Thank You, Community Workers! Lesson Plan

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Academic Standards

 

Reading Objective:

Children will identify and show appreciation for workers in their community.

 

Social Studies Focus:

community helpers

 

ELA Skills:

key details, vocabulary, main idea and details, writing

 

Page 4 Skill:

maps

 

Vocabulary:

community, mail carriers, health-care workers, sanitation workers, grocers, supplies

 

CCSS:

RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.4, RI.2.10, L.2.1, SL.2.3

Download TEKS Standards
Download California State Standards
Download Common Core Standards

Provide students with some background on jobs and workers.

Build background knowledge (10 min.)

Watch our video “That’s My Job!” After children have finished watching the video, discuss the following questions:

  • What is the difference between a growth mind-set and a fixed mindset? (A growth mind-set is when you think you can get better at things and try your best to improve, and a fixed mind-set is when you think you can’t get better at things.)
  • What are some tips for getting a growth mind-set? (Answers include: Ask for help; don’t be afraid of making mistakes; try something new.)

Preview vocabulary (3 min.)

Next, play the online vocabulary slideshow. This issue’s featured words are community, mail carriers, healthcare workers, sanitation workers, grocers, and supplies.

Set a purpose for reading (5 min.)

  • Pass out the issue, and discuss the cover. Invite children to look at the photos and tell what they think each worker does.
  • Next, read the As You Read promptnon page 3: “Think about why each worker’s job is important.” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

Read together (20 min.)

Pass out the Read and Think printable. Use it to check comprehension as you read the issue together, pausing to ask the questions. 

  • The Community Search and Find game is a fun way to reinforce the concept of community. Children search a busy neighborhood to find people and things they’d see in their own town.

You can use our printable worksheets to focus on important social-emotional and ELA skills. Here’s how.

Exit Ticket: Show What You Learned (5 min.)

  • Use our new Show What You Learned printable as a quick exit ticket! It asks students to revisit the As You Read prompt after they are done reading. If you are teaching remotely, this page is a great way to check students’ comprehension.

ELA Focus: Vocabulary (15 min.)

  • Use the Word Work printable to deepen students’ understanding of the words community and supplies.

Editor’s Pick: Thank-You Letters (15 min.)

  • The Letter to a Community Worker printable provides a perfect template for students to show their appreciation for community workers!
  • Depending on who children write to, you can send their letters to hospitals, deliver them to grocery stores, or leave them in your mailbox for a postal worker. Kids can also show their thanks from home by taping their letters to doors and windows!

ELA Focus: Main Idea (20 min.)

  • This page is great for introducing or reinforcing the essential skill of main idea and details. The main idea is filled in: Community workers keep our communities healthy and safe.
  • Students will fill in the details, telling how each type of worker helps the community.

 Here are two past issues you can use to extend your lesson on community workers:

  • Firefighter Jobs, October 2017. This issue describes the different ways firefighters help their communities.
  • The Great Garbage Strike, April 2019. This issue tells the story of how sanitation workers helped a community recognize the importance of sanitation jobs.

You can find a higher-Lexile-level and a lower-Lexile-level version of the article online here:

  • Higher-Lexile level: 550L
  • Lower-Lexile level: 450L