Street-Sign Safety

1. Organize students in the reading area of the classroom. Ask them how they know when to stop at an intersection, or to walk in a busy area, or when their parents will make a left turn with the car. Students pass colorful road signs everyday when they walk or ride to and from school. What do these signs mean to drivers? Why do you need to know what those signs mean?
2. Challenge students to work in teams of two to create miniature signs. These signs will be used on a map and will make travel safe. Initially student teams will draw sketches of the signs they will be responsible for creating. These can be drawn on white construction paper with Crayola Washable Markers or Erasable Colored Pencils.
3. Students will cover their work areas with recycled newspaper. To create 3-D signs, provide teams with Crayola Model Magic. Students cna mix Crayola Model Magic® with aquarium gravel (to add weight) for sign bases. Poke a craft stick in each sign base. Use the top of the craft stick to attach their 3-D signs. Remind students to be aware of sign colors and plan on making their signs the correct colors. Different colors of Model Magic can be created by kneading color from Crayola Ultra-Clean Markers into white Model Magic.
4. If necessary, use Crayola School Glue to hold craft sticks in the bases. Air-dry the glue and Model Magic before placing signs on the class map.

LA: Read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grade level text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.

LA: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade level topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

LA: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools such as atlases, data bases, grid systems, charts, graphs, and maps to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Possible classroom resources include: Officer Buckle & Gloria by Peggy Rathmann; No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety for Kids by Jean E. Pendziwol; Healthy Me: Fun Ways to Develop Good Health and Safety Habits by Michelle O'Brien-Palmer; Staying Safe on the Street by Joanne Mattern

Encourage students to take digital photographs in the community of safety signs. Upload photos to a class computer for viewing. Have students determine the safety message for each sign. Students can use Crayola Colored Pencils to illustrate each sign and write the safety message on the illustration. Display in the classroom for students to view.

Students work in small groups to make up new symbols for "traffic" issues within the classroom and school building. Students design signs for each issue and write the safety message on the illustration.

Students groups research road signs from other countries. Ask if they are able to understand the safety message even though they may not be able to read the language. If so, how are they able to do this?

Students investigate the colors used for road signs. What colors are used? Why do you think these colors were selected for the safety signs?