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Getting It Done Together

A 40-minute Kindergarten lesson on how a group shares out a task so it actually gets finished.

Getting It Done Together is a free 40-minute Kindergarten to Grade 2 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Civ.6.K-2 — describe how a community shares out jobs to get things done. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Kindergarten to Grade 2
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
D2.Civ.6.K-2

Kindergarten to Grade 2 · Civics

D2.Civ.6.K-2

Describe how communities work to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities, and fulfill roles of authority.

Objective

Students will be able to split a class task into parts and say who does each.

Students are successful when they can

  • Names the parts of a task.
  • Says who does each part.
  • Says what happens if one part is missed.

What you need

  • A real class task: tidying, setting up, planting
  • Strips for writing the parts
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — all at once

5 min
  1. Ask everybody to tidy the room at the same moment. Watch it go wrong.
  2. Stop after thirty seconds. Ask what happened.

Teach — split it, then share it

13 min
  1. Write the task at the top. Break it into four parts on strips.
  2. Put a name or a group beside each part.
  3. Do it again in order. It works this time.
  4. Take one strip away and ask what would be left undone.
  5. Say the pattern: a big job becomes small jobs, and then it gets done.
“Everybody doing everything is everybody getting in the way.”

Guided practice — split a task

12 min
  1. Groups take a task card and break it into four parts.
  2. They order the parts and say who would do each.
  3. They name the part that must not be missed.

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the working-together page.
  2. Read each set of steps aloud.

Close

2 min
  1. Do the real task with the parts shared out. Time it.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Splits the task into parts that cannot be done separately.

Why: Splitting is being applied to the words rather than to the work.

Fix: Ask whether two people could do those two parts at the same time. If not, it is one part.

Gives one person all the parts.

Why: The most capable child is the obvious answer to every part.

Fix: One name per strip. The constraint is what makes it sharing.

Thinks the order does not matter.

Why: All the parts get done either way.

Fix: Put the tidying before the using and watch it fail. Some orders work and some do not.

If they are not there yet

  • Two parts rather than four.
  • Give the parts and share them out.

If they finish early

  • Split a task where two parts can happen at once.
  • Say what a group needs if somebody is away.
  • Plan a task for the whole class, not just a group.

Exit ticket

Name two parts of setting up for lunch, and who would do each.

What to look for: Two parts that could be done by two people. One person doing everything means the one-name-per-strip rule needs enforcing.

Printable practice for D2.Civ.6.K-2

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Getting It Done Together

How long does the Getting It Done Together lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Getting It Done Together teach?

D2.Civ.6.K-2 — D2.Civ.6.K-2, Civics for Kindergarten to Grade 2: “Describe how communities work to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities, and fulfill roles of authority.” In plain terms, describe how a community shares out jobs to get things done.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

A real class task: tidying, setting up, planting, strips for writing the parts and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: splits the task into parts that cannot be done separately; gives one person all the parts and thinks the order does not matter. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Name two parts of setting up for lunch, and who would do each.” Two parts that could be done by two people. One person doing everything means the one-name-per-strip rule needs enforcing. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Getting It Done Together?

Yes — 1 printable D2.Civ.6.K-2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Getting It Done Together free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Civ.6.K-2 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.