What is a map? from "Community Helpers" (Age 4) · Arc Builder showcase

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Age 4 · 4 weeks

Engage & Serve

Community Helpers

What is a map? · Week 3, Wednesday

Key question: how do mail carriers know where to go?

Morning Meeting (20 min): read Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney and recite the class's mail carrier poem.
Literacy (40 min): a cardboard box turned into mail slots, one per child. They write notes to friends and put them in each other's mailboxes.
Math (40 min): sorting mail by numbers. Number paper mailboxes 1 to 10; children match index cards with dots or numerals to the right mailbox and deliver the mail.
Inquiry Centers (40 min): build a town with blocks like a map; make a map of your neighborhood and dictate it to a teacher; play in the firehouse the class built; shredded-paper sensory bin.
Enrichment (60 min): the class walks to the nearest mailbox to mail their letters.

Cognition: sorting, number recognition, spatial relationshipsCharacter: friendship, kindnessCommunity: mail carriers are part of our community

Week 3 of the same arc: mail carriers, maps, and a walk to the nearest mailbox to send the letters the children wrote.

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Age 4 · 4 weeks

Recognize & Act

Community Helpers

A full day: firefighters and fire safety · Week 1, Thursday

Key question: what do firefighters need to do their job?

Morning Meeting (20 min): read George and the Firefighters by Margret Rey.
Literacy (20 min): talk about what questions the class can ask the firefighter when they come to speak. What is the difference between a question and a comment? Write a list of what the children want to know about being a firefighter.
Math (40 min): each child copies their home phone number and address, and 911. Talk about how these are important numbers to know in case of an emergency.

+ 2 more in the full excerpt

Age 4 · 4 weeks

Engage & Serve

Community Helpers

Performance task: Raising money for a cause · Engage & Serve, final week

Children decide what community organization they want to help, then raise money or food for it. They make the signs and flyers for their fundraiser and count the money.

Assessment: observation during play, children dictating what they have learned, student reflection, developmental checklist.
Rationale: a culminating activity that gives the children an opportunity to contribute and feel engaged in being community helpers themselves.

Age 4 · 4 weeks

Recognize & Act

Community Helpers

Recognize & Act · Weeks 2-3

Field trips and guest speakers: firefighters, police officers, a nurse, a doctor. Children choose what they want to turn dramatic play into: a police station, a doctor's office, or a fire station.

Explore the tools community helpers use in their jobs and look at the places they work.
Books, poems, and songs about community helpers carry over from the Reflect & Learn weeks: doctors, nurses, veterinarians, police officers, firefighters, mail carriers, food banks.