Halloween Safety PSAs

Halloween is one of kid's favorite holidays each year, but did you know that twice as many kids are killed while walking on Halloween than any other day of the year?

Rather than repeating rules, ask students to think about ways to stay safe on their own during Halloween. Have students transform their ideas into public service announcements they can share with family, friends, and the community to keep everyone safe at Halloween.

Engage

While it is relatively easy to get most young students interested in Halloween, try to focus on specific actions they can take to have fun and be safe!

Read a story like Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween to share ideas for Halloween safety. This fun, graphic novel-style story is a great example and reminder of how powerful simple illustrations can convey important safety information.

Then, ask students to share the silliest accident that happened to them on Halloween. You can prompt students with questions like:

• What does it mean to be safe?
• What actions aren't safe?
• What are some silly accidents they have had at Halloween?

Let students know they will create a public service announcement to help others have a safer Halloween. Share examples of safety posters and advertisements to help students better visualize your expectations for their final product.

Support students by working together to fill out a cluster organizer with ideas on how to be safe.

Cluster Organizer

Create

Have each student choose a topic for their PSA and write a sentence to help with their message. Next, ask students to consider ways to illustrate the meaning, grab the viewers' attention, and share their message.

Students can use an OREO organizer to articulate their Opinion of a safe behavior, the Reason is how the behavior keeps you safe, and the Example is the specific Halloween context.

OREO Opinion Organizer

Students can easily get started with a blank canvas to create a single page with a text message that is narrated and supported by illustrations. Use the Project Wizard to combine student work together to share as a class project online or put specific groups of messages together to form short videos.

Blank Canvas

Share

Print multiple copies of PSAs to post them in your classroom and school. Send printed versions home with students so they can post them in their windows at home and in high-traffic spots in their neighborhood to remind trick-or-treaters.

Video-style PSAs should be posted to video-sharing websites and sent to local access television stations to air the week leading up to Halloween. Share via teacher's Twitter accounts and school Facebook pages.

Resources

Mélanie Watt. Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween: A Safety Guide for Scaredies. ISBN: 1894786874.

American Academy of Pediatrics - Halloween Health & Safety Tips

National Safety Council - Simple Steps for an Extra Safe Halloween

Standards

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.1

Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1

Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.