Community Helpers

Zeinab Kassim
Preschool/Language and Literacy Development

Common Core Standards: Ohio Early Learning and Developmental Standards

Domain: Language and Literacy Development

Strand: Listening and Speaking
Topic: Expressive Language
Standard Statement: Describe familiar people, places, things and experiences

Domain: Language and Literacy Development

Strand: Listening and Speaking
Topic: Expressive Language
Standard Statement: Use drawings or other visuals to add details to verbal descriptions

Domain: Social-Emotional Development

Strand: Self
Topic: Peer interactions and Relationships
Standard Statement: Demonstrate socially competent behavior with peers

Lesson Summary:

In this lesson plan, children will learn about community helpers through various group time and activities.
Community helpers are important and keep the world going every day, so children will be able to acknowledge
who they are, what they do, why they are important and what we can do to help. The duration of this lesson
plan will be five days, so children will learn about a community helper each day. There are many community
helpers, but for this lesson plan, we will only do five: Teacher, doctor, police officer, farmer and construction
worker. Children will be able to describe, draw, visualize, discuss, and implement ideas. I will observe the
children during the activities, encourage and assist by asking open-ended questions and scaffolding comments.
I will also go around asking children who their hero is and writing it down, while also taking pictures of the
children as the objectives are being met. The children’s conversations, experience and sample work will be
jotted down along with picture taken for documentation.

Estimated Duration:

Five 50 minute class periods ( Preschoolers usually have a theme each week, and activities are planned for an
hour each day)
Commentary:

This will be an introduction to the lesson plan. Before I mention the topic, I will ask children what they
want to be when they grow up, and why. Allow everyone to respond and when they do so, jot down their
responses on the language chart next to their name. Also ask them what kinds of community helpers they know
of and what they do, allow everyone to share and talk to them about it. My purpose for this introduction is to
give me an idea of how much children know about community helpers, and what concepts needs to be
addressed to enhance their knowledge on this topic. After discussion, explain to them that the theme of this
week will be about community helpers, and that we’re going to explore five of them. Introduce the GoAnimate
video on the whiteboard, explaining what the video talks about. Remind children to listen carefully, keeping in
mind the five community helpers that are being discussed in the video. After the video, have another
discussion with children, asking them if anything surprised them, confused them or if they learned anything
new. This group time will be an introduction to the activities later on.

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1: Community helper – Teacher

 First 10 minutes: Read two books about community helpers, What Will I Be? By James Levin &
Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook. Stop at the pages
every once in a while and asking open-ended questions and going over any vocabulary terms in the
book. After reading the books, ask the children what new things they’ve learned from the books and
talk to them about it.
 Next, mention to the children that the theme of the week is community helpers, and the community
helper we were going to learn about today is teachers. Talk about why teachers are important and
what they do to help the community.
 After, explain to the children the activities around the classroom. Every area (Math table, science
table, sensory table, art table, block area, dramatic play, writing table and computer) will have an
activity that has to do with a teacher. For example, in the dramatic play area, I will provide clothes,
materials and supplies teachers use. Another example is in the writing table, I will write teacher
related words on a paper and children can practice saying them and writing them. Also, on the
computer, there will be able to play a game I’ve created on ClassTools.net where they have to
match what clothes belongs to what community helper. This game will be available throughout the
whole week, for every community helper. This also allows children to have access to technology
and be able to play a simpe game as this on the computer using classroom concepts.
 When I’m done explaining the activities, and their purpose, I will allow the children to explore
them and play. While they do so, I will go around taking pictures, documenting, observing and
asking them questions.
.

Day 2: Community helper – Doctor

 First 10 minutes: I will have a discussion about doctors, who they are, what they do, and why they are
important in our community. I will ask children if they’ve ever been to the doctors and how they help
make them feel better. After discussion, I will have doctor tools and I will share it with the children,
 introducing new vocabulary terms and what they are used for. I will let the children know that I will
leave the tools on the carpet so they can explore it during activities.
 After, I will explain the activities around the classroom. Every area will have an activity that has to do
with a doctor. For example, at the art table, children will create an x-ray of their hand. I will provide
black construction paper, glue, white crayons and q-tips. I would help the children trace their hand, and
glue the q-tips around the hand to make it look like an x-ray of their hand. Once again, the computer
will be available for children to play a community helpers came on classtools.net
 When I’m done explaining the activities, and their purpose, I will allow the children to explore
them and play. While they do so, I will go around taking pictures, documenting, observing and
asking them questions.

