Elizabeth Koet
March
8, 2011
Fire
Safety
The
lesson plan “Fire Safety” is geared toward teaching kindergarten students the
importance of knowing fire safety and prevention, and how to act appropriately when
dealing with fire. Since fire safety is such a serious topic for the students
to understand, the teacher uses numerous learning approaches in an attempt for
every student to comprehend. The teacher’s objectives in this lesson plan
include comprehension of fire prevention, proper use/function of a smoke
detector, and the “stop, drop and roll” technique. The lesson plan “Fire
Safety,” will aim to accomplish these objectives through engaging the
kindergarten students in an active learning environment.
First
and foremost, the lesson plan is obviously trying to engage these kindergarten
students in an active learning environment by introducing various items such as
pictures of fire trucks, firefighters, and even things like actual fire
extinguishers or toy fire trucks. Having such items visible and in reach for
interaction allows the children to engage physically with objects related to
fire safety. The children have a better chance at fully comprehending the ideas
of fire safety if they are able to see and touch related objects, while
listening to the instructor explain the item. For example, showing a picture of
a fireman fully dressed and ready to enter a fire while explaining it to the
students will help them to understand why firemen wear and do the things they
do. Giving the child a visual image along with a clear deductive description of
the fireman helps the child to better remember the concept and further store in
memory. Engaging in such activity will help the child shape individual ideas
about what fire is, how it is formed and what can extinguish the fire. This
type of active learning will help the child create their own meaning of fire
safety.
Applying
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, these children are entering into the
Concrete Operational Stage; meaning the child can use logical reasoning to
understand/comprehend the subject. Logical reasoning is the act or process of
drawing conclusions from facts, so when the teacher gives facts on a smoke
detector, a child can conclude that it is an alarm to prevent fires. Identifying the child’s stage of development,
according to Piaget, allows for the teacher to design an appropriate lesson
plan that is relatable to the child’s stage of ability.
To begin the lesson, the teacher
shows all of the students the smoke detector and asks if any of them know what
it is, or have any idea. Having the students share individual ideas on what
they believe the smoke detector is enables the child to construct meaning and
identification. Allowing the kindergarten students to individually describe a
concept in their own words allows them to think beyond a smoke detector and
create sentences that would help the child personally understand the
concept. The students are then forced to
use logical reasoning in order to gather their organized set of schemas to
figure out what the smoke detector is. The students are able to pick out
possible schemas that are closely related to what a smoke detector is/does to
come up with their idea of what a smoke detector is/does. Having careful
guidance from the teacher allows for the students to be directed towards a
positive outcome of possibilities for what the smoke detector could be.
Following
the introduction, the teacher questions the students’ prior knowledge about
smoke detectors, allowing the students to use old and new schemas to explain
what a smoke detector is and how it helps prevent fires. The teacher uses
deductive reasoning to explain what a smoke detector is and how it protects the
children from a potential fire. Deductive reasoning is a great technique to use
for educating students; deductive reasoning is quicker, to the point. The
teacher is in absolute control and provides a right answer. Deductive reasoning
gives the child a direct idea of how a smoke detector can prevent fires.
To
help ensure that students retain the information, repetitiveness of the lesson
is important—making the information easier to retain and remember. When the
teacher shows the detector to the students and explains what the smoke detectors is, it allows the children to create new schemas.
Then the child can take the new schemas to create individualized meaning of
what fire safety is.
After
explaining to the students about smoke detectors, the teacher then engages the
class by asking if any of the students know exactly what to do if their clothes
were to catch on fire. This question should get every student thinking about
what they would actually do if this were to happen. Asking a question about a
real life situation creates meaning and helps the child better understand the
essential steps needed to protect themselves.
After
receiving some student feedback, the teacher will then demonstrate, in front of
the class on the floor mats, the “stop, drop, and roll” technique used when
caught on fire. The teacher is using a technique called modeling or
observational learning. The teacher is
considered the model, and the students are the observers. The students are able
to watch their teacher perform the technique they are trying to learn. Having
the students 
watch their teacher demonstrate
this technique can offer a better understanding of the information.
