TCNJ Lesson Plan

Community Helpers Day 1: Intro

Student Name: Danielle Hutchinson

School Name: Hopewell Elementary

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Host Teachers Name: Ms. Bradshaw

Guiding and/or Essential Questions:

What is a community helper?
Pre-lesson Assignments and/or Student Prior Knowledge
Students have a basic understanding of what a community is, although they have yet to
understand the definition of the term. In this way, the students are aware that they live in a town,
they have neighbors, and that many people have jobs that benefit others. The students are also
aware of what a helper is, but have yet to apply it in terms of their community.
Standards:

6.1.P.B.1
Develop an awareness of the physical features of the neighborhood/community.

6.1.P.B.2
Identify, discuss, and role-play the duties of a range of community workers

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.8
With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather
information from provided sources to answer a question.
Learning Objectives and Assessments:
Learning Objectives

Assessment

The students will accurately state what a

community helper is, based on prior knowledge
and facts from Community Helpers A to Z.

Students will share their thoughts after

Community Helpers A to Z has been read aloud.
Teacher will assess for oral responses that show
awareness of what a community is, and what a
helper is.

The students will use images and words to

define what a community helper is by creating
sticky notes to place on the anchor chart.

Students will create sticky notes that define

what a community helper is and place it on the
sticky note. Teacher will assess for pictures and
phrases that show the jobs and actions of
community helpers.

Materials/Resources:
Mr. Bear: a stuffed animal
The community map bulletin board
A letter from Mr. Bear
Community Helpers from A to Z by Bobbie Kalman
Post-it notes
What is a community helper? anchor chart
Plan for set-up/distribution/cleanup of materials:

As the teacher is reading Community Helpers A to Z, another teacher will be asked to place one

post-it by each students desk. If a student needs a second post-it, they will be asked to raise their
hand.
Lesson Procedure:
1. Lesson beginning:
The lesson will begin with the students seated on the carpet. The teacher will announce that we
have a special visitor coming to class, so the students must show respect and whole body
listening when he is in the room.
The teacher will introduce the class to their new friend, Mr. Bear. The teacher will state that
Mr. Bear likes to find out new information about the world around him. The teacher will state
that she got a letter from him last night for the class. A chart paper will be revealed that states,
Dear kindergarteners, I need your help! What is a community helper? If you can answer this, I
have a surprise for you! Your Friend, Mr. Bear.
The teacher will ask the students to turn and talk to a peer about their ideas of what a community
helper is. One pair will be asked to share their ideas with the class.
2. The teacher will introduce Community Helpers A to Z. It will be explained that this book has one
fact about community helpers for every letter of the alphabet. Students will be asked to tap their
heads when they hear something that might help them think of what a community helper is. The
teacher will read some pages fully, while on others she will simply state the title and read the
sentence that explains how this job helps the community. For example:

Page 4 will be summarized: A is for agricultural workers. This is

another name for a farmer. Without agricultural workers, the community would not

have any
read fully.

3.
4.
5.

6.

i.

food to eat! A similar format will be used to read other pages not

Page 6 will be read aloud: C is for community helpers. A

community is a group of people who share services, buildings, and laws. It is also a
place where people live. A community can be a school, city, or neighborhood.
Community helpers make
communities cleaner, safer, and more pleasant for
other people. Here, the teacher will model tapping her head.

Page 8 will be read aloud because we will study doctors in depth

later on.

Page 11 will be read aloud because we will study firemen in depth

later on.

Page 13 will be read aloud because the kindergarteners will all be

able to relate to
home helpers and it will illustrate how they, too, can be
community helpers.

Page 18 will be read aloud because we will study mail carriers in

depth later on.

Page 20 will be read aloud because we will study police officers in

depth later on.

Page 25 will be read aloud because we will study teachers in depth

later on.

Page 30 will be read aloud because the kindergarteners should

understand their roles as community helpers as well.
The teacher will call on two students to share their new ideas about what a community helper
might be.
The class will be dismissed to their table seats as Mr. Bear calls on a color they are wearing.
The teacher will introduce a blank anchor chart, What is a community helper? and will state
that we can help Mr. Bear by adding our ideas to it.
Students will be given post-it notes and have the chance to draw or write a few words about what
a community helper is.
The teacher will use the document camera to display page 6 of Community Helpers A to Z for
students to reference.
When they complete their sticky note, students will be asked to place their note on the anchor
chart and return to their seats.
Once all notes have been added to the chart, the teacher will reveal a hidden part of the chart that
defines a community helper as being, A person who makes the community cleaner, safer, and
more pleasant for other people.
Lessing ending:
Long closure:
The teacher will state, Now that we helped Mr. Bear learn what a community helper is, its time
for him to show us his surprise! The students will be told to line up by the door. Once they have
made a straight and quiet line, they will be led into the hallway to view the map bulletin board.
The class will examine the map and the locations on it, including the firehouse, police station,
post office, school, hospital, and town hall. The teacher will announce that from now on, we will
take a pretend field trip to one of these places every day to learn about the community helpers
that work there.

ii. The teacher will call on students to answer questions about the map, such as is the post office
near or far from the town hall? and if I wanted to go from the firehouse to the police station, do
I need to go left or right?
Short closure:
i. The teacher will state, Now that we helped Mr. Bear learn what a community helper is, its time
for him to show us his surprise! The students will be told to line up by the door. Once they have
made a straight and quiet line, they will be led into the hallway to view the map bulletin board.
The class will examine the map and the locations on it, including the firehouse, police station,
post office, school, hospital, and town hall. The teacher will announce that from now on, we will
take a pretend field trip to one of these places every day to learn about the community helpers
that work there.
ii. Students will walk in a line back into the classroom for the next activity of the day.
Key Questions:
In your own words, what is a community helper?

-What is a community?
-What is a helper?
How would you show your understanding of a community helper on this post it?
Do you agree with your classmates post-it notes?
What other information can we add to improve our definition?
How can we use a map to represent our community?

Logistics:
Timing:
The lesson will last approximately thirty minutes in total. Approximately five minutes
will be spent on the introduction of Mr. Bear and brainstorming. Ten minutes will be allotted for
the read aloud. Ten minutes will be for the creation of the post-its and anchor chart. The
remaining time will be spent on the first field trip to the hallway.

Transitions:
To transition from the carpet to their table seats, students will be called upon by a color
they are wearing and asked to walk to their seat. To transition to the field trip, tables will be
called upon to line up by the door depending on which tables are showing that they are ready. To
move back into the classroom, students will be asked to make a straight line before they can walk
back in.
Classroom Management:
The teacher will be sure to make expectations explicit and clear from the beginning of the
lesson. The teacher will remind students to continue showing respect to their peers, to the

materials, and to me for the entirety of the lesson. To call the students attention, the teacher will
yell, 1,2,3, eyes on me! To ensure that students do not make a lot of noise in the hallway, they
will be asked to make a straight and quiet line as they leave the classroom. As well, they will be
reminded not to speak unless they are called on.

Differentiation
Students assigned carpet seats are arranged so that those who are disruptive are
separated. Certain students, such as PM and NB, might be asked to sit on a chair in order to stay
focused. FM will be asked to sit close to the teacher so that she is not distracted by the objects on
the back shelves. Students who are losing focus will be called on to answer questions throughout
the lesson. Students will sit at tables with students that will not be distracting to them. For
instance, LW and PH will be seated apart. When making their post-it responses, students will be
given the choice to either write a few words or draw a picture. In this way, all children are able to
express their learning in a way best suited to them.