Abstract
This paper will discuss fire safety for special needs students. It will discuss the organizational strategy that will include the intervention, the audience, goals, measurable learning outcomes, content outline and its relationship to other elements within the course. There will be an intervention designed for the course that will include the following: the topic, the time it will take, the room setup, the interactions of the students, the media, materials, learning objectives, Gagne Level, Taxonomy Level, Instructional strategy and the assessment plans. The conclusions that are drawn will be discussed.

Fire Safety for Special Needs Students

Project Name: Fire Safety for Special Needs Students

Project Mgr: Linda Lee

Learning Intervention It appears that the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class seem to be having difficulties learning basic survival skills. The classroom for children with special needs is designed like a home. Children are taught basic survival skills so that they will know what to do in an emergency. During a recent fire drill, the students held their hands over their ears instead of lining up at the door. Once we got them to the door we told them we are now going outside and four of the students turned toward the gym instead of toward the door that had been opened for them. In another case, while role-playing, the students were told that a classmate’s dress was on fire and was asked what to do, instead of answering that they should grab a blanket, throw it over the classmate and pull them to the ground, while patting the fire out, two students said throw water on it, six students said run, and the others did not answer. In another role-playing scenario, the students were told that their clothes were on fire and asked what to do, three students said to run instead of demonstrating stop, drop, and role. In another case, while simulating dialing 911, two of the children could not find the numbers that they were asked to dial. They asked what number was that. In another case, while simulating how to get out of a room that is filled with smoke, nine of the children stood up and screamed instead of getting low to the ground and crawling toward the exit. After several weeks of gathering empirical data on the children’s current knowledge of fire safety, it appears that there is a need for an intervention in basic survival skills for fire safety. The actual learning situation and the ideal learning situation are defined below (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2009).
Actual learning situation: Currently the actual learning situation consists of the teacher taking the children to the fire station to see the fire trucks and equipment. The teacher also asks the students to take pictures of their telephones. A telephone was set up in the classroom and the children were instructed on how to dial 911. They were also taught how to report a fire. The teacher acts as the 911 operator in a simulated scenario. The trips to the fire station meant time and expense for the parents of the children. The children’s safety was also a concern for the parents and the school officials. There were other issues regarding the attendance of all the students. Some of the children’s parents would not allow the children to participate, so the learning objectives were not met.
Ideal learning situation: The children are placed in a classroom setting that is designed to look like a home. They are placed in different learning situations, such as a fire drill, so that they can learn what to do in an emergency situation. The ideal learning situation consists of the children staying in the classroom instead of visiting the fire station (Nephin, 2011). The problems that were encountered during the field trips are avoided, while the students learn basic survival skills in a classroom setting. Therefore, the learning objectives are met. The children learn what to do and how to react during a fire (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2009).
Problem Statement: There is a need for the students with various levels of learning disabilities in Ms Lee’s special education class to learn basic survival skills in a classroom setting, where the students will gain the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experiences that are relative to learning and developing fire safety skills.
Audience
