1
Community Helpers Social
Studies Unit Plan
In this unit, students will learn about jobs and how community helpers are
important to our community. The CA Social Studies standard K.3 states, “Students
match simple descriptions of work that people do and the names of related jobs at
the school, in the local community, and from historical accounts.” This unit was
designed with this goal in mind, as well as adding in a variety of GLAD techniques
and developmentally appropriate learning. The community helpers that were
chosen are just a handful among many. Feel free to substitute, add to, eliminate any
of these workers and use this with flexibility. Most community helpers take 2 days
to teach. An easy formative assessment tool for the teacher is the Community
Workers Journal, which students should fill out after learning about each of the
community helpers. Take time to find people in the community who would come in
and give a small presentation to the students. People are usually very excited to
support our schools in this way and the students love seeing real workers in action.
It is also fun to add in role-playing and dress up in your lessons and include it in the
afternoon Choice Time for student.
Unit Intro
o Social Studies TE p. 145
o Read a Story about “When I Grow Up”
o GLAD Observation Charts
o Workers Poem: reprocess with pictures and box high frequency words
o Inquiry Chart
o When I Grow Up I Want to Be… Writing
o Important Book
Community Helpers: Grocery Store Clerk
o Cognitive Content Dictionary: market
o Social Studies TE p. 149 A Busy Day at Mr. Kang’s Grocery Store
o Community Helpers Journal
o Song: Mr. Grocer had a Store
o Process Grid
o Grocery Store Glyph and writing
2
Community Helpers: Teacher
o CCD: education
o Social Studies Lesson 1 (TE p. 155)
o Community Helpers Journal
o Homework and Practice Book page 22
o Process Grid
Community Helpers: Fire Fighter
o CCD: fire extinguisher, hydrant
o Read a story
o Song: Firefighters Keep Us Safe (sung to the tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)
o Process Grid
o Firefighter Tools Worksheet pg. 89
o Community Helpers Journal
o Firefighter Glyph and Writing
o Russ and the Firehouse Sequencing
Community Helpers: Paramedic
o CCD: gurney
o Read a Story
o Song: Dial 9-1-1 (sung to the tune: Row, Row, Row your Boat)
o Community Helper Journal
o Process Grid
Community Helpers: Police Officer
o CCD: badge
o Read a Story
o Community Helpers Journal
o Song: Police will Help us if We’re Lost
o Process Grid
Community Helpers: Baker
3
o CCD: ingredients
o Read a Story: Little Red Hen
o Community Helpers Journal
o Process Grid
o Class Baking Project
o Write a recipe
Unit Wrap Up/Assessment
o Community Map
o Cooperative Strip Paragraph
o Make Your Own Worker Project
4
Process Grid:
Community
Helper
Function
Location
Tools
Uniform
Grocery Store
Clerk
Sell you groceries
Sort Food
Put $ in the register
Put Groceries in Bag
Grocery
Store
Cash Register
Bags
Food
Speaker
Shirt
Apron
Name Tag
Teacher
Help kids learn
Teach children
School
pencil
whiteboard
projector
Books
Nice Clothes
Paramedic
Help sick people
Drive to the hospital
Ambulance
bandages
gurney
medicine
cast
Blue shirt
Blue Pants
Strong boots
Name Tag
Police Officer
Keep us Safe
Police
Station
Radio
Police Car
Handcuffs
Gun
Flashlights
Hat
Badge
Blue Pant
Boots
Baker
Make bread and
pastries
Bakery
mixer
Oven
Ingredients
Apron
Hair Net
Chef Hat
Fire Fighter
Put out fires
Fire Station
ladder
Fire Truck
Hose
Helmet
Boots
Yellow Jacket
Yellow Pants
5
Unit Intro
1. Books to Read:
When I Grow Up by Mercer Meyer
When I Grow Up I Want To Be Me by Sandra Magsamen
2. Observation Chart: print various pictures about
the topic of study and allow students in pairs or
teams to observe the pictures and write down their
observations, questions or predictions.
