Safety Signs
Background Information & Activities

© 1999-2009 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Remind your children that rules can help keep people safe. Rules set ways for people to act responsibly and safely. Safety signs remind people about rules and warn them about possible dangers. Your children should be able to recognize different safety signs and understand what they mean. They should understand that signs use a combination of words, symbols, colors, and shapes to share information.

Ask your children to look around them and identify different signs. Some signs share information, such as a store’s hours of operation. They can also give directions, such as signs that use arrows to guide people to a landmark. Signs can also tell where important items or areas are, such as signs that label and direct people to first aid kids, fire extinguishers, or emergency exits. Some signs remind people to do things, such as vote, or tell them to avoid doing certain activities, such as playing loud music. Some signs even forbid activities for safety reasons, such as a “no diving” sign at a public pool. Many signs warn of possible dangers, such as poison, falling rocks, or crossing deer. Signs might use words to give information, or use symbols, which are pictures that stand for something. For example, the symbol for recycling is a set of green arrows in a circle or triangle. Your children should understand the symbols used in common safety signs, such as the symbols for crosswalk, school zone, and poison.

Many signs use shapes to relay information. For example, stop signs are red with eight sides. Yield signs are red and shaped like a triangle. Remind your children that when they see a yield sign they must slow down and watch out for others, especially if they are on their bikes, skateboards, or roller skates. Some signs show a symbol inside a circle with a line through it. These signs show what people are not allowed to do, such as smoking, eating and drinking, or biking. Show different symbols or signs to your children, ask them to explain what they mean, and challenge them to sort and classify the signs.

Signs also use color to communicate. Remind children that when traffic lights are red, people must stop. When they are yellow, they must slow down. When they are green, they may go. Prompt children to realize that these colors appear in other signs as well. Your children should know that blinking red lights also mean to stop, such as those marking a railroad crossing area. Yellow and black signs, such as crosswalk or school zone signs, warn about special areas that might have specific rules. In school zones, people must take extra care and watch for buses and pedestrians, or people on the street. Orange and black signs mark construction zones. People must slow down and use caution, or be careful. Workers might be repairing the road and there may be debris on the road. Green signs with white text usually provide directions and blue signs often give information such as the route to a hospital, telephone, or restrooms.

Remind your children that safety is everyone’s responsibility. We recommend watching the Rights and Responsibilities movie together as a review. Safety signs help people stay safe only if they follow them. Part of being a good citizen is following the rules and watching out for others. Encourage your children to think about what signs they see everyday and how they help people stay safe.

Safety Signs Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Safety Signs Family Activities – Click Here!

Safety Signs Teacher Activities

© 1999-2009 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

School Safety Signs

Lead a discussion with the whole class about school safety and rules. Then have students find places where signs are missing in the school building or playground. They should think about dangerous corners, places where students might run in the halls, or the library where people should use quiet voices. You might assign small groups to visit different parts of the school. Then ask students to design symbols to communicate the simple message to their fellow students. You may want to review the special colors and shapes that safety signs use to communicate information. Students can create signs using the appropriate color or shape and post them.

Sign Sort

Take your class on a walk through the school building or neighborhood with clipboards, digital cameras, or small drawing notebooks. Students can draw or photograph any signs they see. Back in the classroom, have the students share their drawings or photos and categorize them into different groups, such as signs that warn, signs that give directions, signs that tell people to stop, etc.

Signs Here and There

Different countries use different street signs. Have students research signs from different countries on the Internet or at the library. Guidebooks for other countries usually include a list of street and safety signs as well as their meanings. Students can copy different signs and share what they learned with the whole class.

Safety Signs Family Activities

© 1999-2009 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Beware!

Take a walk around your home or your neighborhood with your child. Have your child point to different signs or special symbols on labels and discuss what they mean. How do the signs use color or shapes to communicate? What do the symbols mean? Discuss different safety rules with your child.

Red Light, Green Light

Discuss symbols and signs that mean stop or go. There are many symbols that mean stop, such as the stop sign, a red traffic light, a red blinking light, or a yield sign. Draw different symbols for stop and go on separate pieces of paper. Then play “Red Light, Green Light” using the signs.