8 CHAPTER 1 IL CH A DREN’S CTIVITIE S Crossing Guards at Work Use a commercial road play mat/carpet or help children create one. Provide a toy vehicle for each child to place in the road on the mat. Talk about how the vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, and so on) are called traffic, and count the vehicles together. Show the children toy people, and let them know that people are called pedestrians when they are walking along the road. Ask where the pedestrians should stand on the mat. Reinforce that the pedestrians should stand on the sidewalk near crosswalks. Describe a crosswalk and its purpose. Then add a crossing guard to the mat and explain that the crossing guard will help stop the traffic so the pedestrians can cross the street safely. Show children things a crossing guard or traffic police officer might use, like a handheld stop sign or whistle, and items they may wear, such as a safety vest. Let children try on the vest and hold the stop sign. LM MATERIALS a commercial or classroom-made road play mat/carpet, toy vehicles, toy people, a toy person to represent a crossing guard, a handheld stop sign, a whistle, and a vest or uniform OTHER IDEAS Arrange for children to watch a demonstrate his work on the trike crossing guard or traffic police officer path, show children his equipment, at work. Take pictures of the event and answer questions. so children can recall more details to use in follow-up activities or role play. Read and discuss Make Way for Alternatively, watch a short video of Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. a traffic guard at work. LPT LS LT Invite a crossing guard or traffic police officer to visit the class and Play and sing the song “She’s a Yellow Reflector” by Justin Roberts. AL