Kelsey+Nelson

Kelsey Nelson Bibliography Community Helpers: Police Officers and Fireman





Crabtree, Marc. (2012) **Meet My Neighbor, The Police Officer.** Crabtree Publishing Company. 24 pages. Scottsdale Public Library.

// Meet My Neighbor, The Police Officer, // a nonfiction book, tells the story of a female police officer and her duties protecting the community. It tells about Jenn, the officer, and where she works, wears and uses each day on the job. Jenn learns about her duties and jobs for the day from her inspector and superintendent. The story also goes on to tell about the technology she uses during the day, such as her police car and the radio and computer inside. It continues to tell that as an officer, Jenn may direct traffic, distribute speeding tickets and respond to emergency calls.

// Meet My Neighbor, The Police Officer // relates to a few curriculum areas. From this book, you could focus describing characteristics of the people in their community. Students can pull characteristics of police officers from this book such as their uniform, technology and duties. Students can find in this book that police officers wear pants, a shirt, a hat, shoes, and a belt that contains handcuffs, a radar gun, and a radio. The class could also find out that individuals receive speeding tickets and then dive deeper into why people receive such tickets and why it’s the duty of the police officer to issue fines. Students can discuss and even write about why it is unsafe to speed in a car.

Hamilton, Kersten. (2009) **Police Officers On Patrol.** Viking Juvenile. 32 pages. Classroom book selection.

This fiction book is great for the younger grades, particularly Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. It tells the story of an older gentleman who is managing the emergency calls coming that community members place. Some situations include a broken traffic light, which might cause an accident, robbers and a lost child. This book not only depicts the duties of a police officer, but it has rhyming and repeating phrases that children will pay particular attention to when listening. The pictures in this book are beautiful; the artist took their time depicting multicultural police officers responding to the community.

I chose this book because it not only contained beautiful drawings, but also because of the language used to describe a police officer. Students can work on pulling rhyming words throughout the book and can also join along in reading when it comes to the repeating phrase. You could also pull from this book the necessary steps it takes for officers to respond to an emergency: someone calls 911, 911 reaches out to a police officer and the officer responds to the situation. There are also many objects, animals and people throughout the book that can always be discussed in conversation. One last thing that students can learn from this book is the different modes of transportation. Some of the police officers use cars and some use horses. Many young children do not see police officers on horseback these days and it may be of interest to them.

Schaefer, Lola M. (2000) **We Need Police Officers.** Capstone Press. 24 pages. Classroom book selection.

This nonfiction book tells the duties and characteristics of police officers in our community in a simple and clear way for young children. It informs us that police officers help keep the community safe by educating them on safety, helping the lost and hurt and arresting those who break the laws. The book also discusses how some police officers work with dogs and that canines also do a lot to protect our safety. It finally discusses how police officers get around. Modes of transportation include patrol car, foot, bicycles and horseback.

I chose this book to use during a community helper unit because it clearly states why, what and how police officers protect and serve the community. The book tells us that police officers may arrest those who break the law. Without going too far, the class could practice their writing by each writing what rules they think the class should follow in order to be the best community and class member possible. Once the entire class has come up with their own ideas, the class could combine everyone’s thoughts and ideas into one final document. The class could also focus on transportation and why they think different officers use different modes of transportation to protect the community.

Lenski, Lois. (2006) **Policeman Small.** Random House Books for Young Readers. 32 pages. Scottsdale Public Library.

// Policeman Small, // a fiction book, tells use about Police Officer Small and his duties protecting and serving his community. Policeman Small ensures that the milkman is able to deliver milk to the community, directs traffic so schoolchildren can get to class, makes sure the farmer can safely deliver his vegetables, catches speeding cars, directs an ambulance, and many other situations. This book also gives times as to when Policeman Small deals with these situations, which familiarizes students with passing time. This book also has great pictures and artwork to teach students to visualize what is happening.

I chose this book because Policeman Small handles and deals with many situations throughout the day, which is extremely true in real life. Students can work on depicting their own stories of policeman small and what he is doing to support his community. This activity can even start in the preschool classroom with drawing and artwork. Because this book contains timestamps of when the events happened, I would take this time to create a schedule of the student’s day with time to expose them to the passing of time and what 30 minutes, 1 hr., etc. looks like.

Broekel, Ray. (1981) **Fire Fighters.** Childrens Press. 45 pages. Tempe Public Library.

// Firefighters, // a nonfiction book contains age-appropriate real-life pictures of firefighters doing their duty to their community. The book begins by describing the sound a fire truck makes when responding to an emergency. The book also tells us that after passing a test, anyone can become a fireman. It goes on to tell us some specific duties and characteristics that make up a fireman such as, fighting fires, preventing fires and being strong and healthy. The book continues to tell us what a fireman’s duties are: driving the fire truck, climbing ladders, operating fire hoses and saving lives. The book also continues to tell us about fire hydrants, fireman’s clothes, different colored trucks, and the places one may find a firehouse.

