Staying Safe 1 KINDERGARTEN GRADE 1 Social Science Local Community/Community Helpers LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Railway signs in our community tell us where to safely cross the tracks. Railway police officers help keep students safe in the community. LENGTH OF LESSON: 30 minutes TEACHING ACTIVITIES: Introduce rail safety to the students Trains are fun to watch, but walking playing near them is dangerous. Kids have been hurt even killed when they have been hit by trains. Don t play on the tracks or walk on or beside them. Cross the tracks with a grown-up only where there are crossing signs. Railway Crossing Signs Game Ask the students if they have seen any highway-railway crossing signs in their neighbourhood. Where are they? Do they look different or are they the same? Review this information with the students, showing them the attached pictures of each sign. Railway crossings have different kinds of signs signals. The X-shaped sign is called a crossbuck. Some crossings also have a bell flashing red lights to warn people that a train is coming. Other crossings also have a gate. The gate comes down to warn people about driving or walking on the track. Another sign at the crossing is a rectangle with a number a picture of a track. This one tells you how many sets of tracks there are at the crossing.
Staying Safe 2 KINDERGARTEN GRADE 1 Social Science Local Community/Community Helpers Review these safety messages with the students Show pictures of the signs again see if the students can remember the names of the signs If you see a flashing light or hear a bell, wait! You do not have time to get across safely. If you are on the tracks the bell rings the lights flash, keep walking. If a train is going by, st at least 5 metres back (that s about 10 giant steps) from the tracks when a train is passing. You may also make copies of the signs names have the students play a game with a small group or individually. Remind students that when they cross at the railway crossing they should look left, look right, look left again. Just the same as if they were crossing a street. Invite the local railway police officer to come to your class. STUDENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Have students role play the safety messages in small groups. Assign roles or have students come up with actions that mimic what happens at crossings (e.g. one student could be the bell, others could be the train, while another uses his/her arms to show the gates that come down).
Staying Safe 3 KINDERGARTEN GRADE 1 Social Science Local Community/Community Helpers FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY 1) Ask the students to watch for the highway-railway crossing signs in their neighbourhood. 2) Over the next few days, ask the students who have seen signs where they are. If you have a community map or are making a community map, mark on the map where all the signs are. 3) Link rail pedestrian safety. When teaching your lessons on pedestrian safety, remind the students that the safety rules for crossing the street are the same as at highway railway crossings. 4) Provide students with Obie Max colouring pages. 5) Go to www.cn.ca/obie. Read the stories have the students colour the included picture. 6) Fill in the class or school s name on the Safe Crossing Week certificate hang it on the wall. Link to daily physical activity physical education curriculum: Follow the Engineer! Object: Follow the engineer Equipment: around the gym. CD player music (e.g. Locomotion), whistle How to Play: - Divide class into groups of four. - Each group of students forms a train moves about the playing area (or gymnasium) to the music. - The engine, person in front, leads the others through a basic movement pattern (e.g. hopping, jumping, skipping, galloping, running, side step). The teacher may also call out or demonstrate the movement pattern for the engines to use. - On the whistle, the engine becomes the end of the train the next person in line becomes the engine begins a new movement pattern for their train. LINK TO HOME: Distribute the Safe Crossing Week letter to parents/guardians the Obie s Activity booklet parent tip sheet to the students. Distribute Obie s Activity Book to the students have them complete the activities with their parents or older siblings. Encourage the students to talk to their parents/guardians about how to be safe at railway crossings around tracks. What safety rule will you remember to tell?
Staying Safe KINDERGARTEN GRADE 1 Social Science Local Community/Community Helpers RESOURCES: Safety at Railway Crossings A Parent Tip Sheet for children to take home Rail safety education. SaayfeCrtyosatsings w Rail er one cause of death Injuries are the numb youth in Canada. among children TION ge, close to 100 THE SITUA year, on avera Each about 75 people are killed with d in collisions seriously injure ions are either les trains. The collis motor vehic between trains e. peopl or trains to Research tells us that up 90 per cent of injuries are ore, theref table, predic most railway injuries deaths can be prevented. help resource will This rail safety ivers teach their parents careg d trains, to be safe aroun children how ngs. railway crossi tracks at SAFETY RULES ng. at a railway crossi, Always cross have a sign, lights Most crossings gates. bells, /or street the ng e Just like crossi both ways befor stop look for tracks. Listen crossing train ing g for warn the train comin for are lights, watch bells. If there flash. to es, them types of injuri at least st As with other vary. by, ions going the collis If a train is about 10 the reasons for tells part of or 16 feet (that s s ation metre. inform 5. Anecdotal from the tracks en youth giant steps) back the story for childr for one train wait cross the tracks Sometimes they by another Never try to hit g. It is too to pass are if a train is comin either direction. from g train comin dangerous. climb over a ways Sometimes they of by, look both into the path If a train goes ng. Make sure stationary train they train or fall as again before crossi coming. Many an oncoming s to is not another train on it it begin y track, are climbing more than one they just simpl crossings have times more be Some. g could move comin there which means that a train is are unaware at the same time. than one train on or beside the as they walk across the tell us that s bike cause your tracks. These. do Always walk are preventable sure your tires these incidents tracks to make t. not get caugh your children tracks., Just as you teach on or near train Never play ate through traffic illegal. how to navig rules It is dangerous be taught the must en childr around trains for staying safe ngs. at railway crossi statistics, young According to years old, are men, aged 18-24 killed be injured or a most likely to ng collision or either in a crossi nt. trespassing incide to Each year, on average, close 100 people are killed d about 75 seriously injure in collisions with trains. disability WHY www. parachutecanada.org Obie s Activity Book for school children www.cn.ca/obie Discover lots of stories, games, puzzles fun things for kids to do on Obie s Website. CN s All Aboard for Safety train, Obie, his engineer, Max, teach kids how to stay safe around railroad crossings tracks in a fun entertaining way. Kids may also join Obie s Club print their own personalized certificate. Obie is based on an actual two-metre high CN locomotive, called Little Obie, that has been promoting rail safety at schools community events giving rides to thouss of children across Canada the United States for more than ten years. www.cn.ca CN is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. For more than 25 years, through its program All Aboard for Safety, CN Police officers speak annually to more than 300,000 children adults about the importance of safety at railway crossings the danger of walking playing on or near railway tracks. www.operationlifesaver.ca Rail safety education for educators, students, parents, drivers. If you would like to invite a CN Police officer to come to your classroom, please contact: British Columbia Norman.Witzell@cn.ca Alberta Dean.solowan@cn.ca Saskatchewan Matthew.loscombe@cn.ca Manitoba Paul.leaden@cn.ca Ontario Cynthia.Stotz@cn.ca Quebec Michael.Melanson@cn.ca New Brunswick Michael.Melanson@cn.ca Nova Scotia Barry.Gallagher@cn.ca 4
Staying Safe 5 NUMBER OF SETS OF TRACKS GATE CROSSBUCK BELL RAILWAY SIGNS
Max reminds you: Look both ways before crossing tracks. To learn more about safety at railway crossings, visit Obie his engineer, Max have fun stories games for you on their web site! www.cn.ca/obie
Obie reminds you: Look both ways before crossing tracks. To learn more about safety at railway crossings, visit Obie his engineer, Max have fun stories games for you on their web site! www.cn.ca/obie
Obie reminds you: Walking or playing on tracks is dangerous. To learn more about safety at railway crossings, visit Obie his engineer, Max have fun stories games for you on their web site! www.cn.ca/obie