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Pre-Show
IGNITE STUDENT CURIOSITY
Edison International and NTC are thrilled to bring The Safety Detectives to your school — a live, theatrical experience for students in grades K-5. Through the power of performance, two talented actors blend education and entertainment to guide students through an exploration of electricity & electrical safety. We’ve put together this toolkit to help support you in maximizing this experience for your students. It contains classroom and at-home resources for use before and after the performance. The Safety Detectives is aligned with state and national standards and covers the following topics:
- What electricity is
- The uses of electricity
- How to identify dangerous electrical conditions
- How to prevent electrical fires
Help Students Be Good Audience Members
Many students may not have experienced live theatre before, and learning to be a good audience member takes practice. We have prepared a video to assist your students in this learning. Share it with your class before the performance to get everyone ready for the show.
The actors will also open the show with a reminder about being good audience members to help reinforce these skills.
Activate Prior Knowledge
Get your students thinking about the topics covered in the performance through the Know, Wonder, Learned (KWL) chart linked here. This can be completed as a group or individually. Complete the Know and Wonder sections before the show, and the Learned section afterwards.
Get a ready-to-use KWL chart designed for whole class instruction—perfect for projecting, presenting, or printing for group use.
Grab a student-friendly KWL chart—ideal for independent work, small groups, or personal reflection.
Vocabulary Words and Definitions
Before the show, help your students get familiar with key vocabulary related to electricity & electrical safety. You can integrate them into lesson plans or review them together as a class.
Vocabulary
Conductor – Material or object that electricity passes through easily
Damaged Cords – Electrical cords that are cracked or broken and may have wires showing
Electrical Safety – Being careful when using electricity to prevent dangerous situations
Electricity – A type of energy that powers lights, computers, TVs and many other things
Energy – The ability to make things work or change
Furnace – An appliance that keeps your house warm in the winter
Insulator – Material or object that electricity does not travel through easily
Outlet – A spot on the wall where we plug in electrical devices
Smoke Alarm – A device that makes a loud noise to warn you if there’s a fire
Space Heater – An appliance that can be moved around to warm different rooms
It's Showtime!
Now that your students’ curiosity has been ignited, enjoy and participate in the show!
POST-show
EXTEND STUDENT LEARNING
The show may be over, but the learning doesn’t have to stop. Use the resources below to help deepen your students’ understanding of electricity & electrical safety.
And don’t forget to complete a program evaluation at HeyTeachers.org! It helps NTC continue creating great programs, and you will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win $250 for your classroom.
Summarize Key Concepts
Spark classroom conversation about electricity & electrical safety, give students a chance to reflect on the performance and encourage critical thinking.
Using the Know, Wonder, Learned (KWL) chart, complete the final section: Learned. As a group or individually, students can summarize their key takeaways from the performance.
Lesson Plans
Continue to bring electricity & electrical safety to life through the following arts-integrated and hands-on lesson plans.
This lesson integrates basic acting tools (body, voice, and imagination) for students to act out vocabulary words. By using movement to embody the meaning of each word, students are more likely to retain its meaning and concept. It is a fun way to differentiate instruction to help students learn and remember the meaning of words.
This format is particularly powerful because students have to use vocabulary words from two different angles — as the confused “asker” who doesn’t fully understand, and as the knowledgeable “expert” who does. That dual perspective requires a deeper grasp of word meaning than a one-directional task. It works well with any topic.
Students explore how electricity flows through a circuit by identifying its four basic components—power source, transmission, switch, and load—then investigate static electricity through hands-on balloon experiments and observations.
Students learn about conductors, insulators, and electrical hazards through an interactive team game that challenges them to make safe decisions about everyday electrical situations, including downed power lines.
Encore
Engage Independent Learning
Keep the learning going with digital games, printable activities and take-home materials your students can explore on their own. Sending resources home helps reinforce the message beyond the classroom and keeps the conversation growing with families.
Games and Activites
Your students get their own toolkit too — packed with fun games and activities that reinforce what they learned. Share the link below with your class!
Digital Booklet
The activities and puzzles in this booklet review key concepts from the show and can help extend student learning at home and in the classroom.
Bring the Learning Home
Send these take-home resources with your students to spark conversations with their families and reinforce the message beyond the classroom.
Additional Resources
[Addtional links here]
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