How it works
This community helper bingo printable opens on 6 cards, 4 × 4, dealt from 37 helpers. Every helper comes with a clue about the job that never gives the name away.
Read the full guide
Name first, clue later
With children who are just starting to read, say the helper's name and let them hunt for its first letter. Once the names are familiar, read only the clue: Examines teeth and gums, sometimes with x-rays, and treats problems in the mouth. The class answers Dentist before anyone covers a square.
After bingo, talk about the jobs
The winner reads the four covered helpers back and says one thing each does. Then ask which helpers the class has met this week: the Bus driver, the Cook, the Custodian.
- With 25 cards in play, a first line of four usually comes between calls 7 and 13.
- For older classes, step Grid up to 5 × 5: each card then holds 24 helpers round a free center.
- Mail carrier and Delivery driver both come to the door. Their clues differ: one sorts letters, the other loads a van.
Questions and answers
Is this community helpers bingo free to print?
Yes. This is a free printable community helpers bingo: up to 60 cards at a time, no two alike, 2 to a page on Letter or A4, and a call sheet with all 37 clues. There is nothing to sign up for.
Which community helpers are on the bingo cards?
37 in all: seven who keep us safe, such as Firefighter and Crossing guard; six who keep us well, such as Nurse and Dentist; seven at school, such as Librarian and Custodian; and seventeen around town, from Baker to Zookeeper.
Can children who cannot read yet play community helper bingo?
Yes. Step Grid down to 3 × 3, say each helper's name slowly and write it on the board, so children match the word letter by letter. Seat a reader beside a child who is still learning.
How do you play community helper bingo?
Give each child a different card. Read a clue or a name, children cover the helper, and the first to cover four in a row, across, down or diagonal, calls bingo and reads the row back.