Week 1: Community Helpers & Our Neighborhood

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) identify and generate 5+ common nouns naming people in the community (teacher, doctor, mail carrier, etc.).

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.b (use frequently occurring nouns)

Materials: Community helper picture cards (printed or drawn), small basket or bag, blank index cards, crayons

Warm-up: Sing a "Who works in our town?" chant, clapping once per syllable of helper words (fire-fight-er, doc-tor).

Main Activity: 1) Spread picture cards face-down. 2) Child picks a card, names the person/thing (naming word), and says one sentence about what that person does. 3) Sort cards into two piles: "people" nouns and "place/thing" nouns (fire station, mailbox). 4) Discuss that all of these are "naming words" — nouns.

Practice: Child draws one community helper and labels the picture with the helper's name (parent scribes if needed), practicing that nouns name people.

Assessment: Parent says a sentence ("The ___ helps sick people") and child fills in the noun ("doctor") correctly 3 out of 4 times.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) identify and act out 5+ action words (verbs) associated with community jobs.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.b (use frequently occurring verbs)

Materials: Action word cards (drive, teach, cook, build, deliver, help), open floor space

Warm-up: "Simon Says" using community-job actions (Simon says drive! Simon says cook!).

Main Activity: 1) Show one action-word card at a time. 2) Child reads/guesses the word with picture support and acts it out. 3) Match each verb to the community helper who does it (drive → bus driver). 4) Introduce the idea that action words tell what someone "does."

Practice: Child creates a two-word "helper + action" phrase (e.g., "firefighter sprays") using two cards, and says it aloud.

Assessment: Parent asks, "What does a teacher do?" and similar; child answers with a correct verb for 4 of 5 helpers.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) use at least 4 descriptive adjectives to describe community vehicles or buildings.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.f (use frequently occurring adjectives)

Materials: Toy vehicles or pictures of a fire truck, mail van, school bus, ambulance; feeling/size word cards (big, loud, fast, red, shiny)

Warm-up: "I Spy something big and red" game using toys around the room.

Main Activity: 1) Line up vehicle toys/pictures. 2) For each, brainstorm 2–3 describing words together. 3) Build simple sentences: "The fire truck is big and loud." 4) Child repeats and adds a new adjective of their own.

Practice: Child draws their own vehicle and dictates 2 describing words for parent to write underneath.

Assessment: Show a new picture (police car); child supplies 2 original adjectives independently.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) sort 10 community-themed vocabulary words/pictures into categories (people, places, vehicles) with 80% accuracy.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.5.a (sort common objects into categories)

Materials: Mixed picture cards (10–12) from the week's helper/place/vehicle sets, three labeled sorting mats or paper plates ("People," "Places," "Vehicles")

Warm-up: Quick review naming 3 people, 3 places, 3 vehicles from memory.

Main Activity: 1) Shuffle all cards together. 2) Child draws a card, says the word, and places it on the correct category mat. 3) Discuss any tricky ones together (e.g., is a "school" a place or a thing?). 4) Recount how many landed in each category.

Practice: Child adds one new word of their own choosing to a category and explains why it belongs there.

Assessment: Parent mixes cards again; child re-sorts independently and self-checks against Wednesday's sentences.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) correctly use question words (who, what, where) to ask 3 complete questions about community helpers.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.d (use question words)

Materials: "Who/What/Where" word cards, community helper puppets or stuffed animals, this week's picture cards

Warm-up: Parent models a silly question ("Who eats pizza for breakfast?") to show question tone/inflection.

Main Activity: 1) Introduce the three question-word cards and their jobs (who = person, what = thing/action, where = place). 2) Using a puppet, child asks the puppet a "who" question, a "what" question, and a "where" question about community helpers. 3) Parent (as puppet) answers in full sentences, modeling back the noun/verb/adjective work from the week.

Practice: Child interviews a family member using at least 2 question words about their job or day.

Assessment: Child independently generates one original question using each of the 3 question words (3 total), checked for correct word order.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) count aloud from 1 to 20 in the correct sequence.

Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.1

Materials: 20 small objects (buttons, blocks, or pretend "mail" cut from paper), number line 1–20

Warm-up: Sing a counting-to-20 song together, pointing to the number line.

Main Activity: 1) Pretend to be mail carriers "delivering" numbered mail 1–20 to house cutouts in order. 2) Child places each numbered piece in sequence while counting aloud. 3) Practice starting the count from different numbers (e.g., start at 8, keep going to 20).

Practice: Child counts a pile of 20 loose objects one at a time, moving each aside as counted.

Assessment: Child counts aloud to 20 unprompted, with no more than 1 self-corrected error.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) count a set of up to 15 objects, matching one number word to each object with no skips or repeats.

Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4

Materials: 15 counters (pretend coins/"tickets" for the community bus), small cups or ten-frame mat

Warm-up: Clap-and-count 1–10 together.

Main Activity: 1) Set up a pretend "bus" (a row of chairs or a drawn bus outline) and give the child a pile of "ticket" counters. 2) Child places one ticket per seat while counting aloud, demonstrating one object = one number word. 3) Ask, "How many seats are filled?" to reinforce that the last number said = total count (cardinality). 4) Repeat with different-sized groups (7, 11, 15).

Practice: Child counts out an exact number of tickets when asked ("Give me 9 tickets") and checks by recounting.

Assessment: Parent presents a scattered set of 12 objects; child counts accurately once, touching each object.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) compare two groups of objects (up to 10 each) and identify which has more, fewer, or if they are equal.

Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6

Materials: Two small bowls, counters (buttons or pretend "letters" for two mailboxes), comparison cards (more/fewer/equal)

Warm-up: Show two quick handfuls of blocks; child guesses which pile "looks" bigger, then we'll check.

Main Activity: 1) Fill "Mailbox A" with 6 letters and "Mailbox B" with 4 letters. 2) Child counts each mailbox and states the totals. 3) Line objects up in rows to compare directly. 4) Child states which mailbox has more/fewer and how many more, using the words "more than" and "fewer than." 5) Repeat with 2–3 new number pairs, including one equal set.

Practice: Child creates their own two groups with counters and challenges a parent to say which is more.

Assessment: Show two new groups (8 and 5); child correctly identifies which is greater and by how much.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) find at least 3 different ways to make the number 10 using two addends.

Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.1

Materials: Ten-frame printout, 10 two-color counters (or beans painted on two sides), "delivery truck" cutout

Warm-up: Quick finger-flash game: hold up a number of fingers, child says how many more to get to 10.

Main Activity: 1) Explain that the delivery truck can carry 10 boxes total, split between two stops. 2) Child places counters onto the ten-frame, splitting them into two groups (e.g., 6 and 4). 3) Record the combination as a simple equation (6 + 4 = 10) using drawn boxes or numerals. 4) Shuffle and repeat, finding at least 3 different splits (7+3, 5+5, 2+8).

Practice: Child uses fingers to show a partner combination when a parent calls out a number (e.g., "3 and how many more make 10?").

Assessment: Child independently states 2 number pairs that make 10 without physical counters.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) name and describe 4 basic 2D shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle) found in community buildings.

Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.2, CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.4

Materials: Shape cutouts, paper, crayons, pictures of buildings/signs (stop sign = octagon/circle-ish, window = square, roof = triangle)

Warm-up: "Shape hunt" walk around the house — find 3 real objects that are circles, squares, or triangles.

Main Activity: 1) Sort shape cutouts by number of sides/corners. 2) Match shapes to parts of a community building drawing (roof = triangle, door = rectangle, window = square, wheel = circle). 3) Discuss what makes each shape unique (sides, corners) using simple vocabulary.

Practice: Child uses shape cutouts to build their own paper "town building" (post office, house, or fire station) by gluing shapes together.

Assessment: Parent points to 4 shapes in the child's town picture; child names each correctly.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) observe and describe today's weather using at least 3 accurate weather words (sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, cold, warm).

Standard: NGSS K-ESS2-1 (Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time)

Materials: Weather journal (blank paper stapled into a booklet), crayons, window or outdoor view

Warm-up: Sing a simple weather song ("What's the weather like today?").

Main Activity: 1) Step outside or look out the window together. 2) Child describes what they see, feel, and hear (sun, wind, clouds, temperature). 3) Draw a picture in the weather journal representing today's weather and label it with a weather word (parent scribes if needed). 4) Discuss how community helpers (mail carrier, farmer) are affected by today's weather.

Practice: Child checks the sky again mid-day and notes whether anything changed.

Assessment: Child names 3 weather words correctly when shown weather picture flashcards.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) demonstrate and describe the difference between a push and a pull using toy vehicles.

Standard: NGSS K-PS2-1 (Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object)

Materials: Toy car or truck, string, small ramp or book, open floor space

Warm-up: Act out "push" and "pull" motions with your own bodies (pushing a door, pulling a wagon).

