Lesson: Philadelphia Meets the World

Source: Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit

Created by: Gina Piccioni, Sacred Heart School

Subjects: Social Studies, English Language Arts

Grade Levels: 4-6

View or download this Lesson Plan.

Overview: In this lesson, students will identify and explore (in person or virtually) places of natural and/or cultural importance in the Philadelphia area. Then they will compare this place to a place of natural and/or cultural importance in a different part of the world.

Objectives: Students will be be able to Identify prominent Pennsylvanians during some historical periods, identify Pennsylvania landmarks (landmarks listed in places and terms glossary), locate Philadelphia on a map of Pennsylvania and compare its population with other cities, identify famous Philadelphia landmarks (landmarks listed in places and terms glossary), identify a place of natural or cultural significance in the Philadelphia area, compare and contrast a local site to one in a different part of the world, and share findings using written words and oral communication.

The Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit

This lesson is one of 29 lessons (K-12, all subjects) in the Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit. The goal of the Tool Kit is to help educators and their students develop a transnational analysis in their classrooms by using complex themes of world heritage as a framework to understand global regions across disciplines. These themes include shared architectural, cultural, economic, environmental, political, recreational, religious, and social heritage features.  Real teachers created these lessons and based their work on “best practices” that reflect student collaboration and the broad goals of young people in ways that support care and understanding of others who may be very different in background and history.