendly with? People you parents tell you to call “in case of emergency”, or who would call you if they ran into difficulties? Create a Neighborhood Network of these people. Put the name of everyone who wants to be on it on your list, along with their phone number on it, and physical and email addresses. Add birthdays or other information if you want (favorite colors, hobbies). Make copies of the list --- in extra-large print for older people who may not see as well --- and give one to everyone who is on the list to hang by their phone.
For older students
Research where you live. Interview your neighbors. Do you know who lives behind each door? How old are they? Do they have pets or kids? How long have they lived in that neighborhood? Why did they pick that particular house or block to live in? What work do they do?
Map your neighborhood. First, go to Mapquest or Expedia and print out a map of what you think of as your neighborhood. Then make your own, detailed, personal version. Gather specific information when possible (see research where you live, above) and write it on your map. You can also note information about wild-life, architecture, and plants. And if you find out how old your neighborhood is, you can write about that, too. (If a student lives in a brand new development, ask her to think about what was there before the new homes got built. Charlotte’s daughter, Crescent Dragonwagon, has written a book which may be helpful in encouraging such imaginings, Home Place.
Note to teachers: the students’ maps need not be literal. They can be collages, as much about the feeling of the place than the how-to-find-it. Digital photographs of various sites (a nearby park or vacant lot, the Exxon, particular houses or apartment buildings) and inhabitants (their local Quiet Lady, a local cat snoozing in a window) can be part of it. The collage may include the conventional Mapquest map, too.
Invite the neighbors to class: after students have finished their maps, hang them on the wall and have a gathering in the classroom, inviting a few of each student’s favorite neighbors, including family, to come and view the maps. Designing and bringing the invitations to the neighbors (either by hand, snail-mail, or email) is part of the adventure.
Note to teachers: obviously, there are some neighbors and neighborhoods that this is not at all appropriate for. But often, older residents in a neighborhood who no longer have young children around do not support tax initiatives and such because they no longer feel “invested” in the local educational system. Such a gathering makes them part of it --- part of the larger community neighborhood.