Let's Learn About Firefighters!

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Students will learn about fire fighters and fire safety.

OBJECTIVE

Students will:

1. Listen to a book.
2. List prior knowledge of firefighters and fire safety rules.
3. Compare and contrast types of firefighters.
4. Write a sentence about firefighters.
5. Illustrate their sentence.

MATERIALS

1. Fire! Fire! by Gail Gibbons
2. A Day With Firefighters by Jan Kottke
3. Firefighters A to Z by Chris Demarest
4. Chart paper or large red paper
5. Optional software — Inspiration (Mac or Windows)
6. Macintosh or PC computer
7. Internet connection
8. Online Activity: Community Club — Firefighter Danita Thomas
9. Optional — large-screen TV or projector system

SET UP AND PREPARE

1. At least a week in advance, arrange a tour of the local fire station for this unit. Or if that is not possible, arrange to have a firefighter come to your classroom as a guest speaker.
2. Cut large red paper in the shape of a fire hat.
3. Have the online activity ready to view.

DIRECTIONS
Step 1: As a group, list what the children already know about firefighters and fire safety. I write their ideas on the red paper that I have cut in the shape of a fire hat. Plain chart paper could also be used.

Step 2: Read aloud Fire! Fire! by Gail Gibbons. As you read, discuss the roles of firefighters and dispatchers in the various types of fires.

Step 3: Using a computer connected to a large-screen TV or projector system, introduce the Scholastic Online Activity: Community Club — Firefighter Danita Thomas. Later, this activity can be used by the students in a classroom computer center or computer lab setting.

Step 4: Compare and contrast the various types of firefighters in Fire! Fire! and in Firefighter Danita Thomas. I like to use the computer program, Inspiration (this software uses graphic organizers to help students think), for comparing and contrasting as a group. I use a computer connected to a large screen TV or projector system so that all students can easily see. If you do not have Inspiration you could use chart paper or a blackboard. Use a Venn diagram for comparing and contrasting types of firefighters.

Step 5: Using words from the brainstorming or comparing and contrasting activity, have the students write a sentence about firefighters and illustrate their sentence.

ASSESS STUDENTS
Teacher observation will assess student participation in listening to the book and in the comparing and contrasting activity. The sentence about firefighters can be used for evaluation.

EVALUATE THE LESSON
How well do the children understand the similarities and differences in the types of firefighters? How many needed help writing? Was the use of Inspiration an effective tool for comparing and contrasting? What was the most difficult part of this lesson? What was most successful?

Gayle has been a teacher for 35 years. She has helped teachers throughout the nation learn about technology, the Internet, and creative ways to use both in the classroom.

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