The students in this facility have varying degrees of trainable mental handicaps and language skills. They vary in age from 6 to 21. These students are kinesthetic learners. They learn best by moving about and doing. They learn best when they can explore, touch, and create. These students benefit the most from hands-on activities, lab style classes, field trips, skits, and props. The students in this class are eager to learn and try new things. Some of these students are easily excited and agitated. The students in this class, due to their disabilities, have some type of problem with fine motor skills (writing and cutting) as well as gross motor skills (jumping and running). Some of the students have trouble with hand eye coordination such as buttoning a shirt and tying their shoes. The students in this class have language barriers. Some of the students have communication and language disabilities. Some of the students have issues with being able to speak clearly and being able to understand language. Some of the students have language–based learning disorders. Some of the students have issues with verbal language skills, such as being able to repeat a story. Some of the students have problems with the fluency of speech, and are sometimes unable to understand directions, what words mean, and parts of speech. The students in this class have trouble remaining calm in some situations or are unable to calm their self down. They have trouble expressing their feelings as well as reading nonverbal cues. All the students in this class have problems mastering certain academic skills that stem from Pervasive Developmental Disorders such as Down’s syndrome, Autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and other mental disabilities. These students have trouble communicating, reading body language, and making eye contact. The cognitive abilities related to what we are teaching for these students involve their lack of ability to concentrate or focus their attention for long periods. However, the students in this class have great perception abilities for recog¬ni¬tion and inter¬pre¬ta¬tion of sen¬sory stim¬uli such as smell, touch, feel, and hear¬ing. These students have difficulty with memory. They have difficulty with receptive memory, for example, visual and auditory stimuli such as being able to recognize shapes, letters or numbers. They have trouble with their sequential memory, which affects their ability to read. The students in this class have difficulty with their psychomotor skills. All of these students have difficulties controlling their movements. Their psychomotor skills are not fully developed. When people learn psychomotor skills, they go through three stages that include the cognitive stage, the associative stage, and the autonomic stage. The students, during the cognitive stage, show signs of awkwardness; their movements are slow and choppy. They have to think about every movement before they can do it. The students, during the associative stage, do not have to think about every movement before attempting it; however, it is still not a permanent part of the brain. The students, during the autonomic stage, begin to refine the skill through practice, and do not have to think about each movement before attempting it. The students in this class have to work hard to control their movements. They can walk and dance but not as gracefully as other children.
Goals
The students in Ms Lee’s special education class will learn to:
A. Exit a burning building following standard procedure and stand at least 100 feet from the building.
B. Place a blanket on another person if his or her clothing is on fire following standard procedure.
C. Stop, drop and roll if clothing is on fire following the standard procedure
D. Dial 911 and communicate the emergency following standard procedure
E. Drop down low on the floor and crawl out of a room that is filled with smoke following the standard procedure. The goal of this intervention is to ensure that all children will be able to meet the above named goals 10 out of 10 times.
Measurable Learning Outcomes
When learning is complete, the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class will be able to…
A. given a practice fire drill scenario, exit the building following standard procedures and stand at least 100 feet from the building 10 out of 10 times.
B. given a practice clothing fire scenario, demonstrate placing a blanket on a classmate following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times (Savickiene, 2010).
C. given a practice scenario, demonstrate stop, drop, and role following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times.
D. given a practice scenario, demonstrate dialing 911 and reporting the emergency following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times.
E. given a practice scenario, demonstrate crawling out of a smoke filled room following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times (Bowen, & Illinois Univ., 1971).

Content Outline
Fire Safety Course for Children
I. Exit a building following standard procedure
A. Follow verbal instructions from teacher
B. Line up in a single file
C. Feel door for heat
D. Follow teacher outside, down the hall, out the door
E. Stand one hundred feet from the building
II. Putting out a clothing fire on someone else following standard procedure
A. Grab a blanket
B. Throw it around the person who is on fire
C. Pull the person to the ground and pat the fire out
III. Stop, drop, and role following standard procedure
A. Stop all movement that will fan the flame
B. Drop to the ground covering the face
C. Role on the ground to extinguish the fire by depriving it of oxygen
IV. Call 911 and report the emergency
A. Pick up the telephone receiver and listen for a dial tone.
B. Dialing 911
C. Explain the emergency
D. Give your name and address to the 911 operator
V. Crawling out of a smoke filled room
A. Drop to the floor on their knees
B. Crawl towards the nearest exit
Relationship to Other Elements Course: Personal safety 1.0 Unit 1: What to do in an emergency 1.1 Lesson A: Basic Fire Safety 1.2 Lesson B: How to Call 911 1.3 Lesson C: When to Provide Help Themselves, and When to Call for Help 2.0 Unit 2: Fire Safety for Special Needs Children 2.1 Lesson A: Exit a building following standard procedure 2.2 Lesson B: Putting out clothing fire on someone else following standard procedure 2.3 Lesson C: Stop, drop, and role following standard procedure 2.4 Lesson D: Call 911 and report the emergency 2.5 Lesson E: Crawling out of a smoke filled room 3.0 Unit 3: Stranger Danger 3.1 Lesson A: Never take anything from a stranger 3.2 Lesson B: Do not go anywhere with someone you do not know 3.3 Lesson C: Listen to your feelings or instincts 4.0 Unit 4: How to cross the street 4.1 Lesson A: Stop, Look and Listen procedure
4.2 Lesson B: Meaning of signs

Unit Design

Code # Lesson/Topic Title: Fire Drill Exiting a Building Time Frame 1 hour Room Setup The classroom setting is designed to simulate a home. The classroom is divided into different areas, for example, one area is the kitchen, a living room area, a bedroom and a bathroom. In the kitchen area is where the is fire alarm set up, however there are fire alarms in each room that will go off during the drill. Interactions Students will follow directions from the teachers. They will line up in a single file at the door. They will feel the door to ensure that the door is not hot. They will follow the teacher out of the building and stand one hundred feet from the building. Media There will be a video used and discussion on the proper procedure for safely exiting a burning building. The reason that a video is used will be to show the students how to quietly line up, feel the door for heat and follow directions that the teacher gives them. The hazard house, which is a model of a house that has hazards identified, such as fire in a particular room to teach children how to look for multiple exits to escape from a room will be used. Materials/Handouts The materials used for this lesson will be a video as well as handouts such as coloring pages. The coloring pages will include drawing a line from one item to another such as a room on fire and the student hiding or the student lining up to exit the building. Measurable Learning Outcome When learning is complete, the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class will be able to given a fire drill scenario exit the building following standard procedures and stand at least 100 feet from the building 10 out of 10 times. Gagne Level The students will demonstrate their intellectual skills by following the instructions given to them by the teacher, to line up, feel the door, exit the building and stand one hundred feet from the building. Taxonomy Level The cognitive strategy for this lesson is that the students will stay focused, and actively participant in the given scenarios. Activities The activity in this lesson will include fire drill scenarios. The students will practice lining up at the door, feeling the door for heat and following the teacher’s direction while exiting the building. The students will also be given coloring pages to color and draw a line from one item to another such as a room on fire and the student hiding or the student lining up to exit the building. Assessment Plans The way that it will be determined that learning has taken place is by observations and a checklist. The checklist will consist of how the students react when the fire alarm goes off, if the students line up in a straight line, if the students feel the door for heat, if the students follow the simple instructions given by the teacher and if they stand one hundred feet from the building in an orderly fashion. The checklist will have an area for notes so the teacher can assess if the students were quite while lining up or if they were unruly. It will also have an area for notes on whether they followed the teachers instructions or if they ran wildly and out of control while exiting the building. There will be an area to note how the students reacted while standing one hundred feet from the building. The students must perform each task ten out of ten times to show mastery.
Code # Lesson/Topic Title: Putting out a clothing fire on someone else Time Frame 1 Hour Room Setup In the living room area there will be a couch, two end tables, a coffee table, and a television. There will be a blanket, a mannequin and flames made out of paper. The flames will be attached to a mannequin and the students will practice placing a blanket over the mannequins clothing to extinguish the flames (Savickiene, 2010). Interactions The students will work in groups for this lesson. One student at a time will demonstrate how to extinguish a fire on the mannequin’s clothes. Media The media that will be used for this lesson will be a video about the proper procedure for extinguishing a fire on someone else’s clothes. There will also be a poster hanging in the classroom that illustrates the proper procedure for extinguishing a fire on someone else’s clothing. Materials/Handouts The materials used for this lesson will include coloring pages to help students identify the tools to use if a friends clothes are on fire. There will also be a mannequin, paper flames and a blanket. Measurable Learning Outcome When learning is complete, the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class will be able to given a practice clothing fire scenario, demonstrate placing a blanket on a classmate following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times (Savickiene, 2010). Gagne Level In this lesson, the student will need to use their motor skills. The students will need to follow the specific survival instructions for extinguishing a clothing fire on a friend. Taxonomy Level In this lesson, the students will use their psychomotor skills to use sensory cues to guide motor activity. In this lesson that will entail detecting non-verbal cues such as persons clothes being on fire and respond accordingly. The students will participate and to react to the stimuli. Activities The activities for this lesson will include watching a video as a group and then discussing what they watched. The students will be asked one at a time to come to the front where the mannequin is located with the paper flames attached, and then they will be asked to demonstrate the proper procedure for putting the fire out. They will retrieve the blanket, located on the back of the couch, throw the blanket over the mannequin and gently throw the mannequin to the ground and pat the flames until they fall of the mannequin. Assessment Plans The way that it will be determined that learning has taken place is by observations and a checklist. The checklist will consist of the reactions of the students when they are given a practice scenario of a classmates clothes being on fire, a mannequin will be used for this observation. It will consist of the student grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, covering the mannequin, pulling it to the ground, and patting the fire out. The checklist will have an area where the teacher can note the position that the student takes when they wrap the blanket around the mannequin. It will also have an area for notes on how they drop the mannequin to the ground and pat the fire out. The students must perform each task ten out of ten times to show mastery.
Code # Lesson/Topic Title: Stop, drop, and role Time Frame 1 hour Room Setup The room that the instruction for stop, drop and roll will take place in will be the living room area. It will have a couch, two end tables, a coffee table, a television and a computer. It is designed to look like a real home. Interactions First there will be a video played that shows the proper procedure for putting a fire out on their clothes and a discussion following the video. There will also be a firedog brought in to demonstrate how to stop, drop and roll. This will be a group activity. The students will participate in groups of five. They will all be asked to listen to the music and when it stop to stop where they are, drop to the ground and roll until their flames fall off. Media The media for this lesson will include a video as well as a visit from the firedog. The video is something that the students can relate to and the firedog will keep the students focused and interested. The following web site http://www.sparky.org/family.html will also be used to help students identify the steps to take for stop, drop and roll (Sparky the Fire Dog, 2011). Materials/Handouts There will be printed materials such as handouts such as coloring pages and match the fire game handouts. There will also be a computer to access the following web site activities http://www.sparky.org/family.html (Sparky the Fire Dog, 2011).

