Third Grade: I'M IN CHARGE Part 2

For our final lesson, students did popcorn reading to read through their I'M IN CHARGE booklets. We stopped between sections to discuss why the book would say to do or not do certain things. We spoke about the importance of walking with a buddy, not taking gifts or rides from strangers, and why we should ask our parents before going anywhere.

We discussed what constitutes a stranger, and what to do if one comes near you. We also talked about safe places within the community where students can go for help. We also touched on the importance of being alert, and what can happen if you are not aware of your surroundings. We spoke about about why children should not help adults, and how these adults may be trying to trick children. Adults should only ask other adults for help, so it is okay to say no!

We were not able to read through the entire booklet as a class, so I encouraged all students to take these booklets home and discuss them with their parent or guardian. Please take the time to review these with your child and discuss safety plans.

First Grade: The Safe Side

For my final lesson with first grade, I showed students a video about the importance of safety. This video touches on a number of different areas: what to do if someone gets too close, what to do if someone tries to grab you, and the different kinds of people we know.

The video starts out by talking about Don't Knows: people the students do not know at all. Anyone the student has never met is a Don't Know. The video discusses what to do if a Don't Know tries to ask them for help, rings the doorbell, or gets in their personal space. It also talks about how it is okay to yell and scream and be as loud as you can if someone is trying to grab you.

The video also talks about Kinda Knows: people that students kind of know through their extracurricular activities and family friends. It spoke about the importance of never going anywhere with a Kinda Know without asking a parent's permission. The video also encourages all students to ask their parents for three safe adults they can trust in case of emergency.

Third Grade: I'M IN CHARGE

For our last lessons in third grade, we focus on a safety curriculum that was created by the Assistance League. This curriculum teaches the importance of safety in a variety of areas: at home, out in public, and walking from place to place. The first week, we show the I'M IN CHARGE video, which shows Kansas City children telling students what to do in several situations including what to do when you're home alone, how to get away from strangers, how to escape from a fire, the importance of having a code word, and internet safety.

After the video, we discuss any questions the students had about what they saw. Next week, we will work through the I'M IN CHARGE work books, and the students will take these books home to further discuss safety with parents.

First Grade: Jobs at Home, Jobs at School, and Career Day

For our second lesson on careers, we spent a lot of time brainstorming the jobs we have at home and school. As a class, we made a list of the different jobs we have at home, and what would happen if we didn't do those jobs (the house would be messy, there might be rats, our home wouldn't be as safe, etc.). Next, we brainstormed a list of the different jobs student have at school: some were expectations (listening, learning, follow directions, etc.) while others were specific jobs students have in the classroom. We talked about why our parents and teachers give us jobs now, and how these jobs help us practice being responsible.

We spoke about how doing these jobs now is good practice for having a career when we are older, and how students will be expected to be responsible in any job they have. We ended the lesson by watching another Buckalope Elementary video where students in the class used their hobbies, interests, and personality traits to come up with a list of jobs that would be good for them. Students next chose a career to research, and the students in the video presented their careers.

We ended the lesson by talking about the importance of learning in elementary school now, and doing our best work. We also spoke about how it is never too early to start thinking about and learning about careers.

Fifth Grade: The Six Career Paths

For our last rotation, I will spend two weeks on careers with fifth grade, and we will spend the final lesson discussing safety. For our first career lesson, we talked about the Six Career Paths.

We began the lesson by discussing why we talk about careers in elementary school, and why what we do in elementary school is important in preparing for our futures. We watched a small video clip from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education "What is a Career Path?" video, then we spent the rest of the time discussing this prezi. As a class we brainstormed several jobs that would fall into each career path.

Third Grade: The Six Career Paths

For our final three lessons, I will spend one week on careers and two weeks on student safety.

For our career lesson, we spoke about why we talk about careers. We also spoke about how what we learn in elementary school helps us to have careers when we grow up. We watched The Six Career Paths, a video created by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This video discusses each career path and several jobs within each career path. The video shows interviews with real workers who talk about what they do, and what elementary school skills help them in their jobs. After the video, we discussed which career path students thought they wanted to work in.

First Grade: Hobbies, Interests, and Careers

For our final three lessons, we will be focusing on careers and student safety. For this lesson, we focused specifically on careers.

We began the lesson by talking about hobbies, interests, and careers. We discussed what each of these words mean and shared some examples of what we could do for hobbies, topics we could be interested in, and examples of careers. We spoke about how hobbies can become careers for some people, but do not always become careers; sometimes hobbies simply remain hobbies. We also spoke about how sometimes our interests can become our careers.

We watched an episode of Buckalope Elementary called "Interests, Hobbies, and Careers," where students heard the Career song. Next, we read "Whose Tools are These," a book that shows students pictures of tools that are used for a specific career. Students guess which job goes with that set of tools, and we talk about how those tools are used for this particular occupation.

Fourth Grade: Safety Discussions

For our final lesson, we talked about safety. We spoke about the importance of safety in a variety of situations: walking to and from school, in neighborhoods, and online. We spoke about why students should walk in groups, not wear headphones, and shouldn't take shortcuts. We also spoke about the importance of letting parents know where they are going.

We spoke about whether to answer the phone or the doorbell when parents at home. We spoke about the importance of talking to our parents about how our parents would want us to handle these situations, but I advised students not to answer the door when they are the only one home.

We spoke extensively about the importance of being safe online. We spoke about why we shouldn't share personal information about ourselves such as our address, phone number, or which school we go to, especially with strangers. We also spoke about why we shouldn't add strangers on social media web sites..