Trenton Reinoehl
March 11,
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 smoke detectors are, 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. Repeating the subject matter numerous times
will allow assimilation and accommodation with new schemas.
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
maintenance 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