Ashlei Steffan
Wilder-Waite Elementary School
Dunlap, IL
Fall 2024
Wilder-Waite Elementary is one of five elementary schools in the Dunlap School District, serving students from Early Childhood through 5th grade.
The Fire Truck Project took place in a full-day kindergarten classroom consisting of 20 students, ages 5–6, supported by Ashlei Steffan, classroom teacher, and Jenny Dobra, classroom aide.
The classroom reflected a diverse range of student needs, including speech and language services, English as a Second Language (ESL) support, occupational therapy, Tier 2 literacy interventions, and Individualized Education Program (IEP) support for both behavioral and academic development.
Phase 1: Beginning the Project
In our kindergarten classroom, we began a Project Approach study on fire trucks that spanned approximately six weeks. The topic was inspired by a meaningful real-life experience. Like all students and staff, we regularly practice fire drills to promote safety; however, one particular drill captured the children’s attention in a powerful way. One morning, a wiring error triggered a false fire alarm, and we had to evacuate the building. This unexpected event sparked curiosity, questions, and rich conversations about fire and fire trucks.
As students eagerly shared their wonderings, we created an anticipatory web to document what they already knew about fire trucks and firefighters. This process helped guide the direction of our study. From there, the project expanded as we investigated how fire trucks operate, the tools they carry, and how firefighters help keep our community safe.
During brainstorming, students shared their ideas about fire and noticed a fire hydrant near our school. We took a walk across the parking lot to observe and sketch the hydrant, encouraging close attention to detail. Back in the building, students integrated math skills by tallying the number of fire alarms throughout the school.
Working collaboratively in small groups with Mrs. Steffan and Mrs. Dobra, students shared their questions and wonderings about fire-related topics. Students wondered:
- what would happen if there were no fire hydrant near a fire
- whether a fire hydrant could ever run out of water or freeze during the winter
- what the inside of a fire truck looks like
- why fire trucks come in different colors, not just red
- how firefighters know where an emergency or fire is located so they can respond quickly; this specific question had many pondering if a firefighter could know where they lived without actually knowing their families
These discussions helped shape the next steps of our investigation. Through these experiences, students began building foundational knowledge while developing an understanding of fire safety in their community.
Phase 2: Developing the Project
During Phase 2, students participated in several investigative activities. These included:
- exploration of fire-fighter gear
- learning through informational texts
- interviewing a guest expert
- visiting to a fire station
- creating a pumper fire truck
Exploration of Fire-Fighter Gear
To help support the children’s learning and curiosity, Mrs. Steffan reached out to the classroom families to see if anyone had connections to firefighters. One student had a father who was a firefighter, while another had an uncle. The uncle of one of the students graciously allowed the class to borrow his extra firefighter equipment bag, giving the children a deeper opportunity to explore and try on real gear.
The students gathered in a large circle on the carpet, filled with anticipation as they waited to see what gear was inside the bag. They chatted among themselves and made predictions about what they thought they might find. When the bag was finally opened and items began to come out, the room became quiet with curiosity. The students immediately began to notice the smell of smoke and fire embedded in the clothing, which added to their sense of awe. Laughter, giggles, and smiles filled the room as students worked in small groups to experience each item in the bag. They often helped one another as they tried on the heavy firefighter jacket, struggled to balance while stepping into oversized boots, and adjusted helmets that were too large for their heads. This sensory experience provided a concrete understanding of the physical demands of a firefighter’s role.
Learning Through Informational Texts
When students began showing a strong interest in firefighters and fire trucks, Mrs. Steffan responded by gathering a variety of informational texts to support their learning. She collected books from the school library, visited the public library, and also sent a message to families asking if they had any books at home about firefighters or fire trucks that could be shared with the class.
As the books arrived, Mrs. Steffan strategically displayed the twelve books on a classroom shelf at the students’ eye level. This intentional placement encouraged independent exploration, continued curiosity, and ongoing conversations among the children. Students naturally gravitated toward the texts during their morning free time, and Mrs. Steffan also read the books over time aloud to the class for enjoyment and shared learning.
Later, students were paired with partners to revisit and explore the familiar texts together. During this partner work, they were observed discussing specific images that captured their attention and collaborating to identify bold words, diagrams, and captions they felt were important to record in their research. These young investigators explored literacy with a meaningful purpose.
Interviewing a Guest Expert
To extend their learning Mrs. Steffan arranged for one of her student’s fathers, a firefighter, to visit the classroom and share about his job while answering the thoughtful questions students had prepared in advance. To help them generate questions, students met in two groups to discuss their wonderings, which Mrs. Steffan and Mrs. Dobra had recorded on anchor charts displayed in the classroom and revisited throughout the study. Mrs. Steffan reviewed each child’s question to confirm whether it still reflected their thinking or needed to be revised, then typed each question.
Prior to the visit, students spent time practicing writing using a clipboard. To help prepare for the visitor, Mrs. Steffan also supported students in practicing how to: ask questions, wait patiently for a response, and use their best effort to record the expert’s answers on their paper/clipboard.
When the father arrived, he was dressed in the uniform firefighters wear while working at the fire station. He also brought along all the special gear firefighters use during emergencies, including the oxygen tank they wear when entering a fire. As the firefighter explained his job, he carefully showed the students each piece of equipment and described its purpose before putting it on himself. Once he was wearing all of the gear (including thick firefighter pants, a heavy jacket, neck protection, and a helmet), he turned on the oxygen tank so the children could hear the loud release of pressure. He also modeled what a firefighter might sound like while wearing the mask and oxygen tank. This had many students giggling as the father’s voice sounded different but then got quiet as students were really soaking in the moment.
