Project Template

Name

Jacqueline Rode

Dates

9 week PBL

Project Title

Community Helpers

Grade Level/Subject Area(s)

Universal Pre-K

Purpose

Exploring community helpers

CCLS/ISTE Standards

Career Development
8. Demonstrates interest and awareness about a wide variety of
careers and work environments.
1. Asks questions about and shows an interest in the jobs of his/her
family members and/or "community helpers."
A. Recognizes that people depend on "community helpers" to
provide goods and services.
B. Identifies the tools and equipment that correspond to various
roles and jobs.
C. Takes on the role of a "community helper", e.g., dramatic play
or in acting out a story or song.
D. Indicates an interest in a future career by making statements
like, "I want to be a firefighter when I grow up."
E. Talks about a parents, a relatives or a neighbors job.

1. Creativity and innovation

Student demonstrate creative thinking, construct
knowledge and develop innovative projects and
processes using technology
a. Apply existing knowledge to new generated ideas, product and
process
b. Create original works as means of personal or group expression
c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and
issues

Desired Outcome - Knowledge

What a community consist of and who works within it.

Desired Outcome - Skills

Form an opinion of how they can help their community when

they grow up.

Essential Question(s)

1. Who makes up our community?

2. How are you going to help your community when you grow up?

Project Plan
Phase 1: Activity(ies) to set the stage
for the project

Read books on community helpers

KWL chart

Phase 2: Activity(ies) that engage

students in learning (including field
trips, other explorations, visiting
experts, etc.)

Introduce a new community helper each week

Bringing in community helpers each week (examples: police
officer, firefighter, farmer, restaurant owner, store owner,
groomer, hairstyles, nurse. . . ) to talk to students about what
they do? Where they work? What tools they use?
In the house area, build a pretend model of the community we
are focusing on that week. Include tools, outfits etc.

Phase 3: Activity(ies) in which

students share their knowledge in a
culminating event, as well as reflect
on the project and their learnings

Dress up as the community helper they want to be

Build a model of a community
KWL chart (learning section) at the end of the unit

Project Schedule
Time Frame

Objective

Task

Week 1

What is a community?

KWL chart
What do you know about communities?
Talk about what their
parents/grandparents/uncle/aunts job is in
the community
Look at pictures of community
Take a walk through their own
community
What did you learn about your own
community?

Week 2

What vehicles work in a community?

Observe own community and look for

different vehicles
Build a vehicle out of craft items in the
classroom
Journal entry- what is a vehicle that works
in our community? What does it do?

Week 3

What is the role of a veterinarian?

Veterinarian come in for a visit

Make the house area a vet
Students take the role of a veterinarian
and take care of stuffed animals

Week 4

What is the role of a firefighter?

What is the role of a police officer?

Firefighter come to visit with the truck

Turn the doll house into a house that is on
fire
Students pretend to be a firefighter
Police officer comes to visit with their
police car
Turn house into a police station
Build a police car out of boxes

Week 5

What do construction workers do for our

community?

Construction worker to come into the

classroom and talk about their role
Have students build their own community
in the block area, with roads and buildings
Design their own building with a
blueprint then build a 3D model

Week 6

What is a role of a dentist?

Have a dentist come in for a visit

Turn the house area into a UPK Dentist
office
Students act as a patient and
dentist/hygienist

Week 7

What is a role of a doctor?

Invite a pediatrician to come visit

Turn the house areas into a doctor's office
Children can pretend to be a doctor, nurse
and take care of the baby dolls

Week 8

What is the role of a librarian?

Visit the local library

Check out books about other community
helpers we have not talked about
Return the books back to library
Add to what you have learned on the the
KWL chart

Week 9

How are you going to help your

community when you grow up?

Career day
Decide who they want to be when they
grow up (Journal Entry)
Build 3D model of the building they
would work in
Dress up as that community helper
Set up our community in the classroom
and invite the school principal, special
area teachers, parents, other classroom to
visit

Monitoring/Assessing the Project

Benchmarks/Formative Assessments

Journal entry
Who is a community helper in your own community?
Who do you want to be when you grow up?
Take pictures with anecdotal notes of them in the house area
each week
Dress up as a community helper pretending in the house area

Assessing the Project (Include

rubric(s))

Journal entry (rubric below) teacher

Career day (rubric below) teacher
Career day: Partner rubric
The students will complete a rubric on a friends
presentation. They will fill in smiley faces if their outfit
matched the community helper, if their building
matched and if they told them something about their
community helper.

Evaluating the Experience

Take a picture of their 3D model

Have a picture taken of themselves all dressed up for their
portfolio

Teacher Rubrics
Journal Entry :
Who is a community helper in your own community? What does that community helper do for
the community they live in?
Name________________________________

Drawing

Students will draw a

picture of a community
helper with details that
represent that
community helper.

Students will draw a

picture of a person.

Students will draw

something unrelated to
the topic of community
helper.

Dictation

Students will say the

community helper they
drew and what their
role is within the
community.

Students will name a

community helper
without describing their
role.

Students will states

something unrelated to
the topic of community
helper.

Name

Students will write their

name on the paper.

Students will write the

first letter of their

Students will not write

their name.

name.

Career Day
3

Community
Helper

Student will choose an

a community helper
that the want to be
when they grow up that
will help our
community.

n/a

Student does not choose

a community helper.

3D model

Student will build a 3D

model of a building that
matches their
community helper.

Students will build a 3D Student does not build a

model of a building that 3D model.
does not match their
community helper.

Costume

Student will wear at

least three parts of
clothing or accessories
that match their
community helper.

Student will wear one

part of clothing or
accessories that match
their community helper.

Student will not wear

anything that is related
to their community
helper.

Speaking

Student is able to state

one fact about their
community helper.

Student states an
opinion about their
community helper.

Students do not say

anything about their
community helper.

Career Day: Partner Grade

Name:_______________________
Name:_______________________
Community Helper____________________

Community
Helper
Did they look like the community
helper they picked?

3D model
Did their building look like where
they would work?

Speaking
Did they tell you something about
their community helper?