community helpers
Lesson Plan for Kindergarten Students
The goal or purpose of this lesson is to help children understand the roles of a variety of community helpers and how they can help us in our community. Some of the occupations that will be discussed are: doctors and nurses, police officers, fire fighters, postal workers and dentists. Another goal of this lesson is to help children realize that these are occupations that are of service to all the people in the community and that they themselves can become community helpers.
Objectives:
Help students identify and name some community helpers.
Help students describe the tools that the community helpers use in their jobs.
Help students explain the community helpers’ jobs.
Help students match pictures of community helpers to words and tools for that particular helper.
Help students create a class book about community helpers.
Help students write letters in the writing center.
Help students use items in a prop box and pretend to be a community helper.
Help students plan and generate questions for an interview of a community helper.
Help students classify and graph helpers in the classroom.
Vocabulary / List of Sight Words:
-Community Helper, Service, Job, Occupation, Helping Others, Help
-Fire Fighter: fire station, fire, fire hose, fire truck, fire drill, helmet, fire engine, fire alarm, fire extinguisher
-Mail Carrier: post office, mail box, stamps, envelopes, letter, zip code, address, mail, mail bag
-Doctors and Nurses: stethoscope, thermometer, patient, hospital, ambulance, cot, first-aide
-Dentist: toothbrush, toothpaste, chair, x-rays, teeth, cavity, dental floss
-Police Officer: badge, police station, police car, siren
Write these sight words on large cards and label items that will be displayed in the class. These words will be introduced before reading stories. Discuss each of the occupations. Students will use these words in their daily oral language, journal writing, creative writing project, and in center activities. Students will see sight words in environmental print that will be displayed around the room. Students can cut out pictures in magazines and create collages about community helpers and then write stories about these pictures in their journals.
Book List:
I Can Be A Fire Fighter, Hanken, Rebecca *Multicultural
Big Red Fire Fighter, Greydanus, Rose
The Berenstain Bears Go to The Doctor, Berenstain, Stan & Jan
The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, Berenstain, Stan & Jan
The Jolly Postman, Ahlberg
Just Going to The Dentist, Mayer, Mercer
A Day in the Life of a Police Officer, Arnold, Eric
Doctor Duck and Nurse Swan, Wiseman, Bernard
A Visit to the Police Station, Hannum, Dotti
Mommies At Work, Merriam, Eve *Multicultural
Daddies at Work, Merriam, Eve
The Work That People Do, Imershein, Betsy *Multicultural
Postal Workers From A to Z, Johnson, Jean *Multicultural
Writing/Fluency/Creative Thinking Activities:
Post Office Activity: Create a writing center that will be a Post Office. Items to include in the Post Office are: paper, pencils, envelopes, stamps and mailboxes (shoe boxes), uniforms, letter bag, and ink pad. Place a variety of boxes in the area that will be used for mail boxes. Label one box the official mail box and the other boxes are used for sorting. The sorting boxes can have numbers, letters and shapes on them. Others can be used for junk mail, letters to parents, etc. Students will be encouraged to write thank you letters to the helpers in our school, to the visiting Police Officer and to the Fire Station. Mail carriers will be chosen daily to deliver letters to the people in our school. Place a variety of envelopes out for the children to write on and mail. Let some children sort the mail and other children write letters, make cards and pick up their mail. Prepare some envelopes with numbers, letters and shapes already on them for the children to sort into mail boxes. Ask parents in advance to bring in junk mail. Place this mail in the post office for the children to sort and play with. The children can write letters to their parents, each other, draw pictures and mail the pictures.
Create a Class Book: Teacher will read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Eric Carle. Using the same language pattern as the Eric Carle book, construct a book by having students write and draw a picture of a helper and ask them what the helper will see next. Example: Doctor, Doctor What do you see? I see a Nurse looking at me. Nurse, Nurse, What do you see? I see a Dentist looking at me. Etc. etc. Create this book towards the end of the unit after discussing a wide variety of helpers in our community.
