Week 9 Reflection

This was an exciting week in my PDS. We’re beginning our fire safety unit in anticipation of our field trip to the fire station in Bridgeport. The students are excited about their first field trip of the year and I’m impressed by the amount of fire safety tips they already are aware of.

In preparation for our visit to the fire house, we wanted to make sure that the class had covered a number of things. First and foremost, we needed to be sure that they knew the proper procedures for their family in case there was a fire in their house. This included knowing the 9-1-1 emergency number as well as where their family planned to meet once they had all evacuated the house. Information cards were sent home with each child so they could fill in this information and practice it.

We also constructed books about fire safety, each page including important tips for the students to remember. The books outlined what kinds of objects shouldn’t be touched because they were hot and also talked about how to move around the house in the event of a fire. One page showed a classroom practicing their fire drill at school, and on the day we reviewed that section of the book, we made sure that we practiced a number of important emergency procedures that could take place at school.

But perhaps my favorite activity during Fire Safety Week was Thursday, when the students were able to practice how to stop, drop, and roll, as well as having to practice crawling under a sheet (which they pretended was smoke in the room) to demonstrate how to move safely through a room when a fire is present. I think I enjoyed this activity the most simply because it allowed the students to stand up and move around while also learning and practicing fire safety techniques. Any time I’m able to plan an activity that is not a traditional paper/pencil activity, one where the students can move about or engage in some kind of hands on manipulation, I try to take advantage of that window. If one thing has been made clear during my placement in kindergarten, it’s that some of these students really have a lot of energy, and asking them to sit around in a chair or on a carpet all day is not the most effective way to get through to these learners. Incorporating a number of different strategies – including physical activities or hands on explorations – will be a more effective way of reaching some of these young learners.