While geography can be challenging for young children, this activity can help bring home such an abstract concept. Begin by exploring a world map. Locate the continent and country where we live. Ask youngsters to find out in what cities/states/countries their relatives live. What country did their grandparents (and great-grandparents) come from? Through this mapping activity you can create a visual representation of children1s family history.
WHAT YOU NEED
World map or globe
Colored flag pins or sticky dots
WHAT YOU DO
Make a list of the different states and countries that represent youngsters1 families.
Hang map on wall low enough for children to reach.
Have kids choose their flag/sticker colors.
Read list aloud, then have children place flags on appropriate points on map.
Study the map. Can youngsters name marked areas? Where are the most flags?
Did anyone discover that their families came from the same places? Whose relatives are farthest away? Closest?
Extend the learning: Make favorite family meals from the areas flagged; take a trip to the library and learn more about these newfound homelands.
Related Books
A Movie in My Pillow/Una Película en mi Almohada Poems by Jorge Argueta, Children's Book Press (4-7)
This groundbreaking book is the first to address immigration during the Salvadorian civil war from a child's perspective. The poet recalls childhood memories of his homeland, where mangoes grow on trees, and of San Francisco, where they come in cans.
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney, Dragonfly Books (5-7)
A young girl shows herself on a map of the world, beginning with herself in a map of her room, her room on the map of her house, her house on the map of her street-all the way to her country on a map of the world.
highlights
activities
articles (english)
articulos (español)
about KQED
back to top
