|
Playground Safety Check
Subject: Language Arts, Technology
Grade: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
|
|
Brief Description
Students check the schoolyard or community playground for safety hazards.
Objectives
Students
- study a playground safety checklist,
- conduct a safety check of the schoolyard and/or local playground,
- write a report about their findings,
- present the report to school or community leaders.
Keywords
sports, safety, schoolyard, playground, equipment
Materials Needed
- printouts from the sites noted in the lesson
- paper
- pens or pencils
- library resources
- computers with Internet access (optional)
Lesson Plan
Suggestion: Complete this lesson in three sessions.
Lesson 1
- Discuss some of the ways students use the equipment on the school or community playground. Discuss some of the rules students must follow when playing in the schoolyard or on the community playground.
- Explain that there are certain safety guidelines or rules for maintaining schoolyards and playgrounds and their equipment. Solicit students' suggestions for guidelines. Write students' responses on the board.
- Have students study general playground safety guidelines using printouts from one or more of these sites.
Playground Inspection Guide, a checklist of general guidelines for playground safety from the National Program for Playground Safety
Playground Safety
Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Playground Safety Checklist
Playground Safety Checklist
- Discuss the guidelines and compare with students' responses on the board.
- Tell students that they are going to use one or more checklists to check the safety conditions of their schoolyard or local playground.
Lesson 2
- Take students to the school or local playground. Have students use the information on the printouts to check the safety conditions.
- After returning to the classroom, have students discuss their findings and compile their results into a report.
Lesson 3
- Have the class present their report to the school administration or community leaders.
Variation: Have students research playground safety information using only print sources.
Extension: Have older students use library or online sources to research schoolyard and/or community playground guidelines for your school district or town. Have students write a summary of their findings.
Note: Teachers may be interested in reading the Handbook for Public Playground Safety from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Assessment
Evaluate students' participation and reports.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Lois Lewis
National Standards
Language Arts:
NL-ENG.K-12.1
NL-ENG.K-12.3
NL-ENG.K-12.4
NL-ENG.K-12.5
NL-ENG.K-12.6
NL-ENG.K-12.7
NL-ENG.K-12.8
Technology:
NT.K-12.1
NT.K-12.3
NT.K-12.4
NT.K-12.5
04/23/2001
