Fire Tech Tools Lesson Plan

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Academic Standards

 

Reading Objective:

Children will describe how different firefighting tools provide solutions to problems.

 

Social Studies Focus:

fire safety

 

Science Focus:

technology

 

ELA Skills:

key details, writing, vocabulary, problem/solution, phonics and word skills

 

Page 4 Skill:

read a diagram

 

Vocabulary:

explode, narrow

 

CCSS:

RI.2.1, RI.2.4, RI.2.3, RI.2.10, RF.2.3, L.2.1, SL.2.3

Download TEKS Standards
Download California State Standards
Download Common Core Standards

Provide students with some background on firefighting gear.

Build background knowledge (10 min.)

Watch our video “Firefighters Suit Up.” After children have finished watching the video, discuss the following questions:

  • Why do firefighters keep their pants rolled over their boots? (so they can put both on at once)
  • How do the air tank and mask help the firefighter? (They help the firefighter breathe when there is smoke.)
  • What do all fire trucks have? (loud sirens and flashing lights)

Preview vocabulary (3 min.)

Next, play the online vocabulary slideshow. This issue’s featured words are explode and narrow.

Set a purpose for reading (5 min.)

  • Pass out the issue, and discuss the cover. Have students ever seen a machine like this? How do they think it helps firefighters?
  • Next, read the As You Read prompt on page 3: “Think about how each tool solves a problem.” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

Read together (20 min.)

Pass out the Read and Think printable. Use it to check comprehension as you read the issue together, pausing to ask the questions. 

  • The Dress the Firefighter game is not only fun to play but also reinforces firefighting gear vocabulary.

You can use our printable worksheets to focus on important social-emotional and ELA skills. Here’s how.

Exit Ticket: Show What You Learned (5 min.)

  • Use our new Show What You Learned printable as a quick exit ticket! It asks students to revisit the As You Read prompt after they are done reading. If you are teaching remotely, this page is a great way to check students’ comprehension.

ELA Focus: Vocabulary (15 min.)

  • Use the Word Work printable to deepen students’ understanding of the words explode and narrow.

Editor’s Pick: Problem and Solution (15 min.)

  • These differentiated skill sheets are designed to help students at different levels understand problem and solution.
  • One provides a chart including the tool and the problem, and students fill in the solution. The other skill sheet asks students to connect the tool to the problem and then to the solution.

Phonics Focus: Rhyming Words (15 min.)

  • The Fire Safety Poems printable is a fun way to learn fire-safety rules while practicing phonics. Each couplet has a blank at the end. Students choose a word from the word bank to create a catchy rhyme.

 Here are two past issues you can use to extend your lesson on firefighting:

  • Here Come the Fire Horses!, October 2018. By introducing students to the way firefighters worked long ago, this issue shows them just how far firefighting has come!
  • Saved From the Smoke, October 2019. This issue explains another high-tech fi refi ghting tool: the thermal camera.

You can find a higher-Lexile-level and a lower-Lexile-level version of the article online here:

  • Higher-Lexile level: 500L
  • Lower-Lexile level: 400L