Topic: Community

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Big Idea: Living In a Community is Part of Me under
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Standards:
W.K.2- Use a combination of drawing, dicting, and writing to compose informative/explanatory
texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the
topic.
K.SS.4.3.1 Identify individuals who are helpful to people in their everyday lives.
RL.K.1 With prompting and support ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Key Understandings:
I want my students to understand that…
● A community consists of people, places, and transportation.
● There are many community helpers and leaders within our community.
● There are different places that can be found within a community.
● Communities have similarities and differences.
● People travel in a variety of ways within their community.

Essential Questions:
● What is a community?
● How do you travel in your community?
● Who are some community helpers?
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● How are communities the same or different?
● What are some different places found within a community?

Know/Do:
● Various forms of transportation within a community: bus, train, bicycle, walk
● Community helpers include: mailmen, police officers, doctors, teachers, firemen,
mechanics, garbage men, baker, students
● Examples of places within a community: grocery stores, schools, doctors’ offices, post
offices

Assessment Plan
1. Pre-Assessment: During centers, we will pull students out one-by-one and ask them the
following 4 questions regarding their knowledge of communities and record their
answers. The questions are: What is a community? How do you travel in your
community? Who are some community helpers? How are communities the same or
different?
 2. Formative Assessment: We will give various writing activities for the children to write
about aspects of their communities. We will also have the students do a collaborative art
activity about the members of their community. We will also have the students discuss
aspects of a community in groups after reading a book about communities.
3. Summative Assessment: We will ask the same questions as our pre-assessment to gather
reliable data on the students’ progress.

Lesson 1: Places in the Community

C.C. & State Standard(s): RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about
key details in a text.
W.K.2- Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some
information about the topic.

Objective(s): SWBAT correctly identify a location in their community and write about it.

Student Friendly Objective(s): We will identify places in our community.

Assessment: Students will write about a place in their community and draw a picture of it, as
well.

Key Vocabulary: Community

Anticipatory Set: Hold up a few pictures of places in the community. Ask the children to raise
their hands if they have ever been to one of these places. (Pictures: Post office, Park, Library)

Activate Prior Knowledge: Since this is the first day of the unit, there is no prior knowledge to
recall.

Input/Modeling: Explain to the students that a community is a group of people living together
in the same place. “Communities are made up of different helpers, buildings, and ways to travel.
As we read this book, we are going to learn about some places that this bear travels in his
community.”

Check for Understanding/Guided Practice: Read the book “Bear About Town.” While
reading each place where the bear goes, ask the children to answer the question, “Where did the
bear go?” Then emphasize that the particular place the bear went is part of his community. (Ex:
“The bear went to the park. The park is part of the bear’s community because it is near where he
lives.”)
 Closure: After finishing the book, tell the students that they will now write about a place in
their community. Using the projector, review with them examples and non-examples of
places in their community. Some issues to watch for their writing might include: not leaving
spaces between words, writing too big, or not sounding out words correctly.

Independent Practice: Have the students write about a place in their community and draw a
picture of the place. Have them write for their first sentence, “We have a ______”
identifying a place in their community. For their second sentence, have them write, “It is
__________” to describe the place that they have chosen. Help children with spelling when
needed.

Differentiated Instruction/Accommodations:
Lowest reading group: Have the students write a simple second sentence (ex: “It is blue”).
Highest reading group: Have the students write more complex sentences or more sentences
describing the place they chose to write about.

Lesson 2: People in the Community

C.C. & State Standard(s): W.K.2- Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to
compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and
supply some information about the topic.
K.SS.4.3.1 Identify individuals who are helpful to people in their everyday lives.
RL.K.1 With prompting and support ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Objective(s): Students will be able to both identify and write about a community helper.

Student Friendly Objective(s): We will identify who community helpers are and write about
them.

Assessment: Students will write at least 2 sentences about a community helper they want to be
when they grow up.

Key Vocabulary: Community helper, Mail man, Chef, Waiter, Construction worker, Baker, Fire
Fighter, Police Officer

Anticipatory Set: Watch video for song about community helpers.

Activate Prior Knowledge: Remind the students of the places that we’ve talked about that make
up a community by asking them to name some of these places. Have the students talk to a
partner sitting next to them about what their parents do for work. Then pick some students to
share.
Input/Modeling: Tell the students that we are going to talk about the people who work inside
community buildings and their jobs. Prior to reading the book, have the students find a palm-to-
palm partner and talk about what their parent(s) does for work. Read the book “Career Day.”

Check for Understanding/Guided Practice: At the end of the book, ask the students what
community helpers were identified in the book. After each student names a community helper
ask “What does he/she do?”

Closure: Dismiss the students to their writing centers.

Independent Practice: In their writing centers, have the students fill out the sheets that say
“When you grow up, what will you be?” Have them start their sentences by writing “I will be a”
followed by a profession and then have them write why they want to be that profession.

Differentiated Instruction/Accommodations:
Lowest reading group: Have the students write one sentence about what they will be when they
grow up.

Highest reading group: Encourage the students to write more complex sentences or more
sentences describing what they want to be when they grow up.

Lesson 3: Transportation with a Community

C.C. & State Standard(s): RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose
and understanding.
W.K.2- Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some
information about the topic.

Objective(s): SWBAT identify various methods of transportation within their community.

Student Friendly Objective(s): I can write about different kinds of transportation in my

community.

Assessment: In their writing centers, students will write about transportation in their community.

Key Vocabulary: Vehicles, Transportation

Anticipatory Set: Play video “Cars, Trucks, and Transportation sounds for kids- learn – school –
preschool – kindergarten” (Play only the first minute).

Activate Prior Knowledge: Have the students guess the sounds of the vehicle in the video
before they are shown.
Input/Modeling: Read the book “The Bus for Us.” While reading, have the students guess what
the vehicle is before the whole picture of the vehicle is shown.

Check for Understanding/Guided Practice: After reading the book, ask the students what were
some of the vehicles in the book. For vehicles like a garbage truck, for example, ask them “Who
drives a garbage truck?” Remind them that a garbage man, for example, is a community helper.
Then, model for the students what they will be writing about in their writing centers. They will
be answering the question “If you could ride anything around your community, what would it
be?” Model a sentence by writing “I will come in a…”

Closure: Dismiss the students to their writing centers.

Independent Practice: In their writing centers, have the students write about what they would
ride in their community. While they are writing, talk with them about different types of
transportation and where they would ride to in their community. Have students share with their
group what they wrote about.

Differentiated Instruction/Accommodations:
Highest reading group: Have the students write multiple sentences about the vehicle. Where
would they ride it? What color vehicle would they ride?

Lowest reading group: Have the students write one simple sentence. If there is time afterwards,
practice writing their new sight words come and with.