Reading the Road: Sign Shapes, Colors, and Who Goes First

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Career and Technical Education · Driver's Education
SP-DRIVE-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Reading the Road: Sign Shapes, Colors, and
Who Goes First
Career and Technical Education · Driver's Education · Grades 9-11 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). No board work needed.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then review answers as a class.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will match common road sign shapes and colors to their general meanings and choose the
safest response in right-of-way situations.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Read the short note at the top of the worksheet so you can repeat it: sign details and laws differ, so students
should use their own state’s driver manual for exact rules.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today is about reading the road. You will match the shapes and colors of common signs to what they
mean, and then decide what the safest choice is in a few driving situations. Remember, this is general safe-driving
practice. For the exact rules where you live, your state’s driver manual is the official source. Work on your own first
and we will go over the answers at the end.

SubstitutePlans.com
Career and Technical Education · Driver's Education
SP-DRIVE-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet face down. Ask
students to wait.
Settle in and get a pencil.
5–10
Read the note at the top of the worksheet aloud. Ask: “Why
do you think signs use different shapes and colors instead
of just words?” Take two quick answers.
Listen and share ideas.
10–22
Tell students to complete the matching section, questions
1–8. Walk the room and encourage them to start with the
signs they are sure about.
Match each sign description to its meaning.
22–35
Tell students to answer the right-of-way scenarios,
questions 9–12.
Choose the safest response for each
scenario.
35–42
Tell students to complete true/false questions 13–15.
Mark each statement true or false.
42–48
Tell students to answer questions 16 and 17.
Write short answers.
48–50
Collect all worksheets and place them in a stack for the
teacher.
Hand in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If a student says a sign looks different where they live, say that is possible and the state manual is the official
guide. Today’s answers use the general description given on the page.
• If students share stories of risky driving, thank them and redirect to the worksheet’s safe-choice questions.
• If students argue about who has the right-of-way in real life, remind them that the worksheet asks for the
safest choice, and that real rules come from the state manual.
• If a student finishes early, use the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Sketch the shapes of the stop, yield, and warning signs on the back and label the colors in words.
• Write two more driving situations and the safest response for each.
Support and challenge
• Support: Read each sign description aloud and let students match in pairs.
• Challenge: Ask students to explain why a driver should not rely only on the sign’s words and should also use
its shape and color.

SubstitutePlans.com
Career and Technical Education · Driver's Education
SP-DRIVE-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: