Sharing Time

Overview

In this lesson, students explore what volunteering means and why it helps communities. They practise identifying real ways they can get involved, using simple scenarios and structured support.

Learning intentions

WALT: Recognise the value of volunteering and share ways to volunteer in a community.

• WALT: Understand that volunteering means helping others without expecting payment.
• WALT: Identify simple, age-appropriate places and people where help is needed.
• WALT: Talk about how volunteering can make communities safer, kinder, and more connected.

Success criteria

• I can explain what volunteering means in simple words.
• I can list at least three ways people can volunteer in my community.
• I can match a volunteering need to a suitable volunteer help option.
• I can describe how volunteering helps other people.

Curriculum links

• PSHE: Health and wellbeing—develop kindness, respect and positive relationships.
• PSHE: Living in the wider world—understand roles and responsibilities in communities.
• Citizenship (PSHE focus)—learn about community support and how individuals can contribute positively.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 5 minutes — Welcome and routines

• Teacher introduces the lesson using clear, short sentences and visual cues (agenda on board).
• Quick check-in: “How are you today?” using smile/frown cards to support communication.

2. 10 minutes — What is volunteering?

• Read aloud a short, dyslexia-friendly script: “Volunteering is helping people in your community. You do it to care, not for money.”
• Show 2–3 pictures (e.g., food bank collection, reading to younger children, litter picking with an adult) and discuss: “Who helps? Who benefits?”

3. 10 minutes — Guided discussion: why volunteer?

• Use sentence starters on the board:
• “Volunteering helps because…”
• “People feel…”
• “My community can be…”
• Teacher prompts with examples relevant to Year 1–2: helping a neighbour, returning library books, supporting a school event.

4. 15 minutes — Scenario cards activity (key task)

• Give small groups or pairs one scenario card each (with picture + one-sentence need).
• Students choose one matching volunteer action card (e.g., “Share books,” “Help tidy a park with an adult,” “Help organise donation items”).
• Teacher circulates, modelling vocabulary and using “First/Next” prompts.

5. 10 minutes — Share and record

• Whole class share: each group says their scenario and their chosen help option.
• Teacher records answers on a simple class web titled “Ways we can volunteer”.
• Support students who need it by offering two-choice prompts: “Is it volunteering or not volunteering?” with visual examples.

6. 5 minutes — Quick recap game

• Play “Help or Not Help” using teacher read-aloud statements (e.g., “Helping at a community clean-up with an adult” vs “Taking things that are not yours”).
• Students respond with thumbs up/down or coloured card answers.

7. 5 minutes — Exit ticket

• Students complete a short exit statement (oral or written):
• “I can volunteer by ___.”
• Teacher collects and notes misconceptions for next lesson.

Resources

• Dyslexia-friendly short reading script (teacher-created, simple sentences)
• Picture cards of community needs and volunteering actions
• Scenario cards (picture + single sentence) and matching action cards
• Sentence starter strips: “Volunteering helps because…”
• “Help or Not Help” statement cards
• Class web on paper or board with the title “Ways we can volunteer”
• Response cards (thumbs, smile/frown) for non-verbal or low writing needs
• Adult supervision reminder cards (volunteering should be safe and supported)

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observes scenario matching accuracy and quality of verbal explanations.
• Formative: exit ticket shows whether students can name at least one volunteer action and state a simple benefit.
• Diagnostic notes: identify students who confuse volunteering with jobs for money or unsafe “help”.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Use visual supports (pictures, colour-coded cards) and reduce reading load by reading scenarios aloud.
• Provide sentence starter frames and allow oral responses instead of writing.
• Offer a “matching support” set: two options only, then increase to three.
• For Autism/ADHD (teaching approach):
• Clear, predictable routine with time markers and first/then prompts.
• Small movement break before the scenario task if needed.
• Assign roles in pairs (reader, picker, reporter) to reduce anxiety and encourage participation.
• Extension:
• Students choose one scenario and add a “how/when” detail (e.g., “We can help on Saturday with an adult”).
• Advanced students create an extra volunteering idea not on the cards and justify it: “It helps because…”
• EAL/SEN:
• Use bilingual support where available, plus gesture and picture meanings.
• Pre-teach key words with visuals: volunteering, help, community, safe, kind.

Extension (optional)

Create a volunteer action plan for a project.

• Students select one class-appropriate micro-project (e.g., collect non-food donations, school book swap help, tidy a small area with adult supervision).
• Students complete a 3-step plan using pictures: “We will… / We need… / We do it with…”
• Share plans in pairs or small groups; teacher checks safety and realism.