After the expert finished sharing about his profession, students transitioned into the role of interviewers and asked their prepared questions. Mrs. Dobra and Mrs. Steffan supported students as needed, quietly whispering their questions in their ears for those who felt nervous or forgot what they wanted to ask. Naturally, other questions came about but students were eager to get the questions on their papers answered. Both teachers also recorded the expert’s responses to ensure accurate information would be shared when revisited later. This hour-long experience helped students become familiar with the sounds and appearance of firefighters in full gear and deepened their understanding through meaningful questions and hands-on experiences.
Visiting a Fire Station
Mrs. Steffan worked with a local fire station to organize a site visit. In preparation for the field site visit, students were organized into focus groups, with each group responsible for collecting specific information to later share with the class. Focus group tasks included sketching, questioning, and data collection. At the fire station, firefighters played a key role in answering questions and explaining how each part of a fire truck works together to respond efficiently to emergencies. Students were able to touch the fire truck, sit in the driver’s seat, feel the strength of a fire hose, and observe how teamwork supports the daily operations of a fire station.
Upon returning to school, one student was asked by another teacher how the field trip went. The student politely, yet confidently, responded that the class had participated in a “field site visit” to gather information and become experts—demonstrating a strong sense of ownership and understanding of the learning process.
Creating a Pumper Fire Truck
Following these experiences, students reflected on and represented their learning by revisiting their initial web of wonderings and comparing their early ideas with the new knowledge they had gained throughout the project.
As a class, the students chose to represent their understanding through the collaborative creation of a large pumper fire truck. After paying particular attention to what parts of the fire truck students seemed the most interested in and their social emotional and group work skills, Mrs. Steffan organized students into groups where they were assigned a specific part of the pumper truck to construct.
During the construction process, each morning during free play, students chattered with members of their group about new thoughts for the afternoon’s construction time. They took ownership of the process by organizing their ideas and communicating with Mrs. Steffan and their families about the materials needed for the project. Students excitedly brought in a variety of items from home that they believed could serve a purpose on the pumper truck, including tubes from wrapping paper and paper towels, plastic soup containers, bottle lids, rope, and foil. One student’s family also had a connection to a local appliance store and was able to donate two large refrigerator boxes for the project.
With all of these materials displayed and available, students used their creativity, problem-solving skills, and teamwork to collaboratively construct an amazing pumper fire truck over the course of four days. During the first day of building the pumper truck, the group responsible for constructing the body of the truck spent much of their time working through the challenge of keeping the refrigerator box standing upright instead of continually collapsing. This caused some frustration among the students, and several wanted Mrs. Steffan or Mrs. Dobra to simply tell them how to solve the problem. However, perseverance and problem-solving had been discussed before the creation process began, and one student reminded another, “They aren’t going to tell us what to do. We’re going to have to figure this out together.”
While one group worked through their challenge, other groups began painting, measuring, learning how to use the school’s die-cut machine to create letters, carefully using hot glue with supervision, using kid-friendly Makedo tools to cut cardboard, and working through disagreements and settling on a compromise when needed.
Throughout the process, Mrs. Steffan and Mrs. Dobra guided the students and followed their lead, only stepping in to help after students presented their plan and explained what assistance they needed because they could not complete it independently. One important rule throughout the project was, “If you can do it, do it.”
Phase 3: Concluding the Project
In the final phase of the project, students proudly displayed their work, including research, sketches, photographs, and written documentation, making their learning visible throughout the classroom.
As a culminating activity, students completed their large collaborative fire truck, incorporating the many parts and features they had studied. This hands-on representation allowed them to synthesize their learning while continuing to strengthen teamwork and communication skills.
To celebrate their accomplishments, families were invited into the classroom to view the students’ work and hear directly from the children, who had become true experts on fire trucks. Students eagerly shared their knowledge, explaining how fire trucks operate and the important role firefighters play in keeping communities safe.
Teacher Reflection
Through this project, students developed a deeper understanding of fire trucks and firefighting. Doing so, they strengthened skills such as investigating, researching, discovering, problem solving, examining, and maintaining curiosity and perseverance. Students collaborated to solve problems, worked through disagreements, and applied skills such as measuring, spelling, and creative thinking. Their work reflected not only academic growth but also joy, pride, and a strong sense of teamwork.
Additionally, the project supported the integration of numerous kindergarten state standards across all phases, highlighting the meaningful and interdisciplinary nature of learning through the Project Approach.
Engaging in an in-depth study of fire trucks was highly meaningful for the class, especially since fire safety is a concept students encounter regularly through school fire drills. All students entered the project with some level of prior knowledge, whether from seeing a fire truck or from personal experiences.
Taking a step back and viewing learning through the students’ perspective was incredibly inspiring. Watching their minds actively question, analyze, and make connections highlighted the power of student-driven inquiry. While engagement varied at times, every student was invested and learning throughout the process.
At the conclusion of the project, during a separate reading discussion, one student raised his hand and suggested that the class should “investigate” another topic and begin a new project. Many classmates agreed, demonstrating not only their enthusiasm but also their understanding of the learning process. This moment served as powerful evidence that students had developed a sense of ownership over their learning and were beginning to view the world through a more curious and thoughtful lens.