Health Care Helpers

Who are the people who keep us healthy and safe? Kids learn more about rescue and medical careers by showing these caregivers in action.

• 1.

  Choose a health or safety topic such as taking care of your teeth, riding bicycles, fire prevention, or doing regular exercise. With Crayola® Colored Pencils, write a list of basic health or safety rules that apply to this topic.

• 2.

  Find out the ways that health and safety personnel help people in daily life and during emergencies. Learn what local telephone number to call in an emergency, and the information you will need to provide. Find out about what health care and emergency workers do in your community.

• 3.

  Imagine and design a poster or diorama showing a scene in which these workers are helping people. To make a poster, for example, you might cut blue construction paper in half on the diagonal with Crayola Scissors. Attach it to white construction paper with Crayola School Glue. Glue this sheet onto red construction paper. Write Call 911 (or your local emergency number), or other safety messages around the edge.

• 4.

  On more white construction paper, use Crayola Washable Markers, Multicultural Markers, and Fine Tip Markers to make figures of people, cars, bikes, ambulances, EMTs, doctors and/or nurses, fire fighters, police officers, and other people who might be involved. Cut out figures and glue them on the poster.

Benefits

• Students learn basic safety rules and how to call 911 (or the proper local number) in an emergency. These rules are tailored to children with special needs if applicable.
• Students understand the importance of health care and emergency personnel such as ambulance crews, EMTs, doctors, nurses, police officers, and fire fighters.
• Students create a poster or diorama depicting how health and safety personnel help people.

Adaptations

• Invite health care or emergency workers to speak with children on topics of interest to them. Or visit fire stations, hospitals, and other community worker facilities.
• Older children pursue the history of medical inventions, research a medical condition, or explore recent medical and emergency breakthroughs.
• Interview a health care provider to learn what educational requirements and personal attributes are necessary for success in the field. What has been their most challenging situation? What are the rewards of the career?