Risk Watch: Make Time for Safety

Be a Risk Watch Reporter!
Grades 3-4
Thanks to Deena Barbara of the Mesa, AZ, Fire Department.

This lesson can be used to introduce students to the "Reporter" role in Risk Watch.

Students will be able to demonstrate and reinforce their knowledge of the risk areas in Risk Watch by choosing articles out of a local newspaper, answering the 5 Ws (Who, What, Where, When, and Why), and writing a short paragraph about how a dangerous situation could have been prevented.

Ask a local newspaper reporter to visit your class and explain how stories are written using the 5 Ws.
The reporter should tell the students about a recent story he/she has written. Encourage the students to find out more about the story by asking the reporter the 5Ws. For example, the reporter could tell the following story:
"A fire started in Tamarac Elementary School's cafeteria at 2 p.m. last Monday. At the time of the fire, there was a small group of students working on arts and crafts projects in the cafeteria. The fire department arrived on the scene within minutes. Firefighters were able to control the fire and minimize the damage to the rest of the school."
Students could ask questions such as: What was the cause of the fire? Who started the fire? Where were the cafeteria workers? How did the fire start? What was damaged? How long was the fire burning? How did the students escape? When were the students allowed to go back inside the school?
After students understand the 5 Ws, ask them to look through local newspapers for articles that are related to the eight risk areas in Risk Watch.
Students should read the articles to the classroom and answer the 5 Ws and then write a paragraph about how this situation could have been avoided.