Invite a nurse to visit your classroom; the school nurse is a simple option. Help students prepare a list of questions to ask the nurse before he arrives. Ask your visitor to bring in some of the tools he uses every day, such as a stethoscope, thermometer and bandages. Ask the nurse to demonstrate how to listen to the heart and check a temperature. Talk about the different types of nurses and the diverse tasks they complete. If possible, plan a visit to either the school nurse or a local hospital or clinic to let students see a nurse's working environment firsthand.
Set up a hospital or clinic dramatic play area in your classroom. Provide students with teddy bears, dolls and other props to act as patients. Give students tongue depressors, stethoscopes, thermometers, face masks and other tools so that they can pretend to be nurses. Encourage students to listen for a heartbeat and take their patient's temperature. Give students clipboards or notepads to write down information as they play.
After meeting with a nurse and learning what a nurse does, make a class book detailing what students have learned. Ask each student to create one page of the book. Each page should include one or two sentences describing what a nurse does, why nurses are important or a personal story about how a nurse helped a student. Provide art supplies so that students can illustrate their page. Laminate and bind the pages together to make a book.
National Nurses Week celebrates the profession annually from May 6, which is National Nurses Day, through May 12. School Nurses receive special recognition on May 11. Encourage your students to celebrate and thank the nurses in their school and community during this week. Provide writing and art materials for students to make thank you cards to send to local hospitals and clinics. Write a special thank you note to the school nurse during this week as well.