• Survival Signs Curriculum
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Survival Signs (Curriculum, Indoor & Outdoor Signs, Worksheets, Complete Program)

Survival Signs (Curriculum, Indoor & Outdoor Signs, Worksheets, Complete Program)

Grades 2 - 12 | Ages 7 - 18

By Janie Haugen-McLane

$132.00 CAD
$132.00 CAD
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Survival Signs Curriculum helps students learn 80 essential signs for everyday community safety and independence.

The Survival Signs Curriculum, created by PCI’s Janie Haugen McLane, equips students with the skills they need to recognize and understand 80 of the most common indoor and outdoor survival signs. Designed for inclusive classrooms and functional life skills instruction, this evidence-based program teaches students how to read and respond to signs found in public places, at home, and in the workplace. Through clear visuals, step-by-step instruction, and real-world applications, students develop the confidence to travel and navigate their communities more safely.

What makes this curriculum so effective?

This curriculum is a trusted tool for special education professionals because it blends visual learning, repetition, and real-world application:

  • Covers 80 indoor and outdoor signs found in schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and public spaces.
  • Teaches both the visual symbol and the accompanying text to support diverse learners.
  • Designed for nonreaders and emerging readers who rely on visuals to determine meaning
  • Includes built-in discussion activities and community mapping for hands-on, experiential learning.
  • Encourages students to connect sign recognition with safety, independence, and practical behaviour.

Why this learning approach works so well:

Understanding survival signs is a foundational skill for community safety and independence. By using visuals, context-based learning, and repetition, this program ensures that students of all abilities can practice and retain these critical skills. The real-world nature of the content allows for meaningful discussion, modelling, and role play using strategies proven to be effective in special education and life skills training.

Who is the Survival Signs Curriculum helpful for?

This curriculum targets community safety and functional reading development in students in grades 2 through 12. The Survival Signs Curriculum is an educational resource for Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs), special educators, teachers, and parents. Its versatility makes this curriculum great for various learning environments, including small or large groups in the classroom, in one-on-one therapy sessions, or at home.

Components of the Survival Signs Curriculum include:

Curriculum

The Survival Signs Curriculum is a softcover curriculum containing a two-page teaching guide for each of the 40 indoor and 40 outdoor survival signs. It employs a detailed method for both the visuals and words on each sign.

The guide also includes discussion activities and a reproducible Community Trip Record Chart for the teacher to record the various places in the community where each sign is located.

See the curriculum:

176 pages • 8.5 x 11 • softcover • ©1998

Indoor Signs

The 40 Indoor Survival Signs include:

  1. Accessible
  2. Ask for Restroom Key
  3. Automatic Door
  4. Closed
  5. Do Not Touch
  6. Elevator
  7. Escalator
  8. Exit
  9. Fire Extinguisher
  10. First Aid
  11. Flammable
  12. Food
  13. Guide Dogs Allowed
  14. Hard Hat Area
  15. In and Out
  16. In Case of Fire, Use Stairs
  17. Keep Out
  18. Men's Restroom
  19. No Alcohol or Drugs
  20. No Food or Drinks
  21. No Pets
  22. No Smoking
  23. No Weapons
  24. Not an Exit
  25. Open
  26. Out of Order
  27. Poison
  28. Recycle
  29. Restroom
  30. Shoplifters/Prosecuted
  31. Slippery When Wet
  32. Smoking Area
  33. Stairs
  34. Waiting Area
  35. Wash Hands
  36. Watch Your Step
  37. Water Fountain
  38. Wet Floor
  39. Wet Paint
  40. Women's Restroom

Outdoor Signs

The 40 Outdoor Survival Signs include:

  1. Airport
  2. Beware of Dog
  3. Bike Route
  4. Buckle Up for Safety
  5. Bus Stop
  6. Call 911 Emergency
  7. Do Not Enter
  8. Don't Walk
  9. Fire Station
  10. Flood Gauge
  11. High Voltage/Danger
  12. Hospital
  13. Keep Off the Grass
  14. Neighborhood Crime Watch
  15. No Bicycles
  16. No Diving
  17. No Parking
  18. No Swimming
  19. No Trespassing
  20. No Walking
  21. One Way
  22. Pedestrian Crossing
  23. Phone
  24. Picnic Area
  25. Pitch In!
  26. Railroad Crossing
  27. Reserved Parking/Disabilities
  28. School Xing
  29. School Xing/Hearing Impair
  30. School Zone/Speed Limit 20
  31. Signal Ahead
  32. Slow/Children at Play
  33. Speed Limit 30
  34. Stop
  35. Stop Ahead
  36. Street Crossing
  37. Walk
  38. Wrong Way
  39. Yield
  40. Yield Ahead

Worksheets

This collection of Survival Signs Worksheets gives individuals written practice in learning the functional meaning of important signage at home, at work, and in the community. The easy-to-follow worksheets feature large, detailed illustrations of the signs to help participants with limited reading skills.

The 200 reproducible blackline masters are a perfect hands-on complement to the entire Survival Signs Curriculum. Effective with students of all ages, the worksheet format helps visual learners, and those with limited reading and/or comprehension skills, learn to recognize the picture symbols and the written words on signs.

Divided into two sections, Survival Signs Worksheets, contains the worksheets that cover the signs in groups of five. As participants become familiar with the first group, additional signs are added to the worksheet program. After 10 signs have been covered, review worksheets mix the survival signs for more challenging practice. This process is continued until all 80 signs have been taught and reviewed.

The worksheet formats help participants learn to recognize both the international symbols and/or the written words on the survival signs. Participants are asked to perform tasks such as Match the Sign, Circle the Sign, Circle the Word, and Complete the Sign. Focusing on the picture symbols helps visual learners and individuals with little or no reading skills understand the meaning of signs when in the community.

Complete instructions on “Getting Started” take teachers through a simple step-by-step process for getting the most out of the materials. An Answer Key is also included.

Indoor Signs Worksheets

This set assists individuals in recognizing survival signs they need to know when choosing a restroom, determining wheelchair accessibility of a building, entering or leaving a store, using stairs or elevators, approaching a wet floor, exiting a building during a fire drill or actual fire, locating a water fountain, using the escalator at a hotel, and more.

Outdoor Signs Worksheets

This set assists individuals in recognizing survival signs they need to know when walking in their neighborhood or community, helping the driver of a vehicle watch for directional signs, crossing parking lots, walking to a bus stop, walking to school, and riding a bicycle.

Complete Program

The Survival Signs Complete Program contains a softcover curriculum containing a two-page teaching guide for each survival sign employs a detailed method for both the visuals and words on each sign. The Complete Program also include the 40 outdoor and 40 indoor survival signs.

The program includes discussion activities and a reproducible Community Trip Record Chart for the teacher to record the various places in the community where each sign is located. This curriculum can be used in conjunction with any of the Survival Signs programs giving instructors an assessment tool, teaching methods and materials, and reinforcement practice.

See the curriculum:

176 pages • 8.5 x 11 • softcover • ©1998

Note: The Complete Program does not include the Worksheets which are sold separately.

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