15 Preschool Literacy Activities Focused On Community Helpers

Is your community helpers unit coming up? This preschool unit is a great way to introduce students to police officers, construction workers, community workers, hospital workers, and other essential workers in our lives. Use our collection of fantastic activities to help you plan for your next bunch of hands-on community helper activities. Read on for fifteen fun ideas that focus on a variety of skills and developmental areas! 

1. Introductory Video

Start your unit by getting kids excited about this topic using this video. Students will learn what a community helper is and what they do. Afterward, have students work on their alphabet knowledge by matching the first letter of a given word to a picture of each community helper from the video.

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2. Why Should I Help

Read this story during circle time with your students. While there are many ideas for practicing literacy skills, reading aloud is one of the best and easiest ways to teach these essential pre-kindergarten skills.

Learn More: The Reading Train

3. Pretend Play

Here’s a fun idea! Collect some recycling trucks, garbage trucks, and street sweepers for a pretend play scene. As students are playing, ask them what letter their truck starts with. Be sure to label each truck beforehand so that your learners can practice letter recognition. 

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4. Thank You Handprint Cards

This is a great way to connect students with community helpers. Pre-make these cards and have your students decorate them with a colorful handprint. Have students read the cards with you before decorating and then hand them out to community workers during a field trip.

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5. Sight Word Puzzle

Use this community helper printable to create sight word puzzles for your students. Be sure to laminate this community helper puzzle before cutting for the best results! Mix all the pieces around before having your learners build the puzzle and read the completed words.

Learn More: Simple Fun for Kids

6. Build Community Maps

Decorate maps using paper squares that depict community helpers and their vehicles. This picture shows multiple states, but you could get a large local map and have students paste the appropriate community helper picture to their precise location in the town. 

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7. Post Office Dramatic Play

I love this well-thought-out play center! Labeling each part makes it easy for students to practice associating words with pictures. Let their imaginations go wild as they pretend to mail letters to grandma. Teach budgeting skills by handing out pretend money for them to use to pay for cards and postage fees.

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8. Safety Community Helpers

Start a community helpers bulletin board with this poster. Students will connect the written names of the workers to real-life pictures. Have kids pick their favorite community helpers from this poster to start a lively discussion at the beginning of your community helpers unit.

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9. Firefighter Movement

The community helper theme would not be complete without firefighters to the rescue! Firefighters are the most notorious neighborhood community helpers. This fun fire truck-themed ladder game provides a movement break by working on motor skills.

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10. Road Safety Signs

Community signs are a great way to teach letters. My three-year-old son knows how to spell “stop” just because he always sees the red sign and knows what it says. Adding these signs to your literacy center focused on community helpers is a must!

Learn More: Early Learning HQ

11. Work on Counting Skills

Here is a simple yet effective math counting game. It requires a little preparation for cutting, but if you laminate, you will only have to do it once! Students will count the number of images on the card and place their pegs over the correct number. 

Learn More: Modern Preschool

12. Read Whose Hat is This?

Preschool students love working with construction worker tools and reading all about them. Add this book to your next circle time or literacy block during a community helper unit. Have students bring in their favorite worker hat from home to contribute to the reading fun.

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13. Trace Dentist Letters

After playing a dentist game, have students work on their lowercase letters by tracing on this worksheet. This free worksheet easily incorporates letter formation practice into your community helper unit.

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14. Play a Matching Game

Since each of these pictures is labeled, it’s great for both memory and letter recognition. Have students play in teams and perhaps have a prize for whoever makes the most matches. 

Learn More: Life Over CS

15. Firefighter Yoga

End your unit with some deep breathing, relaxation, movement, and yoga! This firefighter-themed yoga class is the perfect community helpers-themed activity for winding down and closing the unit. 

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