TCNJ Lesson Plan

Who Keeps us Safe?

Student Name: Katie King
Grade Level: Kindergarten

School Name: Hopewell Elementary

Host Teachers Name: Ms. Bradshaw & Ms. Higgins

Guiding and/or Essential Questions:

Who keeps us safe in the community?
What is the role of safety community helpers?
What jobs do firefighters have?
What is the role of a police officer?
What does EMS stand for?
What do EMS people do?
When do you call 911?
Pre-lesson Assignments and/or Student Prior Knowledge (ex. background knowledge,
possible misconceptions, prior lesson content)
The class is currently doing a unit on community and community helpers. Students have
learned that a community is a place where people live, learn, work, and play. Many students may
know about safety officers from previous studies or from what they have learned from their
parents. They also may have pictures of what safety officers do and look like from books and
pretend play. In addition, some students may also have parents who are safety workers. One
student has a father who is a firefighter. Some may be afraid of these kinds of workers based on
past experiences as well. They may have misconceptions about what firemen, police, and EMS
workers do. For example, students may think that firefighters only use water hoses to put out
fires or they may feel intimidated by firefighters. Therefore, this lesson will talk about all the
roles these safety officers have and answer student questions to address their misconceptions.
Standards:
6.1.P.B.2 Identify, discuss, and role-play the duties of a range of community workers.
Learning Objectives and Assessments:
Learning Objectives

Assessment

Students will hear a poem about firefighters

and use a pretend fire extinguisher to put out a
fire like firefighters do. Students will work in
partners to put out their pretend fire.

Teacher will assess that students are able to

verbally explain the steps firefighters take to put
out a fire and use the fire extinguisher properly
by following directions. Teacher will also assess
that the student appropriately explains why it is
important for firefighters to work as a team.

Students will identify different tools police

Teacher will assess that children accurately

officers use daily to solve crimes as well as

the different jobs police officers do.

identify and label the tools and supplies police

officers use as they solve the cookie crime
mystery.

Students will use different EMS tools and

materials to make their own pretend first aid
kit.

Teacher will assess that students correctly

identify medical tools and their uses by
matching the tools with the provided
descriptions.

Students will discuss the reasons to call 911

as we talk about emergency situations as a
class.

Teacher will assess that students call 911 in

appropriate hypothetical scenarios and provide
appropriate reasons to call 911.

Materials/Resources: (List materials, include any online or book references and resources)
Fire: 22 copies of the poem, Fire extinguisher, 5 pretend fire extinguishers (spray bottles),
Baking Soda, Vinegar, 10 cups with paper fire, Badges
Police: Cookie clues, 22 checklists, Badges
EMS: Tools: (22 of each) pictures of stethoscopes, band aids, cotton swabs,
tongue depressors, masks, gloves, etc; Checklist with descriptions, 22 paper bags
911 poster
Plan for set-up/distribution/cleanup of materials:
Carlos, our mascot, will go on the work part of our community wheel. Centers will be set
up ahead of time. The police and EMS stations will be in the classroom and the fire station will
be right outside by the playground. Cookies for the police station will be set out before the lesson
begins, as well as tools for the EMS station and the materials needed for the fire station. Fire
extinguishers with the baking soda and vinegar should be tested ahead of time as well. There will
be enough materials to replace the materials used by the previous groups during rotations by the
teachers that are working with each station.
Step by Step plan (numbered):
1. Lesson beginning: At the beginning of the lesson, I will begin by asking the students
what they remember from the first day of learning about community. I will tell the
students that today we are going to learn about some of the ways people work in the
community. Carlos, our mascot, will go on the work part of our community wheel. I will
ask the students who keeps us safe in the community. We will come to the conclusion that
the three main people who keep us safe in the community are firefighters, police, and
EMS or ambulance workers. I will tell the students that we are going to go to different
centers to learn about each one of these.
2. The rest of the lesson will be divided into centers, one for each branch of safety that we
talked about. Students will rotate through the centers in assigned groups, earning a badge
for each center. Each center will last 10 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes.

