Who helps us?

Overview

In this lesson (7 of 15) students explore community helpers and the contributions they make. They will research five helpers, then create and present poster ideas that connect helper roles to community safety and wellbeing.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• recognise different community helpers and what they do for our community
• describe how community helpers support others (including safety and wellbeing)
• create a clear poster that identifies a helper and their role

Success criteria

Students can:

• list at least five community helpers
• include a helper’s name and what they do on their poster
• explain (in writing and/or speaking) one way the helper contributes to safety or wellbeing

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences (Stage 2): explore how people in communities contribute to services and daily life, and identify roles that help others
• Creative Arts: make artworks using visual forms to represent subject matter and ideas, and describe how artworks convey meaning to an audience
• PDHPE (Stage 2): identify how people and places in the community help keep us safe and healthy
• English (Stage 2): plan and create written texts for informative purposes using text features and correct sentence-level punctuation/grammar

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook inquiry. Teacher displays images of different local helpers (e.g. firefighter, nurse, police officer, librarian, teacher, lifeguard) and asks: “Who helps us in our community?” Students do a quick think-pair-share and share one helper they know.

2. 5–15 min · Class research mini-lesson. Teacher models a simple research process: choose a helper, identify “What they do”, then “How they help us (especially safety)”. Teacher provides a note-taking template with sentence starters (e.g. “A community helper is…”, “They help by…”, “They keep people safe by…”). Students choose a first helper and complete 2–3 short notes using the template.

3. 15–30 min · Research stations (HSIE focus). Teacher sets up 3–4 stations with printed fact cards, picture prompts, and/or class library books. Students rotate through stations to gather information for five helpers total. Students record at least five community helpers in their workbook, writing one “role” sentence for each helper.

4. 30–45 min · Poster creation (Creative Arts focus). Teacher explains the poster task and shows a model:

• big title (helper’s name)
• drawing or symbol representing the role
• 2–3 key sentences: what they do and how they help safety/wellbeing Students create their community helper poster using chosen art materials (colours, labels, icons) and write their sentences clearly.

5. 45–55 min · Safety talk (PDHPE focus). Teacher prompts: “How does this helper help keep people safe or cared for?” and reminds students to speak respectfully and clearly. Students partner-share: each student presents one poster and gives one safety/wellbeing contribution.

6. 55–60 min · Whole-class wrap & exit check. Teacher collects posters for display and repeats the big inquiry question. Students complete a quick exit ticket: “My community helpers are: 1) ___ 2) ___ 3) ___ 4) ___ 5) ___” (fill in at least five names).

Resources

• Printed fact cards/picture prompts for community helpers
• Workbook template for recording notes (helper name + role + safety contribution)
• A3 or A4 poster paper per student
• Coloured pencils/markers, glue, scissors (optional), ruler
• Example/model poster
• Exit ticket slips or paper
• Display materials for a class “Who helps us?” gallery

Assessment

• Formative: teacher circulates during research to check students can name helpers and write a role statement
• Formative: observe partner sharing for student understanding of safety/wellbeing contributions
• Summative for this lesson: collected community helper posters and the exit ticket listing at least five helpers

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters, a word bank (helper names and action words), and pre-selected helper options if needed
• Support: allow students to draw first and then label, or provide a partially completed template for key sentences
• Extension: ask students to add a “Where might you see them?” detail (e.g. hospital, station, school, beach) and include one extra sentence about community impact
• EAL/SEN: use visual supports (icons/photographs), allow oral recording of notes before writing, and provide reduced writing targets while keeping the requirement of five helpers