Main Activity: 1) Push the toy truck gently, then push it hard — observe and describe the difference in distance/speed. 2) Tie a string to the truck and pull it — compare to pushing. 3) Roll the truck down a ramp (a push from gravity) and discuss what makes it stop (friction/an obstacle). 4) Chart results together: "hard push = far," "soft push = close."

Practice: Child experiments with 3 different push strengths and predicts which will travel farthest before testing.

Assessment: Child correctly labels 3 out of 3 demonstrated actions as "push" or "pull."

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) predict and test how changing the direction of a push changes an object's motion.

Standard: NGSS K-PS2-2 (Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull)

Materials: Toy truck, masking tape (to mark a target "delivery" spot), soft ball

Warm-up: Roll a ball back and forth, noticing how direction changes with each push.

Main Activity: 1) Mark a target "mailbox" spot on the floor with tape. 2) Child pushes the toy truck from different angles/directions, trying to land it on the target. 3) After each try, discuss what direction and strength worked, and adjust the next push. 4) Record which pushes were "too soft," "too hard," or "just right" on a simple chart.

Practice: Child designs one change (angle a small ramp, change starting position) to help the truck reach the target more easily.

Assessment: Child explains in their own words how changing push direction changed where the truck went.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) identify and describe at least 3 things plants and animals need to survive (food, water, air, shelter).

Standard: NGSS K-LS1-1 (Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive)

Materials: Picture cards of a plant, a pet, and a person; drawing paper; crayons

Warm-up: Ask, "What do YOU need to stay healthy every day?" and list answers together.

Main Activity: 1) Compare the picture cards — what does the plant need (water, sunlight, soil)? What does the pet need (food, water, shelter)? What does a person need (food, water, shelter, air)? 2) Circle the needs that are the same across all three (food and water). 3) Discuss how community helpers (farmers, veterinarians) help living things get what they need.

Practice: Child draws a picture showing one living thing and labels 2 things it needs to survive.

Assessment: Child names 3 needs shared by plants, animals, and people without prompting.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) propose one action to help reduce impact on the local environment (e.g., recycling, picking up litter, turning off water).

Standard: NGSS K-ESS3-3 (Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment)

Materials: Recycling bin and trash bin (or labeled boxes), assorted clean recyclable items (paper, cardboard, plastic bottle), drawing paper

Warm-up: Ask, "What happens to our town if trash isn't picked up?" and discuss briefly.

Main Activity: 1) Sort clean sample items into "recycle" vs. "trash" bins, discussing why. 2) Talk about community helpers who keep the environment clean (sanitation workers, park rangers). 3) Brainstorm 2–3 ways the family could help the environment this week.

Practice: Child draws a "help our town" poster showing one action (recycling, planting a tree, picking up litter) and dictates a caption.

Assessment: Child states one original idea for helping the environment and explains why it helps.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) describe the roles and responsibilities of at least 4 community helpers.

Standard: C3 Framework D2.Civ.1.K-2 (describe roles and responsibilities of people in authority)

Materials: Community helper picture cards, dress-up props if available (hat, toy stethoscope)

Warm-up: "Guess the helper" charades — parent acts out a job, child guesses who it is.

Main Activity: 1) Introduce 4 community helpers (firefighter, doctor, teacher, mail carrier) with pictures. 2) For each, discuss what they do and why their job helps the community. 3) Child role-plays being one helper for a minute, describing their "job" out loud.

Practice: Child matches each helper picture to a tool they use (firefighter → hose, doctor → stethoscope).

Assessment: Child names 4 helpers and states one responsibility for each.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) explain that people other than official leaders (neighbors, family members, classmates) also help the community.

Standard: C3 Framework D2.Civ.2.K-2 (explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community)

Materials: Family photos or drawings, paper, crayons

Warm-up: Ask, "Who helps our family every day, even if it's not their 'job'?"

Main Activity: 1) Discuss ways non-official helpers contribute (a neighbor who waters plants, an older sibling who helps with chores). 2) Child names 2–3 people in their own life who help without being paid or in an official role. 3) Discuss how everyone — including kids — can help their community (picking up toys, being kind).

Practice: Child draws a picture of themselves doing one helpful thing in their family or neighborhood.

Assessment: Child explains, in a sentence, one way they personally help their community.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) locate and point to at least 3 familiar places on a simple neighborhood map.

Standard: C3 Framework D2.Geo.2.K-2 (use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the relationships between locations)

Materials: Simple hand-drawn or printed neighborhood map (home, school, park, store), small toy figure or coin to use as a "mover" piece

Warm-up: Talk about the route from home to a familiar place (grandma's house, the park) — what do you pass along the way?

