Community Analysis

We will be constructing sculptures, drawing pictures, playing games, reading text, creating posters, role-playing, taking a field trip, and having visitors. This is all in an effort to enhance our students overall-knowledge on how a community is beneficial to our overall wellbeing and society. It is my hope that they are able to demonstrate being a community helper both in and outside of school. We are very excited to begin this unit and learn about the community we live in. As projects are completed, work will be sent home, please ask them to express their understanding of the work to further enhance their overall knowledge and understanding of how a community operates, and functions of community helpers, including themselves.
During this unit, we will have a police officer and a local firefighter visit the classroom to explain why they are important to a community, and what they do to help our community. We will also be taking a field trip to Main Street in our own hometown to show what a firehouse, library, store, gas station, and bank look like. Learning about what they do for us as community to aid in the connection. If you would like to visit our classroom to discuss how you help our community, please reach out to me, and we will gladly schedule a time for your visit.
In closing, I ask that you provide two photos or drawn pictures of what your child holds interest in within the community, what kind of community helper he/she would like to be when they grow up, and send them to school at your earliest convenience. We will be building a bulletin board collage of our community, one that will ultimately be on display in our classroom. I thank you in advance, and should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Trade books list:
Owen, A. (2004). Keeping You Safe, a book about Police Officers. Mankato, Minn: Capstone imprint. A Day in the life of a Police officer is about how police officers keep you safe. Police officers are all over, you see police officers on TV, riding in cars, riding bicycles, and others riding horses. All of them work hard to keep your neighborhood safe. How a police officer spends his day, working has much to do with his assignments and, the agency where he works. Police officers can be assigned to uniformed patrol, traffic, investigations (detectives), training, a school resource program, or supervisory duties. I will focus on the role most people associate with a police officer such as 9-1-1, an accident. The day starts out with roll call, twelve minutes before our actual shift start time. Most days are full of typical calls for service, to help the community. It is up to the individual officer whether to make many traffic stops or stop in at local businesses and say “hello.”, and watch out for children in the neighborhood. Work with children so they know what a police officer does, what he looks like, and what tools he has to help him do a good job for the community.
Bridget, H. (2013) Lets Meet a Doctor. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press What does a Doctor do?
A Doctor helps children when they are sick or hurt and, makes them feel better. Doctors will give you medicine to feel better or give you an X-ray if you have a broken bone, or even if you just need a checkup for school to see how healthy you are. Sometimes you need to get shots when you go to the doctor to help your immune system. Doctor’s exam your ears with a tool called an otoscope, and they generally wear a white coat. They listen to your heart with a stethoscope; they measure how tall you are, and how much you weight with a scale. Doctors are important in the community because they take care of us and keep us
healthy.
Bellisario, G. (2013). Let’s Meet a Veterinarian. Minneapolis, MN: Mill Brook Press. Let’s meet a veterinarian is about Dr. Kate, who visits a school to give Hennery, the class guinea pig, a checkup. She shows the class the tools she uses for the checkup, some are like human doctors. She tells them about the many things vets do. Vets are doctors for animals; their work can help people stay healthy too. Some animal illnesses can make people sick, so vets find cures for those illnesses. There are vets that go to the zoo to check up on the wildlife animals. Vets also groom a pet, which means to clean the animals like brush their teeth, wash hooves, or trim a bird’s beak or a horses hoof. Some of the tools a vet use are a stethoscope, x-ray, and a scale to make sure the animal is nice and healthy, just like a human doctor.
Bundt, N. (1981). The Fire Station Book. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. Let us learn what is inside of a fire station and what firefighters do. This book talks about your local fire station, and what is in the fire station building. Each Fireman has to wear a certain uniform that is fire proof before they go and, put out a fire, they have boots, pants, coat and a special helmet. They have their firefighter equipments, a kitchen, sleeping space and a recreation room. Firefighters help take out fires, or rescue animals in high trees or in drainpipes. Firefighters use a big ladder to rescue people in tall buildings, they use the fire hydrant to hook up their fire hoses to access water so they can put out the fires.
Bullard, L. (2003). My Neighborhood places and faces. Mankato, Minn: Capstone Press. My Neighborhood, takes a trip around Libby’s neighborhood, as she shows her favorite spots to her new neighbor. See how her new neighborhood is the same as yours. You learn about your neighbors around where you live, and other kids that live in your neighborhood. They learn that there is a bakers shop, a corner store, sometimes police officers, ice cream shops, pet shops, a mall, library to read and take books out, and post office to get your mail, and even a hospital if you get hurt. Your neighborhood is part of your community.
Mayer. M. (2012). We are moving. New York NY: HarperCollins When Mom and Dad tell Little Critter they have exciting news, he thinks they mean they are getting a new dog, not moving to a new house!
Little critter has all these questions about moving from his old house to his new home? Some of his questions are, will he be able to bring his sandbox? What if he has to go to a new school that is full of bullies? What if his new next-door neighbors are big monsters? Getting to know your new neighbors might be scary, or what about new friends nearby? What if I have to go to a new school full of bullies and a mean teacher? When they got to the new house all of his friends were waiting for him in the front yard to help him unload all of his belongings. Eventually, Little Critter learns moving is not so bad after
all.
Wegman, W. (1998). My town. New York, NY: Hyperion Books. My town is about what is in your town. Chip the character is this book realizes that there is a lot of buildings in his town, even a school that has a gym, and his coach to help him play basketball. A library, where you read books or take them home, policemen to help kids cross the road before and after school safely, photographer, mail person whom delivers the mail, firefighters who help put out fires or rescue animals, auto mechanics to help you with your car