First Grade Bloomabilities: Fire Prevention Week Activities (October 9-15th)

Are you looking for some ways to reinforce Fire Prevention Safety in a meaningful way that doesn't suck up hours of your planning time or instructional time? I have some simple ideas for you!

When I was teaching Second Grade, I was going to give a quick mention of Fire Safety Week and move on. But a Firefighter friend of mine told me to ask my 7 year olds the above question. Not one student answered with the correct answer: ONE. Oh boy...there was work to be done!

If you subscribe to Scholastic News, I suggest starting there.

If you do subscribe, I hope you're taking advantage of the fabulous online content. Top notch. You also get access to all of the older editions throughout at least the last five years. That means the videos, games, etc. Here are the back issues I saw yesterday.

The Fire Tech tools is one I'll be revisiting this year. If your school has funding available and you're not yet a subscriber, I promise you it's well worth the price. You get 4 "magazines" a month. Each child will get to bring home their own copy. Then of course, the online access which I use all the time.

We often have Fire Fighters come to visit the students. Most of the time, they bring the truck but while fun and a cute photo op, I think it's best left to the Kindergarten classes. I think it's way more important to have them speak to the kids and introduce/review the importance of Stop, Drop and Roll as well as calling 911 when needed. Our department brings SQUIRT who answers questions and interacts with the kids.

After the visit, I have two poems that I like to use to reinforce the lesson shared.

I'm big into Poetry Binders so we add these to them and sing often! Read about a fun way I incorporate poems into my classroom via a Poet Tree!

Of course I have books available to share with the kids and let them look through. I don't read all of them but do make sure they are easily accessible to the kids.

I usually have the kids make a headband / crown when the Fire Fighters visit. The kids make it as their Do-Now one morning so it's a quick activity. It's also a good visual reminder to parents to continue the convo at home when they see the kids coming off the bus wearing them.

Another Do-Now (Which is done in the morning after arrival but before I take attendance and school officially starts) is to play a simple, Roll and Cover game. I just added graphics to support the week but really a basic game. I have them play with a partner. Usually when someone wins one of our games, they pop up and yell, "Winner, winner chicken dinner." In the case, they pop up and yell out, "Stop, Drop and Roll."

Another tried and true activity...Origami Dalmatian Dogs that take under five minutes.

I like to hang them around a "Fire Fighters Are, Can, and Have" poster we make together. In the past, I had them list a prevention tip or piece of advice on the back to share with the class and their families.

But this year, I'm going to add to our class library and have everyone contribute one page to a class book. There is a pre-made cover that you can print or have a student color in the page. (Note: I make these all year long, place in library and at the end of the year, each students gets to take home two of the class books. A great memory!)

Each booklet (Five booklets for each month) comes with lines paper or simply a drawing space for those not yet writing. Honestly, I let them pick the one that is best for them. Most kids used the lines paper but I usually have 3-5 opt for drawing only.

I added these class books to my store recently. There are 5 books per month. Check out my October Books if interested.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE Which One Doesn't Belong OPEN-ENDED activities. There are always MULTIPLE ANSWERS. I use them for a five minute filler activity, a Morning Meeting Activity, during math (when I'm using my math focused one) and as Do-Nows, too. One included in my October packet has a Fire Fighter theme. To see these in action, take a peek at my video of the students sharing answers or a blog post showing answers. Hands down, my kids favorite activity.