Chants and Poems: These chants and poems will be on a large piece of chart paper. Tracking the words from left to right is very important when reading to young children. After reading the chants, ask students if they see any words that start with a particular letter, do they see any sight words, do they notice any words that are the same or words that we’ve seen throughout our class environment. Leave these poems and chants out for the students to explore and read throughout the unit.
1
Five little firefighters all in a row.
The first one said, “I have to go.”
The second one said, “Smoke is in the air”
The third one said, “I’ll be there.”
The fourth one said, “Get the pail.”
The fifth one said, “Ring the bell.”
Then they climbed the ladder onto the roof.
They hosed the water and the fire went “POOF!”
2
The traffic policeman holds up his hand.
(hold up hand, palm forward)
He blows the whistle,
(pretend to blow whistle)
He gives the command.
(hold up hand again)
When the cars are stopped
(hold up hand again)
He waves at me
Then I cross the street, you see.
(wave hand as if indicating for someone to go)
3
My toothbrush is a tool.
I use it everyday.
I brush and brush and brush
To keep the cavities away.
(pretend to keep the cavities away)
4
I am a little mail carrier
(point to self)
Who can do nothing better.
I walk.
(walk in place)
I run.
(run in place)
I hop to your house.
(hop in place)
To deliver your letter.
5
My father said
“It’s doctor day,”
Then he and I
We’re on our way
To see our friend
The doctor who
Would check me out
As doctors do.
She had more things
Than I can tell
To help her keep
The people well.
She checked me up
And all the while
She wore a big
And friendly smile.
So now I hope
That someday you
May go to see
The doctor too!
Language Experience Charts: Materials Needed: 1 sheet of ruled manuscript paper, felt-tip markers, construction paper, scissors, tape or glue. Activity: After going to the fire station, allow the students to discuss the experience. Print the children’s comments, editing them to form a story, on the manuscript paper. Leave spaces in the story for pictures of key words. For example, in “Fire Station” the key words could be illustrated: fire, helmet, boots, house, fire hose, fire fighters. These illustrations of key words can be drawn directly on the chart or on construction paper, and then cut out and pasted on the chart. Color the drawings with felt-tip markers. Mount the finished chart on the wall. During large group reading sessions, read the story encouraging the children to participate by pointing to each word. One successful technique is to pause at the pictures and have the children supply the correct word. You can extend this activity by providing paper, pencils, and felt-tip markers for those children who are interested in making their own charts.
Individual Sentence Charts: Materials Needed: Easel paper, Paints and brushes, Marking pens, 1” strip of tag board taped to the bottom of each picture, making a pocket chart, Word cards for writing each word of the child’s sentence. Activity: The child draws or paints a picture. The teacher then writes at the bottom what the child tells about his/her picture. The child may try to write under the teacher’s words. Later, the teacher writes the words from the sentence and puts on the tag strip to form pockets. The child works with a partner to match individual words to the words in the sentences and practice reading. Working together with partners/helpers helps build confidence in reading and social skills. Children can make books of these sentence pictures. When they have three or more sentences, they can mix up all the words from the sentences and learn the words individually as well as match them.
Math Activities:
Graphing Activities: Students will graph a variety of things throughout this unit. Have students graph the number of times they are in a center, how many times they have read certain books, how many hats they have worn, how many times were they in the science center, who wants to be what, how many letters were written each day, who were the letters written to and who delivered the mail, etc… The options are endless and all the students can participate in this activity.
The Mail Carrier: On a piece of tag board have the children draw a picture of their house a head of time. Then you will need to write each child’s house number on their house. Next, you need to take envelopes and stamps and put the names and addresses of the children in class whose houses are used. You can make a mail carriers hat out of paper for the children to wear while doing this activity. The child will take the folder of houses and envelopes and places the houses so that s/he can see each house number. The child then matches each envelope with each house and the correct house number and delivers the mail.
