bus safety activities

"Pretend You're a School Bus!" Writing Prompt Craftivities

1-2-3 Come Do a Super-Fun Writing Prompt With Me

No matter what grade I taught, if I added a bit of craftiness to a writing prompt, I’d grab my students’ attention.
Once they saw my example, they were excited to make one of their own and get right down to business.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, With that “focused & happy engagement” in mind, I thought a super-fun writing prompt, would be for students to pretend to be a school bus; which is a glimpse of “personification”, “point of view” and “text to self”.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, bus safety posters, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, If you’ve gone over bus safety with your kiddos, this is also an interesting way to reinforce those rules.

As one of the posters states: “I’m a bus and I’ve got something to say; which includes some rules that you need to obey.”

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, For example, my bus says: “Thank you for not eating or drinking. I hate getting all sticky and dirty. It makes me smell bad too.” Younger students can write a simpler sentence, like "Railroad crossing! Quiet please." etc.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, To introduce the craftivity, read “Bus Chatter”.

It's a little ditty I wrote, as a fun way to grab students' attention, give examples, and motivate kiddos with an “It’s your turn” challenge.

The packet includes 5 large, (full page) black & white bus patterns for students to choose from.

There are also 2 speech bubble options.

Students choose a bus, color & cut it out, then fill in a speech bubble with their final draft of “bus chit chat”.

Add extra pizzazz to the “flashing lights”, with flat-backed rhinestones, or red and gold glitter. 

A school photo adds that “finishing touch”.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, Completed projects make an interesting bulletin board too.

I've included several posters to explain your display.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, You can also use the two extra buses provided, as examples, then include them on your bulletin board for added interest.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, One reminds students to check for traffic, the other reasures children that a bus is built for their safety.

Besides the craftivity, you can also make a class book. There’s a cover, last page and 5 page options.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, As always, there are matching colorful templates for teachers.

I’ve also included my text-filled bubbles, if you’d like to use those, to expedite making an example to share.

Because students really enjoy this type of writing, you can certainly do both activities.

bus safety activities, bus safety posters, writing prompts for back to school, bus activities, bus rules, a list of bus rules, bus word search, back to school bulletin board, Since "National Bus Safety Month" is celebrated in October, do the craftivity for "back to school", then make the class book later in the fall; which will hopefully show lots of improvement!

For some word work, and vocabulary-building, I’ve also included a bus safety word find, which is a fun pre-writing activity. 

There's also a few other goodies to round out the packet. 

bucket filling activities, tweet board, something to tweet about writing prompt, writing prompt for back to school, classroom managementToday's featured FREEBIE is also a creative writing prompt called "Tweet Talk". 

Often teachers are so busy teaching, that sometimes they can miss important things that are happening in their students' lives.

Putting up a tweet board on a door, wall or bulletin board, helps you stay informed and builds community.
A more caring classroom will be created.

back to school activities, bucket filling, writing prompts for September, back to school writing promptsWell that's it for today. Thanks for stoppping by.

The thunder is booming and the lightning is crackling as it pours. Love a summer storm to soak my flower garden. 

Great day to hunker down and design some more fun stuff for school. Woo Hoo!

"Children must be taught HOW to think, not WHAT to think!" -Margaret Mead

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Bus Safety Activities

1-2-3 Come Do Some Bus Safety Activities With Me

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus crafts, bus safety posters, bus safety games,Do you read the story, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems? Click the book cover to see a cute YouTube video.

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety Because it’s a favorite of young children, I thought it would be fun to spice up bus safety with a pigeon. (Bus Safety With a Pigeon Packet)

If you don't read that story, or are just looking for some super-fun bus safety activities, I also made a matching packet with no bird. (Bus Safety Activities).

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety Listening to lots of rules can become tedious and boring for little ones, but playing a game, doing a center activity, or making a "flip-the-flap" booklet, helps get the “you need to know this stuff” into a child’s head, in a hands-on way.

