Let’s talk about community helpers!
As a teacher, you have an amazing opportunity to help your students understand and appreciate the community they live in, and the people who work hard to make it a great place to live.
By teaching your students about this topic, you can help them develop a sense of pride and respect for those who work to keep their community safe and thriving.
If you’re looking for fun community helpers activities for your elementary students, you’re in the right place!
How do you teach kids about community helpers?
There are lots of different things you can do! Here are some ideas to get you started.
Invite community helpers as guest speakers
One fun way to teach your students about this is to invite them to visit your classroom! Reach out to your local police department, fire station, hospital, or library, and ask if someone can come speak to your students about their role in the community. Your students will love getting the chance to ask questions and learn firsthand from those who work in their community.
Take a field trip
Another great way to teach your students about community helpers is to take a field trip! You could visit a fire station, police station, hospital, or other public service facility. You could also take your students on a walking tour of the community to show them where these helpers work and how they serve the community. It’s a great way to help your students see how important these helpers are to the community.
Read about it and watch fun, educational videos.
Books and videos can also be a great way to introduce your students to this subject. There are so many wonderful stories and videos out there that showcase helpers in action. You can find a wide variety of books and videos at your local library or online on YouTube. Reading stories about firefighters, doctors, police officers, and other community helpers can help your students understand the important work these individuals do.
Create a community helpers journal
Starting a journal all about the things that students learn about this topic can be an effective and fun way to help students retain what they learn and make it fun! Ideas for their journal are lists of helpers in the community, what they do for us, ways they can volunteer, and more!
If you’re looking for the perfect resource to help with your community helpers lesson plan, I have you covered.
These community helpers activities and worksheets are the perfect addition to your community helpers unit.
It includes 9 weeks of lesson plans, worksheets, and activities for students to learn all about the helpers in our communities!
What is in this download?
Pg. 1 Cover
Pg. 2 Information on the Unit/Journal Set Up
Pg. 3 9 Weeks At A Glance
Pg. 4 Table of Contents
Pg. 5-13 Weekly Detailed Lesson Plans for 9 Weeks
Pg. 14 Home Connection Parent Letter
Pg. 15 Journal Cover
Pg. 16-17 Word Bank for the Journal
Pg. 18 KWL
Pg. 19- 53 (Printables to insert as a journal or use individually covering Community Helpers, Tools and Equipment, and Today & Long Ago)
Pg. 54 RUBRIC for Journal (Last Page of Journal)
Pg. 55- 63 Nine Interactive Notebook Pages (suggested to do once a week on Fridays)
Pg. 64-75 Posters
Pg. 76-78 Examples of how to put your Interactive Notebook Pages in a notebook.
➜EXTRAS:
Pg. 79 – 80 Poem/Songs
Pg. 81 Dial 911
Pg. 82 Cut and Label the Police Officer
Pg. 83 Cut and Label the Firefighter
Pg. 84 Community Helpers
Pg. 85 Volunteer Art Handprint Gift
Pg. 86 Sample of How to Make the Gift
Pg. 87 & 88 Police Office Hat/Headband
Pg. 89 Police Badges
Pg. 90 & 91 Firefighter Hat
Pg. 92 Credits
This is a 9 week unit on Community Helpers for primary aged students focused on K-1 skills. It is full of engaging activities keeping in mind the ages of the learners. It covers three areas: Community Jobs, Tools and Equipment for Jobs, and Today vs. Long Ago.
What is in this download?
- 9 WEEKS of Suggested Lesson Plans (45 Days of Instruction)
- Posters Posters
- Social Studies Journal with a Rubric (pg. 8-47)
- Home Connection (Invitation for Guest Speakers)
I hope this post gave you some inspiration for your lesson plans! What are your favorite activities for teaching about this subject? Let me know in the comments! If you’re looking for more social studies activities for elementary, check out my post here!