Letter Sort Game: Materials Needed: 8-10 oatmeal containers, Masking tape, Envelopes. Activity: Stack the oatmeal containers on their sides in the shape of a pyramid. Use masking tape to hold the containers in place. You can have the children sort envelopes into the containers by color, number or letter. Choose the way in which you would like the children to sort the mail and then label both the envelopes and oatmeal containers accordingly. When they are finished, they can sort the mail.
Patterns and Shapes: Students can look at various objects and describe the shapes and patterns that they observe. Example: discuss the fire truck and ask students questions; What shape are the wheels? What shape is the truck? What do you notice about the ladder? Have students cut out shapes and make a fire truck.
Baking Clay Badges: Let the children help you prepare baking clay. You will need 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1 ¾ cups of warm water. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Next, knead for approximately 10 minutes. Add several drops of yellow food coloring as you are molding. When the color is completely mixed, the dough is ready to mold. Give each child a small ball of clay and have them flatten it completely. Let them use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut a star shape from the clay. Next, bake the badges with assorted collage materials. You may even want to attach a safety pin to the back so that each child can wear their badge.
Artistic Expression (Music/Drama/Art):
Circle Time Song: The People In Your Neighborhood. Verse 1: Oh, who are the people in your neigh-bor-hood, in your neigh-bor-hood, in your neigh-bor-hood? Oh, who are the people in your neigh-bor-hood, the people you meet each day? Verse 2: The mail carrier is a per-son in your neigh-bor-hood, in your neigh-bor-hood, your neigh-bor-hood. The mail carrier is a per-son in your neigh-bor-hood, a person you meet that you meet each day. Additional Verses: Add different community helpers to each of the verses.
Dramatic Play Area: Designate an area that can alternately become a hospital or a veterinarian’s office or a store or an art studio. Ask parents or friends to donate items for this center. Items such as; cots, doctor’s bags, surgical masks, scrubs, lab coats, bandages, dentist chair, x-rays, charts, fluoride tablets, etc. Give students a list of items in this center and have them make labels for the items in the center. Students can decorate the center, ie: A sign that says, “The Doctor Is In!” Allowing students to decorate and create this center encourages independent thinking and builds classroom community. Students will take pride in this center because they have created it and hopefully will take the time to clean up the center during “clean-up time.” Materials Needed: Poster Board, Markers, Clip Boards, Glue, Pencils, Scissors.
Paint with Dental Floss: Students can paint with dental floss. Provide thin tempera paint, paper, and dental floss. The children can spoon a small amount of paint onto their paper and can hold on to the dental floss while moving the free and through the paint to make a design.
Wheel Art: Have the children dip the wheels of fire trucks in paint and drive them back and forth across their papers to make tracks.
Stamp Art: Have the children use stamps and ink pads to make designs all over their papers or paper bags.
Design a Postal Stamp: Supply the children with white paper, paint, crayons and/or markers. First, show the children how to cut the edge of their paper to resemble a stamp. Next, encourage them to use the crayons/markers or paint to create their own design on their stamp. Older children may even want to determine a price to write on their stamp.
Butcher Paper Project: Have the children draw on butcher paper what they saw at the post office or fire station. Use big butcher paper and have a variety of makers, crayons and pencils out for the children to explore.
Nurse Bag Puppet: Supply the children with white paper lunch bags, construction paper, scissors, glue and crayons/markers. Let them use these materials to create their own nurse bag puppet. Encourage each child to give their nurse a name and tell you about him/her. Students may want to dictate or write a story about their nurse.
Physical Education Activities:
Deliver the Mail: To play this game, divide the children into two teams and give each child an envelope. Place a box approximately 25-30 feet from each team. On you signal, the first child on each team must run to the box, drop their envelope inside and then return to the team. Then, the next child on each team repeats the process. The team to deliver all of their mail first is the winner.
Stop, Drop and Roll: Review the importance of this safety concept with the children. Talk with them about what they should do if their clothes were to catch on fire. Show the children how they should stop, drop to the ground and roll over and over. As you demonstrate this concept for the children, explain that the rolling takes the oxygen from the fire and this causes it to go out. Let the children take turns practicing this safety technique.
