Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of October 8-9, 1871. Every year in the U.S. and Canada, Fire Prevention Day is observed on October 9 and Fire Safety and Prevention Week is the surrounding week. This year, Fire Prevention Week is October 5-11.
We asked Teacher-Authors to tell us about the resources they’ve created to teach their students about fire safety and prevention. They came back with clip cards, bundles, emergent readers, craftivities, posters, social stories, and a range of other quality resources for addressing this important topic. Knowledge truly is power.
Clip Cards, Craftivities, Posters, and More
“Firefighters hold a dear place in my heart after two brave firefighters delivered my third daughter. I diligently teach fire safety and respect, and I believe we teachers can help reduce the number of fire injuries and deaths by making students and their families aware of fire safety facts and preventative measures. According to the National Fire Protection Association, having a working smoke alarm in your home cuts the risk of dying in a fire in half! Think how many lives we can save if we teach only this one fire prevention fact! Fire Prevention Week is the opportune time to teach our students to not panic in a fire, to remember safety routes, and to implement fire prevention practices. Take a look at my Fire Prevention Count & Clip Cards *Common Core Aligned* resource (grades PreK-1).” – Teaching Tykes
“My Fire Safety Vocabulary Word Cards (grade PreK) are a helpful supplement to our Fire Safety unit. They also introduce vocabulary prior to our field trip to the fire station; the station we go to provides an awesome tour and presentation!” – Susan Luengen
“Fire Safety Week is a fun and informative theme for our preschoolers. We receive a visit from local firefighters who thoughtfully show us all the components of their uniform. They carefully explain how firefighters are there to help, so it’s important to never hide from them. We practice ‘Stay low and go!’ in the classroom and get to view one of the fire trucks in the school parking lot. Here’s our Fire Safety Bundle – Emergent Reader, Spatial Concepts, Play Mats, Vocabulary (grades PreK-1) resource.” – PlayLearnTeach
“My Free Fire Safety Count and Graph Pre-K thru Grade 1 resource is a great activity to use during Fire Prevention Week.” – Wise Owl Factory
“I have a set of two emergent readers: ‘The Fire Department’ and ‘Fire Safety.’ They’re for two different reading levels and come in color and black & white. Also included are vocabulary cards for a word wall or pocket chart. Here’s the set: Fire Safety Emergent Readers-2 Reading Levels-2 Versions of Ea-Pkt Chart Vocab (grades PreK-1).” – Linda Post the Teachers Post
“My Fire Safety unit (grades PreK-1) includes a Ladder Length math center; a Hot or Cold sorting center; a Stop, Drop & Roll activity; and much more. Plus, it’s CCSS Aligned!” – Curriculum to the Core
“I created my Fire Safety Unit for grades PreK-1 because I feel you’re never too young to learn how to protect yourself against fire. This unit has activities and tools to help students and families make learning about fire safety interactive and fun. Included are songs, poems, posters, certificates, crafts, writing prompts, and much more!” – Kidz Count
“I teach PreK children, and my students are often frightened by firefighters. Sadly, children do sometimes run away from firefighters who are trying to help them during emergency situations. My packet uses Spot the fire dog to introduce firefighters and fire safety in a non-threatening way. My goal is to help children become comfortable with firefighters through stories and other fun (and educational) activities so that if an emergency ever does occur, they won’t be afraid. Here’s the complete resource: Fire Safety Activities… With Spot the Fire Dog (grades PreK-1).”- Joyful Explorations
“I had a great time creating my fire safety pack! It contains posters, word wall cards, writing activities, games, matching cards, and much more! My favorites are the little fire safety book, for young learners to create, and my popular fire safety dog craft! Fire Safety Week is such a great learning experience for kids! Take a look: Fire Safety Week Pack {Book, Posters, and Activities} (grades PreK-2).” – CampingTeacher
“To get the most out of the guest speakers, field trips, and books during Fire Safety Week, dual language and language immersion students need a good foundation in related vocabulary and concepts. I created my Spanish Fire Safety Week – la semana de seguridad contra incendios mini-packet (grades PreK-2) to give students a good background in the vocabulary and concepts they’d be exposed to during Fire Safety Week. This allows them to focus on the important concepts of safety (rather than new vocabulary acquisition) during this most important of weeks.” – Open Wide the World
“My Fire Safety Vocabulary Cards (Freebie!) (grades PreK-2) is appropriate for use by SLPs or classroom teachers.” – Speech Therapy Games
