MASL: Emergency Rescue!



			Scholastic Books, 1993 SUMMARY: Matt Rich and Davey Mountain serve as active junior members of their town's Rescue Squad. The emergencies that come their way are dangerous and life threatening. The two Maine boys must think quickly, keep their wits active and do the right thing. Join them in ten exciting emergency rescues! LEVEL: Grades 4 - 7 THEMES: survival providing a service to society assisting to develop a sense of responsibility and self-worth dealing safely with dangerous situations ACTIVITIES: 1. The Cowans were featured speakers at the MEMA (now MASL) Fall conference in 1995. They suggested two different ways of extending their Rescue stories. (Each of the two books contains five.) Have the students read three to five stories. In pairs, students make a graphic representation (e.g. web or chart) of the common story structures, considering patterns found in each vignette and generalizing these elements into an outline or model of a "typical" Emergency Rescue! story. Then, with the adventures that students didn't use in the model building, have the students: a. Read just the plot of a "new" adventure and fill out a blank Emergency Rescue Form with the corresponding events. Try to do this without looking back at the text. b. Hand out to individual students (or pairs) a completed rescue form from the "new or unfamiliar" book. Ask students to write a fictional story based on the facts given in the report. Compare/contrast the resulting stories. 2. Select a news story from a local paper, a national magazine or one from your own experience which involves an emergency. Fill out an Emergency Rescue Report. Write a story which features you and a friend as the Junior Rescue Squad members. Send it to the Cowans whose address appears in the back of each book. (They have received nearly a 1,000 reports from all over the world!) 3. In both books, the Cowans utilize a consistent structure. Make a complete Table of Contents for each book. Even the smallest elements are worth noting here, so be sure to include: Disclaimer Acknowledgments Dedication Decoder guide Glossary Blank form The internal structure within each story. About the Authors (Note: The publishers didn't wish to include this piece but the Cowans insisted.) As a journal entry write about your impression of each piece included in the new Table of contents. How do they affect your opinion of the rescue stories? 4. Lois and James (whom everyone calls Terry) are a fascinating pair! The About the Author section notes that they have eight children; that alone is a significant feat! a. The Cowans have taken a hobby (emergency rescue), and made it fodder for their books and their lives. Both husband and wife are paramedics. During the following months, your class may wish to keep a chart which tracks other authors' inspiration. Where do they get their ideas? The Cowans advice to the young writer is to start with something you know and jump off from there. Have a debate on the pros and cons of that statement. Read what Betsy Byars has to say about that concept in Moon and I. b. Their working method is also worth noting. It is the act of writing books that has put bread on the table and college under their children's mental belts. Self discipline is absolutely crucial for them. They set a daily goal to be sitting in front of the computer at 6:30 AM and work until breakfast at 8:00. They know that once they are into the writing for the day, they will go immediately back after they eat. In this manner they don't let all the daily chores impinge upon creative writing time. Have students keep a daily log for a month noting times that they feel creative, and times that they feel at "loose ends." Each student could then chart out the best times of day to tackle homework, do creative writing or any of their daily chores. c. It was fascinating to hear that this couple uses ONE computer, with ONE keyboard and they are still married. Their work is truly a collaboration. If one feels too much ego is invested in a section the other wishes to change, they mutually agree to toss it out. During the next cooperative project in the classroom, discuss strategies for delegating work, accountability and feelings that are involved in working together. Ask the students to make a special note in their writing journals about how it felt to work with a partner. What were some strengths; what were so weaknesses? How were problems solved? 