Red Light, Green Light: To play the game, choose one child to be the “traffic light.” Have the “stoplight” stand approximately 25-30 feet away from the rest of the group with his or her back facing them. Have the remaining children stand side by side in a long line at a predetermined start line. While the children are moving, the “stoplight” may not look. However, when the “stoplight” says, “red light!” All of the children must freeze and the “stoplight” quickly turns around. If the “stoplight” sees a child move, they must return to the start line. The object of the game is to sneak up on the “stoplight” and the game starts over again.
Ambulance Races: Have the children all stand side by side on a predetermined START line. Explain to the children that they must pretend that they are ambulances hurrying to help an injured person. When you say, “GO!” the children should all run to the predetermined FINISH line. The first person to cross the line is the winning ambulance.
Fire Hose Toes: Equipment Needed: Garden Hose. Lay the hose on the floor in the shape of a circle. The children stand around the hose, facing the inside of the circle. The children should stand with their toes on the hose and their heels on the floor. You lead the children in the following exercise: Raise your arms up and stand on your tiptoes on the hose. Now bring your arms down and put your heels on the floor. Repeat this several times. Can you do this standing on one foot?
Other Activities:
Flannel Board Story: Read story about dentists and doctors and have felt cut-outs of these characters, the tools they use and the place where they work. After reading the story, have students work in pairs or in groups of three to re-tell the story in their own words to the group using the felt cut-outs.
Think-Pair-Share: Read several stories about fire safety and discuss the importance of fire safety and firefighters. Present a question about firefighters or safety (What would you do if your house was on fire?), have students think silently about their answer, and then turn to their neighbor or partner and share their answer. You can extend the activity by asking students to map their ideas on a piece of paper.
Create a Community using Sand and Water Table: Fill the sensory table with water. Add Popsicle sticks, blocks, boxcar police cars, and fire engines, figure dolls to create a neighborhood of community helpers.
How Heavy is Your Mail: Set up a balance scale and provide a variety of junk mail. Encourage children to choose mail they feel will balance the scale. Discuss words such as; heavy, light, big, little, long, short, thick and thin with the children.
Doctor and Nurse Tools: In a touchy feely box, place several tools that a doctor or a nurse uses. Include a thermometer, gauze, stethoscope, rubber hammer, and a tongue depressor.
Social Studies
Discussion about the Helpers in our Community: Introducing the students to the wide variety of community helpers and explaining their jobs and how they help the community is a way of introducing Social Studies to the classroom.
Helping to Take Care of our Classroom: Discuss the reasons why you should keep your classroom clean. How could you keep your classroom environment clean? Allow students time to discuss these reasons and let them express how they feel about cleaning and taking care of their classroom. Assign or pick student helpers for jobs in the classroom. Reinforce this activity on a daily basis.
Service Project: Send a letter home to parents asking them to donate items such as; toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpaste, soap, hair brushes, combs, bubble bath, etc. Have students make bags to put the items in and attach a card that they have written. Donate the bags to the local shelter.
Community Helper Hats: Place four to five community helper hats out. Show the children one hat at a time and ask them who wears the hat. Also, have them count the numbers of hats and tell you the colors of each one. After the children have described who wears the hat, let them each choose a hat to wear. Have the children take turns role-playing the community Helper whose hat they have chosen. Encourage each child to tell you what he/she does to help people in the community. Label the plastic hats with the name of the community Helper.
Field Trips and Guest Speakers: Field Trips: Fire Station, Police Station, Dentist Office, Post Office, Doctor’s Office, Tour the School, Hospital. Guest Speakers: Police Officer, Doctor, Dentist, Nurse, Fire Fighter. Invite parents into the classroom to discuss their jobs. The students like to have their parents involved in their school. Encourage students to write in their journals after going on a field trip or listening to a speaker. Have students write thank you letters. Students should journal their thoughts each day.
