This is a great way to teach what makes a “community” for 2nd graders at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York. After studying how neighborhoods meet human needs—basic, educational, recreational, and social—both now and in the past, including developing map skills, looking at architectural details, interviewing people, and learning about inventions and games in the past, each class creates a “neighborhood,” dealing with the same issues as real-life city planners. This girl, Emma, created a restaurant for her class’s city.