T E A C H I N G G U I D E

Kindergarten Reading Level

TEACHING

CommunityBuildings

ISBN 978-0-8225-9063-7 Blue

T E A C H I N G C O M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G S2

Standards Geography • Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographic tools

and technologies. • Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment. • Understands the characteristics and uses of spatial organization of Earth’s surface. • Understands the physical and human characteristics of place.

Science • Understands the structure and properties of matter.

Mathematics • Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of numbers.• Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis.

Language Arts • Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.• Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.

Thinking and • Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and Reasoning differences.

• Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques.

Behavior Studies • Understands various meanings of social groups, general implications of groupmembership, and different ways that groups function.

Multiple Intelligences Utilized • Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, and interpersonal

Books in the CommunityBuildings series include:

ClinicFire StationLibraryPolice StationSchool

Copyright © 2008 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Student pages may bereproduced by the classroom teacher for classroom use only, not for commercialresale. No other part of this teaching guide may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior writtenpermission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of briefquotations in an acknowledged review.

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Manufactured in the United States of America1 2 3 4 5 6 — IG — 13 12 11 10 09 08

Read(teacher, students)• Read the Community Buildings series.

Model(teacher, student pairs)• Draw three columns on the board. Label the left

column Fire Station and the right column School.Leave the middle column blank.

• How are the fire station and our school different? • Record student answers in the correct column.• Ask students how they are the same.• Record these answers in the middle column.• Write the word Both at the top of the middle column.• Explain that the chart they made is a good way to

compare two things.• Pass out Comparison Games to each pair of students.• Students separate the building pieces and picture

pieces into two piles.• Place a building piece at the top of each outer

column on the game board.• Students take turns choosing picture pieces. If the

item pictured could be found in one of thebuildings, place that piece in the appropriatecolumn. If it could be found in both buildings, placeit in the Both column. If the item pictured would notbe found in either building, it is placed in a discardpile. Both students need to agree on where to placeeach piece.

Practice(student pairs)• Play the Comparison Game.

Discuss(teacher, students)• Which two buildings have the most in common?• Which two buildings have the least in common?

Evaluate(teacher)• Observe student game play to check for

understanding.• Using the images on pages 7 and 10, create your own

paper and pencil assessment, such as Color all thethings you would find in a library.

Lesson 1ComparingCommunity BuildingsPurpose: Students will compare and contrast itemsand people found in community buildings.

Objectives • Compare and contrast objects and people found in

community buildings.• List what is found in community buildings.• Categorize objects.• Organize data into a chart.• Defend reasons for categorizing objects a certain way.

Activity Procedures

Prepare (teacher)• Copy Workers p. 7, Community Buildings pp. 8–9,

and Comparison Game p. 10 for every two students. • Divide each file folder into three sections by drawing

two lines on the inside.• Label the top of the middle section Both. • Cut out the game pieces from Workers p. 7,

Community Buildings pp. 8–9, and ComparisonGame p. 10.

• Laminate game board and game pieces for durability.• Store game pieces in a zipper-top bag and clip to

folder with a paper clip.

Pretest(teacher, students)• How are a fire station and a school different? How

are they the same?

Materials• Community Buildingsseries

• Workers p. 7• Community Buildingspp. 8–9

• Comparison Gamep. 10

• file folders• zipper-top bags• scissors• paperclips• chalk • chalkboard• marker

T E A C H I N G C O M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G S 3

Read(teacher, students)• Read the Community Buildings series.

Model(teacher)• Define map.• Review basic color words: red, blue, yellow, green,

orange, purple, and brown.• Explain how to use directional words—north, south,

east, and west—when using a map. • Have students color the roads on Community Map

p. 12 to match street names.• Explain how to complete Community Map

pp. 11–12.

Practice(students)• Complete Community Map pp. 11–12.

Discuss(teacher, students)• Where did you place your home? Why?• If you could change where the buildings are located

on the map, what would you change and why?

Evaluate(teacher)• Review Community Map pp. 11–12 for completeness

and accuracy.

Extension(students, teacher)• Have students create their own directions for

traveling between buildings on the map.• Invite your city’s planner to talk about how cities

decide how to use their land.

T E A C H I N G C O M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G S4

Lesson 2Community MapPurpose: Students will follow directions to locatecommunity buildings on a map.

Objectives• Identify objects on a map.• Explain the purpose of maps.• Follow written directions.• Discuss the placement of buildings on a map.• Add buildings to an original map.• Explain reasons for the arrangement of buildings on a

map.

Activity Procedures

Prepare(teacher)• Copy Community Map pp. 11–12 for each student.

Pretest(teacher, students)• If I wanted to go to the fire station but didn’t know

where it was, how could I find it?

Materials• Community Buildingsseries

• Community Mappp. 11–12

• pencils

• crayons• scissors• glue• chalk• chalkboard

T E A C H I N G C O M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G S 5

Activity IdeasBulletin BoardTitle: Our Community Objective: Students will identify the location of community buildings in relation to the school.Materials: Community Buildings pp. 8–9, scissors, butcher paper, plain paper, crayons, markers, stapler or tapeDescription: Enlarge and copy images from Community Buildings pp. 8–9. Cover the board with butcher paper.Place the picture of the school building in the middle of the board. Place other building images on the board inrelation to the school. If assembling the board with students, discuss cardinal and intermediate directions. Usethese terms when placing the buildings, (i.e. The police station is north of our school). Create word labels for thecardinal directions and place them on the bulletin board frame. Find the location of each student’s home inrelation to the school. Have students draw pictures of their homes and correctly place them on the board. Tomake an even closer connection, ask a parent volunteer to take and print photographs of different localcommunity buildings. Students could bring in photos of their homes’ exteriors.

MathTitle: Building a GraphObjective: Students will create a classroom graph.Materials: chart paper, glue, scissors, markers, Community Buildings pp. 8–9Description: Create a chart on the paper with a column for each community building. Have students cut outthe images on Community Buildings pp. 8–9. Have students write their names on the buildings they have visited.Glue the buildings onto the chart paper in the appropriate columns to make a graph showing how many studentshave visited each kind of community building. Analyze the graph.

ReadingTitle: My Community BuildingsObjective: Students will create a lift-the-flap minibook about community buildings.Materials: Community Buildings pp. 8–9, minibook template pp. 13–16, stapler, crayons, pencils, glue, scissorsDescription: Copy Community Buildings pp. 8–9 for each student. Copy minibook template pp. 13–16 back-to-back for each student. Fold both pages of the minibook on the dotted line. Make sure the cover is on theoutside. Put the pages together and staple together in the fold. Read the book as a class. Cut the CommunityBuildings pp. 8–9 on the dotted lines. Fold down the small flap with the label. Glue the label flap to thecorrect page of the minibook. Students can choose from the restaurant, apartment building, or shopping mall forthe last page. Have students lift each building picture and draw what might be happening in that building. Havestudents complete the text to explain their drawings.

ScienceTitle: Building MaterialObjective: Students will identify different materials used to make buildings.Materials: pictures of community buildings, samples of various building materialsDescription: Give students the opportunity to explore building materials (most can be found around a typicalclassroom). Show students pictures of community buildings and ask them to identify what materials were used tomake the buildings. If possible, ask a custodian to show the students different areas of the school to see differentbuilding materials. Arrange for a construction worker or architect to speak to the class, or take a field trip tosome local community buildings.

the world. This title focuses on a town, whileother titles in the Where Am I? series focus onhome, country, and continent.

Rey, H.A., and Margret Rey. Curious George Visits theLibrary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.Students will be delighted by Curious George’santics when he visits the library. They will learnabout how George picks out books and gets alibrary card.

Scarry, Richard. A Day at the Police Station. New York:Golden Books, 2004.Bridget spends the day with her dad at hisworkplace—the police station—in this illustratedstory. Students will learn about the policestation and what police officers do.

Wellington, Monica. Firefighter Frank. New York:Penguin Young Readers Group, 2004.In this illustrated story, students find out whatfirefighters do—including the day-to-day choresin the fire station and what happens when a firealarm goes off.

WEBSITESBen’s Guide: Your Neighborhood

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/neighborhood/index.htmlStudents will learn about who works in variouscommunity buildings using this interactive site.

Clifford’s Road to Reading: Emily Elizabeth Goes Backto Schoolhttp://www.scholastic.com/clifford/read/roadtoreading/story1.htmStudents will enjoy this story in which theycontrol some of the details of what happens atschool.

Elmo’s Fire Safety Gamehttp://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/games/flash.php?contentId=5997857&Click on the fire station image to learn aboutthe things found in a fire station. Click on theother images to learn about fire safety.

PBS Kids—Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Build aNeighborhoodhttp://pbskids.org/rogers//R_house/buildNeighborHome.htmlStudents will enjoy placing buildings, plants,animals, and vehicles to create their ownprintable community pictures.

T E A C H I N G C O M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G S6

Additional ResourcesBOOKSBehnke, Alison. Firefighters. Minneapolis: Lerner

Publishing Group, 2005.This and the other titles in the CommunityHelpers series describe the work and workplacesof various community helpers. Includes colorphotos, glossary, and index.

Caseley, Judith. On the Town: A CommunityAdventure. New York: HarperCollins Publishers,2002.Charlie and his mom tour their community in thisheartwarming, illustrated book.

Gorman, Jacqueline Laks. Doctor. New York: WeeklyReader Corporation, 2002.Part of the People in My Community series, thisbook describes doctors’ work and the tools theyuse.

Jakobsen, Kathy. My New York. Boston: Little, Brown& Company, 2003.Becky writes a letter to her friend, telling her allabout her city. Elaborate, color illustrations bringthe story to life.

Kishel, Ann-Marie. Cook. Minneapolis: LernerPublishing Group, 2007.Beginning readers will learn about the duties ofcooks. Each page includes a color photographand simple text. Other titles in the Work PeopleDo series include Postal Carrier, Nurse, Cashier,Teacher, and Doctor. This is a perfect companionto Community Buildings.

_____. Our Leaders. Minneapolis: Lerner PublishingGroup, 2007.This book from the Government series focuses onthe various leaders who help us each day—fromteachers to the president.

Morris, Ann. That’s Our Custodian! Minneapolis:Lerner Publishing Group, 2003.Students will learn about the work of a custodianin this book from the That’s Our School series.Along with the other titles in the series, studentswill learn about the different areas of the schooland the people who work there.

Nelson, Robin. Where Is My Town? Minneapolis:Lerner Publishing Group, 2002.This easy-to-read book will help young studentsunderstand where they fit into the geography of

7

Teaching Community Buildings

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Community MapDirections: Follow the directions to color the buildings on the map.

Start at the school.Go west p to Red Street.Go south o to Blue Road.Go west. p Color the building red.

Start at the police station.Go west p to Green Street.Go south o to Yellow Drive.Go east. q Color the building blue.

Start at the clinic.Go east q to Green Street.Go north r to Orange Road.Go east. q Color the building orange.

Start at the fire station.Go east q to Red Street.Go south o to Yellow Drive.Go east. q Color the building yellow.

Start at the library.Go west p to Green Street.Go north r to Orange Road.Go west. p Color the building brown.

Directions: Cut out the buildings and glue them on the map.

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Teaching Community Buildings

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