Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A: What is a bushfire/flood
25 minutes	Part B: Understanding bushfires/floods
25 minutes	Part C: Write a survival plan
05 minutes	Reflection

Differentiation

This lesson involves creating a survival plan for bushfire OR flood scenarios. It is at your discretion which of these scenarios would most benefit your class, depending on if your area is frequently affected by bushfires or floods. The independent learning activity in Part C is the same, but the resources will change to give more specific information on either natural disaster.

Part A: What is a bushfire/flood?

Step 1.

Ask students if they can think of a time that their local environment was affected by a bushfire/flood. What happened? What are their memories from that time, or what stories were they told by their parents or relatives? What changed in the community?

Step 2.

What emergency preparations do students have in place or know of? This could be a kit in the back of the family car, a conversation with parents, or something they may have been exposed to in the media. It could be items that have been packed in case of needing to quickly leave the area or escape routes that have been planned in advance.

Some of these may have been revealed in students’ stories from an earlier experience.

Part B: Understanding bushfires/floods

Step 1.

Watch this video about flooding developed by the Bureau of Meteorology.

The science of bushfires explained | ABC News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l38UkQmUISs)

OR

Understanding Floods (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivUKLr8q4sE)

Students might take notes while watching the video.

Step 2.

Discuss the video and ask students to suggest a few ways people could prepare for such an event.

Prompt students by asking:

What causes bushfires? (Lightning and people)
How can fires be of benefit? (They are part of the life cycles of many plants and animals)
Can you name a type of flooding? (Riverina and flash flooding)
Why are floods necessary? (Important for agriculture and the life cycles of many plants and animals)
What makes floods dangerous? (They can move whole cars, buildings and large objects, and can behave erratically. People should not be around waterways when the chance of flooding exists)

Step 3.

Ask students to turn and talk with a partner about how they think people in bushfire-prone or flood-prone areas could prepare for this natural disaster. What should they pack? What should they discuss? Is there any way they could prepare their home or themselves better for this event?

Step 4.

As a class, share your ideas.

Part C: Write a survival plan

Step 1.

In this part, students will be guided through how to prepare a survival plan and kit.

Teachers, check out this Red Cross guide on preparing a disaster plan for more information: https://www.redcross.org.au/globalassets/corporatecms-migration/downloads/pdfs/disaster-plan/red-cross-rediplan-disaster-preparedness-guide.pdf

Step 2.

Now take out your art supplies. Give each student a piece of paper.

Step 3.

Ask students:

How do you think you would feel if you were involved in an emergency situation? Do you think you would be stressed? Afraid?
How will you know you’re feeling this? Some physical symptoms could be an upset stomach, irritability, headaches, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. What you feel and how you respond will be highly individualised.
Draw a self portrait and show your unique symptoms through this drawing.

Step 4.

Ask students:

What might you be thinking during a flood or fire emergency?
Some typical, but unhelpful thoughts might include things like:
- “I can’t cope.”
- “I’m so scared.”
- “We’re all going to die.”
- “I don’t know what to do.”
Draw a thought bubble and write down the thoughts applicable to you.
What could you say to yourself to overcome these thoughts? Examples might be:
- “I can handle this.”
- “I’m prepared.”
- “Just keep breathing”.
Draw a speech bubble and fill it with some of these sayings.

Step 5.

Watch:

How to plan and prepare for bushfires | Emergency Tips | ABC Australia (youtube.com/watch?v=E7LmmU0eEos)

OR

How to plan and prepare for a flood | Emergency Tips | ABC Australia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgNNmfJLhW8)

Students can take notes of what emergencies might affect them, what warning signs they should be on alert for, and any actions they should or shouldn’t take during this emergency.

Step 6.

Students can now start to prepare their survival kit. Instruct students on the following:

At the top of the page, write down your medical information. Are you allergic to anything? Do you take any medication, or have any medical conditions that someone might need to know if you are separated from your parents?
Write down your parent/s or guardian/s mobile numbers (this might be something to do after school)

Step 7.

It’s now time to pack a bag.

Survival items are things that will help if you have to evacuate your home quickly.

As a class, help each other create a list of ‘essential’ items.

For young students, this is probably things like sturdy shoes, warm clothes, and underpants. They might also need a passport, or to think about their passport or immunisation records.

Recovery items are things that will help limit the disruption to your life after the emergency has passed. These will be much more personal to your own needs and situation.

It’s important to take something just for you, to comfort you and make things easier if you have to stay away from home for a long period of time. This could be a favourite book, a teddy bear, or maybe your iPad. But remember, nothing too big that will make it difficult to evacuate.

Remember your pets as well!

Students draw each of these items on their page.

Reflection

Students can share what they have prioritised to take with them in their bags. The class can offer constructive criticism.

Check in with students. Hopefully, they’re feeling a lot more prepared and confident about the possible event of a fire or flood.

Differentiated learning

Extension

Encourage students to start a conversation with their families about how an emergency might affect them. Talk about your strengths as a family unit or where you need more preparation or help. Agree on responsibilities during and after an emergency.

Provisions for learning support

This game (https://www.ready.gov/kids/games/data/bak-english/bedroom.html) is an easier introduction to the task in Part C.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn’t work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Resilient Australia - How to Prepare a Survival Plan and Kit

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