Safety First!

Lesson Plan

Overview

After researching several national sites (such as parks, forests, seashores, and battlefields), students will learn about important safety precautions for outdoor activities.  Students will work in small groups to create a series of safety tips for visiting national sites or other outdoor locations.  These tips will be in the form of posters, and will be assembled into a multimedia presentation used to teach others about outdoor safety.

Objectives

Students will explore various national sites through the Internet.  Students will understand how to stay safe when participating in outdoor activities.  Students will create safety posters in a multimedia presentation.

Summary

• Introduce the concept of national sites through age-appropriate texts or Web sites.  Describe the America the Beautiful Quarters^® Program for background information.  The program is described at www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/.  Tell the students that the back of a coin is called the reverse, and "obverse" is another name for the front.
• With the students, examine each of the five 2011 quarter designs.  Locate each of the 2011 sites on a class map.  Answer any student questions.
• Have the students investigate a variety of national sites on the Internet.  If desired, focus on a small group of sites you select.
• Discuss with the students possible safety concerns when participating in outdoor activities.  Create a list of these safety concerns.  Read to the students the chosen text on safety.  Allow students to research safety further using the Internet.  Add to the list of outdoor safety issues.
• Students will work in small groups to create a safety poster based on the information learned.  After drafting on their "Safety Poster Plan" worksheets, students will use multimedia software to create the posters so that the posters can be assembled into a slide show and/or printed for display.  Students will share their final products with others.

Assessment

• Use the students' class participation, research work, and final products to evaluate whether they have met the lesson objectives.
• Use the rubric to evaluate the safety posters.

Differentiated Learning

• Allow students to work in pairs to research the national sites.
• Provide a template for students to use in creating their posters.
• Allow students to use a scribe or supportive software for their written components.
• Model creation of the safety poster.

Connection to www.usmint.gov/kids

• Have students learn more about national sites by visiting the America the Beautiful Quarters^® Program lesson plans for grades 2 and 3 found at www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/lessonPlans/atb/view.cfm.
• Have students learn more about national parks by visiting the 50 State Quarters^® Program "Take Me to Your National Park" lesson plan for grades 2 and 3 found at www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/lessonPlans/50sq/2007/0203-6.pdf.
• Have students learn about other important national sites, the United States Mint facilities, at www.usmint.gov/kids/coinNews/mintFacilities/.

Print Me

Worksheets associated with this lesson plan

• Safety Poster Plan
• Safety First!  Project Guide

Student

Objectives

• Research national sites in the United States.
• Learn about outdoor safety.
• Create a multimedia safety poster on the computer.
• Assemble your poster with your classmates to create a multimedia slide show.

Step-By-Step Directions

1. After your teacher introduces your class to national sites and the America the Beautiful Quarters^® Program, explore national sites using www.nps.gov and the links on the page.
2. In class, brainstorm a list of safety concerns people have when they do outdoor activities like visiting a national park.  Listen to your teacher read a book about outdoor safety.
3. Print and read the "Safety First!" worksheet.  Make sure that you understand all of the directions.  You will use the computer to create a multimedia poster describing an outdoor safety tip.
4. Before you begin, print the "Safety Poster Plan" worksheet.  Use this worksheet to draft your ideas before you begin working on the computer.
5. Complete your project.  Use the rubric to make sure you do your best work.
6. In class, your teacher will assemble all the safety posters into a multimedia slide show.  Share your work with your class and others.

Standards

Science

National Science Teachers Association (www.nsta.org)

• Personal and Social Perspectives

Technology

International Society for Technology in Education (www.iste.org)

• Creativity and Innovation:  Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
• Communication and Collaboration:  Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
• Research and Informational Fluency:  Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Side Box

Time

• Two in-class sessions (30 to 45 minutes) for teacher-led lessons on national sites and outdoor safety
• One or two independent or in-class computer sessions (30 to 45 minutes) for completing multimedia safety posters

Materials List

• Internet access
• Images of the five 2011 quarters
• An age-appropriate text that provides basic information about national sites
• An age-appropriate text that provides information about outdoor safety for children, such as:


• Outdoor Safety: Safety Sense Series by Nancy Loewen
• Safety on the Playground and Outdoors by Lucia Raatma
• Staying Safe by Adam Schaefer
• Safety First by Rebecca Weber

Keywords

• National site
• National park
• National forest
• National seashore
• National battlefield
• National Park Service
• Safety
• Multimedia

Helpful Hints

Limit the number of safety tips from which students may choose or assign each group a specific tip.

• Create a sample before the lesson or as a class, to serve as an example.
• Use an Internet search engine to find related Web sites about outdoor safety, using the keywords kids, health, and safety.

Student Side Box

What You Need

• "Print Me" worksheets
• Internet access

Related Materials

• Safety Poster Plan (worksheet)
• Safety First! (Project Guide)

Related Links

• National Park Service: www.nps.gov