LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Read about the experience of four teen rescue workers; identify the challenges and benefits involved in being a teen rescue worker.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 4: Demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills.

CASEL: Relationship skills; responsible decision-making

KEY VOCAB

intoxicated

expertise

paramedic

Lesson Plan: Our Lives as Rescue Workers

In Darien, Connecticut, the ambulance service is primarily staffed by teens. Here, four of them share how they handle the pressure, what they love about their work, and how it’s changed them.

PREPARING TO READ

Before you read the article “Our Lives as Rescue Workers,” ask your students the following pre-reading question:

What are the challenges and benefits involved in being a teen rescue worker?

READING AND DISCUSSION

  • Have your students read the article “Our Lives as Rescue Workers” independently; read the article out loud to them; or have students partner-read the article out loud.
  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading question. Have their answers changed?

BUILDING COMPREHENSION AND VOCAB

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • Comprehension Quiz
  • Vocab Builder

EXPANDING SEL OPPORTUNITIES

Continue the learning journey with the following writing prompt:

In WRITE TO THE POSTIES!, students will write a half-page to one-page letter to the Posties using what they learned from the article. Have them start by explaining that they enjoyed reading “Our Lives as Rescue Workers” in this month’s Scholastic Choices magazine. From there, they should share the most important things they learned from reading the article. Note: Forward your class’s responses to jyabroff@scholastic.com, and the Choices editorial team will make sure that the Posties receive them!

Print the Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech