Reading Odyssey: Community

Helpers
Michelle Nitchman
EDLL 484
Theme and Reasoning
● My Reading Odyssey is centered around the theme of Community
Helpers
● The concepts of community and community helpers are introduced in
preschool. In Kindergarten, these students are able to build their
understanding of the purpose community helpers play in their town
and how they help them in their personal lives. It is important for
young children to recognize the importance and impact of community
helpers, building an appreciation for the hard workers around them.
This unit also allows students to use their imagination and begin
thinking about what they might want to be when they grow up!
● This unit will take place over the course of two weeks through daily
Read Alouds
Standards
● ELA:
○ K.I.2.1: With guidance and support, engage in daily explorations of texts to
make connections to personal experiences, other texts, ar the environment
○ K.MC.5.1: : With guidance and support, ask and answer who, what, when,
where, why, and how questions about a text; refer to key details to make
inferences and draw conclusions in texts heard or read.
● SS:
○ K.H.1: Identify similarities and differences between oneself and others.
○ K.E.3: Explain why people have jobs, and describe the economic benefits for
self and community
● Health:
○ I-K,3.1: Identify community helpers and safe adults who can help them stay
safe in a variety of situations
Goals
● Students will be able to connect text ideas to their family’s
lives.
● Students will be able to recognize the community helpers in
their surrounding environment.
● Students will be able to roleplay various career choices.
● Students will be able to illustrate themselves as a future
community helper.
1. Berenstain Bears: Jobs Around Town by Stan and Jan Berenstain
● Brief Summary: Brother and Sister Bear are in search of
the perfect job. They explore their neighborhood and
recognize the diversity of jobs around them!
● Class Activity: During centers, students will complete a
matching activity at each rotation. Rotations will include
community helpers in various contexts: neighborhood,
safety, transportation, school and health. At the safety
center, the student will sort images of people who would
be a part of that group, such as police officers, lifeguards,
firefighters, etc. These centers will be used throughout
the unit
● Skills Used: Sorting, Organizing, Understanding
Relationships
2. Froggy goes to the Doctor by Jonathan London
● Brief Summary: Froggy is anxious about going
to the doctor’s office for a checkup. He doesn’t
know what to expect and is scared at the
possibility of shots or not being able to sit still!
Those become the least of his worries as silly
incidents happen to him throughout the visit.
Everything is fine in the end and he discovers
that the doctor isn’t so scary after all.
● Activity: Students will be given fake/paper (cut
out) first aid materials. They will choose a
coloring page that has a hurt animal. They will
use glue to place band aids, ice packs,
thermometers,and medicine on their coloring
page.
● Skills Used: Role Play, Empathy,
Problem-Solving
3. Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemsha
● Brief Summary: The trash collector, Mr. Gilly,
and two rats work hard to keep the town
clean. Trash from schools, parks, and
restaurants don’t stand a chance against this
clean up crew!
● Activity: The students will create a “clean up”
song to sing while gathering their trash from
lunch. They will work together to clean up
their wrappers and crumbs and have the trash
bag prepared for the janitor to collect it.
● Skills Used: Cleaning, responsibility, respect
for others
4. Delivering Your Mail by Ann Owen
● Brief Summary: Readers are taken
along a mail carrier’s journey. They learn
about the job, how the vehicles work, and
how important it is for mail to be
delivered on time!
● Class Activity: There will be different
mail carriers designated for each
remaining day of the unit. At the end of
the day, that mail carrier will deliver
students’ folders and bus tags to them
prior to dismissal.
● Skills Used: Name recognition, role play
5. Career Day by Anne Rockwell
● Brief Summary: In this classroom, students
take turns to introduce special guests!
Ranging in job type, guests are shown several
different job opportunities that are available
for girls and boys!
● Activity: Our class will host a career day
consisting of the student’s family members
or neighbors. These guests will come
dressed in uniform and share their
experiences with the class.
● Skills Used: Observing, real life applications,
curiosity
6. Helpers in Your Neighborhood by Shira Evans
● Brief Summary: This nonfiction,
informational texts provides readers
with real-life knowledge of the helpers
around them. This books tells of the
hometown heroes.
● Activity: The class will go on a walking
trip around the neighborhood to visit
the helpers in their community. We will
visit the library, local grocery store,
police station, firehouse, and post
office.
● Skills Used: Cooperation, safety
precautions
7. Thank you, Helpers by Patricia Hegarty
● Brief Summary: In this celebration of essential
workers, readers gain an appreciation for those
who help them everyday. Our world is brighter
with these people who meet our needs, make us
healthy, and keep us safe!
● Class Activity: Students will individually choose
to write to one of the people they met during our
walking trip. They will write a thank you note that
thanks the helper for their time and shares the
student’s favorite learning moment.
● Skills Used: Sentence structure, writing letters,
appreciation
8. Whose Hands are These? By Miranda Paul
● Brief Summary: This “guessing game” book
provides clues for various occupations.
Readers can predict what career is being
represented by using their knowledge of
community helpers and context clues!
● Class Activity: Students will be sorted into
teams to “compete” against their peers. They
will decide their guess as a team and then
share when instructed to do so. The team
with the most points wins!
● Skills Used: Teamwork, friendly competition,
reading strategies, inferencing
9. When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic
● Brief Summary: This silly story takes
readers on a journey as Billy plays with
what he wants to be when he grows up.
This story shows readers that there are
endless possibilities in their future!
● Class Activity: Students will receive a
human silhouette cut out on cardstock
paper. They will color and draw to create
a model of themselves, doing what they
hope to do when they grow up!
● Skills Used: Imagination, drawing,
coloring