5a. As a class, define EMERGENCY. Compare with the Cowan's definition, a dictionary or encyclopedia definition. Visit Princeton University Outdoor Action Program which defines "accident." List the common elements on the board. It will probably have something to do with UNEXPECTEDNESS and a CALL FOR ACTION. Brainstorm lists of emergencies in small groups and ask each group to organize them on a continuum of small to large. What are some of the factors that are important in deciding if an emergency is on a large scale or a small one? Include the appropriate vocabulary for any terms you employ. (For instance, a mass casualty incident is one which overtaxes the local emergency resources. Take the full continuum chart to a local Rescue Squad and ask for their input on the class decisions. b. Emergencies generally call for "fast action." A responder must either have the necessary reactions at the top of his or her mind or they must have extremely fast access to the information. In groups of three, make a double list of pros and cons of being familiar with emergency information ahead of time. Then examine all the emergency material available to the class (check out your local library). Some books are set up for quick reference and some aren't. What characteristics assure that a resource has easy access to its information? In the story "Spill" (Trouble at Moosehead Lake) Matt looks up the code for a tank truck he sees on the highway. How could he find what he is looking for? Plan and carry out a lesson for a younger grade demonstrating how to use an index; make sure that it is subject specific to what the students are doing in class. 6. Make a list of idioms involving emergencies. Make a graphic presentation of literal meanings versus figurative meanings to put on display in the hall. keep your shirt on * keep your head on your shoulders stick one's neck out * a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. hold your horses cry wolf * in a pretty pickle * (* For derivations, you might wish to see Funk, Charles. Heavens to Betsy: And more than 400 other colorful words and their origins. Warner, 1955.) 7. PREVENTION of emergencies is just as important as being knowledgeable in the face of an existing "situation." Some things to do to be prepared: - Have the class make a list of emergency phone numbers to post by home and school phones. (The Cowans' books have a form inside the back cover.) Decide whether a long list is best or a short list. Decide what type of print should be used? Color of paper, graphics etc. (See continuum in activity # 3 above.) Does your area have a 9-1-1 number? If not, why not? (Call the town office.) Find out about the statewide initiatives around consistency. (Target date for 9-1-1 in all communities is 1997. Has this project been completed?) - Work on a sample call. What exactly must you tell the person on the other end of the line? (Don't hang up until dispatch instructs you to.) - Assemble a first aid kit and its use policy for the classroom. - How do you communicate an emergency? Phone, SOS (Morse code), semaphore, ground markers. How do people non-verbally communicate an emergency? For example, Clutching your throat has become a universal sign for "I'm choking.") Have interested students learn about these techniques and demonstrate to the class. Ask the audience to list strengths and weakness for each method. 8a. Where would you find out what your local area offers as far as First Aid courses? Have the students invite someone local who is knowledgeable in First Aid. b. Obtain a copy of the Maine EMS form. Find out what type of training is needed to be qualified to respond to emergencies listed in question 5a. Go to Princeton University Outdoor Action Program and download their form. Princeton is collecting all their data to note and disseminate trends. What are the similarities and differences in all the forms? Are there some elements that are better than others? Why or why not? 9. Many of the "emergency books" found in libraries were published many years ago. Make a chart listing book titles and their copyright dates down the side. Select five emergency incidents and list across the top. Compare recommendations below. What's changed? (How many talk about the necessity for rubber gloves?) Should any action be taken concerning these books? Why or why not? 10. World Wide Web Activities ¥ Princeton University Outdoor Action Program http://www.princeton.edu/~rcurtis/safeman.html Outdoor Safety Management Workshop. This site is excellent and contains links to other First Aid and Outdoor Safety on the Net. It also includes Planning a Safe River Trip. One section looks at pre-planning components such as knowing the river, knowing the group, knowing your own skills and having the right equipment. Use this as a model for setting up either your own Home Page or a different environmental activity. Use the model on this page to develop your own Environmental + Human Factor Hazards Schema for a specific outdoor activity besides River Traveling. ¥ Use the Internet to search for further information on Hazardous Materials. After reading "Spill" make a list of all the characteristics of chlorine you learned from the story. Observe and catalog the diamond shaped hazmat numbers on the backs of tank trucks. Include in your note taking possible destinations in Maine and the eventual use of these chemicals. Search some internet sites to ascertain