Both these packets includes a nice assortment of quick, easy and interesting activities, that help make learning about bus safety super-fun.

Since “National Bus Safety Month” is in October, I do a few of the activities the first few weeks of school, then others later in the fall, which is a nice review.

You can also plug them in the day before a field trip.

The packet includes:

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety * 24, “Do” & “Don’t” sorting cards for an independent center game.

There are 12, colorful cards on a one-page pattern to conserve paper and ink.

Simply print, laminate and trim.  Children decide if the behavior pictured on the card is a do or don't rule, then place the cards under the correct do/don't header. 

You can also pass the cards out to students, then have them show and share their card with the class, explaining the rule on the card.

* To whole-group assess comprehension, I designed a super-fun, Popsicle stick “puppet pal” craftivity.

There's a pigeon one for that packet, and a bus puppet pal in the other packet. 

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety The pigeon is on a red circle for "Stop! Don't" because of the "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" story.

The flip side of this paddle is a green circle (Green = "Go! Do".) Adding a wiggle eye provides the "finishing touch".

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety In the Bus Packet, the puppet pal features a happy & smiling bus on the "Do!" side, and a bus filled with monsters (!) on the "Don't" side. 

I've included a list of 20+ statements for you to choose from, then read aloud. Students decide whether that statement is a "Do" or a "Don't" then flip their paddle accordingly. 

My students absolutely LOVE this "quiz game".  Plus, I can see at a glance who's having difficulty & make corrections.  

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety * Another fun way to reinforce bus rules, is by making a  “flip the flap” booklet. 

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety There's a cute pigeon booklet for that packet, and a big bus for the other.  

I kept the booklets short, with just 9 pages to choose from, which feature the graphics for some of the most important rules.

Children color the picture, then circle a "Do" or "Don't" word to describe what's going on in the graphic.

The pigeon's "wing cover", flips open to reveal the pages, while the booklet for the bus, is on the "windshield".

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety * There’s also a set of 24, colorful graphic rule posters, which show the various “Do’s & Don’ts”  for riding the bus. I printed mine on card stock then laminated.

Use them to introduce bus safety, then hang them on the wall; or... add the cover & last page ("No muss. No fuss.We know the rules for riding the bus!") and make a booklet with a split ring.

* The packet also includes some “paper praise” options: a slap bracelet, a bookmark, and a brag tag necklace,  plus a “color me” bus safety certificate.

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety There are 10 bracelets on a one-page pattern for quick printing.  Simply "slap" a bracelet on a child's wrist with a piece of Scotch tape. 

Making a bus safety necklace, provides fine motor practice, which helps strengthen finger muscles.

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety I cut up colorful plastic straws to use as dividers between pony beads. Both can be purchased at The Dollar Store.

This also practices counting as well as showing a pattern too.  Plus studets really enjoy making them. 

Hopefully, people will ask children about their necklace, giving them an opportunity to explain some of the bus safety that they learned, once again reinforcing the lesson. 

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety There's also a "High fives from ________ who knows bus safety" craft in the pigeon packet, which makes a sweet keepsake, as the bird's wing is a child's hand print.

There are two FREEBIES today. Both come from these new packets. 

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety One is the "Stop-Look and Listen" poster.

The other is the "Stay Out of the Danger Zone" poster. 

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety In the packets, I've included matching worksheets. I truly believe that if a child colors the danger zone, they are more apt to know what and where it is, then follow that life-saving rule. 

dont let the pigeon drive the bus activities, bus safety activities, bus safety posters, bus safety crafts, bus craft, bus safety games, bus safety rules, teaching bus safety Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

I feel fall in the air, as the lovely breeze is cooler and a sprinkling of leaves are actually turning!

As long as we have to be inside at school, we may as well have lovely fall weather.

"There is a time in the last few days of summer, when the ripeness of autumn fills the air." - Rudolfo Anaya

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