Community Helpers
Background Information & Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

How can you be involved with your community? This movie will describe different community helpers and how they help out. It will also share ways children can be active, responsible, and conscientious members of the community. Encourage children to be active citizens and help them understand that everyone plays an important role.

Remind children that a community helper is anyone who works to help the community. Civil servants such firefighters, police officers, and paramedics make sure that the community and its members are safe. Remind children that a firefighter puts out fires and also teaches people how to be safe during an emergency. Police officers help prevent crimes and make sure people in the community follow rules and laws. Review with children that a law is a rule set by the community. Paramedics are also community helpers. Explain to children that they help keep people safe during emergencies and take them to the hospital. Who else keeps the community safe? Discuss with children and brainstorm together.

Talk about which community helpers work to keep people healthy. Doctors, nurses, doctor's assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants are just a few community helpers in this category. A veterinarian is a doctor who treats animals and makes sure pets in the community are healthy. Who else keeps community members healthy? Discuss and record children's ideas.

Remind children that many people are involved in the community. Sanitation workers collect garbage and help keep communities clean. Maintenance workers, including electrical and sewage technicians, make sure the community is functioning from the ground up. Letter carriers make sure everyone receives their mail. Bus drivers, train conductors, and cab drivers move people from place to place. Farmers are also community helpers. They grow crops and raise livestock that feeds the whole community. Drivers transport, or move, things around the communities. Store owners and clerks sell goods and services to the community. Teachers are community helpers who help people learn, and a librarian helps people find books and other resources in a library. Who else is a part of the community?

Remind children that a government is a group of people who sets rules and runs a community. A mayor is an elected leader of a town or city and makes important decisions that affect everyone, including the creation and maintenance of schools, libraries, roads, and public programs. Remind children that many government officials are elected and people from the community get to vote on who will do the best job and keep the community’s best interests in mind. Instilling the importance of voting at an early age is a great way to help children become active community members.

There are many people who are involved with the community’s safety, health, and general well being. This includes parents, teachers, and students. Remind children to keep their communities clean, recycle, and treat everyone in the community with respect. Also encourage children to volunteer in their communities. Explain that when people volunteer, they give their time to help out in the community and work to make it a better place for everyone. Discuss different volunteering opportunities, such as starting a recycling awareness program, helping out in a shelter, or raising money for a program or cause in the community. Encourage children to think about ways to help the community and consider why being an active community member is important. Social responsibility can begin at an early age. Explain that since there are many people who live in a community, it is important to work together to improve and maintain it.

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

Community Helpers Teacher Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Interview with a Community Helper

Ask a firefighter, police officer, paramedic, or other community helper to visit the class and talk to your students. Before the interview, have children think of questions to ask. What does the community helper do? What is his or her typical day like? What kind of education did the community helper receive? How did he or she train to be in her position? Have the community helper discuss his or her role in the community and suggest ways for your students to get involved. Getting firsthand stories and advice from a community helper is a great way for your students to become more active in and knowledgeable about the community.

Community Charades

On index cards, write the names of different community helpers such as firefighter, police officer, paramedic, veterinarian, dentist, mayor, sanitation worker, and letter carrier. If possible, use pictures to illustrate so that emerging readers can understand the cards. Put the cards into a box or hat and have student volunteers come up and pull a card, then act out the job of that community helper. Have the class guess which job is written on the card. Discuss what the helper does and why the job is important. Then place the cards on a bulletin board or word wall display for student reference.

Volunteer

If possible, have the whole class volunteer their time for the greater good of the community. You may want to participate in a community clean-up effort or raise awareness for an important local issue, such as increasing school funding. You could also organize a fundraiser, such as a weekend yard sale in the school parking lot, and donate the profits to a local organization. You may even want to start a composting or recycling program in your school, or beautify the school by painting a mural and planting donated flowers. Find an activity that you and your students (as well as their families) can all do together!

Community Helpers Family Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

In the Community

Help your child improve your community. You may want to gather friends and neighbors to help out. Your child can plan a day of picking up litter, painting walls, or planting flowers and trees. You and your child can donate books to the library (be sure to check with your local branch to see what items they are currently accepting) or donate gently used clothing to the needy. This activity will give your child an opportunity to become move involved with the community. It is also a wonderful opportunity to meet other community members and get neighbors to become more active.

Helper List

Does your child know who to call during an emergency? Does your child know where to go if a problem occurs when adults are not home, or if there is a fire, earthquake, or other disaster? Prepare and review an easily-accessible list of community helpers for your child. Include each helper’s name, position, and contact information. Discuss how to stay safe during emergencies and select a safe meeting point in case family members get separated. Learn about your community’s emergency plans and help your child feel prepared.