[From Debbie Cram & Chris Jorissen]
The goal or purpose of this lesson is to help children understand the roles of a variety of community helpers and how they can help us in our community. Some of the occupations that will be discussed are: doctors and nurses, police officers, fire fighters, postal workers and dentists. Another goal of this lesson is to help children realize that these are occupations that are of service to all the people in the community and that they themselves can become community helpers.
Objectives:
Help students identify and name some community helpers.
Help students describe the tools that the community helpers use in their jobs.
Help students explain the community helpers’ jobs.
Help students match pictures of community helpers to words and tools for that particular helper.
Help students create a class book about community helpers.
Help students write letters in the writing center.
Help students use items in a prop box and pretend to be a community helper.
Help students plan and generate questions for an interview of a community helper.
Help students classify and graph helpers in the classroom.
Vocabulary / List of Sight Words:
-Community Helper, Service, Job, Occupation, Helping Others, Help
-Fire Fighter: fire station, fire, fire hose, fire truck, fire drill, helmet, fire engine, fire alarm, fire extinguisher
-Mail Carrier: post office, mail box, stamps, envelopes, letter, zip code, address, mail, mail bag
-Doctors and Nurses: stethoscope, thermometer, patient, hospital, ambulance, cot, first-aide
-Dentist: toothbrush, toothpaste, chair, x-rays, teeth, cavity, dental floss
-Police Officer: badge, police station, police car, siren
Write these sight words on large cards and label items that will be displayed in the class. These words will be introduced before reading stories. Discuss each of the occupations. Students will use these words in their daily oral language, journal writing, creative writing project, and in center activities. Students will see sight words in environmental print that will be displayed around the room. Students can cut out pictures in magazines and create collages about community helpers and then write stories about these pictures in their journals.
Book List:
I Can Be A Fire Fighter, Hanken, Rebecca *Multicultural
Big Red Fire Fighter, Greydanus, Rose
The Berenstain Bears Go to The Doctor, Berenstain, Stan & Jan
The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, Berenstain, Stan & Jan
The Jolly Postman, Ahlberg
Just Going to The Dentist, Mayer, Mercer
A Day in the Life of a Police Officer, Arnold, Eric
Doctor Duck and Nurse Swan, Wiseman, Bernard
A Visit to the Police Station, Hannum, Dotti
Mommies At Work, Merriam, Eve *Multicultural
Daddies at Work, Merriam, Eve
The Work That People Do, Imershein, Betsy *Multicultural
Postal Workers From A to Z, Johnson, Jean *Multicultural
Writing/Fluency/Creative Thinking Activities:
Post Office Activity: Create a writing center that will be a Post Office. Items to include in the Post Office are: paper, pencils, envelopes, stamps and mailboxes (shoe boxes), uniforms, letter bag, and ink pad. Place a variety of boxes in the area that will be used for mail boxes. Label one box the official mail box and the other boxes are used for sorting. The sorting boxes can have numbers, letters and shapes on them. Others can be used for junk mail, letters to parents, etc. Students will be encouraged to write thank you letters to the helpers in our school, to the visiting Police Officer and to the Fire Station. Mail carriers will be chosen daily to deliver letters to the people in our school. Place a variety of envelopes out for the children to write on and mail. Let some children sort the mail and other children write letters, make cards and pick up their mail. Prepare some envelopes with numbers, letters and shapes already on them for the children to sort into mail boxes. Ask parents in advance to bring in junk mail. Place this mail in the post office for the children to sort and play with. The children can write letters to their parents, each other, draw pictures and mail the pictures.
Create a Class Book: Teacher will read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Eric Carle. Using the same language pattern as the Eric Carle book, construct a book by having students write and draw a picture of a helper and ask them what the helper will see next. Example: Doctor, Doctor What do you see? I see a Nurse looking at me. Nurse, Nurse, What do you see? I see a Dentist looking at me. Etc. etc. Create this book towards the end of the unit after discussing a wide variety of helpers in our community.
