Community helpers activities can encourage children to think more about the people in their community who work hard to keep them safe, healthy, and well-educated!
There are many benefits to teaching your students about community helpers.
Here are a few:
- Promoting safety by teaching who and how to ask for help
- Encouraging curiosity about possible careers
- Developing an interest in the local community
- Fostering a sense of teamwork and belonging
When you teach your students about different community members, it can help them better understand the important roles we all play in our communities.
It may be easy for students to understand how a teacher is important in their lives, but they may not have a clear understanding of how a mechanic, garbage collector, or construction worker also plays an important role.
So, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite community helpers activities to help your students learn about their communities, while practicing important social studies, literacy, and math skills!
Psst! Scroll down to the end of this post to grab a FREEBIE!
1) Read Alouds
A great way to introduce the topic of community helpers is through read alouds!
Firstly, you may want to start with a broader book about community helpers, like Whose Hands Are These?: A Community Helper Guessing Book by Miranda Paul to spark class discussions and get students thinking about the helpers in their communities.
Then, choose a few community members to focus on in the following days and take a deeper dive. This will further help your students get a better look at specific roles and their importance.
Here is a list of some community helpers to explore:
- architect
- artist
- astronaut
- athlete
- baker
- bank teller
- barber
- barista
- business person
- chef
- construction worker
- dad
- delivery person
- dentist
- disk jockey
- doctor
- farmer
- fast food worker
- firefighter
- fisherman
- flight attendant
- florist
- gardener
- janitor
- journalist
- librarian
- lumberjack
- mechanic
- mom
- movie director
- musician
- nurse
- photographer
- pilot
- plumber
- police
- retail worker
- scientist
- teacher
- veterinarian
- waiter
- waitress
2) Crafts and Coloring
Art can open doors for self-expression and creativity to thrive!
These differentiated, community helpers writing crafts will support your student’s self-expression, while giving them a chance to practice important writing skills!
Add them to your center rotations, morning work, or as projects for early finishers!
How to Use:
Students can choose a community helper to write about, color or draw a picture of them, and glue the writing project onto a piece of construction paper! Quick, easy, and fun!
Full size writing sheets are included if additional writing space is needed.
Use these crafts to create eye-catching bulletin boards and hallway displays!
You can also use a book binder to put the projects together and create a “When I Grow Up” class booklet!
If you are in a pinch and don’t have time for a craft, these printable, coloring pages are an amazing alternative!
Your students will have a chance to color and trace 42 different community helpers and the equipment they use.
Each community helper comes with 5 differentiated coloring/drawing pages to help your learner practice vocabulary, while writing, tracing, coloring, or drawing!
How to Use:
Simply print the pages most appropriate for your students’ individual needs and you are ready for coloring!
3) Hands-On Activities
Hands-on activities are a great way to boost interest and engagement, increase retention and develop important problem solving and critical thinking skills!
These are some of my favorite ways to incorporate hands-on activities into your community helpers unit!
Sorting Activities
Sorting activities can be a wonderful tool to help with memory, attention, and problem-solving!
Give these chipboard sorting mats and cards a try! Use the mats and cards to match the community helpers with the tools they use to carry our their jobs!
Or if you prefer a printable version, these are a great alternative!
How to Use:
Choose the sorting mats that best meet your students’ needs. They come with either blank spaces, pictures, or pictures and text.
Students can sort and cover the spaces on the mat that match the correct community helper.
The sorting pieces include easily identifiable, child-friendly pictures that represent the places of business, tools, and equipment that community helpers use.
Tyr using self-adhesive dot stickers or store sorting pieces in baggies.
You can also cut and glue the community helpers onto popsicle sticks to use in lessons, sensory bins, or dramatic play!
4) Games and Puzzles
Games and puzzles are always a hit with students! Not only are they fun for our kiddos, but they also help develop cooperation skills and connection between peers!
Here are some of my favorite community helper games and puzzles:
Community Helpers: Whose That?
This game is a fun twist on Guess Who? Each player selects a community helper and takes turns guessing who their classmate has chosen!
Community Helpers: Guess in 10
Next up, is Guess in 10 (junior). This game is for 2-6 students and is an easy one to learn how to play!
Use tiles to ask up to ten questions to guess the community helper. Students can ask questions like, “What do they wear to work?” or “Do they work outside?”
These types of games are great for developing communication, problem solving skills, and creative thinking skills !
Community Helpers: Printable Bingo
If you’re looking for something you can easily print and play, this colorful bingo activity is a life saver!
Choose one of 2 ways to play! Use the calling cards to call out a community helper or a riddle about them!
This is a fun way to review different community helpers and the work they do. You can even ask follow up questions about why their jobs are so important to our communities!
Community Helpers: Printable Puzzles
Another hands-on activity are these community helper printable puzzles! Students love matching the colorful helpers with tools and equipment they use to do their jobs!
You can also print the black and white version and allow students to color their own puzzles!
5) Vocabulary and Picture Cards
Another way we can enrich student vocabulary and retention is with flash cards!
Use these printable cards as a learning tool for the roles of community helpers and the equipment they use.
How to Use:
Cut and laminate to use over and over again!
Excellent for matching games, guessing games, sorting games, “act it out” games, memorization, write the room activities, word walls, and writing prompts!
Use for test prep, in centers, for workstations, games, or as independent practice in the classroom.
They can also be sent home to help students practice over long breaks or with homework!
6) FREE Counting and Ten Frames Play Mats
Who doesn’t love a colorful play mat? They are perfect for improving cognitive abilities, aiding visual perception, have gross motor benefits, and promote sensory stimulation!
Students love using these math play mats to practice counting to 10, tracing numbers, and building ten frames!
Use them in your math centers, small groups, for partner work, sub tub, peer tutoring, early finishers, or for independent practice!
As teachers, we can be extremely time poor. So do yourself a favor and grab these play mats to save some time and money!
They are super easy to prep! Simply print them out and you’re ready for play!
7) Classroom Posters and Charts
It’s important that we provide our students with visuals to make abstract ideas easier to understand and help with retaining that information.
If you’re looking to add some educational visuals to your community helpers unit, here are a couple to check out:
This poster is perfect if you’re looking for a single visual to use in whole group lessons or as a reference for students.
It displays 16 diverse community helpers in their work uniforms.
There are even some extra activities and information about community helpers on the back!
Community Helpers Printable Posters
Now, if you’re a teacher who enjoys pops of color in your classroom and switching up bulletin board themes, you’ll love these printable posters!
These are amazing for demonstrating the roles of community helpers and the tools they use to keep us safe and healthy!
These can also be used for word walls, write the room activities, vocabulary lists, and writing centers!
8) Community Helpers: Worksheets
Worksheets are a great way to incorporate important math, social studies, and literacy skills, as well as assess your students!
Students are able to process what they’ve learned by counting, completing patterns, and writing, while reviewing the jobs and equipment used by community members!
Each worksheet was carefully differentiated to help build learner confidence!
Once the worksheets have been completed, you may staple or hole punch the pages into a “When I Grow Up” class booklet to display or for students to take home to share with care givers!
9) Community Helpers: Reading Comprehension
These reading comprehension passages are a fun way to slip in some critical thinking and deductive reasoning practice!
You can differentiate for your students easily with 3 different levels:
- multiple choice
- dotted lines
- solid lines
There are four sets to choose from or you can take advantage of a HUGE discount by grabbing the bundle!
🥳Bonus!
And I’ll let you in on a little secret…
All of the printable activities in this post and more can be found in a money-saving community helpers bundle! Scoop it up to save big!
I hope you feel inspired with some fresh ideas to add to your community helpers unit!
Talk again soon!
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