Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo. 2014

Busy Cities and Towns

Nana in the city by Castillo, Lauren — Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.1 A young boy is frightened by how busy and noisy the city is when he goes there to visit his Nana, but she makes him a fancy red cape that keeps him from being scared as she shows him how wonderful a place it is.

Rationale: Early primary grade social studies curricula often include a study of local community life and different types of communities. This award winning picture book fits nicely into that study because it explores the city. A well designed curricula is a spiraling sequential one, always expanding from the core idea as students skills and maturity grow. Library lessons, according to my philosophy, need to completely integrate into classroom lessons, supplementing and expanding what is happening in the classroom, not a stand alone isolated lesson. Never being one to do the same activity each year or do it the same way, these are a few of the content development and library and media skills I use that can be incorporated in a unit about city life. Here are a few ideas that I use in the library-computer lab. Use this lesson in conjunction with the activities for Last Stop on Market Street.

After reading the Inspiration Book aloud to the class, or one of the other related books listed below, complete one of the following related library, classroom & computer activities that support the community life strand of social studies curricula. Substrands that are supported include maps and community services.

1. Take a field trip walk around the neighborhood looking for city details like stop signs, fences, parks, playgrounds, stores, gas stations, house styles, street signs, hills, water, bridges, railroads, streets, etc. Provide a clipboard and sketch paper for each child on which each child sketches one item when identified. Back in the school, use a large city map to trace the walk--if the map is laminated, use a vis-a-vis marker. Using computers or paper, pencil & crayon, have students draw one item they saw, then arrange all into a mural or collage “What We Saw in the Neighborhood.”
2. If a city bus route goes by the school, arrange a bus field trip to the center of town for the class, noting sites and services. Take a walk around the city center, taking photos of individual students outside buildings. Upload the photos, then import into a drawing program to have the student pictured in the photo draw a grandparent next to the student. Older students can write about what the grandparent and student saw or did in that building.
3. Students in second and third grade often learn about community services such as specific types of stores (gas, clothing, grocery, furniture), government buildings (city hall, fire department, police station, library), recreation facilities (swimming pool, parks, skating rinks, gyms), houses of worship, Ys, etc. Brainstorm other locations students go to, but were not part of the community services discussed above. Using cereal boxes, shoe boxes, or milk cartons, each or a pair of students designs a representative community service and the class creates a 3-D community.
4. Have a discussion of “scary” things found in the book and how to keep safe and not be scared. This discussion could lead into safety services personnel such as police and fire personnel.

Related Titles:

All through my town by Reidy, Jean — Bloomsbury, 2013. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.0. Illustrations and simple, rhyming text take the reader on a tour around town. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

Every Friday by Yaccarino, Dan  — Square Fish, c2006 p2012. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.4. Every Friday a father, rather than a grandmother, and his child share a special ritual.

Brown Rabbit in the city by Russell, Natalie — Viking, 2010.Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.2. Brown Rabbit takes the bus to visit his best friend in the city, but the visit does not go as Brown Rabbit expecte.

In the town all year 'round by Berner, Rotraut Susanne  — Chronicle Books, 2008. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.4 Illustrations and sparse text present a variety of characters going on errands and adventures around a small town throughout the seasons and asks the reader to find surprises and details.

In New York by Brown, Marc Tolon ( — Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Dewey: 974.7; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. Takes readers on a tour of New York City.

Last stop on Market Street by de la Pena, Matt — G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), 2015. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

The silver button by Graham, Bob — Candlewick Press, 2013. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.7. At the same moment that Jodie's baby brother takes his first step, a city's worth of moments unfold.

City shapes by Murray, Diana — Little, Brown and Company, 2016. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.4. A young girl walks through the bustling city, while a pigeon flies above, both spotting hidden shapes at every turn"--Provided by publisher.