Lesson Plan
Our Community Crew
Students will be able to identify what a community is and recognize ways they can contribute positively to their own community.
Understanding community helps young children develop a sense of belonging, empathy, and social responsibility. It lays the groundwork for future civic engagement and positive social interactions.
Audience
Preschool Students
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Interactive storytelling, discussion, and a collaborative game.
Materials
Community Helpers Reading, Community Talk Time Discussion, Community Building Blocks Game, Community Role Play Activity, Community Share Out Cool Down, Picture cards of different community helpers (e.g., doctor, firefighter, teacher, baker, construction worker), Building blocks or LEGOs, and Simple props for role-play (e.g., toy stethoscope, small fire hat)
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
- Review the Community Helpers Reading and practice reading it aloud.
- Print and gather picture cards of various community helpers.
- Gather building blocks or LEGOs for the game.
- Gather simple props for the Community Role Play Activity.
- Review the Community Talk Time Discussion, Community Building Blocks Game, Community Role Play Activity, and Community Share Out Cool Down to ensure familiarity with activities and discussion points.
Step 1
Warm Welcome & Community Intro
5 minutes
- Welcome students and introduce the idea of a 'community crew.'
- Ask: 'What do you think it means to be part of a team or a group of friends?'
- Explain that a community is like a big team where everyone helps each other.
Step 2
Story Time: Community Helpers
10 minutes
- Read aloud the Community Helpers Reading.
- Pause to show the community helper picture cards as they appear in the story.
- After reading, ask questions from the Community Talk Time Discussion to check understanding and spark conversation.
Step 3
Build Our Community Game / Role Play
10 minutes
- Choose either the Community Building Blocks Game or the Community Role Play Activity.
- For the game: Divide students into small groups (if not already in a small group setting for Tier 2) and guide them in collaboratively building a community.
- For the role play: Guide students in role-playing different community helpers using the picture cards and props.
Step 4
Reflect and Wrap Up
5 minutes
- Lead the Community Share Out Cool Down to allow students to reflect on what they learned.
- Ask students to share one thing they learned about being part of a community.
Slide Deck
Welcome, Community Crew!
What does it mean to be part of a team?
Welcome the students. Introduce the concept of a 'community crew' and ask them what they think it means to be part of a team or group.
What is a Community?
A community is like a big team where everyone helps each other!
Every person is important in our community crew!
Explain that a community is like a big team where everyone helps each other. Discuss how each person is important.
Meet Our Community Helpers!
Let's read a story about the wonderful people who help us every day in our community.
Introduce the reading. Explain that the story is about different community helpers. Show the picture cards as you read.
Talk Time: Our Community
What did we learn about our community helpers?
How do they help us?
Transition to the discussion time. Encourage students to share their thoughts and answers to the discussion questions from the Community Talk Time Discussion material.
Building Our Community Together!
Let's work as a team to build our very own community with blocks!
Introduce the Community Building Blocks Game. Explain that they will work together to build a community structure, just like people work together in a real community.
Our Awesome Community Crew!
What is one thing you learned about being part of a community today?
You are an important part of our community crew!
Lead the cool-down activity. Ask students to share one thing they learned about being part of a community. Reinforce the idea that they are all important members of their own community crew.
Reading
Our Community Helpers
Hello, little friends! Let's talk about our amazing community. A community is like a big, friendly neighborhood where we all live and help each other.
First, meet the Doctor! The doctor helps us when we are sick or hurt. They make sure we are healthy and strong. When you have a sniffle or a scraped knee, the doctor is there to make you feel better!
Next, say hello to the Firefighter! Firefighters are very brave. They put out fires and help people and animals who are in trouble. They even teach us about fire safety! Whoosh! Go the fire trucks!
Look! It's the Teacher! Your teacher helps you learn new things every day. They read stories, teach you how to count, and help you make new friends. Learning is so much fun with a teacher!
Here comes the Baker! The baker makes yummy bread, cakes, and cookies for everyone to enjoy. Mmm, what a sweet smell from the bakery!
And don't forget the Construction Worker! Construction workers build our homes, schools, and roads. They use big machines and help make our community safe and beautiful. Clang! Bang! Go the tools!
All these people are special community helpers. They work together to make our community a wonderful place for everyone. And guess what? You are also a very important part of our community crew! You help by being kind, sharing, and playing nicely with your friends. Everyone helps make our community happy!
Discussion
Community Talk Time
Let's chat about our community and all the wonderful helpers!
- What is a community? Can you think of where our community is?
- Who were some of the community helpers we met in the story?
(Teacher should show picture cards again as students name them.)
- How does a doctor help us?
- What does a firefighter do?
- How do you think your teacher helps you?
- What yummy things does a baker make?
- What do construction workers build for our community?
- What are some ways you help in our classroom community or at home?
- Why is it important for everyone to help in a community?
Activity
Community Role Play: Who Helps Us?
Objective: Students will role-play different community helpers to understand their roles and how they contribute to the community.
Materials:
- Community helper picture cards (from the lesson plan materials)
- Simple props related to community helpers (e.g., toy stethoscope for doctor, small fire hat for firefighter, pretend book for teacher)
Instructions:
- Introduce Role Play (3 minutes):
*
Game
Community Building Blocks Game
Objective: To collaboratively build a representation of a community using blocks, fostering teamwork and understanding of community elements.
Materials: A variety of building blocks (e.g., LEGOs, wooden blocks)
Instructions:
- Introduce the Challenge (2 minutes):
*
Cool Down
Community Share Out
Now that we've learned all about our community crew, let's think about what we learned!
- What is ONE thing you learned today about being part of a community?
- What is one way you can be a helpful part of our classroom community?
- How does helping others in our community make everyone feel?
Remember, you are a very important part of our community crew! Thank you for being such great helpers and friends today!