Introduction

A picture is worth a thousand words. Through photography, students develop literacy skills and learn about their neighborhood. As part of the second grade social studies unit, students read books to find out what a neighborhood is. As they become involved in a web quest, students make use of the Internet to research  information about the local school neighborhood. Students take a neighborhood walk during which they photograph sights and places in the neighborhood. Online maps are used to pinpoint these sights on a map of the local neighborhood. Students create their own map of sights in the neighborhood. A narrative account is written, using a word processing application, about three of the neighborhood sights. A drawing and painting application is used to illustrate sights in the neighborhood. These illustrations are organized into a "neighborhood quilt." Through oral presentations, students share their photographs, maps, stories and illustrations with the class.