Safety Tips

Creating Authentic Opportunities for Informative Writing

Stage of Literacy Development:

Stage 2: Consolidation / Fluency
Stage 3: Literacy for Growth

Ages:

5-9

Grade Range:

1st 2nd 3rd

Food Groups:

Primary:
Text Structures & Genres, Motivation for Literacy

Activity Description

Preparation:

Prepare the Safety Tips chart
1. Write the heading Safety Tips at the top of a piece of chart paper and display it at the front of the classroom
Create Safety Tip Stars
1. Photocopy and cut out the star template for each student
Select a safety story to read aloud and discuss with the students
1. For example: Officer Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy Rathmann
Optional: Arrange a special guest to visit your classroom to discuss safety tips
1. You may wish to ask a student from an older grade to role play a character from the book

Implementation:

Read the story aloud
1. Reread the safety tips and have the students discuss each one
2. Record ideas on the Safety Tips chart
Introduce the special guest
1. Have the special guest discuss school safety
Ask students how they might share these safety tips with the rest of the school by making posters
1. Discuss the importance of keeping the audience in mind when writing an informative text
2. Discuss the importance of using catchy words and phrases to catch the readers attention and provide the reader with information
Introduce the writing task and hand out Safety Tip Stars
1. Tell students to inform your schools staff and students about safety by writing a safety tip on the star
2. You may wish to display the stars around your school
Have students write their safety tips
Invite students to share their Safety Tip Stars with the class and special guest
As students share their tips display their stars around the Safety Tips chart

Adaptations For

English Language Learners/ESL:

- Allow student to illustrate a picture of the safety tip and scribe the tip for him/her
- Have the student refer to and orally describe an illustration from the book
- Provide the story at a listening center and allow student to reread the story for further understanding

LD/Reading & Writing Difficulties:

- Have the student orally describe his/her safety tip and scribe for the student so that the ideas are the focus
- Allow the safety tip to be written using a typing program or speech-to-text software program
- Make the story available for the student to use as a guide when writing his/her safety tip

Cultural Appropriateness & Diversity:

- Choose a story that is culturally inclusive

Differentiated Instruction:

- Allow students to write a variety of safety tips and post all stars so that students can feel proud of their work

Related References

Culham, Ruth. (2005) 6+1 Traits of Writing: the Complete Guide for the Primary Grades. Scholastic, Inc., Oregon.

Activity Objective

The goal of Safety Tips: Creating Authentic Opportunities for Informative Writing is to help students build their comprehension skills by extending their understanding of a text and provide students with an opportunity to practice informative writing for a specific audience.

What You Need

Prep Time:

20 minutes
- Prepare Safety Tips chart
- Create Safety Tip Stars
- Select a safety story
- Arrange special guest

Task Time:

30-40 minutes
- Teacher reads aloud safety story
- Students and teacher discuss and record safety tips
- Special guest discusses safety
- Teacher discusses informative writing and the importance of keeping the audience in mind
- Students write safety tips to post around the school
- Students share safety tips

Materials Required:

Teacher:
- Chart paper
- Markers
- Safety story

Students:
- Safety Tip Stars

What You Do

Teacher Role:

Direct instruction:
- while teacher reads aloud safety book

Facilitator:
- while students and special guest discuss and share safety tips

Consultant:
- while students write safety tips

Student Grouping:

Whole class:
- during teacher read aloud, discussions and sharing time

Individual:
- when students write safety tips

Assessment Ideas:

- Track student participation during the discussions

- Use a checklist to assess students ability to extend their understanding of the text

- Use a checklist to determine how informative students' writing is and provide descriptive or oral feedback

- Provide formative feedback orally to students as they write their tips
   a.  Encourage students to use catchy phrases that will grab the audiences attention

Quick Tips

Activity Extensions:

- Focus on the text features of a poster and have students create and display safety tip posters

- Instruct and discuss what it means to write informative texts for different audience members
   a.  Use the same idea and write it 2 different ways

- Create a classroom book and have each student include his/her safety tip in the book

- Have students write their own safety book and share them with a younger student or reading buddy

- Model a formal thank you letter and have students write thank you letters to your special guest

- Take a field trip to a safety village or community center

- Invite community members into your classroom throughout the unit to discuss their role as a community member

Additional Comments:

- During the read aloud, pause after reading each safety tip. This will help students comprehend the information from the story.

- Encourage students to expand on their thinking during the brainstorming session as well as when they share their safety tips with the class. Having them explain why they shared a specific safety tip will help consolidate their learning.

- Inviting an older student from another classroom promotes a community of learners and fosters peer relationships within the school context.

- While the students are writing their safety tips, you may wish to work with a small group of students to help them expand their ideas.

Other Adaptations/Modifications:

- Provide a quiet workspace for students disturbed by sound

- List a variety of sentence starters for students with memory difficulties to use as a reference