WEEK TWO!
By the second week, the excitement hasn’t disappeared—but reality has definitely arrived!
Students are getting more comfortable.
And with that comfort often comes a little more talking, a little more wiggling, a few playground problems, and plenty of reminders about classroom expectations.
Walk in the hallway.
Listen when someone else is talking.
Use an appropriate voice.
Stay safe on the bus.
Follow the playground rules.
Of course, our students need to know these expectations.
But I think week two is the perfect time to move beyond simply telling children WHAT the rules are.
We can start helping them understand:
WHY do these rules matter?
And even better, we can do it while teaching the literacy and comprehension skills already on our lesson plans!
That’s the idea behind my Teaching Literacy and Comprehension with a Rules & Safety Theme Bundle.
Don’t Add Another Lesson—Connect the Learning!
Teachers already have SO much to fit into the school day.
You need to teach classroom procedures and safety.
You need to teach reading comprehension.
You need vocabulary and word work.
You need writing.
You need math.
And somewhere in there, you’re also trying to build a classroom community!
Rather than treating all of those as separate lessons, why not connect them?
A great read aloud can become the starting point for meaningful conversations about rules, safety, responsibility, friendship, listening, and choices while students practice important literacy skills.
That’s exactly what these four lessons are designed to do.
Four Days of Rules, Safety AND Literacy
Each lesson begins with an engaging story or familiar theme and then takes the learning across the curriculum.
Students aren’t completing random worksheets about rules.
They’re reading, listening, discussing, thinking, writing, sorting, comparing, explaining, and applying what they’ve learned.
And along the way, they’re practicing important comprehension skills such as:
character analysis • story elements • cause and effect • recall • retelling • making connections • vocabulary • sequencing • responding to text
Day 1: Officer Buckle and Gloria — Why Do We Have Safety Rules?
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann is such a fun way to begin a week focused on rules and safety.
Officer Buckle takes safety VERY seriously.
Gloria makes his safety speeches a whole lot more entertaining!
But underneath all that humor is an important message about safety, responsibility, friendship, and teamwork.
As students listen, they can think about the characters.
How does Officer Buckle feel about safety?
How do the students respond to him?
What changes when Gloria arrives?
How do the illustrations help us understand the story?
What happens because of the characters’ choices?
Suddenly, your lesson about school safety is also a lesson in character traits, character change, cause and effect, story details, and comprehension.
After reading, bring the discussion right back to your classroom:
Why do WE have safety rules?
Now the rules you’ve been practicing since the first day begin to have a little more meaning.
Day 2: Decibella and Her 6-Inch Voice — Let’s Talk About VOICE LEVELS!
By week two, this lesson may be arriving at exactly the right time!
We want students to talk.
We want them to collaborate.
We want them to share ideas with partners.
But we also need them to understand that different situations require different voice levels.
Decibella and Her 6-Inch Voice by Julia Cook gives children a fun way to explore that idea.
Students can think about when it is appropriate to be silent, whisper, talk, or use a louder voice.
But again, the learning doesn’t stop with behavior.
Students are listening for important information, learning new vocabulary, recalling details, making connections, explaining their thinking, and responding to the text.
Then take the learning into real classroom situations.
What voice should we use during independent reading?
What about partner work?
Lunch?
The playground?
An assembly?
Now students are applying what they learned from the story to their own lives—and that’s some pretty powerful comprehension!
Day 3: The Recess Queen — Rules Matter on the Playground, Too!
By the second week of school, chances are you’ve already had a few recess situations to work through!
That’s what makes The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill such a meaningful read aloud.
Students can explore playground safety, friendship, kindness, problem solving, and making responsible choices while digging deeply into the characters and events in the story.
How would you describe Mean Jean at the beginning?
What does Katie Sue do differently?
How do the characters change?
What is the problem?
How is it solved?
What can we learn from the story?
Students are practicing character analysis, problem and solution, story recall, vocabulary, and text-to-self connections while discussing something that directly affects their school day.
Then ask:
What can WE do to make recess safe and fun for everyone?
Now you’ve moved from comprehending the story to applying its message.
Day 4: The Wheels on the Bus — Take Safety Beyond the Classroom
Rules don’t stop at the classroom door!
The Wheels on the Bus gives you a fun opportunity to take the week’s learning into another important area:
BUS SAFETY!
Start with the familiar song.
Sing it.
Move to it.
Have FUN with it!
Then transition from that silly bus ride to a real-world question:
What do we need to do to stay safe on a REAL school bus?
Students can brainstorm rules, read about bus safety, build transportation vocabulary, practice comprehension and word work, write about safety, and even incorporate math and data collection.
One familiar song has now become the starting point for reading, writing, speaking, listening, safety, math, and movement.
That’s cross-curricular learning at its best!
Keep LITERACY at the Heart of the Week
Although rules and safety provide the theme, literacy is at the heart of every lesson.
That’s really important to me.
We aren’t taking time AWAY from literacy to teach classroom expectations.
We’re using meaningful classroom topics to give children a reason to read, listen, speak, write, and think.
Throughout the week, students can work on skills such as:
- Reading comprehension and story recall
- Characters and character change
- Story elements
- Cause and effect
- Problem and solution
- Sequencing and retelling
- Making text-to-self connections
- Vocabulary development
- ABC order and syllables
- Writing in response to reading
- Speaking and listening
- Explaining and supporting their thinking
And because the topics connect directly to children’s everyday school experiences, students have plenty to talk and write about!
Take the Learning Across the Curriculum
I also love finding natural opportunities to move beyond the literacy block.
A rules and safety theme makes that EASY.
Students can collect and compare data.
They can participate in classroom polls.
They can sort safe and unsafe choices.
They can practice appropriate voice levels.
They can create crafts.
They can role-play classroom situations.
They can write safety tips.
They can discuss friendship and responsibility.
They can move, sing, talk, and work with partners.
One read aloud can become the thread that connects so much of your day.
You Don’t Have to Use EVERYTHING!
This may be the most important part!
Each resource contains a variety of activities, but that doesn’t mean you need to use every page.
You don’t!
Choose the activities that fit your students, your schedule, and the skills you need to teach.
Use the lesson plan as your guide and select the core activities for your whole-group lesson.
Then save additional activities for literacy centers, small groups, morning work, independent practice, early finishers, intervention, or additional days.
The resource is there to give you choices—not create more work!
Week One Welcomes Them. Week Two Helps Them Become a Community.
During the first week of school, we’re helping children feel comfortable in their new classroom.
During the second week, we can begin digging a little deeper.
What does it mean to be a responsible member of our classroom?
Why do we have rules?
How do our choices affect other people?
How can we keep ourselves and others safe?
What does good listening look and sound like?
How can we make recess enjoyable for everyone?
Those are BIG lessons for little learners.
And they don’t have to become one more thing squeezed into an already busy school day.
With the Teaching Literacy and Comprehension with a Rules & Safety Theme Bundle, your rules and safety lessons become part of the literacy learning you’re already doing.
READ. THINK. TALK. WRITE. LEARN.
And along the way, help your students understand one of the most important lessons of the beginning of the school year:
Rules aren’t just something we follow—they help us learn, stay safe, and take care of one another.
Check out this FREE Resource!