“My series of colored fire safety posters encourage discussions about fire safety. Also included are a black and white poster that can be enlarged to color and complete. Here’s the complete resource: Fire Safety (grades PreK-3).” – Lori Flaglor
My Fire Safety Cut and Paste Set (grades PreK-3) is great for Fire Prevention Week! It includes eight different projects, and each one comes with patterns to copy and trace by hand onto construction paper. The patterns are large scale and make for a great bulletin board or classroom décor.” – Laura Bensley
“My free Fire Safety Social Story Rules Poster for Special Education resource (grades PreK-5) helps our kids with autism and special needs understand the visual directions and learn the importance of following the rules during a fire drill. This will be offered for free through the end of October to help our amazing Special Education teachers and their students.” – Autism Educators
“As a special education teacher, I run into many situations in which I need to teach students how not to be afraid of the fire bell when the fire alarm goes off at school. In order to help with these skills, I created a social skills narrative story with visual strategy cue cards on what to do during a fire drill at school, how to behave during a fire drill, and why we need to practice fire drills and be safe. Here it is: A Fire Drill Social Story for Students with Autism (grades PreK-5).” – Superteach56
“My Fire Safety Unit for Special Education (grades PreK-5) is geared toward students who are living and learning with significant disabilities. It worked so well with my kiddos, and I’m hoping teachers out there find it ready to use rather than having to modify it to fit their needs.” – Special Needs for Special Kids
“My Fire Safety/Prevention Bundle (grades PreK-5) includes an activity booklet where students circle the hazards and write a sentence about it as well as some worksheets that go with it.” – The Pioneer Teacher
“My Fire Safety resource (grades K-2) includes vocabulary cards, writing activities, a fire safety game, and much more.” – Fishyrobb
“Every year, we spend a week during our literacy block focusing on fire prevention and fire safety. I always like to add the use of scissors into my lessons and activities, as I feel that this is a skill children truly need to master and rarely do. I created a Flip Flap Book to address many of the skills and concepts that students need to learn about fire prevention and safety. My kiddos LOVED working on it last year, and I can’t wait to introduce it to my new 2nd graders this year! Here it is: Fire Safety – Stop Drop and Roll Flip Flap Books (grades K-3).” – Simply Skilled In Second
“My Fire Safety (Early Elementary) in Spanish resource (grades K-3) is geared toward elementary students in a dual language or immersion program. Take a look!” – Sra Casado
“My Fire Safety Word Work Printables (grades K-3) are perfect for morning work, literacy centers, or early finishers!” – Adventures in Kinder and Beyond
“My free Fire Safety – What ifs task cards (grades K-4) can be used in a variety of ways: for writing prompts, for small group discussions, or for large group discussions. Each card presents a ‘fire’ situation, and the students are to discuss their ideas. I’ve used these for a few years now, and they always spark some amazing conversations!” – Elementary Matters
“My firefighter husband helped me create a unit that not only covers fire safety, but also what firefighters use to stay safe. Here’s one of the resources: Fire Safety and Prevention (grades 1-4).” – Little School on the Range
“I created my fire safety literacy packet last spring after two firefighters died in the line of duty here in Boston. I donate all sales from it (100% of the purchase price, including TpT’s commission) to a memorial fund set up in their name. It includes activities for upper elementary students to reinforce literacy skills while learning about fire prevention — and it’s a great way to support the families of Lieutenant Walsh and Firefighter Kennedy. Here it is: Fire Safety Literacy Packet {To Benefit Boston Firefighter Memorial Fund (grades 3-4).” – Blair Turner
“My NATURAL DISASTERS: WildFire Vocabulary Terms PowerPoint Presentation resource (grades 5-8) focuses on the specific academic vocabulary needed to understand forests and wildfires. Each term is paired with a picture, given a definition, and used in one or two sentences. This is especially helpful for teachers who plan to have their students do close reading on informative articles, narratives, and fictional stories about fires.” – A C Sandler
***
Fire safety and prevention can be daunting and even confusing, especially for younger children or students with special needs. Thank you, Teacher-Authors, for your terrific resources that approach this important topic with the utmost of care.
(Feature image: Thanks to Kidsrcute for the font and 2 SMART Chicks for the yellow background.)
