Red, Yellow, and Green

Teaching functional skills and real-world concepts are high on my list of priorities, since the ultimate goal for my students is independence. The Hope Institute uses a Skills Assessment to determine whether or not each student is reaching goals such as dressing, eating properly, interacting with peers appropriately, and so on. Included on this list is personal safety, which encompasses crossing the street, using the crosswalk, and identifying traffic signals.

That is the topic of today's song: learning the meaning of red, yellow, and green as related to the traffic lights. Many teachers use this concept in their classroom or when traveling with students from one place to another, using colored signs to indicate whether students should stop, slow down, or go. Learning and practicing this in a protected environment is the first step in transferring such knowledge to a real-world situation.


Sheet Music: $1


Stop when the light is red.
Go when it's green.
Slow down when the light turns yellow,
That's the color in between.
The traffic lights are red, yellow and green.

Red, red, is at the top,

Of the traffic light.

If you stop when you see red,

Then you know you're doing it right.

CHORUS

Yellow, yellow is in the middle,

Of the traffic light.

If you slow down when you see yellow,

Then you know you're doing it right.

CHORUS

Green, green is at the bottom,

Of the traffic light.

If you go when you see green,

Then you know you're doing it right.

CHORUS

Although the songs I've written cover many of the topics included on my school's Skills Assessment, there are many more opportunities for new tunes to cover this exhaustive list. Of course, I'll be posting them as I write them - an ongoing process that will take me well into the summer, I'm sure!