3. Inquiry Chart:
The inquiry chart is a Project GLAD
strategy and is a variation of the KWL
chart. The inquiry chart has only two
columns:
1) What we know about ___
2) What we want to know:
Teachers write down all student
comments about what students know
about a topic, including misconceptions
and inaccuracies. Throughout the unit
of study, teachers return to the inquiry
chart to confirm or revise students'
initial understandings about a topic.
6
4. Important Book: Make an important book, including pictures
Use text (below), increase font size and add pictures to match
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
Community helpers are important people whose job is to help others.
Everyone who lives in a community can be a community helper.
Some examples of community helpers are grocery store clerks, teachers,
firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and bakers. There are a lot more
community helpers than this, but these are just a few examples.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community. (page break)
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
A Grocery Store Clerk is a person who works at a store: they could work at a
grocery store, a market, or even a produce store. They will usually wear an
apron to keep them clean. A grocer can help you by making it easier for
people to find food at the store. They need a cash register to do their job.
A grocery helps the community by selling groceries.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community. (Page Break)
7
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
A teacher is an educator who works with people to help them learn. A
teacher works at a school. They can teach preschool, elementary, junior high,
high school, or even college. They use books to help them know what to
teach. At many schools a teacher will wear a special uniform, but in
Sunnyvale we wear nice business clothes. Teachers help the community by
teaching their students.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community. (Page Break)
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
A firefighter is a person who drives a big truck and puts out fires. They
work at a firehouse and wear a yellow jacket. A firefighter can put their life
in danger when they go into a burning building to save a person. They use a
fire hose to put out the fire. They help the community by keeping our homes
and people safe from fires.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community. (Page Break)
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
8
A paramedic is a person who brings an ambulance to help someone who is sick
or injured. They will help you by listening to your heart with a stethoscope
or carrying you on a gurney. They drive people in an ambulance to the
hospital. They help the community when people are hurt or sick and need to
go to the hospital in an emergency.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community. (Page Break)
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
A police officer is a person who keeps our community safe. They drive in a
special police car that has sirens on top and is usually black and white. A
police officer wears a blue uniform and carries a special badge with them.
They help the community by keeping the streets safe and helping us if we
get lost.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community. (Page Break)
The important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
A baker is a person who makes bread and other pastries. They follow
recipes, mix, and bake ingredients in an oven to make yummy foods. They
9
usually start working at the bakery very early in the morning to make bread
for breakfast and lunch. They help the community by providing fresh baked
goods.
But, the important thing about community helpers is they work together to
create a community.
10
Our Community Helpers Poem:
Some people sell us produce and drinks all fresh and
cold
Some people work in shops and stores where many
things are sold
Some people bring us letters and take the mail away
Some people stop the traffic to help us on our way.
Some people move our furniture and put it in a van
Some people take the garbage out and empty every
can
Some people drive an ambulance to get us help real
fast
Some people teach us how to read and stories from
the past
Each of these Community Helpers has a special job to do.
Making Sunnyvale a great place to live for me and you!
Cognitive Content Dictionary
Materials: Chart paper marked off with 3 columns with headings: word,
prediction, real meaning
1. Teacher selects a word from key vocabulary and writes it in word section.
2. Using the new word as a signal word, teacher directs students to turn to
partner/team and predict the meaning of the word.
3. Teacher solicits/records predictions on the chart. The respondents are asked
how they came up with the prediction.
4. The word is used during the entire day/class period as a signal word for ‘heads
together’. While teaching the lesson, teacher uses the word in context multiple
times
5. The next day teacher asks if anyone found the real meaning. Correct meaning is
written on chart; sketch or picture added.
11
When I grow up I want to be ____________
__________________________________
__________________________________
12
My Community Helpers Journal
By: ___________________________________________________________
13
14
Grocery Store Clerk
Community Helpers: Grocery Store Clerk
o Cognitive Content Dictionary: market
o Social Studies TE p. 149 A Busy Day at Mr. Kang’s Grocery Store
o Community Helpers Journal
o Song: Mr. Grocer had a Store
o Process Grid
o Grocery Store Glyph and writing
Song: (sung to Old Mac Donald)
Mr. Grocer had a store, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
And in his store he had some milk, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
With a gulp-gulp here and a gulp-gulp there
Here a gulp, there a gulp, everywhere a gulp-gulp.
