Create posters to show why taking safety precautions seriously is serious business.

• 1.

  Work in groups to brainstorm safety rules everyone needs to follow: at home, at school, in very hot or cold weather, in case of fire, or while playing outside, eating, riding in cars, or interacting with animals. Pick one safety rule that you think is very important.

• 2.

  With Crayola® Washable Markers, divide a piece of poster board or large construction paper in half. On one half, create a poster image of a real or imaginary creature who has not followed this rule or is thinking about breaking it. Demonstrate in your image what is likely to happen when safety rules are not followed. How can the posture and face on the rule-breaker express emotions that match the consequence?

• 3.

  Write a safety reminder in the other half of your poster. Display in a safety gallery as a reminder to other children.

Standards

• LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• LA: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
• SS: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns.
• SS: Identify roles as learned behavior patterns in groups situations such as student, family member, peer play groups member, or club member.
• VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
• VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: Watch Out! At Home by Claire Llewellyn; Officer Buckle & Gloria by Peggy Rathmann; I Can Be Safe: A First Look at Safety by Pat Thomas
• Students create 3-D models of figures on their posters using Crayola model Magic and craft (craft sticks, toothpicks) or recycled materials.
• Students draw pictures of dinosaurs breaking school safety rules that the class has established. Students ass their own words to the artwork or to draw attention to the appropriate behavior.
• Organize student pictures into booklet format and bind the collection. Keep the booklet on display in the classroom and refer to it when classroom rules are being stretched.