Materials: Whose Hands are These? – Book, 5 sets of “Community Helper Sort”, “Community Helper Sort — Items”, & 5 sets of “Community Helper Action Cards”
Instructions:
1. Introduce the theme for today which is all about community helpers and different jobs represented in our communities. Ask students if they can think of what a “community” is and if they have any thoughts on types of jobs/people who help provide services in our communities.
2. After several student responses and taking time for this discussion, read the book Whose Hands are These? aloud to the students. Encourage students to interact with the reader during the story.
***NOTE: If the teacher allows you can move students to a central space to read the story (carpet, reading space)***
3. After finishing the book, explain to students that they will be playing a sorting game with their mentors to see if they can match tools and accessories to different community helpers.
4. At this time, separate students into up to 5 small groups based on the amount of students/mentors present. At least one mentor should pair with each group. Each group will need: 1 set of both the “Community Helper Sort” and ” Community Helper Sort — Items” and 1 set of “Community Helper Action Cards.”
5. Begin with the “Community Helper Sort.” Using one helper card at a time, ask students if they can identify who the helper is. Once identified you can ask some brainstorming questions such as “What do you think or know this person does?” or “What kinds of tools/items do you think this person uses to do their job?”
6. Have students work together to go through the smaller item cards to identify which ones might match the current helper. *Note: each helper has 3 items that match them. As students identify items, you can have discussions about what that item/tool is used for and why it is important to their job or responsibility. Students can velcro the items to the matching helper.
7. Once complete with all 6 helpers, you can ask students follow-up questions such as “Have you seen any of these helpers before?” or “Which helper’s job or responsibility do you think you would like to do?”
8. If time allows, you can pull out the “Community Helper Action Cards.” You can do either of the following options:
- – You, the mentor, can choose one card at a time to act out for the students. Students can guess what kind of helper you are.
- – You can assign a helper card to each student. Instruct them to not show the other students. Have them act out their helper for the group and see if the other students can guess who they are.
***NOTE: All of these cards are represented in the book, so you can refer to it if students get stuck on what their helper does.***
9. Wrap up the lesson with the whole group by asking students to raise their hand and share their favorite community helper that they learned about today!
Tips: This is a great activity to pair with the “Oriental Trading Career Aprons” activity that is included in your kit if you have additional time.
