Lesson Plan: My Community
Duration: 30 minutes
Age Group: Preschool / Nursery
Objectives
- Understand the concept of "community."
- Identify various community helpers and their roles.
- Recognise places within their community.
- Encourage social skills through group activities.
Materials Needed
- Picture cards of community helpers (e.g., doctor, firefighter, teacher)
- A large map or poster of the local community
- Crayons and paper
- Storybook related to the community (e.g., "Whose Toes are Those?" by Jabari Asim)
- Craft materials for community collage (magazines, scissors, glue)
Lesson Flow
Introduction (5 minutes)
- Greeting: Welcome the children warmly, and sit them in a circle.
- Discussion Starter: Ask the children, "What do you think a community is?"
- Encourage responses to promote engagement.
- Explain: Briefly explain that a community is made up of people and places that work together.
Activity 1: Identifying Community Helpers (10 minutes)
- Show Picture Cards: Introduce various community helpers using picture cards. Ask the children to name them and discuss their roles.
- Examples: Teacher, doctor, firefighter, shopkeeper.
- Interactive Questions:
- “What does a doctor do?”
- “Have you seen a firefighter in our community?”
- Group Discussion: Encourage children to share experiences they have had with community helpers.
Activity 2: Community Places (10 minutes)
- Community Map: Show the large map or poster of the local community.
- Highlight key locations like parks, schools, and hospitals.
- Interactive Exploration:
- Ask children to point out different places they recognise.
- Engage with questions like, “Where do you go to play?” or “Where do we buy food?”
- Draw and Share: Hand out paper and crayons, and ask the children to draw a place in their community that they like.
Activity 3: Community Collage (5 minutes)
- Craft Activity: Guide the children in creating a community collage.
- Use magazines to cut out pictures representing various aspects of the community (e.g., parks, shops, community helpers).
- Encourage teamwork as they glue their pieces onto a large paper.
- Show and Tell: Allow each child to share their part of the collage with the group.
Conclusion (5 minutes)
- Review: Recap what they've learned about their community—community helpers and places.
- Storytime: Read a short story related to the community to reinforce the lesson.
- Closing Circle: Ask the children how they can help in their community.
- Goodbye Song: End the class with a cheerful goodbye song to solidify their learning experience.
Assessment
- Observe children's participation during discussions and activities.
- Assess understanding through their drawings and contributions to the collage.
- Encourage verbal sharing to gauge their grasp on community concepts.
This lesson plan aligns with early years curriculum standards, promoting social awareness, community engagement, and creative expression among preschool learners.