Chants and Poems: These chants and poems will be on a large piece of chart paper. Tracking the words from left to right is very important when reading to young children. After reading the chants, ask students if they see any words that start with a particular letter, do they see any sight words, do they notice any words that are the same or words that we’ve seen throughout our class environment. Leave these poems and chants out for the students to explore and read throughout the unit.
1
Five little firefighters all in a row.
The first one said, “I have to go.”
The second one said, “Smoke is in the air”
The third one said, “I’ll be there.”
The fourth one said, “Get the pail.”
The fifth one said, “Ring the bell.”
Then they climbed the ladder onto the roof.
They hosed the water and the fire went “POOF!”
2
The traffic policeman holds up his hand.
(hold up hand, palm forward)
He blows the whistle,
(pretend to blow whistle)
He gives the command.
(hold up hand again)
When the cars are stopped
(hold up hand again)
He waves at me
Then I cross the street, you see.
(wave hand as if indicating for someone to go)
3
My toothbrush is a tool.
I use it everyday.
I brush and brush and brush
To keep the cavities away.
(pretend to keep the cavities away)
4
I am a little mail carrier
(point to self)
Who can do nothing better.
I walk.
(walk in place)
I run.
(run in place)
I hop to your house.
(hop in place)
To deliver your letter.
5
My father said
“It’s doctor day,”
Then he and I
We’re on our way
To see our friend
The doctor who
Would check me out
As doctors do.
She had more things
Than I can tell
To help her keep
The people well.
She checked me up
And all the while
She wore a big
And friendly smile.
So now I hope
That someday you
May go to see
The doctor too!
Language Experience Charts: Materials Needed: 1 sheet of ruled manuscript paper, felt-tip markers, construction paper, scissors, tape or glue. Activity: After going to the fire station, allow the students to discuss the experience. Print the children’s comments, editing them to form a story, on the manuscript paper. Leave spaces in the story for pictures of key words. For example, in “Fire Station” the key words could be illustrated: fire, helmet, boots, house, fire hose, fire fighters. These illustrations of key words can be drawn directly on the chart or on construction paper, and then cut out and pasted on the chart. Color the drawings with felt-tip markers. Mount the finished chart on the wall. During large group reading sessions, read the story encouraging the children to participate by pointing to each word. One successful technique is to pause at the pictures and have the children supply the correct word. You can extend this activity by providing paper, pencils, and felt-tip markers for those children who are interested in making their own charts.
Individual Sentence Charts: Materials Needed: Easel paper, Paints and brushes, Marking pens, 1” strip of tag board taped to the bottom of each picture, making a pocket chart, Word cards for writing each word of the child’s sentence. Activity: The child draws or paints a picture. The teacher then writes at the bottom what the child tells about his/her picture. The child may try to write under the teacher’s words. Later, the teacher writes the words from the sentence and puts on the tag strip to form pockets. The child works with a partner to match individual words to the words in the sentences and practice reading. Working together with partners/helpers helps build confidence in reading and social skills. Children can make books of these sentence pictures. When they have three or more sentences, they can mix up all the words from the sentences and learn the words individually as well as match them.
Math Activities:
Graphing Activities: Students will graph a variety of things throughout this unit. Have students graph the number of times they are in a center, how many times they have read certain books, how many hats they have worn, how many times were they in the science center, who wants to be what, how many letters were written each day, who were the letters written to and who delivered the mail, etc… The options are endless and all the students can participate in this activity.
The Mail Carrier: On a piece of tag board have the children draw a picture of their house a head of time. Then you will need to write each child’s house number on their house. Next, you need to take envelopes and stamps and put the names and addresses of the children in class whose houses are used. You can make a mail carriers hat out of paper for the children to wear while doing this activity. The child will take the folder of houses and envelopes and places the houses so that s/he can see each house number. The child then matches each envelope with each house and the correct house number and delivers the mail.