the validity of these facts. ¥ A list of sites which provide Material Safety Data Sheets: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/EHSLINKS/#MATERIAL_SAFETY_DATA_SHEETS_(MSDS) there is a clear caveat: "This is the generic and total disclaimer. These Material Safety Data Sheets are provided as a public service to the world community. The intended purpose of this database is to provide access to students and teachers as a learning/teaching tool. Neither the University of Utah, nor any of its agents are liable for the accuracy, or inaccuracy, of the Material Safety Data Sheets in this collection. You assume the liability for the use of any part of any one of these Material Safety Data Sheets." Write a letter or e-mail to a local attorney who could assist you with advice on legal implications. Use the internet search engines (for example: Alta Vista, Webcrawler, InfoSeek Search and Lycos) to read about Search and Rescue (SAP) all over the country. Make a list of the Keywords which are lucrative resources. Discuss why some words or phrases turn up more sites than others? What type of information is found? Is it exactly what you are looking for? (Compare with information obtained by contacting the organization MSAR (Maine Search and Rescue) or reading magazines such as Rescue and JEMS. On the "hits" that get directly on Emergency Rescue Teams, ask students to write in their journals about the geographically specific information found on examples around the country. also checkout the Home pages of JEMS at http://www.jems.com 11. In Maniguet's book, Survival many myths are listed. Have students develop an insert to explain what the people should have done. 12. Specific stories from the Cowans: a. "Trouble at Moosehead Lake:" In groups of two, read and discuss information about Chinook dogs. Call the Chinook breeders in Waldoboro (Perry Green Kennels) to obtain their Chinook newsletter.) Are they the most commonly known sled dog? What attributes do they have that were important to this story? Would the story be different if another type of dog were selected? b. Draw a diagram of how elevators work that could be included (Attach to inside the front cover of the book that includes "Stuck.") c. Cover art. Find out how cover art originates (i.e. how is it selected? Who chooses the colors.) Read the story "Nightmare at Norton's Mills." Find the three mistakes on the cover; this is typical of cover art. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bendick, Jeanne. The emergency book. Rand McNally, 1967. Prevention of emergencies is stressed as well as advice given on what to do - and not do - when unexpected situations arise. Includes tips on household, sports, weather, fire, water and sitter emergencies. Berry, Joy. Every kid's guide to responding to danger. Children's Press, 1987. Topics include: how to understand and respond to fear, how objects and places can be dangerous, how to respond to dangerous situations. Blakely, Cindy. The look out! book: A child's guide to street safety. Scholastic, 1986. A guidebook for young children outdoors as they deal with traffic; strange animals and people and other possible perils. Gore, Harriet Margolis. What to do when there's no one but you. Stories illustrate common first aid problems, from cuts to broken bones, and show step-by-step illustrated instructions for caring for these injuries. MacManners, Hugh. The complete wilderness training book. Kindersley, 1994. Contains sections on basic equipment, finding food and water, moving and living in the wild. (Includes list of dangerous communicable diseases.) Maniguet, Xavier. Survival How to prevail in hostile environments. Facts on File. 1988. Divided into three sections: Major threats, hostile environments; Science and survival, this book conveys a variety of information and dispels myths. Taylor, L. B. Emergency Squads. Franklin Watts, 1980. Discusses the work of emergency squads, including medical emergency units, bomb squads, and those who handle special weapons, suicide prevention and hostage negotiation. Vandernburg, Mary Lou. Help! Emergencies that could happen to you and how to handle them. Lerner, 1975. Presents everyday emergencies involving fire, lightning, animal and insects bites, and swimming and skating accidents, and discusses common-sense solutions to those situations. TRUE STORIES OF SURVIVAL Callahan, Steve. Adrift: Seventy-six days lost at sea. Ballantine, 1986. Fendler, Donn. Lost on a Mountain in Maine. Welles, 1939. Maniguet, Xavier. Survival: How to prevail in hostile environments. Facts on File. 1988. (Each sub-section has a part entitled: "True tales of survival") There are many fine bibliographies on fictional survival stories, such as: http://www.logan.lib.ut.us/booklist/children/survive.htm Prepared by Abigail Garthwait, Revised 01/01
				Home \| About MASL \| What's New? \| Professional Development \| Resources \| Index Contact: Web Manager