Students need to understand there are people that have different types of jobs. They need to understand that all people help the community in some way.
We will arrange for people to come in to the class and "show & tell" about a career. We will have great fun inviting parents or family members to visit our class. Some children take for granted the jobs their family members do.
At the end of this unit the students will understand that there are many different jobs that need to be done in a community. The students will be able to tell about the various roles of different Community Helpers and explain why all of these jobs are important.
Heroes in our community

1. Song:
Do you know the policeman, the policeman, the policeman?  Do you know the policeman who protects our neighborhood?
Do you know the mailman, the mailman, the mailman?  Do you know the mailman who delivers our letters?
Fireman...
Dr...
Army man...
etc...
(sung to the tune of "The Muffin Man")

2. Here is a fun Community Helpers Song:* First you need to make a variety of hats to represent the various community helpers (i.e.. firefighter, baker, postal worker, etc.). These hats can be made out of poster board, laminated and glued onto paint stir sticks. As you sing/chant the verse, hold up a hat and the children love to call out who wears the hat!

"What, what can I be when I wear a hat like that? I can be a _________ when I wear a hat like that!"

3. Community Helpers Circle Song
Game Materials: Provide a variety of community helpers puppets, pictures, or whatever you have available.
Pick one child to walk around the circle.  Start singing the Song: "When I went walking down the street"
When I went walking down the street,
down the street, down the street
A community helper I did meet,
Heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho
At this point the child would pick a community helper to dance with. The group would continue singing
a ridgety jig and away we go,
away we go, away we go,
a ridgety jig and away we go,
heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho!
Then the next child would be picked to do the walking
Careers: A first Grade

2. Read: Police Officers  by Dee Ready

3. Game: Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?
Pick one child to be the police officer. Provide him with an officers hat. The rest of the group will start singing "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?"  The officer will then walk over to one child and points to him.  The accused child will say: "Who me?"  The officer: "Yes,  you! "The accused child: "Not Me?" The officer: "Then Who?" Then the accused child becomes the officer and the game continues on. Students are very enthusiastic about this game.

Davis Police Department: Online Coloring Book
Florida Children's Safety Center
NCPC: National Crime Prevention Council: Kids Stuff: McGruff the Crime Dog
Police Officer Lesson
 
 

2. When we finish our tour of the nurse's office we will go the the computer lab. When each student is seated at a computer we will look at the site called Bloopy's Buddies. I will model and guide the students through the web site using the Proxima. This will be the kindergartners third visit to the computer lab.  In the site, Bloopy's Buddies,  we will go to a link called Bloopyville. It is small community filled with community helpers such as a book store clerk (Mr. Jonathan), a musician (Maestro Johann Baton) , a dentist (Dr. Feel Better), a policewoman (Sgt. Lookout) and a cook (Chef Cuisine). As we look at each community helper we will discuss their jobs and the things we can learn from them. Following our discussion I will allow each child to print a coloring sheet of their favorite community helper from Bloopyville.

3. Craft: Dr. Bag
Materials:black construction paper, red construction paper], stapler, white chalk, items such as Band-Aids, cotton balls, etc....
1. Fold the black paper in half and draw a doctor bag on it so that the fold is the bottom of the bag.
2. Cut it out and staple the sides together
3. Cut a red cross out of the red paper and glue it on the bag
4. Write Dr. **** on the other side of the bag
5. Put cotton balls, band-aids, and whatever else you would find in a doctor bag that the kids could play with.
Contributed by Lori

Bloopy's Buddies
Dr. Overtime
Eat Five a Day
The Health Net Work
Kids Health
Kids Source Online: Eating Healthy
Take a Hospital Tour
Dentist Lesson
Doctor Lesson

2. Read: The Jolly Postman  by Janet and Allan Ahl
When we finish reading and discussing our story, we will list the duties of a postman on our whiteboard. The students will follow up on this unit by writing a letter to the Rip N' Sew Club. Each student has been given a quilt made by this group of ladies. The students will write a thank you letter. We will send our letters through the mail. A postman will deliver our letters of thanks.

Billy Bears Post Office: Kids Stuff to Mail
Santa Claus at the North Pole
USPS: United States Postal Service
Link to a Community Helper: A Postman Lesson
Mail Truck
 
 

1. I like to have my class learn about the jobs our schools' workers do by inviting the adults who work in our school to talk to the class about their job. I will invite one of our bus drivers.
 After learning about the different types of bus drivers, students will have an opportunity to learn some bus safety tips. Students will act out proper bus behavior and will take on the role of a school bus driver by using a map to plan out their route.

