Running head: HALLOWEEN SAFETY 1

Halloween Safety

Keressa Clark, Karen Melton, & Revonda Watts

King University

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Halloween Safety

The topic we chose was Halloween safety. We picked this topic due to the time of year as

we were approaching this holiday. We focused on costume safety, Halloween safety including

stranger danger, and dental care. The participants consisted of three classes of first graders at

Lincoln Elementary school in Kingsport. We asked the teachers if they would be interested in

having their classes educated on these topics and then requested verbal permission from the

principle. The group prepared by researching appropriate education of chosen topics for the age

group being addressed. Revonda educated the group on Halloween safety. Keressa educated on

costume safety and Karen educated on dental care.

The group worked well together, we met after class to discuss what each member would

be discussing to ensure there was no overlapping of topics. Each member prepared their

presentations separately and was responsible for any education materials or treats that would be

given out after their presentation. We met at the school and began our presentations, since there

were three classes we each started out in a separate classroom. Our goal was to rotate through

each classroom simultaneously; each presentation was scheduled to last 10-15 minutes.

Karen prepared by researching dental care techniques and educational materials for

young children. Most of this information and materials were gathered from the American

Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Three first grade classes were educated on bad Halloween

treats, good Halloween treats, and better Halloween treats. They were educated on proper

brushing techniques using a dental dinosaur for the demonstration. They were told what can

happen if they don’t take care of their teeth. They were also educated on the proper length of

time to brush by singing the song The Way We Brush Our Teeth. They were taught that this song

last two minutes, which is the amount of time needed to brush and when the song is over they are

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done brushing their teeth. They were given a copy of the song to take home. They were given

goodie bags with a tooth brushes. They were also given Tarter the Terrible, Tooth D.K., and

Ginger Bite-us coloring sheets. Questions were asked at the end to evaluate the effectiveness of

this education. Students answered appropriately. This part of this presentation went well. The

students were interactive and appeared to enjoy themselves.

Keressa’s presentation was on costume safety. Three first grade classes were educated on

what costumes are considered safe and which ones are considered unsafe. Keressa used visual

boards to educate the classes on what safe costumes should consist of. We talked about wearing

costume makeup instead of mask so they could see when trick or treating. They were told to

wear comfortable shoes that fit so they would not trip. We discussed wearing bright colored

costumes so they can be seen in the dark, and if their costumes were dark they were shown

reflector tape and stickers that they could place on their costumes. We discussed carrying

flashlights and glow sticks to make sure they could see where they were going in the dark, and

other people driving and walking could also see them. Keressa used visual aids during her

presentation; she had flashlights, glow sticks, reflector stickers, and costumes to show the

children as she was discussing the props with them. To evaluate the effectiveness of the

education, we played two games. The first game Keressa held up flashcards with different

costumes and the students had to state if the costumes were safe or unsafe. The second game, the

students were broken up into two teams with a leader on each team; each team was given a bag

of costumes and they had one minute to dress their team leaders in a safe Halloween costume. .

The children were interactive and well behaved during the games and answered all the questions

correctly. Once the presentation was over the students were given treat bags with glow sticks,

and reflector stickers in them.

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Revonda chose to do a skit regarding Halloween Safety during trick or treating. She

narrated a skit portraying the three main scenarios of trick-or-treating safety tips: never to go

trick or treating alone, never go into a stranger’s house (stranger danger), and never eat candy

which is unwrapped or not in a sealed wrapper. Revonda’s three children helped her present

each of these scenarios in the skits.

Revonda put together a packet of coloring sheets, mazes, word search, and a short test on

Halloween safety. She made ghost pops for all the children as treats. She made a poster with the

“do’s and don’ts” of trick or treating and Halloween safety tips and reviewed them after the skits.

The safety tips that Revonda reviewed with the children included information from the

American Academy of Pediatrics. For example: plan your trick-or-treating route before you

leave; only visit houses with porch lights on; under no circumstances should a child enter a

home; never go trick-or-treating alone (always make sure a trusted adult is present); make sure

parents check all candy before eating it, and never eat any treats that are not sealed in a package

("Halloween Safety tips," 2015).

The children exhibited good behavior and were very attentive during the skits. The

children interacted well during the review sessions at the end of the skits. An oral test was

administered after the review. The children answered all the questions correctly, and they were

given a ghost pop for behaving well and being good listeners.

The presentations overall went well, the children and the teachers enjoyed each

presentation, and one teacher requested we come back to do it every year. Revonda felt the type

of presentation she had would have been better in one session instead of three different sessions,

but that would not have worked for the type of presentation that Keressa had. There was one

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classroom that was very small and it made it difficult for Revonda to do her skit. Keressa liked

the three different classes because it made the groups small enough to break into teams.

There was a delay between presentations because we did not plan on how to rotate

through the classrooms. The delay caused some classrooms to wait extra time before a presenter

came to them. Karen’s daughter was present to take pictures and play the ukulele while the class

waited on the next presenter. We discussed what happened, and next time we will meet in the

hall way and then switch rooms.

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References

America’s Pediatric Dentists. (n.d.). The mouth monsters. Retrieved from http://mouthmonsters.mychildrensteeth.org/

Halloween Safety Tips. (2015). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from www.aap.org 

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Pictures from the presentations

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