LEARN NOT TO BURN® PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

National Fire Protection Association1 Batterymarch Park • Quincy, MA 02169 • www.nfpa.org © 2012. THIS LESSON MAY BE COPIED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.

When You Hear a Smoke Alarm, Get Out and Stay Out

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Objectives

• Thechildwillidentifythesoundofasmokealarm.

• Thechildwilldemonstratewhattodo(getoutandstayout)atthesoundofasmokealarm.

Action

Withtheassistanceofateacherordaycareprovider,thechildwilldemonstratewhattodowhenasmokealarmsounds.

Information for the teacher

Mostlikely,youngchildrenwon’tbehomealoneandifasmokealarmsounds,parentsorcaregiverswillassistthem,especiallywhileescapingthehomeunderfireconditions.Inmostcases,childrenwillnothavetogetoutontheirown.However,itisimportantthatthechildknowswhattodoandwheretogoincasethechildbecomesseparatedfromthecaregiverorthecaregiverisunabletogettothechild.

Understand the proper reactions to a sounding smoke alarm-childrenmustunderstandthatwhenasmokealarmsoundsor“beeps”andthereissmokeorfire,theyshouldgooutsideimmediatelywiththerestoftheirfamily.Thereisnotimetostopfortoys,pets,orotherthings.Youngchildrenareoftenfrightenedbystrange,loudnoises.Theymayfreeze,hide,ormakeotherinappropriateresponsesthatcouldendangertheirsafety.Itisimportantthatchildrenbe-comefamiliarwiththesoundofasmokealarmandknowwhattodowhentheyhearit.

Additional Information for the teacher

Thefollowinginformationisnotessentialtothelesson,however,youmayfindthatduringlessonsonsmokealarms,childrenaskquestionsthatmaybedifficulttoanswer.Herearesomequestionsfrequentlyaskedbychildrenandrec-ommendedanswersthatwillhelpthemunderstandwhattheyshoulddo.

1. “What if I have a baby brother or sister who doesn’t know what to do when the smoke alarm beeps? What will happen to them?”

Tellthechildrenthatthegrown-upsintheirhomewillhearthesoundandbringthebabyandanyoneelsewhoneedshelpoutside.Ifsomeoneisunabletogetoutforsomereason,itisthefirefighters’jobtogetthemoutofthehome.Reinforcethatchildrenhaveonlyonejobandthatisto“getoutwiththeirfamilyandtostayout”.

2. “Our smoke alarm goes off sometimes when Mommy or Daddy is cooking. Should we go outside?”

Explainthatwhenagrown-upiscookingandthesmokealarmsounds,heorsheistheretodetermineifeveryoneshouldgetoutquickly.Grown-upscanmakethisdecision.Ifagrown-upsaystogooutsidewhenthesmokealarmbeeps,thebestthingtodoisactrightaway.

3. ”What will happen to my pet (dog, cat, fish, or other pets) if I don’t bring them outside with me?”

Childrenmightbecomeupsetwhentheyaretoldtoleavetheirpetsbehind.Explainthatmanypetswillleavethehomewiththefamilybecausetheanimalcantellthatthereissomekindofdanger.Also,comfortthechildrenbyexplainingthatfirefighterswilllikelysavethepetswhentheycan.

Letter to Parents and Caregivers

Onceyouhavefinishedteachingthislesson,pleasesendtheletteronpage18homewiththechildren.

LEARN NOT TO BURN® PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

National Fire Protection Association1 Batterymarch Park • Quincy, MA 02169 • www.nfpa.org © 2012. THIS LESSON MAY BE COPIED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.

When You Hear a Smoke Alarm, Get Out and Stay Out

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LESSON PLAN 1 - IDENTIFYING THE SOUND OF A SMOKE ALARM

Materials

• Photosofthefollowingitemsorobjectsthatmakeasound--smokealarm,dog,cryingbaby,carandafiretruck

• MP3filesofsoundsfamiliartopre-schoolagedchildren-smokealarm,barkingdog,cryingbaby,carandafiretruck.

• MP3player,computer,orCDplayer

• Workingsmokealarm

Activities

Teachchildrentoidentifythesoundofasmokealarm.

Showthephotosofobjectsthatmakesoundsincludedwiththislessononpages3-7andaskthechildrentomaketheappropriatesounds.

Then,gotowww.nfpa.org/preschoolprogramanddownloadtheMP3fileofthesmokealarmsoundandotherfamiliarsoundsandaskthechildrentoidentifyeachsound.Besuretoplaythesoundofthesmokealarmseveraltimestoprovidethenecessaryrepetitionanddeveloptheconceptthatthesmokealarmisanimportantitemthatwillprotectthemandtheirfamilies.

Activity Discussion

Askchildrenwhattheythinktheyshoulddowhentheyhearthesmokealarm.Childrenshouldanswerthattheyshouldstopwhattheyaredoingandgooutsidetotheirmeetingplacewiththeirfamily.

Read this story to see if children know to “Get Out and Stay Out”:Audreywasplayingwithhertoyswhenthesmokealarmwentbeep,beep,beep----beep,beep,beep.Sheknewthatmeantthatsheandherfamilyshouldgooutsiderightaway.Hermomanddadalsoheardthesmokealarmandtheyallwentoutsidetotheirmeetingplace,whichwasthebigtreeinfrontoftheirhouse.

Ask: Did Audrey do the right thing when she heard the smoke alarm? What do you think?’ Whenthechildrendemonstratethattheyunderstandto“GetOutandStayOut”,havethemroleplaythattheyareasleepintheirbedsintheirownhomes.Lettheclassroomdoorrepresenttheirdoorathome.Tellastoryaboutanightwhentheywereasleepalongwiththerestoftheirfamilyandsoundarealsmokealarm.Askthechildrentodemonstratewhattheywoulddo.Theyshouldcallformomordad(orcaregiver)andgetoutandstayout.(Checkforaccuratereactionsuponactivatingthesmokealarm.)

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