2. Song: This is the Way...
"This Is the Way"  (Sing to the tune of "Mulberry Bush")
Drive our bus...

Craft: A Bus
S/W use yellow paint to paint a lid off of a cardboard egg carton
S/W cut black circles out of construction paper for the tires
S/W cut people out of magazines to glue people on the bus.

2. Rhyme: The Librarian (by Dick Wilmes)
The librarian helps the visitors find
Several good books to strengthen their mind.
Magazines and records stored on a rack,
You can take some things home
But you must bring them back.

High Point Public Library: Children's Room
Reading Zone
Story Book Library
Story Hour

---

Fireman Day

Mrs. Threewit and Dyrk Welty (Wittmann Fireman)

Members from the Wittmann Fire Department will come to school for Show and Tell on Friday October 13. The fire fighters will bring a fire truck and special fire fighting gear to show the students.

1. Stop, Drop, and Roll: After discussing fires and the firefighters job, I will teach the students,
"Stop, Drop, and Roll."  I explain to the children that if their clothes ever catch fire, they will need to  "stop, drop, and roll".  After the 'stop, drop and roll," is demonstrated, each student will practice this activity individually.

2. Review fire safety tips, such as what to do when a fire starts (leave the building and call 9-1-1 from another location) and when a siren sounds (get away from the street and out of the path of rescue vehicles). I will let the students use our play telephone to practice dialing 9-1-1 and pretend to report pertinent information; such as their names and addresses.
 

3. Rhyme: Firemen
Firemen, Firemen, hear the alarm
Save the houses, from any harm.
Firemen, Firemen, it's not time to rest
Get up, Get up, Do your Best!

4. Song: Down at the Firehouse (by Jean Warren)
Sung to: "Down by the Station"
Down at the firehouse
Early in the morning,
You can see our clothes
Hanging in a row.
When there is a fire,
We can dress real fast.
Boots, jackets, hats, gloves,
Off we go!

5. Experiment: What Does a Fire Need?
We will point out that a fire is dangerous, and that these experiments should be done only by an adult.
We will use this demonstation to talk about fire safety.

Materials Needed:
Chart paper, Matches
Pail of water, Marker
Candle, Small Baby food Jar

Experiment: Ask the children, "What do we know about fire and heat?" Chart their responses. Have a short talk about safety procedures during circle time.
1. Question: "What does a fire need to keep burning?"  Now introduce these vocabulary words: air, heat and fuel. A fire must have all three in order to burn. Fuel is something that keeps the fire going, like gasoline keeps the car going and healthy food keeps your body going. What is the fuel here?
The candlewick and the wax are the fuels.
2. Light the candle; watch it burn for a few seconds.
3. Put the baby food jar over the lit candle and watch it burn. Watch the flame go out. Why did it go out?
There is no air. (Do this a few times.)
4. Light the candle again. When you blow on the flame, why does it go out? Because there is less heat.
Link to the Lesson

6. Activity: Fire Truck
Fire Engine Picture: Precut circular shapes from black construction paper and rectangle shapes from red construction paper. Have the child paste the shapes together on construction paper to resemble a fire truck. They can add yarn for a hose and toothpicks for a ladder.

7. Game: Water Brigade: Team Work
The students will play water bucket brigade. I will divide the class into two teams. I will have each team line up outside. I will place a dishpan of water in front of one student and a bucket about 25 feet away. The first person will fill up to 20, 8 ounce plastic cups, depending on the number of people on a team. The students will space themselves evenly between the dishpan and the bucket. To play, the first person in each line scoops up a cupful of water, and hands it to the next person. The cup should be passed from person to person until the last student pours it into the bucket. The last student then races to the beginning of the line to refill the cup and pass it to the next person. Keep filling new cups and passing them down until the bucket is full. The first team to fill their bucket to the brim wins. Explain to students how hundreds of years ago, bucket brigades were used to fight fires. In those days, people would line up in between a water source and the fire and pass buckets of water to pour on the fire until it was extinguished.

Links
Captain Kidde
Fire Prevention History
Kindergarten Fire Safety Rules
Safety Lessons for Children: State Farm
Smokey the Bear
Sparky the Fire Dog
Wittmann Fire Department
USFA Kid's Page
Fire Fighters Lesson: Preschool
Fire Fighters Lesson

Game: Charades
Act out an occupation and have the children guess who you are pretending to be. Then let the children take turns pretending to be someone.