Interviewing Community Helpers

Overview

This 30-minute lesson is lesson 6 in the "Community Connections Exploration" unit for Year 4. Students will develop questioning skills by preparing to interview local community helpers such as firefighters or police officers. This supports learners in understanding roles within their community and builds speaking, listening, and enquiry skills aligned with the National Curriculum for England.

---

National Curriculum Links

English - Spoken Language (Year 4)

• Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers
• Ask relevant questions to improve understanding
• Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) - Relationships and Community

• Recognise ways to contribute to the life of the classroom and wider community
• Develop an awareness of different roles people play in the community

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will:

• Understand the role of community helpers in society (firefighters, police officers, etc.)
• Write clear, relevant questions to interview community helpers
• Demonstrate active listening and effective communication skills

---

Resources Needed

• Whiteboard and marker
• Notebooks or worksheets for question writing
• Visual prompts or images of different community helpers
• Example video/audio clip of an interview with a community helper (optional)
• Question prompt cards (prepared previously or provided by teacher)

---

Lesson Structure

1. Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Engage & Activate Prior Knowledge

• Show images of various community helpers and ask pupils what they know about these roles.
• Brief class discussion on why these helpers are important and what they do.
• Link to previous lessons on community exploration to reinforce continuity.

2. Main Task (20 minutes)

Step 1 – Modelling Good Questions (5 mins)

• Teacher models how to create open and closed questions.
• Example: “What do you do in your job?” (open) vs “Do you wear a uniform?” (closed).
• Highlight the importance of open questions for detailed responses.

Step 2 – Guided Question Writing (10 mins)

• Pupils write 4-5 questions they would ask a community helper if they interviewed them.
• Teacher circulates to support and challenge pupils to use “why”, “how”, and “what” question starters.
• Encourage pupils to think about what information they want to learn and how questions help.

Step 3 – Pair Share (5 mins)

• Pupils share their questions with a partner.
• Peers provide feedback: Are the questions clear? Would they get interesting answers?
• This helps develop collaborative learning and critical evaluation skills.

3. Plenary (5 minutes)

• Select 2-3 pupils to share their best questions with the class.
• Teacher summarises how interviews help us appreciate community helpers and encourages students to reflect on the importance of respectful communication.
• Briefly set a reminder for the next lesson where pupils may practice mock interviews or prepare for a visit.

---

Assessment and Feedback

• Formative assessment through observation of pupil participation in discussions and quality of questions formed.
• Use questioning during plenary to assess pupils’ understanding of open vs closed questions.
• Provide constructive verbal feedback focusing on clarity, relevance, and creativity of questions.

---

Differentiation

• Support: Sentence starters or question prompts for pupils who struggle with writing questions.
• Challenge: Encourage higher ability pupils to write follow-up questions to deepen enquiry.

---

WOW Factor – Interactive Element

Invite pupils to think beyond the lesson:

• Suggest they could use tablets or voice recorders at home or school to practise interviewing family members or friends about their roles.
• Optionally, create a simple class podcast episode where pupils share their questions and findings about community helpers, integrating cross-curricular ICT skills.

---

Reflection for Teacher

• Note which pupils show enthusiasm or need further support with speaking and questioning skills.
• Reflect on whether pupils understand the purpose of interviewing and how to communicate respectfully with adults.
• Plan follow-up activities, such as a guest visit or mock interviews, to reinforce this learning.