TCNJ Lesson Plan

Community Helpers Lesson 10- Postal Service Workers

Student Name: Amanda Rego School Name: Hopewell Elementary

Grade Level: Kindergarten Host Teachers Name: Ms. Bradshaw

Guiding and/or Essential Questions:

How are postal service workers community helpers?
Why are postal service workers important?
How do postal service workers help us?
Why might we have to write letters, or send mail?

Pre-lesson Assignments and/or Student Prior Knowledge (ex. background knowledge,

possible misconceptions, prior lesson content)
Students will know that postal service workers are community helpers
Students will most likely know that postal service workers deliver mail
Students might not know what postal service workers wear
Students might not know how to write a letter
Students might not know how to mail a letter

Standards:
6.1.P.B.2: Identify, discuss, and role-play the duties of a range of community workers
2.1.P.D.3: Identify community helpers who assist in maintaining a safe environment.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse
partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger
groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.6: Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas
clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to
compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about
and supply some information about the topic.

Learning Objectives and Assessments:

 Learning Objectives Assessment

Students will listen to a story and respond to Teacher will read a story, and students will
questions about the story. respond to questions. Teacher will evaluate
student response for correctness.

Students will determine why postal service Teacher will ask students why they are
workers are important. important and teacher will evaluate student
responses for correctness.

Students will write letters to someone and Teacher will look over student writing and
mail them. evaluate writing. Teacher will help students
put letters in envelope.

Materials/Resources: (List materials, include any online or book references and resources)
What Do People Do All Day
Writing a letter worksheet
Envelopes
Stamps
Glue

Plan for set-up/distribution/cleanup of materials:

Teacher will pass out letter writing worksheets
Students will come to the post office to get a envelope and a stamp
Students have glue sticks at their tables

Step by Step plan (numbered):

1. Lesson beginning- Morning Meeting: Once the students are done with their movement and
back at their rainbow rug seats, I will say, This afternoon, I am going to be teaching you about
postal service workers and writing letters. Right now, I am going to read you a part of What Do
People Do All Day, which talks about mailing letters. I will then read them the part of the
book.
2. Lesson Beginning- afternoon: The students will be sitting at their table seats, and I will start
by asking the students, How are postal service workers community helpers and how are they
important? I will then call on a few students to answer my question, ensuring that too many
students are not repeating the same answers.
3. I will then say, Today, we are going to be writing letters and pretending to mail them. I
will then model for the students the process of writing and mailing a letter. I will show them the
worksheet and say, Here is the letter that we are going to be writing. Today, you are going to be
able to write a letter to anyone; it can be a friend, one of your teachers, or one of your parents/
family members. I am going to write a letter to my mom. Letters always start with Dear and
then you write who you are writing too. I will then write mom on the blank space. I will then
write a letter to my mom. I will say, At the end of the letter, you usually sign the letter love, or
another word, and then your name. I will then write my name on the space.
4. The next thing that you do is go to the post office to get an envelope and a stamp. I will
say, Ms. Lai will be sitting at the back table and we are going to pretend that the table is the
post office. She will give you an envelope and a stamp. When we are going to the post office, we
are going to walk there, and wait in line patiently. I will then walk to get an envelope and a
stamp.
5. Next, a teacher will help you fold your paper so that it fits into the envelope. You will then
color your stamp and glue it onto your envelope. Stamps go on the top right corner of letters. I
will then color and glue my stamp on the envelope. I will then say, On the outside of the
envelope, you will write your name on the top left so the person knows who the letter is from and
you will write their name in the middle of the envelope so that they know that the letter is for
them. I will then write the names.
6. Now you are ready to bring the letter to the mailbox! When walking to the mailbox, you
will walk nicely and wait in line if other people are there. I will demonstrate how to walk and
put the letter in the mailbox.
7. Before allowing the students to work, I will say, We should not rush to finish our letter and
go to the post office because letters are supposed to be nice and neat, or else whoever is getting
the letter will not be able to read it! Therefore, if you go to the post office and Ms. Lai does not
think your letter looks neat, she is going to send you back! I will then pass out the worksheets
and allow the students to work.
8. Closure: Once all of the students have mailed their letters, I will ask them, Which part
about writing a letter did you like the most? I will allow a few students to answer my question.

Key Questions (that you will ask):

How do postal workers help us?
How do we write a letter?
Why do we need postal workers?
Which part about writing a letter did you like the most?

Logistics:
Timing:
Morning Meeting Reading: 7 minutes
Directions: 5 minutes
Letter writing/ mailing: 12 minutes
Closure: 3 minutes
 Transitions:
After giving directions, I will pass out the worksheets, and allow the students time
to write their letters
Students will be allowed to get up from their seat when they are ready and go to
the post office, and get an envelope and a stamp
They will go back to their desk to mail on the stamp, and then they can go mail it
at the mailbox
Classroom Management:
I will use attention getters when necessary
I will make sure that if students are going to the post office, they are waiting in
line properly
To ensure that students are not running around the classroom, I will model for
them what they should look like
Teachers will be walking around looking at student work, along with making sure
students are not running and are taking their time.
Differentiation
For lower level writers, they can write shorter letters
For higher level writers, there will be enough space for them to write more if they
would like to
Teachers will assist students in folding their letters to properly fit into their envelope
For early finishers, they will be able to color in their coloring packet