6 Simple Government Services and Community Helpers Activities for Your Class
Teaching a unit on all the different government services and community helpers can be daunting. Thankfully we live in a country where we have a lot of these available. Help your kids better understand with government services and community helpers activities!
When to Teach a Unit on Government Services
A great time to begin your government services and community helpers unit is in the fall because there are often major elections in the fall. Students will be hearing about it on the news or when eavesdropping on adult conversation and maybe have some questions. Take advantage of their interest and teach students all about their responsibilities as citizens and community members. School also starts in the fall, so students have a new community of classmates to work with. Overall, teaching community and good citizenship in any classroom will be well worth your time!
Topics to Cover When Teaching Kids About Government Services and Community Helpers Activities
The first thing to do when teaching kids about government services is to pick which ones you want to teach about! There are a lot, so I would recommend focusing on the services that may affect your students and their families.
Then, I would move on to how these services can help the community. Finally, stress the importance of being a volunteer in your community. When we all work together, it makes our community a better place!
1. Books and Non-Fiction Readers
There are lots of options for books on government services and community helpers activities available at your local library. Have a chat with your librarian or look at these books that I use!
Books I like to help teach about government services and community helpers:
- Career Day by Anne Rockwell
- The Berenstain Bears: Jobs Around Town by Jan Berenstain
- Helpers in My Community by Bobbie Kalman
2. Introduce Vocabulary About Community Helpers Activities
Understanding the vocabulary words associated with government services and community helpers is essential. Include the vocabulary words in your already-established classroom word wall, or use the super helpful vocabulary foldables and notes I’ve prepared for you. In this Government Services & Community Helpers Activities pack, there are many resources available for you. From lesson plans, vocabulary foldables, notes, writing prompts, to interactive activities, you will find everything you need!
3. Government Services: Write the Room Task Cards
You can also integrate your social studies lessons with government services and community helpers activities in your writing lessons! Use the writing prompts and Write the Room Task Cards available in this Government Services and Community Helpers Activities unit! These activities will allow students to not only learn about government services and community helpers but allow them to write about them and connect their learning across different disciplines!
4. Invent a School Service
As you are studying different government services, challenge your students to come up with a new school service they would like to see. Align government services and community helpers activities in order to allow students’ imaginations to run wild with a service your school should provide. You will be shocked and surprised when hearing all the different ideas your students come up with. Some of them may even warrant a meeting with the principal to actually implement the new school service!
5. Discuss Ways to Volunteer in Community Helpers Activities
Make a list of the ways your students can volunteer and be a part of the community in your neighborhood. Encourage them to join with friends and family to make a difference. If you need some ideas, there are many available in this 2nd Grade Social Studies Activities pack! Your students can volunteer, lend a hand by donating, or clean up their neighborhood for a start!
6. Use fun writing prompts
Included in the 2nd Grade Social Studies – Government Services & Community Helpers Activities are several writing prompts. They can accompany your lesson plans to fit into your social studies unit, or they can be used as a fun prompt for something different for students to write about during writing class.
FREE Social Studies Curriculum Pacing Guide
Looking for more ways to make incorporating social studies easy in your classroom? Check out the FREE Social Studies Curriculum Pacing Guide HERE!
No Prep All About Government Services Activities for Kids
In summary, if you are looking for an easy way to incorporate government services and community helpers activities into your classroom, we have you covered.
The activities in this post are from my Government Services & Community Helpers Activities pack.
Also, be sure to save this post by pinning this to your Pinterest account. That way, you can easily come back to these ideas when you are ready to teach your class about Government Services & Community Helpers.
For more second grade activities, visit these posts:
