- Help your students to identify plumbers and electricians at work by asking them to find images for a cool collage project. Give the students child-friendly magazines that you can find photos of plumbers and electricians in. If you are unable to find an adequate supply of magazines with a variety of pictures or a quantity large enough for the entire class, browse the Web for appropriate photos. Another option is to ask a local plumbers or electricians union for any print materials featuring pictures of men and women working to donate. Invite the children to cut out the photos with safety scissors. Give each child a piece of 8-by-10 construction paper or use a large sheet of poster board for a group project. Encourage the students to glue the photos onto the paper, varying the angles and overlapping the edges.
- Coloring pages are a simple way to introduce a new concept. Use store-bought books on trades or community helpers or print out your own free sheets. Websites such as Coloring Book Fun have templates featuring trade workers to download. Additionally, you can make your own using black and white clip art pictures. Give your students a variety of crayons in different shades and hues or try bold markers to work with. Display the drawings on the classroom walls or a bulletin board for a special reminder of this lesson.
- Encourage your students to learn about what a plumber does by playing with some of the more child-friendly tools of the trade. Purchase a variety of PVC pipes in different sizes as well as angles or curves. Help the students to push and twist the pipes together to form massive three dimensional sculptures. Add in a lesson on geometry by asking the children to start with simple shapes such as squares or triangles. Turn their creations into movable art by hanging the finished products from outdoor trees with thick yarn. Watch, with the students, as the wind moves their mobile sculptures back and forth.
- Create cute community helper puppets by turning paper lunch-sized bags into works of art. Have a discussion with your class about what a plumber and electrician might wear or look like. Remind the students that these skilled workers can be either men or women. Use cut pieces of construction paper, felt or fabric to design clothing, hats or even hair. Add facial features with tempera paint and a small brush or markers. For an added effect, have the students create mini plumbing wrenches, flashlights or other "props" for the puppet to hold. Attach these to the puppet with glue. After the puppets have dried, stage a pretend play that features a short story about what a plumber or electrician does during the course of a work day.
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