Main Activity: 1) Show the simple map and identify each labeled location together. 2) Child moves the toy figure from "home" to "school," describing the path (left, right, straight). 3) Practice a few more routes between locations, discussing distance ("the park is closer than the store").

Practice: Child draws one new building (their favorite place) and adds it to the map in the correct approximate location.

Assessment: Parent names a location; child points to it on the map correctly for 3 of 4 locations.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) describe one way weather affects how people in the community live, dress, or work.

Standard: C3 Framework D2.Geo.4.K-2 (explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people's lives in a place or region)

Materials: Seasonal clothing pictures (raincoat, sunhat, mittens), this week's weather journal from Science–Monday

Warm-up: Ask, "What did you wear outside today, and why?"

Main Activity: 1) Review the weather journal entries from earlier in the week. 2) Sort clothing pictures by which weather they match (raincoat = rainy, sunhat = sunny/hot). 3) Discuss how weather changes what community helpers do (mail carrier wears a raincoat, farmer waters crops less on rainy days).

Practice: Child dresses a paper doll or picks real clothing appropriate for today's weather and explains the choice.

Assessment: Child correctly matches 3 of 4 clothing items to the right weather type.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) sort at least 6 items into "needs" and "wants," explaining the difference.

Standard: C3 Framework D2.Eco.1.K-2 (explain how scarcity necessitates decision making)

Materials: Picture cards (food, water, house, toy, candy, video game, coat, book), two sorting mats labeled "Need" and "Want"

Warm-up: Ask, "What would happen if we didn't have any food in the house for a week?" to prime thinking about needs.

Main Activity: 1) Introduce the words "need" (something we must have to live) and "want" (something nice to have but not required). 2) Child sorts 6–8 picture cards into the two mats, discussing each choice. 3) Talk about how community helpers (grocers, farmers, builders) help provide our needs.

Practice: Child names one need and one want from their own life and explains the difference in their own words.

Assessment: Child correctly sorts 3 new cards into need/want without help.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) retell a community-themed story in the correct order (beginning, middle, end) with 3+ key details.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2 (retell familiar stories, including key details)

Materials: A picture book about a community helper (library book or any available story), 3 blank story-sequence cards

Warm-up: Look at the book cover and predict what the story might be about.

Main Activity: 1) Read the story aloud together, pausing to discuss pictures and events. 2) After reading, ask the child to recall what happened first, next, and last. 3) Child draws or arranges 3 sequence cards to show beginning/middle/end.

Practice: Child retells the story aloud in their own words using the sequence cards as prompts.

Assessment: Child includes at least 3 accurate key details in their retelling without prompting.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) identify the main character(s) and setting of a story with 90% accuracy.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 (identify characters, settings, and major events in a story)

Materials: Same or a new community-themed picture book, drawing paper

Warm-up: Review yesterday's story — "Who was in it? Where did it happen?"

Main Activity: 1) Read a new short story (or reread yesterday's) focusing attention on "who" (characters) and "where" (setting). 2) Pause on 2–3 pages to ask, "Who is this? Where are they?" 3) Discuss how the setting (fire station, school, neighborhood) connects to the character's job.

Practice: Child draws the main character in the story's setting and labels both.

Assessment: Child correctly names the main character and setting when asked.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) ask and answer at least 3 who/what/where questions about a read-aloud text.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 (with prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text)

Materials: Community-themed picture book, this week's English question-word cards (who/what/where)

Warm-up: Quick review of the question words from Friday's English lesson.

Main Activity: 1) Read the story aloud, pausing every few pages. 2) At each pause, child asks a question using "who," "what," or "where" about what just happened. 3) Parent answers, then reverses roles so the child answers a parent-asked question.

Practice: After finishing the book, child generates one final question for a family member to answer.

Assessment: Child correctly answers 3 of 4 comprehension questions about the story's key details.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) identify the title, author, and front cover of a nonfiction book about a community topic.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.5 (identify the front cover, title page, and beginning/end of a book)

Materials: A simple nonfiction book about a community topic (trucks, weather, or jobs), sticky note flags

Warm-up: Compare the nonfiction book's cover to Monday's storybook cover — what looks different?

Main Activity: 1) Point out and name the title, author's name, and front/back cover together. 2) Flip through to show the book has real photos/facts rather than a made-up story. 3) Read 2–3 pages, pointing out one new fact about the community topic.

Practice: Child places a sticky flag on the title and one on the author's name to show understanding.