3. For the firefighter center the students will be introduced to the Five Little Firefighters
song: Five little firefighters, sleeping in a row, ring goes the bell, down the pole they go.
They jump on the engine and put out the fire. Now theyre back home, but they sure are
tired. Then, we will do the flame experiment to show the children how to put out the
flames with a fire extinguisher. Each pair of students will get a cup with a pretend paper
flame in it and we will put of the flame with the baking soda and vinegar mixture in the
fire extinguisher spray bottle. This center will be done outside, on the grass right outside
the door by the classroom.
4. For the police center, we will do the Who stole the cookie activity. Before doing the
activity, the teacher will talk with the students about how police officers protect us, but
they also are investigators, which means they solve crimes. The teacher will say, Solving
crimes can be compared to solving a mystery. So, we are going to solve the mystery of
whole stole Carlos cookie. Cookies will be hidden around the room. Each cookie will
have a tool on it that the police officer needs to do his job. The tool with have a
description, a number, and a letter. Students will read the description and then write the
letter next to the corresponding number on their investigator checklist. Once the children
have found all the cookies, they will have a name of who stole the cookies!
5. At the EMS station children will look into what tools doctors and EMS or ambulance
staff use to help their patients. There will be boxes of different pictures of things or actual
things (depending on the tool) from stethoscopes, band aids, cotton swabs, tongue
depressors, masks, gloves, etc. Students will have a checklist of things they need. The
checklist will describe the tool and the children will have to decide which tool correlates
with the description. For example, the description for band aid would read: You use me
to cover up cuts and scrapes. Oh, and I also come in different shapes! Once children
decipher which tool goes with the description, they will each have a paper bag that will
be their EMS on the go kit. They will each be able to take one of each tool and put it in
their bag as they cross it off their checklist.
6. Long Closure: After the children have each been to each center, we will come back
together as a group on the carpet. I will ask several students to tell me something they
learned at each center. Then, we will talk about how to communicate with these safety
workers. We will talk who we are supposed to call when there is an emergency and we
need police, fire, or EMS help. We will talk about what to say when we call 911 and go
over situations and whether or not each one is appropriate to call 911.
7. Short Closure: After the center, students will return to their seats. I will ask a few people
to share what they learned at each center. I will ask who we should call if we have an
emergency and need any of these safety workers help. We will end by reminding the
students to call 911 if they need help from any of these community helpers.
Key Questions (that you will ask):
What does it look like when firefighters put out a fire?
What does a fire extinguisher look like and do?
How do firefighters get to the site that needs help?
Why is it better for firefighters to work as a team and not by themselves?
What do police officers need to do their job?
What are the clues that we need to figure out who stole the cookie?

What do EMS workers and doctors need to do their job?

What is each tool used for?
In what situation would we call 911?
Logistics:
Timing: 45 minutes
Opening: 5 minutes
Center Rotation: 30 minutes (10 minutes each)
Closing: 10 minutes
Transitions:
Students will begin on the carpet. After we are finished with the opening discussion,
students will be dismissed in assigned groups to the individual centers. When it is time to switch
centers, students will rotate singing the community song that they learned on the first day of the
unit. They will be told that they have to be at their next center by the third time we sing through
the song. Students will also be asked to pretend to drive the vehicle that the community helper of
their center would drive. For example, when going from the EMS center to the police center, the
students will ride in an ambulance and so on for the other centers. The police and EMS centers
will both be in the classroom and the firefighter center will be outside (weather permitting).
Students coming from inside to outside will be monitored by a teacher and directed on where to
go. When the centers are finished, children will ride in the vehicle from their last center to the
carpet where they will sit in their assigned spots. The lesson will end on the carpet.
Classroom Management:
Students will be seated on the carpet in their assigned carpet squares for the beginning of
the lesson. Students who need more space to move around are seated on the perimeter of the
carpet and away from those who are easily distracted. If children are fidgeting too much, they
will be asked to sit in a chair next to a teacher next to the carpet. Individual students will be
reminded of where their eyes are supposed to be during the lesson and cold calls will be used to
make sure children are paying attention.
Because of the great amount of movement that will be going on during this lesson,
children will be reminded of exactly what is expected of them during centers. Before dismissing
to centers, the children will be asked to tell the teachers what transitions are supposed to look
like to remind the whole class. Before dismissing from the first center, the teacher will tell the
class to sing the community song that we learned on the first day of the unit and travel in their
community helpers vehicle as they travel between centers. Students will be asked to do the
transition again if they cannot move from center to center as they are supposed to and they will
be told that we cannot participate in centers if we cannot move about the classroom
appropriately.
Attention grabbing phrases such as 1, 2, 3 eyes on me and hocus pocus will be used
to get student attention at the end of centers and if the classroom is getting too loud. Students
who struggle with behavior and attention will be reminded of what is expected of them. They
will be reminded of how a responsible student behaves and how important it is for them to listen
and participate appropriately. If they are struggling or acting out, they will be asked to not
participate in the center until they are ready to be a responsible community member.

Differentiation
This lesson will be done with 21 kindergarten students. The lesson will begin on the
carpet with a discussion of what they learned the day before on the first day of the unit. While I
will ask volunteers to raise their hand, other children will be called on randomly as well to make
sure they are paying attention. Children will also be seated in their assigned carpet squares.
Children who tend to struggle with attention will be closer to the teacher or around the perimeter
of the carpet where they can move around slightly without disrupting their classmates. Before
children are dismissed to their centers, they will be asked to remind us how to behave during
centers and while rotating. Children who struggle with attention and behavior will be reminded
individually of what is expected of them during the centers before and throughout the lesson.
ELL students will be encouraged to participate and the tools at the stations will also be labeled in
Spanish if that will assist them.
Each center will require teachers to monitor student activity. At the firefighter station,
children will individually use the fire extinguisher with a teacher helping them. Children will be
reminded that they need to be responsible firefighters who listen to and follow directions in order
to participate. Children who are not following directions will not participate in the activity and
they will watch the others use the fire extinguisher. At the police center, students will go over
how to work together as a group before they start the challenge. Students who are able to read
the clues will be encouraged to read on their own. Students will also have teacher help to read
through the clues. The same thing will be done at the EMS center, as children read the
descriptions of the different tools EMS.
Time will be monitored closely during this lesson. If students finish a center early, they
will be encouraged to send a representative from their group to get a look book from the
community unit library. The teacher at that center can read aloud or the students can look through
the books together. If students are struggling with time, the short closure will be used.