Mr. Grocer had a store, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
Apples - crunch, crunch, crunch.
Popcorn - pop, pop, pop.
Carrots - munch, munch, munch.
Grocery Store Glyph and Writing
15
16
17
Community Helpers: Teacher
o CCD: education
o Social Studies Lesson 1 (TE p. 155)
o Community Helpers Journal
o Homework and Practice Book page 22
o Process Grid
18
Firefighter
Community Helpers: Fire Fighter
o CCD: fire extinguisher, hydrant
o Read a story
o Song: Firefighters Keep Us Safe (sung to the tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)
o Process Grid
o Firefighter Tools Worksheet pg. 89
o Community Helpers Journal
o Firefighter Glyph and Writing
o Russ and the Firehouse Sequencing
Firefighter’s Song: (sung to the tune” Mary Had a Little Lamb)
The firefighters keep us safe
They put out fires and rescue pets,
The firefighters keep us safe,
no matter how HOT it gets!
Firefighters drive a fire truck
that makes sounds
and has lights,
Firefighters keep us safe
No matter how HOT it gets!
Firefighters Glyph and Writing
(see attached forms)
20
21
22
23
Materials: pocket chart, sentence strips, colored markers
24
25
Paramedic
Community Helpers: Paramedic
o CCD: gurney
o Read a Story
o Song: Dial 9-1-1 (sung to the tune: Row, Row, Row your Boat)
o Community Helper Journal
o Process Grid
Song: (to the tune Row, Row, Row your Boat)
Dial 9-1-1, if you need help fast
The paramedics will rush
To you in their ambulance.
Don’t be scared of them if you’re hurt or sick.
They’ll drive you to the hospital and you’ll be better quick
26
Police Officer
o CCD: badge
o Read a Story
o Community Helpers Journal
o Song: Police will Help us if We’re Lost
o Process Grid
Song: (to the tune The Ants Go Marching)
Police will help us if we’re lost.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
They help us go across the street.
They help each person that they meet.
And they drive a special car that makes sounds, and has lights, on the top
Woo, woo, woo!
27
Baker
o CCD: ingredients
o Read a Story: Little Red Hen
o Community Helpers Journal
o Process Grid
o Class Baking Project
o Write a recipe
o If I Were a Chef Writing
28
29
30
31
Unit Wrap Up
Community Map
Students design a community map with the significant parts of a city
32
33
34
35
Cooperative Strip Paragraph
1. Teacher writes the topic sentence for the required style of writing.
2. Teams put ‘heads together’ and decide on one sentence that would support the topic sentence.
Teams get the information from charts, chants, process grid.
3. Once the team members have orally agreed on the sentence, they raise their hand and the
teacher checks in: (“Are you sure of the information?” “Where did you find the evidence?” “
Another team has a sentence with that exact detail. Could you agree on another one?”) * Note:
Teacher does not suggest revisions or editing help.
4. Once the team has their sentence and has conferred with the teacher, the teacher gives the team
a sentence strip. The team uses their team color marker and writes the sentence.
5. Teams put sentence strips in pocket chart.
6. Students gather on the carpet. Scouts are in place.
7. The revising begins. Students choral read the paragraph. 10/2: “Does it make sense? Does the
order of need to be changed?” Student suggestions are altered by the teacher by cutting, using
extra sentence strips, adding words using the Teacher color: Black.
8. Students choral read through the paragraph after each revision.
9. The process continues with 10/2s (“What do you like about the paragraph?” “ What can we add?
( adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases from the Farmer in the Dell/Sentence Patterning
Chart) , revising and editing the strips.
10. When the paragraph is in a polished enough form, teacher can type it up and use it as the text
later with emergent readers.
a. Whole class Break Students into 6 groups, one for each Community Helper
36
*2010 class paragraph
final product
37
o Make Your Own Worker Project
1. Divide Students in cooperative groups and assign a Community Helper.
Refer to the “Working Together” Chart to help students work as a team
2. Students work together to plan and draw and label the parts to their
community helper
1. Outline a life sized person
2. Students will recreate their drawings on the life-sized outline
38
39
40
