November: Community Connections
“If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.” Wendell Berry
What is a community?
A human community is a group of people who live and interact with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental, social, and political conditions. A natural community is a group of plants and animals that live and interact with one another in a specific region under similar environmental conditions.
Our human communities are essential for our daily life. They satisfy our needs for food, and shelter, as well as provide social interactions. Human communities are dependent on the larger natural community which contains the soil, water, air, plants, and animals on which the human community is sustained. The natural community supports itself and our civilizations.
Every community is unique. Each has its own historical background, natural resources, attractions and unique features.
Community History
Study the history of the human and natural community in your area. What was here before? How has it changed? Who settled your community? What traditions did they bring with them?
Pick an aspect of local history to investigate further with your students. Keep the focus small and relative to the children. For example, you could study your school and the history of your school or schooling in your area. What would school have looked like to them 50 years ago? 100 years ago? What used to be at the site where your current school is? What plants grew there? What animals lived there?
Prairie Voices: Iowa Heritage Curriculum
Explorations in Iowa History Project
Iowa Folklife: Our People, Communities, and Traditions
IPTV Iowa Pathways: Explore Iowa History
People, Communities, and Their Iowa Environment
Iowa’s Biological Communities
Iowa Biodiversity
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