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The very best book to help your class understand and prepare for a lockdown drill!
WOW oh WOW! As a kindergarten teacher, I was thrilled to find this book! Tamara Rittershaus and Adam Walker-Parker did an amazing job on this book!
Lockdrown Drill at Superhero School is UNBELIEVABLY useful in the classroom! Tamara Rittershaus wrote an adorable, well thought out story that is a great resource for teachers! Adam Walker-Parker’s illustrations are clean and crisp. In my opinion, the superheros are “cute” characters! Just turning the first couple pages, I was completely hooked, and I knew had found a treasure for my classroom!
As a kindergarten teacher, my students are experiencing all the school drills for the very first time. These drills can be very scary for them! The loud beeping noise, leaving the classroom and the break in their routine can frighten them. Although I always try to prep my class before a drill, there is always some students who are afraid or didn’t understand it was a practice drill and afterwards are frightened!
I always explain in simple terms what and how the lockdown will take place. I also clarify that we are just practicing the drill to help my kindergartners not be afraid. However, in 13 years so far, I have had a couple students go home and tell their parents that their teacher told them a stranger came into their school and they had to hide. The students in their innocence didn’t fully listen to me and/or understand what had happened. Then it is a big confusing mess to reassure the parents and re-explain to the student they were safe and it was a practice drill. YIKES!
NOT ANYMORE!
THANKS TO LOCKDOWN DRILL AT SUPERHERO SCHOOL!
Lockdown Drill at Superhero School is a FANTASTIC book to help the students prepare for drills! It really is a necessary book in Elementary School libraries and classrooms! Keep reading to find out the many great pieces put into this book!
The why of a lockdown!
The superhero teacher starts by telling the class they are going to have a lockdown drill. She let’s the students share what they think that means and what they already know about it. The teacher does a great job telling the class WHY they are practicing the lockdown drill. The WHY is the hardest part for me to explain to my teacher. Being it’s a superhero school, it makes perfect sense that they would discuss they may have to go into a lockdown if there was a dragon outside the door. In my real classroom, I wouldn’t tell my class we are practicing in case a dragon comes. In this book it totally works and helps ease the students into the discussion about why we might go into a lockdown since they know it wouldn’t be because of a dragon. I LOVE having this as a way to open the discussion with what might be the cause of a lockdown.
Other locations
I really loved how the author didn’t just end the book on the note of going into a lockdown in the classroom, but also mentioned what would happen if they were in gym or at recess or lunch. This is something I have not talked with my class about because I would ensure we aren’t in those places during a drill. (Since drills are put on the calendar.) It is important to address this though in case something happens and there is a lockdown while away from the classroom. I really loved this part of the book and how it tells the students to LOOK and GO to their TEACHER.
Various Emotions
On one of the pages, it has a picture of the various emotions students may be feeling during or after the lockdown drill. The illustrator did a wonderful job representing the different reactions and emotions a student may experience. The illustration has a student: 1. that is a little worried, but ok, 2. a student that is completely fine and may even want to goof off 3. the rule follower who is shushing others 4. a student that is nervous/afraid
Teacher checks in
Many times, we teachers are used to the drills, and we are just glad to get them over. It takes 10 minutes (or more) of our learning time and messed up our routine. So when it is finally over, we just want to get going. I really like that this book reminds us teachers, to do a check in with our students. The superhero teacher invites students to get a hug or high five if needed, and I really loved that.
Free resources!
Recap and Practice
I absolutely love how the author did a couple reminders at the end of the story! There is a page of superhero power match ups that I think is super fun and could be used for a reading activity.
Download the after reading activity to do with the class to recap what was read and to discuss what are the behaviors during a lockdown drill. This is such a fun thing to help the students connect to what was read and prepare them for the lockdown drill. While doing this activity, you can practice what the drill should look like. For example, when you talk about vanish superpower, now would be a good time to show the class where they would go during a lockdown. Have the class stand up and show them where to go. Practice with them. Showing and doing is always better than just listening and watching.
Some resources to use with Lockdown Drill at Superhero School
In the free download on TeachersPayTeachers, there are the following resources:
1. Reading strategies before, during and after reading.
2. Speech bubble mini lesson and assignment.
3. Superpower Match Up activity (color for class and black and white for student).
4. Poster for your classroom (not yet ready).
Lockdown Drill at Superhero School is a wonderful book to prepare students for a lockdown, but can also open the discussion for other drills. This book is not just for kindergartners, but for any grade! It is a fantastic resource for younger grade, but there are still students in older grades that may have anxiety that could be triggered because of a drill. I recommend this book is available in all schools, but as a teacher, I would want it in my classroom, so I can pull it out whenever I need to. DOWNLOAD or ORDER the book HERE!
Lockdown Drill at Superhero School was published by Pull a Wagon Publishing. The author Tamara Rittershaus has her Author site where you can read more about her and her other books. Tamara has also created some preschool-2nd grade worksheets to go with the book. They are a great additional resource! Check them out here!
Hands clap to Tamara for being the author of a much needed book in classrooms! You can get it as a download, but for the classroom I recommend choosing the actual soft cover book!
