The world we live in

Suzie Harrison

Students in Jennifer Rilling’s third-grade class where charged

with answering a seemingly simple question. One with far-reaching

implications.

“Where in the world am I?” is the question students were asked to

answer for their social studies unit. They were to find themselves on

the map.

The lesson was to help the students understand the world and how

big it is. They started with what planet they were on and narrowed

their scope by hemisphere, continent, country, state and city.

To document and illustrate what they learned, students made flip

books.

“Look, on the cover I am going to put the world and [I] am going

to draw a big map,” Garrett Cook, 8, said. “And for Huntington Beach

I am going to draw a school.”

Some of the students proudly announced their plans for the county

or the city, while others remained more private.

With crayons in hand they thoughtfully planned out the best

pictures to match the locations.

“On the cover I am probably going to draw something like a beach

and waves,” Cameron Krinker, 8, said. “I was thinking about drawing a

beach on the second page for Huntington Beach, but then I’d have to

think about the first page. Or on the cover I can draw a person

saying where in the world am I?”

Starting with the cover and after finishing the city page, most of

the kids had the same concept for representing the county, but with

creative variations.

“I am doing a huge Orange floating around in space,” Tommy Graham,

8, offered.

Dean Kuster, 8, carefully drew each page and spent a lot of time

thinking about the right picture.

“On the cover, it’s me. I drew a picture of myself going to the

beach with a surfboard,” he said. “But I don’t know where I am or

what beach I am going to.”

He pointed to the question mark above his head.

“He’s thinking ‘where am I?’” Kuster said.

Grace Harding, 8, put herself in the world to identify where she

was.

“I have me and then a globe on the cover,” she said. “I’m wearing

a pink shirt, a red, white and blue skirt and white shoes. I picked

the red, white and blue because it reminds me of the American flag

and Sept. 11.”

She had it all planned out, each page, each minute detail.

“I’m going to draw a picture of an orange because a long time ago

they must have had a lot of orange trees in Orange County,” Harding

said.

“Maybe for the state I’ll draw half of Sacramento,” Harding

continued. “I’ll think of something with Sacramento because it’s the

state capital of California.”