Social Studies Saturday

I could just kick myself!  I thought of this really fantastic idea for Halloween too late to do it that day.  You know how excited kids get about wearing costumes to dress up as all kinds of different people.  Since there is such an intense focus right now on writing, I thought "Why not have my kids look at picture cards for community helpers and other jobs such as magicians, clowns, and jugglers, and express what they would like to be through drawing and writing?"  So, I made a Community Helpers & More Writing Folder.  I chose pictures of things that the students are always asking me how to spell, such as "princess", "magician", and "fire fighter".  If you'd like to take a look, I'm selling it on TPT for $1.00.

Being intensely anal retentive reflective and thoughtful, I realized that I could use the writing folder that I made at any time.  The kids LOVE talking about pretend play.  Then my businesswoman side came out, which is very rare because I'm a kid at heart.  But I thought "I have tons of really cool community helper stuff that I can put in one package."  I'm really proud of the stuff I make because it's on the kindergarten level and has a lot of picture support that allows my ESOL population to be successful with matching workers to their vehicles, tools, and clothing.  It's hard to put this in words, so here's a freebie that shows the kind of thing I'm talking about.

Job Vehicle Matching Paper.pdf by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

x

I also just put up on TPT a really beautiful Community Helper Package that I think would be useful in any pre-k or kindergarten classroom.  There are guided reading books for emerging readers, writing prompts, graphic organizers, and some very nice day vs. night worker materials.

Here are three songs and their artists that I use all the time for community helpers.  The first one is really funny and sort of a rap style.  The second one is just sort of teacher-ish and it brings the kids back together after looking at pictures.  I used it for one of the videos for my National Board social studies lesson.  I'd have to say the third one is very jazzy and sometimes my favorite.  If you like jazz, it will definitely put a smile on your face as well as your children's faces.

"Community Helpers" by Shawn Brown
"Community Helpers" by Mar Harmon
"Community Workers" by Bubbly Vee

I know this is a weird place to mention the carousel up top, but they are my absolute favorite community helper books, with beautiful illustrations and rich content.  They would really help make any community helper unit a snap!  I also chose a lot of the books because they show people with disabilities and of various races and genders.  Please let me know what you're doing for community helpers!