Giving Safety Wings

The topic of home alone safety is one of particular interest to many students.  One 2nd-grade class decided to emphasize its importance by creating safety kites to sail high above a city-wide press conference on the topic.

The students read articles and watched films about being home alone, and learned about the poisons present in many household products.  They invited officials from the police and fire departments into their classroom, and worked with them to develop and role-play a list of safety rules to follow.  The students then illustrated these safe practices in cartoons drawn on homemade kites, which they flew at the mayor's conference on children's safety. 

These students learned how to be safe in their own homes.  By focusing on a subject so simple and concrete, yet so important to daily life, these students were empowered not for one day but for the rest of their lives. 

Adapted from "Route to Reform: K-8 service-learning Curriculum Ideas," © 1994-95 National Youth Leadership Council.