Measurable Learning Outcome When learning is complete, the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class will be able to given a practice scenario demonstrate stop, drop, and role following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times. Gagne Level The cognitive strategies for this lesson will be that the students will be able to demonstrate that they have an understanding of the basic survival skills. Taxonomy Level This lesson will show the affective domain, which for this lesson is participating in the learning process and reacting to the stimuli. Activities There will first be a discussion with the students about what to do if clothing catches fire. There will be an explanation and demonstration how to stop, drop, and roll. It will be emphasized that it is very important to roll more than once until the fire is out. The activity in this lesson will include playing music on a boom box while the students dance. The students will be instructed before the music begins that when the music stops they will stop, drop to the ground and roll in a particular manner as if they were on fire. There will also be a demonstration by the firedog on the proper technique for stop, drop and roll in the classroom There will be an activity where paper flames are placed on the students and they will practice stop, drop, and roll until the flames are off their clothes (Kids Soup, 2011). The students will also use a computer to access the following web site activities and coloring pages http://www.sparky.org/family.html (Sparky the Fire Dog, 2011).

Assessment Plans The way that it will be determined that learning has taken place is by observations and a checklist. The checklist will consist of, given a scenario of their clothes being on fire, if the student stops immediately, drops to the ground covering their face and rolling over and over until the fire is out. The checklist will have a place to note the position that the student is in when they drop to the ground and how they roll. The student must perform each task ten out of ten times to show mastery.
Code # Lesson/Topic Title: Call 911 and report the emergency Time Frame 1 hour Room Setup The room requirements for this lesson will be a telephone set up in one area of the living room so that the students can practice dialing 911. Interactions The students will work in groups of two. One student will be the person reporting the fire while another student will pretend to be the 911 operator. Media The media selected for this lesson will be a video, a discussion on the video. The discussion will give an explanation on how to report an emergency as well as what to say when the 911 operator answers the phone. Materials/Handouts The printed materials and handouts for this lesson will include a coloring page with the number 911 so the students can identify the number that needs to be dialed in an emergency situation. Measurable Learning Outcome When learning is complete, the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class will be able to given a practice scenario demonstrate dialing 911 and reporting the emergency following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times. Gagne Level The cognitive strategies for this lesson will be to identify who to call during a fire as well as stay focused, and actively participant in the given scenarios. Taxonomy Level The cognitive domain for this lesson will be to identify the number to call in an emergency Activities The children will be given a coloring page activity to color the numbers 911. Another activity will be done with the use of a toy telephone. The students will practice finding the numbers 911. There will also be a game where the students have to hunt and find the numbers 911 Assessment Plans The way that it will be determined that learning has taken place is by observations and a checklist. The checklist will consist of how the student reacted given a practice scenario, picked up the receiver of the telephone, if they were able to dial the numbers 911, if they were able to identify their self and give the 911 operator the address where the emergency is located. There will also be a place to note if the student was able to speak clearly and coherently. The students must perform each task ten out of ten times to show mastery.
Code # Lesson/Topic Title: Crawling out of a smoke filled room Time Frame 1 hour Room Setup The room will be a bedroom, there will be a fake smoke machine installed; this is where the students will practice getting on the ground and crawling out of the building. There will also be a computer used for activities. Interactions The students will work in groups of four. The will practice getting out of the smoke filled room. This will also be done outside on the playground with a sheet. There will be four students holding the four corners of the sheet down low; they will wiggle the sheet up and down to simulate smoke (Kids Soup, 2011). The remaining students will practice crawling on all fours while exiting the pretend building (Kids Soup, 2011). Media The media selection for this lesson will consist of a video that shows the importance of getting down low to the ground and crawling out of a room if it is filled with smoke. This video will be provided by the local fire department. The students will also use the following web site activities http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/fire_safety.html (Kids Health, 2011). Materials/Handouts The materials for this lesson will include a poster that will be attached to the classroom wall to show how to get down on all fours and crawl under the smoke, towards the exit. A computer will also be used for web site activities. Measurable Learning Outcome When learning is complete, the students in Ms. Lee’s special education class will be able to given a practice scenario demonstrate crawling out of a smoke filled room following standard procedure 10 out of 10 times (Bowen, & Illinois Univ., 1971). Gagne Level For this lesson, the student will be able to follow verbal information for basic survival. Taxonomy Level The affective domain for this lesson will be for the students to participate in the learning process and to react to the stimuli. Activities The activity for this lesson will include using a sheet to pretend that it is smoke. Four students will hold the corners of the sheet and move it up and down to simulate smoke. The rest of the students will take turns crawling under the sheet on their hands and knees to escape the smoke (Kids Soup, 2011).The students will also be introduced to the rhyme “If you don't want to choke, Crawl under the smoke. Get down on the floor and head for the door” while crawling under the pretend smoke (Kids Soup, 2011). The students will also use a computer to access activities from the following web site http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/fire_safety.html (Kids Health, 2011).

Assessment Plans The way that it will be determined that learning has taken place is by observations and a checklist. The checklist will consist of, when given a practice scenario, how the student reacts when the room begins to fill with smoke, if the student drops to their hands and knees and crawls toward the open door. It will also consist of a section where the teacher can note how long the student stayed on their hands and knees such as if they only went a fourth, one third, half or all the way out of the building. The student must perform each task ten out of ten times to show mastery.

References
Bowen, M. L., & Illinois Univ., U. a. (1971). Some procedures for evaluating language development in young retarded children. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Children’s Fire Safety Programs. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.cityofmadison.com/fire/education/children.cfm
Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2009). The systematic design of instruction. (7 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hughes, S. (1982). Another look at task analysis. Journal of learning disabilities, 15(5), Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
IDEA. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.help4adhd.org/education/rights/idea
Illinois Early Learning Project. (2011). Teaching children to avoid "stranger danger". Retrieved from http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/strangers.htm
Kids Health. (2011). What to do in a fire. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/fire_safety.html
Kids Soup. (2011). Fire fighter crafts, firefighter and fire safety preschool and kindergarten activities, lessons, fire fighter daycare games, and pintables. Retrieved from http://www.kidssoup.com/Fire-safety/firefighter.html
Nephin, D. (2011). Dormant firefighter teaches fire safety to special needs students.
Retrieved from http://dormont-brookline.patch.com/articles/dormont-firefighter-teaches-fire-safety-to-special-needs-students