Fire - Session 2

Learning Intention:
· To work as part of a group, contributing and sharing ideas.
· To participate in drama activities, beginning to create roles (within

our frame)
· Create a collective plan of our imaginary HQ.

Steps within session:
· “Can we for a moment imagine that we are fire-fighters?” “If you are on duty during this shift and people looked into the station, what would they see you doing?” Share roles – give emphasis to the enactments and use “So that means our fire station has …” to establish more about the HQ. Emphasis the importance of the job as the opportunity arises e.g. “So we must be the kind of people that…”
· Create plan of fire station with ideas children create.
· Make observations of what the children already know about the role of ‘fire-fighters’.

Links with other curriculum work:
Use ICT/Books to find out about the work of ‘fire-fighters’.

Review of session:
· The children were keen to imagine they were fire-fighters. 2 boys enacted holding the hose to put out a fire. I reflected in my actions what they were doing, adding emphasis to make it more ‘real’ e.g. the weight of the hose and my body stance. 3 girls enacted using computers and telephones. A boy was putting on his trousers and we could see from his movements the thickness and weight of the uniform. 1 girl was very confident to state that they protected us from the fire. I said I had a pair, did anyone else? We put them on. A boy piped up that he had a helmet and the girl said we had gloves to protect our hands. Another boy stated that he had a mask to protect him from the smoke. I made a list on the board of this equipment. It turned out that the children knew quite a bit about the kit. 1 boy was playing basketball outside, a couple of children began to giggle at this, so I said “Well of course we need to be fit for our job, we’ve all taken fitness tests haven’t we?” – They all nodded. Again, 1 girl said that basketball was exercise when we weren’t working. (I later found out that the boy had seen a picture of fire-fighters playing basket-ball in one of the topic books).
· We moved onto the plan of the fire station, using a toy fire engine placed to show where it was kept when not in use. A chil added a button to ‘open the special door where the fire engine comes out’. “We need our fire-fighting clothes in a hurry if we get a shout, could someone show where they are kept on the plan?” 1 boy drew a hook near the engine. “Well I don’t want to put your clothes on by mistake, how will we know who’s is who’s?” He wrote his first initial. Somebody pointed out that another child also begins with that letter, so I suggested using both initials. We were ready for a break, so we stopped for snack; whilst 1 by 1 they chose where their clothes would hang. We then added the computer room and the basketball court. The children were happy to use their phonic knowledge to label these.

I was really please with how confident 1 girl was during this session; she gave a lot of input when she usually stands back. 2 boys were also more engaged then usual. Another 2 really enjoyed this work, as expected. The children who were a bit hesitant at the start were able to use the others ideas to place themselves at the station and begin to create a role. They really built upon each others contributions. A boy gave us a gem – he stated that there was going to be a training session and there was a lot of discussion over who needed to attend – it was great because the children did this with conviction – they were beginning to see themselves as fire-fighters. Another boy stated that he wasn’t sure if he was due to go because he had recently gone to 1! I clarified the date and time and venue with the 1st boy and said that there would be a list on the notice board of those required to attend. I just need to think how to utilise this next as it has good potential!

Additional curriculum coverage:
· Modelled writing a ‘list’ of our equipment and the usefulness of labelling.
· To apply their phonic knowledge in their writing.
· Discussion about exercise keeping us healthy.
· Speaking & Listening skills – building on what others say, making relevant contributions.
· Applying previous knowledge in different contexts.

Ideas for next moves:
· Continue to establish HQ/roles
· Letter from Chief Fire Officer with a commision