The Learning Ladder

A Reading and Writing Curriculum for Early Care and Education Teachers, Children and Families

Module 5: Health and Safety in Early Care and Education Programs

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Welcome to the Introduction to Module 5!

Module Objectives

Health and safety are basic concerns for everyone who cares for young children. One of a teacher's most important jobs is to make sure that we give the children under our care a place that is safe and healthy.

In this module you will learn ...

how to help children to stay healthy and get good nutrition.
to make sure your classroom and playground area are safe.
ways to keep children safe in your classrooms.

In this module you will ...

assist children and their parents to learn the best ways to stay heathy.
fill out an accident report and understand what to do in an emergency.
use materials in your classroom that help children maintain their health and cleanliness.

Terms from the Field

Below are words and definitions that you may need when you work as an early care and education teacher. You will learn more about these words later in the module.

When you see the speaker after each of the definitions you can hear the pronunciation of the term and what it means.

diet - the foods and drinks that we eat and drink.

diet [WAV] (47kb WAV file)

diet [RAM] (11kb RAM file)

nutrition practices - the way your center chooses the food that is served, how the food is cooked, and the ways you talk to children and families about food and eating.

nutrition practices [WAV] (112kb WAV file)

nutrition practices [RAM] (23kb RAM file)

accident (or incident) report - a report that records when a child has an accident. It includes such things as how and when the accident happened. It also explains how the teacher responded to the problem.

accident (or incident) report [WAV] (155kb WAV file)

accident (or incident) report [RAM] (33kb RAM file)

germs - small cells that you can't see with your eyes, which pass sickness from person to person. For example, when you cough, there are germs that come out of your mouth and go into the air.

germs [WAV] (134kb WAV file)

germs [RAM] (27kb RAM file)

disinfect - a way of cleaning that makes a surface free of germs. Teachers can use a mixture of bleach and water to disinfect their classrooms.

disinfect [WAV] (117kb WAV file)

disinfect [RAM] (25kb RAM file)

infectious diseases - sicknesses that a person can pass to another person, for example, the flu.

infectious diseases [WAV] (78kb WAV file)

infectious diseases [RAM] (17kb RAM file)

If you find other words that you don't understand, you can do two things :

1. Learn how to identify a word without a dictionary.

Or

2. Use an online dictionary that will be at the bottom of each page. See below.


Now go to the activities for Part 1.