Discovering Our Community's Everyday Heroes

High School Grade Project 4 weeks

Discovering Our Community's Everyday Heroes

Lorena Holder

1-pager

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to engage kindergarten students in exploring the roles and significance of community helpers through interactive, real-world experiences. By visiting local businesses and inviting parents to share their professions, students will gain firsthand insights into various jobs and the tools and skills required. This project aims to foster an understanding of how these roles contribute to the community's well-being, culminating in a student-led play that creatively showcases their learning.

Learning goals

Students will identify and describe various community helper roles, understanding their importance and the impact they have on daily life. They will explore and discuss the tools and skills used by these helpers through interactive visits and guest speakers. By participating in role-play and a community-themed play, students will demonstrate their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of community helpers.

Standards

Common Core - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Common Core - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2: Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
Common Core - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.4: Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Products

Students will create a community helper scrapbook, documenting their visits and interactions with local businesses and community helpers. They will also collaboratively design and perform a play, showcasing the roles and importance of different community helpers. Each student will contribute a drawing or craft representing a community helper and their tools, which will be displayed in a classroom exhibit.

Launch

Begin the project with a "Community Helpers Day" where students dress up as various community helpers and participate in a role-playing activity. Have a few parents or community members visit the classroom to briefly discuss their jobs and demonstrate tools or skills they use. This engaging start will spark curiosity and set the stage for the upcoming visits and activities.

Exhibition

Host a "Community Helpers Fair" where students showcase their learning through interactive stations. Each station can represent a different community helper role, featuring tools, uniforms, and a short play or skit performed by students. Invite parents, local community members, and other classes to visit and engage with the stations, allowing students to explain the importance of each job and demonstrate the skills they've learned.

Plan

Week 1	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Activities	Launch the project with 'Community Helpers Day.' Students will dress up as different community helpers and participate in role-playing activities, where they act out the roles of the helpers they are dressed as.	Invite a few parents or local community members to the classroom to discuss their jobs briefly. They will demonstrate the tools or skills they use in their professions.	Introduce the concept of a community helper scrapbook. Each student will start their scrapbook by drawing a picture of themselves as a community helper, and writing or dictating a sentence about what they think that helper does.	Initiate a classroom discussion about the essential question: 'What are the different jobs people do in our community, and why are they important?' Encourage students to share what they learned from the role-playing and guest speakers.
Deliverables	1. A completed first page of the community helper scrapbook featuring each student's drawing and description of a community helper.
Preparation	1. Gather costumes or props for the 'Community Helpers Day' role-playing activity. 2. Coordinate with parents and community members willing to visit the classroom and discuss their professions. 3. Prepare materials for the community helper scrapbook, including paper, crayons, and markers. 4. Create a simple classroom display or bulletin board to highlight the essential question and allow students to post their ideas and drawings.

Week 2	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Activities	Organize a field trip to visit a local community helper, such as a fire station, police station, or library. Students will observe the environment, ask questions, and learn about the daily tasks and tools used in these professions.	Have students work in small groups to create a poster that represents the community helper they visited, including drawings of the tools and skills observed. Each group will present their poster to the class.	Conduct a classroom discussion focused on the essential question: 'What tools and skills do community helpers use to do their jobs?' Encourage students to share their observations from the visit and reflect on how these tools and skills help the community.	Guide students to add a new page to their community helper scrapbook, documenting their field trip experience with drawings and dictated or written sentences about what they learned.
Deliverables	1. A group poster showcasing the tools and skills of a community helper visited during the field trip. 2. An additional page in each student's community helper scrapbook with reflections and drawings from the field trip.
Preparation	1. Coordinate with local community helpers to arrange a field trip, ensuring necessary permissions and transportation are organized. 2. Prepare materials for the group poster activity, including poster paper, markers, crayons, and any other drawing supplies. 3. Create a list of guided questions for students to ask during the field trip to help them focus on the tools and skills used by community helpers. 4. Plan a classroom discussion framework to facilitate reflection and sharing of field trip experiences.

Week 3	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Activities	Organize in-class workshops where students rotate through stations set up with interactive activities related to different community helpers. Each station will focus on a specific helper and include hands-on tasks like 'bandaging' a doll at the doctor station, 'writing tickets' at the police officer station, etc.	Invite guest speakers from the community to join the class virtually or in-person. Each guest will briefly discuss their role, the tools they use, and answer student questions. Ensure the visitors represent a variety of community roles not covered in previous weeks.	Guide students to collaboratively work on creating props and simple costumes for the upcoming community-themed play. Encourage them to think about and design items that represent the tools or symbols of the roles they are portraying.	Facilitate a classroom discussion where students reflect on what they’ve learned so far about community helpers. Use prompts to help them connect these insights to their roles in the play.
Deliverables	1. Students will complete a reflection page in their community helper scrapbook, summarizing what they learned from the guest speakers and workshops. 2. Students will contribute to the creation of props and costumes for their character in the play.
Preparation	1. Set up and organize interactive stations with materials that simulate the tasks of different community helpers. Gather supplies like bandages, play money, and small tools. 2. Coordinate with guest speakers to ensure a diverse range of community roles are represented. Prepare technology for virtual visits if needed. 3. Gather materials for prop and costume creation, such as cardboard, fabric, glue, and markers. 4. Prepare discussion prompts and questions to guide students in reflecting on their learning and preparing for the play.

Week 4	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Activities	Rehearse the community-themed play with students, focusing on their roles as different community helpers. Practice speaking parts, movements, and use of props and costumes created in previous weeks.	Conduct a dress rehearsal for the community-themed play, allowing students to perform in front of a peer audience. Use this opportunity to provide constructive feedback and make final adjustments.	Host the 'Community Helpers Fair,' where students perform their play for parents, local community members, and other classes. Set up interactive stations where students present their completed community helper scrapbooks and explain the importance of each helper role.	Facilitate a reflection circle where students discuss what they enjoyed and learned throughout the project. Encourage them to share their favorite roles, tools, and skills they discovered.
Deliverables	1. A completed and performed community-themed play showcasing the roles and importance of different community helpers. 2. A finished community helper scrapbook, with all pages documenting visits, guest speakers, and reflections on various community helpers.
Preparation	1. Arrange the performance area for the play, ensuring all props and costumes are ready and easily accessible. 2. Coordinate with parents and community members to attend the 'Community Helpers Fair' and play performance. 3. Prepare the classroom or hall for the 'Community Helpers Fair,' setting up stations for students to present their scrapbooks and other project artifacts. 4. Create a feedback sheet for peers and guests to provide positive comments and suggestions after the play performance.