Assessment: Child correctly points to title, author, and front cover when asked, 3 of 3.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) compare and contrast the characters or experiences of two community-themed stories.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.9 (with prompting and support, compare and contrast the experiences of characters in familiar stories)

Materials: Monday's storybook and Thursday's nonfiction book (or two short stories read this week), a simple T-chart drawn on paper ("Same" / "Different")

Warm-up: Recall the main character/topic from each book read this week.

Main Activity: 1) Revisit both books briefly, flipping through key pages. 2) Together, fill in the T-chart: what's the same about the two books (both about community helpers) and what's different (fiction vs. nonfiction, different characters). 3) Discuss which book the child liked better and why.

Practice: Child states one thing they learned this week that connects both books.

Assessment: Child names at least 1 similarity and 1 difference between the two books independently.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) read, build, and spell 4 short-a CVC words with 80% accuracy.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.d, RF.K.3.a (isolate/pronounce phonemes; know letter-sound correspondences)

Materials: Magnetic letters or letter tiles (m, a, p, v, n, c, t), whiteboard or paper, this week's word list: map, van, cat, bat

Warm-up: Practice the short "a" sound in isolation (/a/ as in apple), then in a few words aloud.

Main Activity: 1) Model building "map" with letter tiles, sounding out each phoneme (/m/ /a/ /p/) and blending. 2) Child builds "van," "cat," and "bat" the same way, sounding out each letter before blending. 3) After building each word, child writes it on paper, saying each sound while writing.

Practice: Child reads all 4 words aloud from flashcards made during the activity, then uses one word in an oral sentence tied to the community theme ("The mail carrier has a van").

Assessment: Parent says a word aloud; child spells it correctly using letter tiles for 3 of 4 words.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) read, build, and spell 4 short-o CVC words with 80% accuracy.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.d, RF.K.3.a

Materials: Letter tiles (j, o, b, m, x, t, p), paper, word list: job, mom, box, top

Warm-up: Practice the short "o" sound (/o/ as in octopus) aloud several times.

Main Activity: 1) Model building and blending "job," connecting to the community theme (a helper's job). 2) Child builds "mom," "box," and "top," sounding out and blending each. 3) Write each word on paper while saying each sound.

Practice: Child sorts this week's short-a and short-o words into two piles by their middle vowel sound.

Assessment: Child spells 3 of 4 dictated short-o words correctly.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) read, build, and spell 4 short-u CVC words with 80% accuracy.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.d, RF.K.3.a

Materials: Letter tiles (b, u, s, n, f, r, n), paper, word list: bus, sun, fun, run

Warm-up: Practice the short "u" sound (/u/ as in umbrella) aloud.

Main Activity: 1) Model building "bus," tying it back to the Math bus-counting activity from earlier in the week. 2) Child builds "sun," "fun," and "run," sounding out and blending each. 3) Write each word, saying each sound.

Practice: Child illustrates one word (e.g., "sun") and labels the drawing with the spelled word.

Assessment: Child spells 3 of 4 dictated short-u words correctly.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) read and spell 4 high-frequency sight words automatically (without sounding out).

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.c (read common high-frequency words by sight)

Materials: Sight word flashcards (the, is, a, my), letter tiles, paper

Warm-up: Flash each sight word card for 2 seconds; child says it as fast as possible ("word blitz").

Main Activity: 1) Introduce each sight word, discussing that it can't be sounded out easily and must be memorized. 2) Child builds each word with letter tiles while saying the letter names aloud. 3) Practice reading each word in a short theme sentence ("The bus is fun. This is my map.").

Practice: Child writes each sight word from memory 2 times on paper.

Assessment: Child reads all 4 sight word cards correctly within 3 seconds each.

Objective: Student will (building on K skills) correctly spell 6 of the week's 10 target words (CVC + sight words) from dictation.

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.b, RF.K.3 (blend and segment phonemes; apply grade-level phonics)

Materials: Paper, pencil, this week's full word list (map, van, cat, bat, job, mom, box, top, bus, sun, the, is, a, my — parent selects 10)

Warm-up: Reread all flashcards made this week as a quick fluency check.

Main Activity: 1) Parent says each of 10 words slowly, one at a time. 2) Child sounds out and writes each word on paper (sight words are recalled from memory). 3) After all 10, review together, sounding out any misspelled words and correcting.

Practice: Child rereads their finished list aloud from top to bottom, self-correcting any missed words.

Assessment: Score the mini dictation: 6 or more of 10 words spelled correctly meets the weekly goal.