COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

• Your local community is the area near your home where you work, play, and go to school. It is the neighborhood where your family makes connections with other people, and the places you all feel like you belong. People are very social   animals. We need to talk and interact with other human beings. We often understand ourselves better when we discuss our opinions, emotions, and activities with other people.  Making meaningful connections with friends and family lets us put aside our frustrations and worries and focus on things that are more important: the people we care about.

• Communities grow and change over time. Families move from one city to another because of work or family situations.  Older adults often move to smaller homes or vacation areas after their children have grown up and moved out to start families of their own. New families move in when others leave.  Basic community services, such as police, fire, post office, health, and public schools remain steady forces in the community, although some individuals may retire or move on.  Businesses provide services to the community, too. Stores sell things that people need, restaurants sell prepared food, and offices provide a variety of skilled work. The local city government is usually an elected mayor and city council, who listen to the people of the community and help them connect.

 Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm   your answers.

1)  Name something special about your own community.

2)  What is one of the public services that your community offers to the people who live there?

3)  Why do you think the mayor and city council have to be elected by the people of the city?

4)  What is an example of a service business in your community?

5)  What is an example of a retail (sales) business in your community?