You probably hear the word "community" quite a bit, but did you ever stop and think about what exactly a community is? You probably belong to more communities than you think.
In this lesson, you will explore the idea of community--What makes a community? Who decides who is part of a community? How do communities coexist? What is your role in your community?	Panoramic photograph of downtown Houston taken in 1949.

1920's map of Houston	To discover as much as you can about community, you must complete the following tasks: Define community Identify and group various kinds of communities Create a concept map or chart showing your membership in different communities Write a narrative describing your membership in these communities

	Online The Focus on Your Community Resource Page The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Step A: So What Is a Community Anyway? Put on your thinking cap because you’ll need it to help your classmates brainstorm the definition of community. Work as a class to build a definition of your own based on your brainstorming. Now let’s look up the definition of community in the online dictionary Step B: Really, How Many Kinds of Communities Can There Be? Two heads are usually better than one, so split into small groups to complete Step B. Work as a team to list at least 10 different types of communities. When you can’t think of any more, group together and classify communities that seem similar. For example, group together communities like your neighborhood or your city that are geographic communities. Give your creative side something to do and design a symbol for the groups you’ve made in #3. You will use these symbols in Step C so make sure they're cool and original.

Step C: So, What Communities Are You a Part of? Using the symbols you designed, create an inner-outer circle diagram of the communities to which you belong. Your diagram should look something like the example below. You can put the smaller communities in the inside circle and larger ones on the outside. Write a brief summary (about half a page) of your participation in one of the communities you listed.

Houston Heights Shopping District

Your grade for this lesson will be based on your participation in the class discussion and your concept map. Try to make a concept map that is original and neat. Be sure your summary doesn’t have any spelling or grammar mistakes. You may earn extra points (and you will discover some neat things) if you use some resources besides those used in class.

Wow! Now that all that’s done, you should have a better understanding of community. Check your knowledge with these questions:

What is a community? What are some different types of communities? What communities are you a part of? How do you impact your community?