In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

From my own personal experience, I know that children are key motivators in influencing their parents behavior. So that is why educating kids on preparedness is crucial to attaining the goal of a more prepared nation. But a key to any new educational emergency readiness initiative in the schools is that it complement existing curricula and not add even more responsibilities to already overburdened teachers. 

That’s the idea behind Ready Classroom, a new online educational program just announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was created with the Ad Council and Discovery Education. Ready Classroom will provide elementary and middle school teachers with resources to integrate natural disaster preparedness information into their existing classwork. The program is an extension of Ready Kids, a national effort designed to encourage children and families to prepare for emergencies.

The free online resource, which can be found at www.discoveryeducation.com/readyclassroom, provides teachers with activities, lesson plans and multimedia tools that teach students how natural disasters develop and inspires them to build their own emergency preparedness plans with their families. The site features grade-specific lesson plans (K-8), videos, games, puzzles and bulletin board recommendations.

I would be interested to hear from any teachers who use Ready Classroom or have any thoughts on educating students on emergency preparedness.