Day 3: Community helper - Police officer

 First 20 minutes: For this day, I may have a police officer come in as a visitor and talk to the children
about everything they do, and why they are important to the community. Children can ask questions
and talk to them about their experiences. We may also take a class picture with the police officer to
remember and talk about the moment.
 After the officer is done, have a short discussion with the children about how they felt when the officer
was here, what new things they learned and if it was an interesting experience for them. Answer any
questions they have and also if they had any remaining questions for the officer, I can write it down and
the children can help me compose a letter at the end of the day to send.
 After discussion, explain the activities around the classroom. Each area will have an activity that has to
do with a police officer. For example, in the science area, children will be able to examine their
fingerprints, compare it to others and talk about ways police detectives use fingerprints. In the block
area, I will provide blocks and a variety of cars, including police cars and children can pretend to help
police officers help others follow the law.
 When I’m done explaining the activities, and their purpose, I will allow the children to explore
them and play. While they do so, I will go around taking pictures, documenting, observing and
asking them questions.

Day 4: Community helper – Farmer

 First 20 minutes: Show a video to the children about farmers and farming on the whiteboard. The video
will show how we get fresh fruits and vegetables, how some of them grow etc…After the video, have a
discussion with the children about what new things they learned from the video, and why they think
farmers are an important to our community. Have a language chart and write the children’s response
next to their name. Answer any questions they have about farmers and farming.
 After video and discussion, explain the activities around the classroom. Each area will have an activity
that has to do with farmers and farming. For example, in the dramatic play area, there will be farmer’s
clothes and foods so the children can pretend to be farmers. In the writing table, the teacher can help
the children write what their favorite fruit and vegetable is.
 When I’m done explaining the activities, and their purpose, I will allow the children to explore
them and play. While they do so, I will go around taking pictures, documenting, observing and
asking them questions.
Day 5: Community helper - Construction Worker

 First 20 minutes: I may have a construction worker come in as a visitor and talk to the children about
everything they do, and why they are important to the community. Children can ask questions and talk
to them about their experiences. We may also take a class picture with the construction worker to
remember and talk about the moment.
 After, have a short discussion with the children about how they felt when the construction worker was
here, what new things they learned and if it was an interesting experience for them. Answer any
questions they have. Remind them that the whole class is going to help write a Thank you letter to the
construction worker who came in and shared their experience with us.
 After discussion, explain the activities around the classroom. Each area will have an activity that has to
do with a construction worker. For example, in the block area, I will provide trucks and blocks so
children can pretend to be construction workers making buildings. In the art table, children will be
provided with different supplies and materials and they can draw anything that has to do with
construction workers.
 When I’m done explaining the activities, and their purpose, I will allow the children to explore
them and play. While they do so, I will go around taking pictures, documenting, observing and
asking them questions.

Pre-Assessment:
The pre-assessment will align with the introduction. During group time, before I mention the topic to the
children, I will ask children what they want to be when they grow up, and why. Allow everyone to respond and
when they do so, jot down their responses on the chart list next to their name. Also ask them what kinds of
community helpers they know of and what they do, allow everyone to share and talk to them about it. This will
give me an idea of how much children know about community helpers, and what concepts needs to be
addressed to enhance their knowledge on this topic

Scoring Guidelines:
I will be conducting observations on children’s activities. I will assess if they are meeting the objectives, if
they understand the concepts and if they are grasping an understanding of the topic. This will also be done by
meeting with children at every table, scaffolding them and asking them open-ended questions. By doing so, it
will give me an idea of much learning is going on, and if there will be any information that need to be
revisited.

Post-Assessment:
Since I’m teaching preschoolers, they are too young to be tested through an exam, quiz or anything big so I
will use written work to assess what the children have learned. This will be a paper assessment I will create. It
will have pictures of the community helpers we’ve learned about, and words that describe them underneath. I
will meet with children one-on-one to do this assessment with them.
Scoring Guidelines:
Students will be scored on whether or not they understood the concepts. No one will be considered as
failing, it will either be a pass or a revisiting. For the students who have understood the concepts and
objectives, they will move on to the next lesson. For the students who have no understood the concepts and
objectives, they will have one-on-one time with me to revisit the concepts and objectives they did not
understand. They will still be able to move on to the next lesson with their peers, they will just get some help
and support.

Differentiated Instructional Support

For students who struggle with understanding the lesson, I will give them one-on-one tutoring while the
other children are working on the activities. I will break the concepts into small parts to help differentiate
between the community helpers. I will support them through it slowly, meeting them at their level. Some
activities I would do with them is for example, for the writing table, I would provide more support by sitting
with them and helping them through the process. I would do so by holding their hand when writing or using
my finger to show them the letters/words. I will also allow them to interact with the children, and let the
children also help them through it. This will build a sense of community and trust. For the students who
already understand the concepts, I will continue to scaffold them and ask them more open-ended questions. I
would also provide some activities that are challenging so they can try them out.

Extension
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/communities/communityhelpers/preview.weml
BrainPOP supports educators and students in many different ways. It can be used in school, at home and on
mobile devices. It includes activities, quizzes, apps, games, movies and so much more. They cover the
common core standards for children ages 3 and up. Since my lesson plan is about community helpers,
BrainPOP provides a section about community helpers and communities in general. It gives a brief explanation
on who community helpers are, there is a short movie clip about their responsibilities, there are also lesson
plan ideas for educators and more. With the assistance of their families, children will enjoy BrainPOP and the
many options it has to offer.

Homework Options and Home Connections

I will provide an activity worksheet that encourages parents to do community helpers activities for the
week. I will also incorporate a QR code that takes them directly to our classrooms website so families can be
up to date with the activities going on in the classroom, including pictures and videos. One activity family will
be encouraged to do with their child at home is dramatic play. The child will choose a community helper and
the family will be a part of it. For example, if the child chooses to be a doctor, their family members can be
their helpers. The dad can be the patient, the mom can be the one who takes appointments, the sister/brother
can be the nurse etc…After this, families can encourage and support their child to write/draw their experience
being a community helper.
Interdisciplinary Connections

Students are using all of the Ohio Learning Developmental Standards in this lesson plan. Every activity
incorporated has to do with all the developmental areas.
 Social and Emotional Development: Children are always interacting and communicating. It is how they
learn. It may be positive or negative, but they learn along the way. Children do activities with their
friends, talking about roles, talking about their day, talking about the lesson etc… some children may
fight doing an activity, but when they talk through it, they are learning how to share, take turns and talk
about their feelings/emotions.
 Physical Well-being and Motor Development: Children are always exercising the muscles in their
bodies. Since most of the activities done in this lesson plan has to do with practicing using fine motor
skills by grasping, pinching, writing etc., children are also working on their coordination, balance and
gross motor skills with some of the activities.
 Approaches toward Learning: Children are innovators and creators. They create what comes to their
mind, and they try to find ways to do things. An example is at the art table, although certain supplies
may be available for a certain idea, children may come up with different ways to make art and to make
something different. It is in their nature to create different things.
 Language and Literacy Development: There is a lot of language and literacy going on. When I’m
having a discussion with the children, when I’m asking them questions, when they’re responding to me
and talking to me, when I’m reading a book, when they’re writing and when they’re communicating
with me and their peers in general, they are building on these skills.
 Cognition and General Knowledge: Each child thinks differently, but each is very unique. For certain
concepts, children are able to understand them equally. Although some children need more support and
help then others, eventually they all come to an understanding of the topic. Children encounter
community helpers almost every day. They see police officers on the roads, they see teachers when
they come to school, they see doctors when they have an appointment, they see construction workers
on the roads and they see farmers when they are out of town. Many of the topics that children are
introduced to, they know something about it. What’s important is when we make it interesting and a
different experience so they can learn something new and have fun along the way.
Materials and Resources:

For teachers  What Will I Be? By James Levin & Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do
by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, language chart, easel,
computer, whiteboard, camera, assessment, supplies for all activities
(dramatic play clothes, art supplies etc.,), visitors (police officer and
construction worker), QR code, activity worksheet.

For students  Computer, whiteboard, activity supplies, assessment, books

Key Vocabulary

Important, helpers, hero, community, teacher, doctor, police officer, farmer, construction worker