This past week my class learned ALL about community helpers. Each day we studied a particular helper and did activities that went along with them.
To kick off our unit, we started with bakers and chefs. We did this mainly because we were learning the letter M that day and we thought it would tie in nicely! We began the day reading a book about chefs and then worked together to Mmmmmmake bread dough. My kinders added in all of the ingredients, mmmmmixedd it up, and tried not to make a mmmmmess. 😉 They then went back to their tables and made capital and lowercase ms out of their dough.
After they made their ms they were allowed to transform their dough into objects that started with /m/.
Later in the day, we wrote all about what chefs do in our writing folders. My students are working very hard at adding details to their drawings and making sure their people have all the correct body parts. (I’m trying to break them of the habit of drawing “tadpole” people.) Our main focal points during writing workshop are:
-I will draw in pencil.
-I will make good color choices.
-I will add details to my drawing.
-I will listen for sounds and label my pictures.
To culminate our day, we went ALL out! We turned our classroom into a restaurant! This was SO much fun. I brought in red grapes, green grapes, strawberries, star fruit, and bananas for my students. We created a “kitchen” and every student made a toque. (a chef hat) My students then rotated being the chefs, the waiters, and the diners.
My chefs took over the kitchen and eagerly awaited the waiters to bring them back the orders the diners wanted. I assigned each waiter a diner and then the waiter brought the order to one chef. (This ensured that everyone had a job to do!)
This was the “kitchen.”
My chefs loved wearing their toques!
The waiters put on aprons and went to the table to take the orders of the diners.
The chefs then read the orders and created the fruit cups for the diners.
After the chefs created the fruit cups, the waiters brought the food back to the diners who then enjoyed their “meal.”
The waiters also checked on the diners to make sure they were happy with their order.
After the diners finished eating, we switched roles.
To say they loved this activity is a HUGE understatement.
The next day, we studied firefighters. To integrate our theme into writing and reading, we practiced labeling a firefighter.
Then my students worked on labeling Heidi’s (My Not So Elementary Life) firefighter page.
On Wednesday, we learned about police officers and examined our fingerprints.
Thursday we learned about construction workers and created structures using our blocks.
Friday was a HUGE day for us. We learned about “doctors who help.” This included doctors, dentists, and veterinarians. (I wish we had more time!) We focused mostly on veterinarians as that is what the kids were most interested in. My students were each allowed to bring in ONE stuffed animal from home that fit inside their backpack to visit the “vet” for the day. I also had two of my friends bring their pets into my classroom for the day. We had Bun Buns the rabbit come visit and Beardo the bearded dragon join us for the day.
To start the day, at our morning meeting, my students introduced their animals to their friends.
We also learned about the types of food our visiting animals ate.
We then learned the letter X and made x-rays out of them.
In the afternoon, I transformed our classroom into a vet office.
To do this I set up 4 stations.
The first one was a weighing station.
At this station, my students weighed their animals using our scales and blocks.
They were SHOCKED to find out how many blocks they needed to add to make the scale level.
They carefully checked to make sure the scale was level.
Then they counted how many blocks it took and recorded the number on their “Pet Data” page.
The second station was a measuring station.
For this, my students practiced measuring with standard and non-standard units of measuring.
The third station was a “Check Up” station.
At this station, my students examined their animals and determined what course of treatment their animal needed.
They also used the X-Ray machine to check their pet’s X-rays.
The last station was the lab. This is where my students “made medicine.”
My students LOVED our week of community helpers!
As a side note, a week before beginning this unit, I asked my parents and friends with young children if they had any items they could share with my class for our unit. My parents were amazing and brought in a TON of awesome things for us to borrow. Two of our vet kits, two “dress up outfits,” play food, and real doctor masks and stethoscopes came from parents. Checking your resources is a great way to include props and items into your units without having to purchase them!
Next week we are beginning a four week inquiry that will take us from under the ground (exploring worms) to studying trees, leaves, and woodland animals. My students are SO excited!