Letter Sort Game: Materials Needed: 8-10 oatmeal containers, Masking tape, Envelopes. Activity: Stack the oatmeal containers on their sides in the shape of a pyramid. Use masking tape to hold the containers in place. You can have the children sort envelopes into the containers by color, number or letter. Choose the way in which you would like the children to sort the mail and then label both the envelopes and oatmeal containers accordingly. When they are finished, they can sort the mail.
Patterns and Shapes: Students can look at various objects and describe the shapes and patterns that they observe. Example: discuss the fire truck and ask students questions; What shape are the wheels? What shape is the truck? What do you notice about the ladder? Have students cut out shapes and make a fire truck.
Baking Clay Badges: Let the children help you prepare baking clay. You will need 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1 ¾ cups of warm water. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Next, knead for approximately 10 minutes. Add several drops of yellow food coloring as you are molding. When the color is completely mixed, the dough is ready to mold. Give each child a small ball of clay and have them flatten it completely. Let them use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut a star shape from the clay. Next, bake the badges with assorted collage materials. You may even want to attach a safety pin to the back so that each child can wear their badge.
Artistic Expression (Music/Drama/Art):
Circle Time Song: The People In Your Neighborhood. Verse 1: Oh, who are the people in your neigh-bor-hood, in your neigh-bor-hood, in your neigh-bor-hood? Oh, who are the people in your neigh-bor-hood, the people you meet each day? Verse 2: The mail carrier is a per-son in your neigh-bor-hood, in your neigh-bor-hood, your neigh-bor-hood. The mail carrier is a per-son in your neigh-bor-hood, a person you meet that you meet each day. Additional Verses: Add different community helpers to each of the verses.
Dramatic Play Area: Designate an area that can alternately become a hospital or a veterinarian’s office or a store or an art studio. Ask parents or friends to donate items for this center. Items such as; cots, doctor’s bags, surgical masks, scrubs, lab coats, bandages, dentist chair, x-rays, charts, fluoride tablets, etc. Give students a list of items in this center and have them make labels for the items in the center. Students can decorate the center, ie: A sign that says, “The Doctor Is In!” Allowing students to decorate and create this center encourages independent thinking and builds classroom community. Students will take pride in this center because they have created it and hopefully will take the time to clean up the center during “clean-up time.” Materials Needed: Poster Board, Markers, Clip Boards, Glue, Pencils, Scissors.
Paint with Dental Floss: Students can paint with dental floss. Provide thin tempera paint, paper, and dental floss. The children can spoon a small amount of paint onto their paper and can hold on to the dental floss while moving the free and through the paint to make a design.
Wheel Art: Have the children dip the wheels of fire trucks in paint and drive them back and forth across their papers to make tracks.
Stamp Art: Have the children use stamps and ink pads to make designs all over their papers or paper bags.
Design a Postal Stamp: Supply the children with white paper, paint, crayons and/or markers. First, show the children how to cut the edge of their paper to resemble a stamp. Next, encourage them to use the crayons/markers or paint to create their own design on their stamp. Older children may even want to determine a price to write on their stamp.
Butcher Paper Project: Have the children draw on butcher paper what they saw at the post office or fire station. Use big butcher paper and have a variety of makers, crayons and pencils out for the children to explore.
Nurse Bag Puppet: Supply the children with white paper lunch bags, construction paper, scissors, glue and crayons/markers. Let them use these materials to create their own nurse bag puppet. Encourage each child to give their nurse a name and tell you about him/her. Students may want to dictate or write a story about their nurse.
Physical Education Activities:
Deliver the Mail: To play this game, divide the children into two teams and give each child an envelope. Place a box approximately 25-30 feet from each team. On you signal, the first child on each team must run to the box, drop their envelope inside and then return to the team. Then, the next child on each team repeats the process. The team to deliver all of their mail first is the winner.
Stop, Drop and Roll: Review the importance of this safety concept with the children. Talk with them about what they should do if their clothes were to catch on fire. Show the children how they should stop, drop to the ground and roll over and over. As you demonstrate this concept for the children, explain that the rolling takes the oxygen from the fire and this causes it to go out. Let the children take turns practicing this safety technique.
