• Invitation to inquiry
• Open minds
• Stimulate curiosity

• Build background knowledge
• Connect to content
• Discover interesting ideas

Research Scenario

One Monday morning, boys and girls walk to the bus stop. Ms. Jones, the crossing guard, helps them cross the street safely. When the school bus arrives, Mr. Smith, the bus driver, says "Good morning!" as they step inside. As they ride the bus to their school, they see the garbage collectors picking up their neighbors' trash and recycling.

Ms. Thompson, the principal, greets all the boys and girls at the front door of the school. Just as always, their kindergarten teacher, Mr. Matthews, smiles when he sees them come in their classroom, ready to start a new week.

Each of the adults which the boys and girls have seen on their way to school is an important worker in their neighborhood. There are many kinds of workers in every community, and each worker has an important and interesting job to do.

First, use the resources below to build background knowledge, connect to the content, and discover interesting ideas.

View the BrainPop Jr. video, Community Helpers to build background knowledge.

View a true story using NBC News about a handyman who is helping his community in a very unique way.

• Explore interesting ideas
• Look around
• Dip in

Task and Product

We will learn about six kinds of community helpers:

• veterinarian
• pediatrician
• utility workers/electrician
• mail carriers
• fire fighters
• police officer

To find out more about these community helpers, we will be exploring resources as a class to locate as much information as possible.

Once we have found and recorded our new information, you will choose a community helper of your choice to create a poster/digital poster to share with your classmates all the new exciting information you have found.

Explore

We will use exploratory search strategies such as browsing, skimming, and scanning of a variety of resources to begin to collect our new information. As you begin your reading, "Dip in" and reflect as you explore.

• Use the Stop and Jot strategy to record ideas and questions in your Inquiry Journal.
  • Alternative Stop and Jot using Kidspiration
• Use the Pair-Share Protocol to clarify your ideas, get feedback, and gain insight.
  • Alternative Pair-Share Kidspiration activity.

Go to the Student Resources page to get started on your research on community helpers.

• Evaluate the achievement of learning goals
• Reflect on content
• Reflect on process

Assessments

The following scoring tools will be used to evaluate your poster and final presentation. We will look at these tools together so we all know what should be included and how you will be graded.

• Student/Self checklist
• Final Product Rubric (teacher checklist)

• Pause and ponder
• Decide direction
• Identify inquiry question

Questions

Essential Question:

Here are some other questions to think about when deciding which community helper you would like to spend the day with and why.

• Where does this community helper work?
• What do they do to help the community?
• What will you see at their work?
• What kinds of noises will you hear at their work place?
• What will you help them do while you are there?

Remember as we were learning about each community helper we were generating questions that we still have about their job.

• Gather important information
• Go broad (search)
• Go deep (read)

Gather & Sort

As a class we have learned and researched about several community helpers. Now you will learn and explore about other types of community helpers. Remember to continue to think about the essential question while you are researching.

• In pairs, select a book about a community helper. Do a picture walk with your partner to learn about how the community helper helps the community.
• View additional online resources on the Student Resource page to learn more about what your community helper does.
• Show digital citizenship and avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing or quoting information, and by citing your sources in a Works Cited list.
  
  

• Reflect on learning
• Go beyond facts to make meaning
• Create to communicate

Create

Analyze what we have discussed as a class and what has been gathered with your partner.

• What have you learned about the importance of your community helper?
• What does your community helper do to benefit the neighborhood?

Synthesize your findings by creating a poster to share your new learning with your classmates. Make sure you create a poster to show what your community helper does for their neighborhood.

Evaluate your poster and presentation according to the checklist below.

• Use the Student/Self checklist to make sure you have completed everything for the poster.

• Learn from each other
• Share your learning
• Tell your story

Share

Listen carefully as everyone shares their posters with the class. Think about all the different workers in the posters and all the different ways they help their community.

Be prepared to share what you like and learned about your classmates presentations. This means you have to be good listeners and a respectful audience.

• Evaluate the achievement of learning goals
• Reflect on content
• Reflect on process

Evaluate

• Reflect on your learning of the content by choosing another community helper a classmate shared. Talk to a partner about how the community helper is important to the community. (Time permitting: students can illustrate their knew learning)

Extend your learning:

Think About...

• What would happen to the community if this helper did not do their job?
• What job would you like to do when you grow up?