I chose this book because it is a great way to introduce what and who a fireman is and the duties they do for the community. I would take this book and introduce fire safety, fire hydrants, fire trucks and the basic concept of fire safety. Students can work on fine motor by creating a fire truck out of various materials such as cardboard boxes, paper, glue, etc. I would also take this time to focus on vocabulary words and spelling.

Canizares, Susan. (2000) **Firehouse.** Scholastic Inc. 14. Classroom book selection.

This large, nonfiction book is great for a preschool classroom with its large pictures and large, simple text that tells about the duties and job of a fireman in a firehouse. This book goes beyond the duties of a fireman by telling us that they like to read, they clean equipment, they are always working and they immediately respond to emergency situations. //Firehouse// also tells us that fireman respond to house fires, car fires and boat fires.

I chose this book because it is aimed for a younger group of students with its large pictures and print. I would take this time to compare the different locations of fires and how it may be in a house, forest, or various modes of transportation. With this book, I would focus on cause and effect. Asking questions such as if we left a stove on, what might happen? If we call 911 because of a fire, what might happen? We could also work on finding information in a text. I could ask the students, find the tool used to spray water from the fire hydrant to the burning object. Students would then have to find the hose.

Flanagan, Alice K. (1997) **Ms. Murphy Fights Fires.** Childrens Press. 32 pages. Tempe Public Library.

This nonfiction book tells us the story of Ms. Murphy, a real-life fireman, and her duties as a community helper. The book tells us what Ms. Murphy wears, what she drives in, and the tools she uses, such as a ladder and a crowbar, to fight fires. The book also tells us that fireman need to wear a specific mask in order to get through the thick smoke in order to rescue others.

I chose this book because it tells about a female fire fighter and the duties she is required to do to protect and serve her community. I would use this book to discuss what a fire is and the different characteristics of the sometimes dangerous element. Students could make a T map and discuss the pros and cons of a fire and then the necessary steps to protect others and ourselves around fire. I would also provide props in the dramatic play center in order for children to experience different community members.

Lenski, Lois. (2000) **The Little Firehouse.** Random House Books for Young Readers. 44 pages. Scottsdale Public Library.

This book is about Fireman Small, a local fireman whose duty it is to protect the community from fires. The book includes a labeled fire truck in order for students to become familiar with a fire truck and why it’s built a certain way. The story begins in the firehouse, when Mr. Small receives a call about a fire and heads to the burning house to save the family and the home. The book does a great job of describing the steps needed to take in order to stop the fire such as driving to the situation, finding the fire hydrant, hooking up the hose, etc. Fireman Small also saves the family members in the house, which is most important.

I chose this book because it can give the chance for students to learn the correct direction to flip book pages. I can read the book and flip pages but I would also give students the chance to flip the book themselves. I would also use this book to teach students how to correctly find a book title and the author. Sometimes we skip the author, but taking this time to describe what an author is will help students tremendously.

Nolan, Janet. (2010) **The Firehouse Light.** Tricycle Press. 32 pages. Tempe Public Library.

// The Firehouse Light, // an adorable true story, tells about fireman and the generational change that takes place within a firehouse. This book starts over 100 years ago and describes the tools and simple technology that firemen had in order to fight fires. After time, the firehouse receives a light, which has been burning for over 100 years in a firehouse that has done nothing but protect its community members from fires. This beautifully artistic book not only tells about an everlasting light, but the duties and commitments that have remained the same for a long time.

I chose this book because it tells an incredible story about a light inside a firehouse that has been burning since 1901. I would take this time to discuss the timeline of a fireman and firehouse and dive deep into changing times and the minimal technology that fireman had years ago. I would also take this time to conduct a science experiment on a light bulb and why it has lasted so long. You can also go to [|www.centennialbulb.org] to see the everlasting light!

Schaefer, Lola M. (2000) **We Need Firefighters.** Capstone Press. 24 pages. Classroom book selection.

This nonfiction book tells us the duties and responsibilities of fire fighters. The book tells us that in order to put out fires, we must spray water and foam on them. We also learn that fire fighters not only save people, but animals that are also stuck inside burning buildings. We also learn that fire fighters are always ready for a fire; the second a call comes in, they get their gear on and head to the scene.

I chose this book because it would be a great time to compare fire fighters and police officers with a bubble map, double bubble map, or other curriculum map. There are many characteristics of a fire fighter and police officer, the most important serving and caring for the community members, that students can learn and discuss about. I would also wrap up the unit by having students write thank you notes to these community members thanking them for their time, sacrifice and commitment for serving their community.