Fire Safety is an incredibly important topic that should be covered by teachers and families TOGETHER! Students need to be knowledgeable and comfortable knowing what to do in case of a fire both at home and at school.
When families and teachers work together, we can help make sure that students are prepared with a plan in case of a fire no matter where they are.
Students need to know about:
- Fire Safety Tools
- Fire Safety Procedures
- Firefighters and First Responders
- Fire Escape Plans
This information is useful for ANY grade level, but especially for our younger students in Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade.
It is incredibly important that students not only learn this information, but do so in a fun way where they feel prepared, not scared!
Teaching about Fire Safety Tools
Most students have seen fire safety tools, but they may not be familiar with what they are called. In an emergency situation, students need to know the correct names for different fire safety tools in case they are called upon to help in some way.
Fire Safety Tools to review:
- Firefighter
- Fire Truck
- Fire Hydrant
- Fire Extinguisher
- Fire Alarm
- Fire House
- Smoke Detector
- Hose
I really like to start my Fire Safety lesson plans by reviewing vocabulary cards to give my students visual/picture support (especially for my dual language learners). Then, we do a fun cut and paste activity to help review what we have just learned.
What I really love about these cut and paste activities is that there are two versions so I can differentiate the difficulty for my students.
Students who need extra support might simply trace the vocabulary words, while students who are ready for more will write 1-2 sentences using the vocabulary words that we just learned!
Did I mention this makes a great station activity?
You can try out these kinds of activities in my 10 FREE Social Studies downloads below!
Fire Safety Procedures
Hopefully, if a student ever encounters a fire they will have an adult with them. But even then, it is safer for students to know what to do if they see smoke or fire.
A few key reminders about Fire Safety procedures to review with your first grade students:
- Never play with lighters or matches
- If you see smoke, stay low and go
- If you see fire, get out and stay out
- If you catch fire, stop, drop and roll
- Remind your family to check your smoke detectors
Firefighters and First Responders
Most students know that a firefighter is a person who puts out or extinguishes fires. They may not know all of the other jobs that firefighters do like protecting and rescuing citizens during non-fire emergencies and providing first aid care.
I always talk to my students about how dangerous a firefighter’s job can be and what kind of gear they wear to protect themselves.
Most importantly, we talk about what to do if a firefighter tries to help them in an emergency. The WORST thing that can happen is for a child to hide or run away from a firefighter who is trying to help them, so I try to make sure my students understand that.
A great way for students to review what they have learned is with a writing activity! My two favorites are having students write a thank you letter to a firefighter and having them write “If I were a firefighter”.
Fire Escape Plans for Kids
Fire Escape Plans at School:
Review your fire escape plan with your students from several different places in the building. Discuss where to go in different scenarios.
Your goal as a teacher is to make sure your students know where to go, whether they are with you or not. Because let’s face it, the chances of students being with another teacher, a substitute or in the bathroom are pretty high.
Fire Escape Plans at Home:
Encourage families to make a fire escape plan together that includes a safe meeting place. Again, encourage families to discuss several different scenarios.
Tips and Reminders for Teaching about Fire Safety
#1 Keep It Fun
Remember, we want students to feel prepared, not scared. There are so many ways we can help students learn about fire safety in a creative and fun way.
Once you’ve reviewed all of these concepts as a class, you can have students visit websites like https://www.sparky.org/ for games and other fun activities.
#2 Communicate with Parents
Students need to be confident in their fire safety plans both at school and at home. Be sure to communicate with parents what you are doing in the classroom so they can reinforce their student’s fire safety plans at home as well!
Fire Safety Lesson Plans and Teaching Ideas
More First Grade Favorites:
