Community Projects

Overview

In this lesson you will explore real-life community projects and what makes them successful. You will practise planning a simple project step-by-step, ready to share and improve ideas with your class.

Learning intentions

WALT (We Are Learning To):

• Learn from successful community initiatives and notice how they help others.
• Understand simple project steps: choose a need, plan, get help, do the project, and say thank you.
• Build confidence to start a small community improvement project.

Success criteria

• I can describe one community project and who it helps.
• I can outline the main steps to plan a small project.
• I can explain why teamwork and asking for permission/help matters.
• I can share my project idea clearly using a simple plan template.

Curriculum links

• PSHE: health and wellbeing through relationships, kindness, and contributing to community life.
• PSHE: living in the wider world by learning about roles, responsibilities, and how communities work.
• Citizenship skills: making decisions, working with others, and taking responsible action.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 Warm-up: Community helper chat Show 2–3 picture prompts (e.g., litter pick, food donation, school garden). Adults share one question: “How does this help our community?” Teacher records short ideas.

2. 5–15 Mini inputs: What makes projects work? Present a simple “project story” using a few sentences and gestures:

• Find a need (what could be better?)
• Make a plan (who does what?)
• Ask for help/permission (adults, groups, rules)
• Do the project safely
• Celebrate and say thank you Pause for quick checks: “Which step comes first?”

3. 15–25 Model example: Walk-through of one project Use a very familiar example (e.g., “Help the community garden”). Together, fill in a class project template on the board with headings: Need, Team, Tools, Time, Safety, Thanks. Keep language short and repeat the order.

4. 25–35 Guided practice: Start your own plan In small groups of 2–3, give each learner a dyslexia-friendly template (see Resources). They choose one simple need near school/community (e.g., “tidy a shared space”, “make thank-you cards”, “collect donations”). Teacher circulates with sentence starters.

5. 35–45 Role-play: Asking for help and permission Practise two short scripts using talk cards:

• “We want to do a project to… Can we have help with…?”
• “Thank you for supporting our community.” Learners take turns as speaker, helper, and listener. Emphasise respectful tone and simple safety rules.

6. 45–55 Share time: Project steps presentation Each learner/group presents their steps in 30–45 seconds using the template headings only. Audience peers give one kind comment and one question (teacher may model examples).

7. 55–60 Exit check: One-step commitment Learners complete an “Exit Ticket” sentence: “The first step in my project is…” Teacher collects to inform next lesson planning.

Resources

• Picture prompt cards of simple community projects
• Dyslexia-friendly project planning template (Need, Team, Plan steps, Safety, Thanks)
• Sentence starter cards (e.g., “Our project helps by…”, “We need…”, “We will ask…”, “We will be safe by…”)
• Talk cards for role-play (asking permission/help, thanking)
• Class example template for whole-group completion
• Timer/visual schedule cards for lesson stages
• Printed mini-project story cards (step order)
• Markers/pencils, simple sticky notes for choices
• Optional: visual “first–next–then” strip to support sequencing

Assessment

• Teacher observation checklist during share time: correct identification of need, ability to sequence steps, and respectful language for asking for help.
• Template review: whether learners can name main steps (at least 3 of 5) and include a basic safety/thanks element.
• Quick exit ticket to verify understanding of the first step.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a choice of 2–3 project ideas; pre-fill the template with blanks only; allow learner to point to answers instead of writing.
• Support: use visual step cards and keep instructions in short, repeated phrases; provide additional wait time after questions.
• Extension (for advanced learners): add a “How will we know it helped?” mini-section (e.g., count items collected, take before/after photos, gather one comment).
• EAL/SEN: offer bilingual support where possible; use pictorial prompts; accept responses orally; provide consistent sentence starters and model answers.

Extension (optional)

• If time allows, learners design a poster for their community project using only 3 headings: Need, What we will do, Thanks.