Our Community, Our Care Script

Introduction (5 minutes)

Teacher: Good morning, wonderful helpers! Today, we're going to talk about something super important: our community! Can anyone tell me what a community is?

(Allow students to share ideas. Guide them towards understanding it as a place where people live, work, and play together.)

Teacher: Exactly! Our community is like our big family outside our homes. It's our neighborhood, our school, and even our town. It's where we see our friends, go to the park, and learn new things. We just did our Warm Up: Community Helpers Match activity, and you all did such a great job! Who remembers some of the community helpers we talked about and what they do?

(Encourage students to share. Point to Slide 2: What is a Community? and Slide 3: Who Helps Our Community? as you discuss.)

The Little Community Helper (10 minutes)

Teacher: Now, I have a special story for you called Reading: The Little Community Helper. This story is all about how even the smallest people can make a big difference in their community. Listen carefully, and think about how the characters help their community.

*(Read the story aloud with enthusiasm, using expressive voices for characters. Pause to ask questions like:

Warm Up: Community Helpers Match

Objective: To activate prior knowledge about community members and their roles.

Instructions:

1. Teacher Preparation: Prepare a set of cards. Half the cards should have pictures of different community helpers (e.g., police officer, firefighter, doctor, teacher, postal worker). The other half should have pictures of tools or places associated with those helpers (e.g., police car, fire truck, stethoscope, chalkboard, mailbox).
2. Activity: Distribute one card to each student. Explain that some students have a community helper, and others have something that belongs to a community helper.
3. Find Your Match: On your signal, students will walk around the room to find the person whose card matches theirs. For example, the student with the police officer card will find the student with the police car card.
4. Share Out: Once everyone has found their match, have each pair introduce themselves and their matched items to the class. Ask them to briefly explain how that community helper contributes to the community.

Example Matches:

• Police Officer & Police Car
• Firefighter & Fire Truck
• Doctor & Stethoscope
• Teacher & School
• Postal Worker & Mailbox

Cool Down: I Can Help By...

Objective: To help students reflect on their learning and identify personal actions for community responsibility.

Instructions:

1. Think Time (2 minutes): Ask students to quietly think about one new thing they learned today about their community or one way they can help make their community better.
2. Share Out (3 minutes): Go around the room and have each student complete the sentence:

The Little Community Helper

Lily loved her town, Sparkle Creek. It wasn't a very big town, but it was her town. She loved walking with her grandma to the library, playing at the sunny park, and waving to Mr. Henderson, the mailman, as he delivered letters.

One sunny morning, as Lily was walking to the park, she noticed something that made her frown. A colorful candy wrapper lay on the bright green grass, and a plastic bottle was near the swing set.

Helping Hands Discussion

Objective: To encourage students to articulate their understanding of a community and the roles people play within it.

Instructions:

1. Introduce the Topic (2 minutes):

Community Cleanup Sort Activity

Objective: Students will identify items that belong in their community (or can be recycled/composted) and items that are trash.

Materials:

• Pictures of various items: (e.g., apple core, banana peel, crumpled paper, plastic bottle, soda can, candy wrapper, toy, leaf, rock, broken branch)
• Large labels or bins for sorting: "Trash Can," "Recycling Bin," "Compost Pile," "Good Things in Our Community"

Instructions:

1. Preparation (Teacher): Print and cut out a variety of pictures for sorting. Ensure there are clear examples for each category. (Example pictures are listed above, you can add more!)
2. Introduction (5 minutes): Gather students and explain that we are going to help clean up our pretend community. Show them the pictures and the sorting labels/bins.
3. Explain Categories (5 minutes):
   • Trash Can: Things we throw away that can't be recycled or composted (e.g., candy wrappers, broken toys).
   • Recycling Bin: Things that can be made into new things (e.g., plastic bottles, soda cans, paper).
   • Compost Pile: Food scraps and natural things that help plants grow (e.g., apple cores, banana peels, leaves).
   • Good Things in Our Community: Items that are natural and belong there (e.g., rocks, healthy leaves, flowers).
4. Sorting Time (10 minutes): Divide students into small groups (2-3 students). Give each group a set of mixed pictures. Instruct them to sort the pictures into the correct categories. Encourage them to talk about why they are putting each item in a certain place.
5. Share and Discuss (5 minutes): Bring the groups back together. Ask each group to share one item they sorted and explain their reasoning. Facilitate a discussion about why it's important to put things in the right place to keep our community clean and healthy.

Discussion Prompts:
*

My Community Contributions

Name: _____________________________

How Can I Help My Community?

Draw a picture or write about one way you can help make our community a better place!

Share Your Idea!

Tell a friend or your teacher about your drawing or writing.

Community Action Charades

Objective: Students will act out and guess positive community actions, reinforcing understanding of community responsibility.

Materials:

• Small slips of paper with simple community actions written or drawn on them (e.g.,

My Community Contributions Answer Key

Worksheet Reference: Worksheet: My Community Contributions

Objective: The worksheet encourages students to reflect on and express one way they can contribute to their community.

Guidance for Teachers:

Since this worksheet is designed for Pre-Primary 1 & 2 students and involves drawing or short writing, answers will be highly individualized and creative. The goal is to assess their understanding of what a positive community contribution looks like, not to check for a single correct answer.

Look for:

• Clear Connection to Community: Does the student's drawing or writing show an action that helps others or the environment in their community? (e.g., picking up trash, helping a friend, being kind, sharing toys, planting a flower, helping a parent with chores that impact the family/home community).
• Effort and Engagement: Does the student show effort in their drawing or attempt to communicate an idea through words or symbols?
• Age-Appropriate Understanding: Recognize that their ideas will be simple but should demonstrate a basic grasp of helping or caring.

Examples of acceptable student responses (drawing or writing):

• Drawing: A child picking up a piece of litter in a park.
• Drawing: A child sharing a toy with another child.
• Drawing: A child helping to water plants.
• Drawing: A child smiling at a neighbor.
• Writing (if able):

My Community Helper Project

Objective: To demonstrate understanding of community helpers and their contributions through a creative project.

Audience: Pre-Primary 1 & 2

Time Allotment: 15-20 minutes in class (can be started in class and finished at home)

Project Description:

Today, we learned about many amazing people who help our community! Now it's your turn to choose one community helper you admire and create a picture of them. You can draw, color, or even make a collage!

What to Do:

1. Choose a Helper: Think about all the community helpers we discussed. Who is your favorite? (Examples: firefighter, doctor, teacher, police officer, postal worker, garbage collector, librarian, chef).
2. Create Your Picture: On a piece of paper, draw your chosen community helper. What are they wearing? What tools do they use? What are they doing to help our community?
3. Tell About Your Helper: Either draw speech bubbles with words, or tell your teacher/family member what your helper does to make our community a better place. If you can write, try to write one or two words about your helper.

Presenting Your Project:

We will have a special

My Community Helper Project Rubric

Project Reference: My Community Helper Project

Student Name: _____________________________

Date: _____________________________

This rubric will help us see how well you understood our lesson about community helpers and responsibility. We are looking for your effort and how you show what you learned!

Teacher Comments: