#  >> K-12 >> Elementary School

Science Lab Safety Activities in Elementary School

Teaching your elementary school students lab safety can be achieved through a range of activities. Students often do not respond well to simply being told what to do and how to use equipment, and this approach often ultimately leads to misuse of safety equipment and bad practices developing in the lab. Make lab safety a fun and accessible issue, while maintaining its importance.
  1. Cover the Basics

    • Get students to come to the front of the class one by one and put on a piece of safety equipment. Once the student is wearing the item, throw it open to the rest of the class and get them to suggest what the item protects against and when it should be worn. Not only does this get students on their feet and using the equipment, but it also offers educators an opportunity to correct any incorrect use of safety features.

    Do It in Song

    • One of the best ways to acquaint your elementary students with lab safety is through the medium of music. Devise a song or rap or use an already existing resource regarding lab safety and teach your students the words so that you can have a whole class sing-along. If you find students are struggling to learn the whole song themselves, separate them into as many groups as there are verses and teach them each a verse to sing back to their classmates.

    Identifying Hazards

    • An individual activity to teach lab safety is filling out hazard worksheets. Here, supply students with a lab scene demonstrating a number of mistakes with safety equipment and get them to spot the hazards on a worksheet. Make sure your lab scenes have enough hazards so that everyone has an opportunity to circle one and reward students for each one they find at the end of the class.

    Decorate the Classroom

    • A group activity to reinforce safety rules is to separate your class into small groups of four, five or six and tell them each an important safety rule. Have your students make a poster demonstrating the rule, encouraging them to draw pictures of the situation and the correct and incorrect uses of safety equipment. For example, a rule could be "Never run in the lab" followed by a picture of a student running and causing an accident. Have your students present their posters to the rest of the class at the end, talking their classmates through the rule or safety equipment. Pin these posters up on the walls and always point them out to students when using particular piece of equipment.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved