School safety drills are so important and, though they’re probably not our favorite thing to talk about, we need to prepare children for the kinds of emergencies they could encounter during the school year. The problem is, they’re a little bit scary… at least for some kids. The alarms are loud and there’s a sense of urgency that jolts us out of our routine… even when we know it’s coming.
I mean how many of you are hearing the fire alarm in your head as you read this and can feel your anxiety level rise just a little? I can. And I’m the one who knows what I’m about to type, lol.
So how can we make school safety drills more kid-friendly without compromising the seriousness of the situation?
First, children need to know that emergencies can happen at school, just like they can happen at home. I think anytime we can make connections between school and home, there’s a feeling of familiarity and comfort for kids, even if the topic is a bit serious. It sends the nuanced message that emergencies don’t just happen at school, and therefore “school” is not the villain. In fact, more people should probably be doing emergency drills at home, too.
This student text gives kids a space to linger around a variety of school safety drills, from earthquake, tornado, and fire drills to school lockdowns. The language is direct, but sensitive, and the pictures appeal to kids in K-2 classrooms. They demonstrate step-by-step what to do in each emergency situation. 👉 And if your developing readers need a little more support, I’ve included a differentiated text written at a simpler level.
SO LONG SCARIES
One of the best ways to kick fear to the curb is to know what to do in the face of it. When kids know how to handle a school emergency, they feel empowered and that results in feeling calm and confident. The text puts them “in the know” and is something they can refer to over and over.
Key vocabulary cards and full-color pictures are perfect for guiding class discussions about school safety drills. Use them as visuals on a bulletin board or in a pocket chart so the kids can see them and even interact with them as you see fit. There are pictures to support routines for fire drills, tornado drills, earthquake drills, and lockdown drills.
Games like Memory give kids a chance to review key details about each drill in a fun, small group setting. To lock in the learning, we play this game with a tiny comprehension twist. Each time a match is made, the child must say something relevant to the image. For example, if a match is made with the window card, the child might say, “It’s important to move away from windows during a tornado drill so we don’t get hurt by broken pieces of glass.”
Keep their interest level high with activity sheets and celebrate their learning with completion sheets they can take home and share with their families. Each sheet is designed to let students have continued interaction with the content of school safety drills so they’re prepared and ready to act safely in a real emergency.
For children who are able to express thoughts in writing, challenge them to write out the steps for a safety drill in their own words. For example:
CELEBRATION TIME
As you’re wrapping up your lessons, save time to celebrate students’ learning with something akin to an award. These little sheets give kids a sense of accomplishment and are a tangible reminder that they understand their school safety drills and are ready in the event an actual emergency occurs.
MEETING YOUR SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS
Depending on where you live, you may not need to address all 4 school safety drills included in this resource. And, if your classroom is like so many, you have a wide range of readers. For these reasons, there are six (6) different versions of the original text for you to choose from:
- Higher Level Text – All 4 Drills Included (Fire, Tornado, Earthquake, and Lockdown)
- Higher Level Text – 3 Drills (Excludes Earthquake Drill)
- Higher Level Text – 3 Drills (Excludes Tornado Drill)
- Lower Level Text – All 4 Drills Included
- Lower Level Text – 3 Drills (Excludes Earthquake Drill)
- Lower Level Text – 3 Drills (Excludes Tornado Drill)
No matter what, know that your demeanor during school safety drills will have the biggest impact on how the children feel. If you are calm, they are more likely to mirror that and avoid feelings of fear and panic. Make the topic of safety part of your weekly, or even daily, routine with brief comments like, “Remember, when we keep our hands to ourselves in line, it makes a safe space for everyone.” Or, “If you see a puddle of milk on the cafeteria floor, let an adult know so nobody slips in it and gets hurt.” When we make safety issues a normal topic to talk about, we make room for the expectation that safety is something we value and protect.
MORE SCHOOL SAFETY RESOURCES
RELATED RESOURCE: FIRE SAFETY AT HOME
