Making a Child-Friendly City Map
A guided course

Stage 22.11DiscussionExperience

Complete Activities 1 and 2

Collaborate with Partners · Prepare for Partner Meeting 1

Since we believe at GUB that you can only lead as far as you have traveled, during Partner Meeting 1, you will be guiding partners through the same activities they will be leading with youth in your communities. Thus, partners will experience the activities before they lead them. They will be using CFC Map Youth Engagement_Lesson Plan 1.  Below are summaries of each activity for you to complete before you lead them, and to understand how to support your partners in leading these activities with youth! 

Remember: 

Activity 1 : Inquiry into Maps

In Activity 1, small teams study various local city maps to determine what a child-friendly map might look like. Teams will notice the different parts of each map and how they feel about the map’s overall appearance. Teams will use a “notecatcher” (a document that “catches” notes) to take written notes of their discussion related to what parts they like and dislike, whether they feel there’s anything missing, etc. Here is an example of completed notecatchers for your review.

Do First:

  • First, complete Activity 1 on your own.
  • Gather maps of your own city from the internet, a local visitor’s center or the Chamber of Commerce.
  • Looking through these maps, answer the questions in the Notecatcher for Activity 1: Inquiry into Maps 
  • Share your notecatcher in the discussion board post below! 

Then Lead: 

  • In Partner Meeting 1, you will lead participants through Activity 1: Inquiry into Maps. 
  • Activity 1 starts on slide 26 in the CFC Map Partner Meeting 1 Slide Deck. 
  • To prepare, collect enough maps from your city to share with several groups of participants.
  • In addition to local city maps that you gather for this activity, you might also consider making copies of GUB’s child-friendly city map and the maps from 1.3 | 📖 Explore CFC Maps from around the World! and having those available for partners to explore.
  • Partners will then lead Activity 1 with the youth they work with in the community to understand what youth like and feel are missing from existing maps.
    • You will guide participants through leading this activity from CFC Map Youth Engagement_Lesson Plan 1. 
      • NOTE: Our partners in Salida who piloted this course created an alternate Lesson Plan 1 that they called Map Gazing. We have shared this as well to demonstrate that you can build off of the templates we provide and make something that works best for you and your community! 

Activity 2: Draw Our Favorite Places

In Activity 2, participants identify the places where children/youth like to go in their city–with friends, family and out of town visitors. The places that they draw will be considered for the locations on the child-friendly city map you are creating.

Do First:

  • First, complete Activity 2 on your own.
  • Imagine the places you believe youth/children like to go in your city. If you are stuck, ask yourself the following questions: 
    • When you were a child, did you like to be active or quiet?
    • Did you like to play in nature? Go on walks or hikes?
    • Did you like water? To swim? Sports? Playgrounds?
    • How about museums? The library or other places where you learned? 
  • Pick one place that you’d like to see on your city’s map and draw it.
    • Add as many details as you can.
    • Label your drawing’s most important details.
    • Write down the name of the place AND why it’s your favorite.
  • Share your drawing in the discussion board post below! 

Then Lead: 

  • In Partner Meeting 1, you will lead participants through Activity 2: Draw Our Favorite Places. 
  • Activity 2 starts on slide 30 in the CFC Map Partner Meeting 1 Slide Deck. 
  • To prepare, make sure you have blank paper and markers available. 
  • Partners will then lead Activity 2 with youth in their community to understand what places youth already love in their community.