Each year, I look forward to teaching my Community Helpers Unit in social studies. Students learn so much about important people in the community and even get to visit a certain community helper through my end of unit project.
The Hook
I love introducing units with a video clip or a hands on activity. This gets students interested from the beginning and it helps create anticipation for the subject.
Ideas to hook your students for your Community Helpers Unit:
- Show Berenstain Bears episode – On the Job
- Play “Where Do I Work” Memory Game – By Marlie Rose
- Community Helper Write the Room
Community Helper Book
I teach community helpers through multiple books and online resources. Each lesson, I focus on a different community helper. We read a book about that helper or watch a YouTube to learn exactly what this person does in the community. Then, students discuss the most important part of this persons job and brainstorm two to three sentences that they’ll write in their own community helper book. By the end of the unit, students have written 11 pages about community helpers. I turn these pages into a book with my binding machine. (Affiliate Link)
Check out These Books to Teach Each Helper
(Affiliate Links)
Community Helper At Home Project
One of my favorite parts of this unit is the project that I send home. For this project, students get to choose one community helper that they want to learn more about. Many times, my students pick a job that they want to be when they grow up.
For the project, they research their helper, develop questions and go into the field to see their community helper in action. Then, once they’ve become an expert, students create a poster about their helper to share with the class. My students get so excited to tell their friends everything they learned!
What do you love teaching about community helpers?
Resources
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Projects: An Alternative to Homework