Because
the task “stop, drop, and roll” is not a very difficult task to complete, a
mastery model would be the most appropriate when demonstrating. The teacher
would be a mastery model due to prior knowledge and experience (with practice).
According to Bandura, modeling is a good way for
children to retain information through four stages. The first stage is called
the attention phase, where the students will watch the model (teacher) give
clear cues and descriptions on how to complete the task. The teacher will
verbally announce each step, “stop, drop, and roll” while demonstrating to the
students. The lesson plan’s instruction on how to properly “stop, drop, and
roll” is consistent with step-by-step verbal demonstration along with action.
Using verbal and elaborate demonstration will allow the student an easier way
to comprehend the steps to complete the task and further comprehend what the
model is demonstrating. Using a mastery model to demonstrate “stop, drop, and
roll” allows the student to further understand fire safety.
After
demonstration by the teacher, it is now the students’ turn to repeat the
teacher’s actions and behaviors involving “stop, drop, and roll.” The students
will now practice a technique described as elaborate rehearsal, with continuous
practice of the “stop, drop, and roll” action.
Elaborate rehearsal is important for the child’s learning because the
longer an item/behavior is in working memory the better chance the concept will
be transferred to long-term memory. The enactment of the behavior helps the
child process the safety tip for a better chance of remembering. Reenacting the
behavior numerous times is also another form of elaborate rehearsal, allowing
the child to potentially store this behavior/information into long-term memory.
Finally, it is up to the teacher/model to motivate the children by praising
correct behavior and assisting shaping the child’s behavior on fire safety.
Next
the teacher will explain to the students that they will be making paper “stop,
drop, and rollers.” The project consists of the teacher passing out pictures to
illustrate and the teacher writing “stop, drop, and roll,” on each of them. The
students are then to place the pieces of paper in correct order of the “stop,
drop, and roll” sequence. Using imagery allows the child to mentally visualize
the behavior and further process the information for retrieval. Retrieving this
information is important; since fire safety is such a vital topic, full
comprehension is the desired goal for all students. This paper activity is an
example of serial learning, a strategy for students to understand the events in
which they occur. Physically placing the
pictures in the correct order allows the child to create a mental sequence of
“stop, drop, and roll.” When the child develops the right pattern for which the
steps go, it allow the child to attach sequential
meaning to the process. This activity is
yet another active learning strategy to help the students comprehend and
rehearse the “stop, drop, and roll” technique and fire safety.
After
the students finish the paper project, the teacher then assigns each piece of
paper a command: stop, drop, or roll, and places them into a cylinder hat. The
students are now required to wear the cylinder hats for the rest of the day
while the teacher introduces a new activity and roles for each student. For the
remainder of the day, each time the teacher announces one of the roles (stop,
drop, or roll), the students wearing the hats with that command must stop what
they are doing and act out the role they have on their paper hat. The students
are forced to recall the previously learned information, and perform the
command presented throughout the day. The technique used here is called
recalling. When the student has to perform this new behavior with the paper hat
it helps them create meaning for “stop, drop and roll,” but in a similar
context. Changing the activity to something similar helps the child fully
understand the words and behavior of the task. When students are forced to
recall “stop, drop and roll,” it allows them to verbally and mentally go
through the steps again to help retain the information about fire safety in long-term
memory.
Finally, the teacher
will end the day with an overview on all the activities pertaining to fire
safety. The teacher will go over what a smoke detector is and how it functions,
along with how to “stop, drop and roll,” and overall fire safety tips. This
review of the information will continue through a period of a week allowing the
child to continually be reminded of the lesson to further ensure this
information is instilled in their lives. The teacher will use distributive
practice, a technique where the teacher repeats the subject matter to the class
in intervals over a period of time. Using distributive practice will help
ensure that the student will understand the material. Furthermore, reviewing
the information over a period of time will allow a better chance for the
student to retain the information, and remember the importance and knowledge of
fire safety for a longer period of time.
E-Mail Allison Duss