Red Light, Green Light: To play the game, choose one child to be the “traffic light.” Have the “stoplight” stand approximately 25-30 feet away from the rest of the group with his or her back facing them. Have the remaining children stand side by side in a long line at a predetermined start line. While the children are moving, the “stoplight” may not look. However, when the “stoplight” says, “red light!” All of the children must freeze and the “stoplight” quickly turns around. If the “stoplight” sees a child move, they must return to the start line. The object of the game is to sneak up on the “stoplight” and the game starts over again.
Ambulance Races: Have the children all stand side by side on a predetermined START line. Explain to the children that they must pretend that they are ambulances hurrying to help an injured person. When you say, “GO!” the children should all run to the predetermined FINISH line. The first person to cross the line is the winning ambulance.
Fire Hose Toes: Equipment Needed: Garden Hose. Lay the hose on the floor in the shape of a circle. The children stand around the hose, facing the inside of the circle. The children should stand with their toes on the hose and their heels on the floor. You lead the children in the following exercise: Raise your arms up and stand on your tiptoes on the hose. Now bring your arms down and put your heels on the floor. Repeat this several times. Can you do this standing on one foot?
Other Activities:
Flannel Board Story: Read story about dentists and doctors and have felt cut-outs of these characters, the tools they use and the place where they work. After reading the story, have students work in pairs or in groups of three to re-tell the story in their own words to the group using the felt cut-outs.
Think-Pair-Share: Read several stories about fire safety and discuss the importance of fire safety and firefighters. Present a question about firefighters or safety (What would you do if your house was on fire?), have students think silently about their answer, and then turn to their neighbor or partner and share their answer. You can extend the activity by asking students to map their ideas on a piece of paper.
Create a Community using Sand and Water Table: Fill the sensory table with water. Add Popsicle sticks, blocks, boxcar police cars, and fire engines, figure dolls to create a neighborhood of community helpers.
How Heavy is Your Mail: Set up a balance scale and provide a variety of junk mail. Encourage children to choose mail they feel will balance the scale. Discuss words such as; heavy, light, big, little, long, short, thick and thin with the children.
Doctor and Nurse Tools: In a touchy feely box, place several tools that a doctor or a nurse uses. Include a thermometer, gauze, stethoscope, rubber hammer, and a tongue depressor.
Social Studies
Discussion about the Helpers in our Community: Introducing the students to the wide variety of community helpers and explaining their jobs and how they help the community is a way of introducing Social Studies to the classroom.
Helping to Take Care of our Classroom: Discuss the reasons why you should keep your classroom clean. How could you keep your classroom environment clean? Allow students time to discuss these reasons and let them express how they feel about cleaning and taking care of their classroom. Assign or pick student helpers for jobs in the classroom. Reinforce this activity on a daily basis.
Service Project: Send a letter home to parents asking them to donate items such as; toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpaste, soap, hair brushes, combs, bubble bath, etc. Have students make bags to put the items in and attach a card that they have written. Donate the bags to the local shelter.
Community Helper Hats: Place four to five community helper hats out. Show the children one hat at a time and ask them who wears the hat. Also, have them count the numbers of hats and tell you the colors of each one. After the children have described who wears the hat, let them each choose a hat to wear. Have the children take turns role-playing the community Helper whose hat they have chosen. Encourage each child to tell you what he/she does to help people in the community. Label the plastic hats with the name of the community Helper.
Field Trips and Guest Speakers: Field Trips: Fire Station, Police Station, Dentist Office, Post Office, Doctor’s Office, Tour the School, Hospital. Guest Speakers: Police Officer, Doctor, Dentist, Nurse, Fire Fighter. Invite parents into the classroom to discuss their jobs. The students like to have their parents involved in their school. Encourage students to write in their journals after going on a field trip or listening to a speaker. Have students write thank you letters. Students should journal their thoughts each day.
[From Debbie Cram & Chris Jorissen]