Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

05 minutes	Part A: Are you prepared for a disaster?
35 minutes	Part B: Hazard strategies
35 minutes	Part C: Creating a hazard-ready plan
30 minutes	Part D: Hazard ready home
05 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Are you prepared for a hazard?

Step 1.

Ask students if they have an emergency plan at home or know what to do in case of an emergency such as a flood, fire, or earthquake? Students may have various responses and experiences, so ensure you engage with their thoughts and create either a mind map or scribe their responses.

Essentially, you want students to know who to call, what to grab (an emergency kit), and where and how to seek shelter or evacuate.

Step 2.

Let your students know that you’re about to learn how to get even better prepared and will need to work as a team in order to create a plan. Start off by watching: Are you prepared for an emergency? Part 1 (youtu.be/Njy7Y7B5jM4).

Step 3.

After watching the video, conduct a Think – pair – share and ask your class “Why is it important to have a plan of action and what might happen if you are not prepared?”

Possible answers include:

Not having a plan could cause your body to go into severe panic mode which means you are less likely to think clearly and objectively
If you don’t have a kit ready, it will take you longer to prepare and you may not have the luxury of time
In the pressure of the moment, people also become confused - making some odd choices and forgetting important things
If you don’t have a plan you won't know where to meet peers, teachers, community members etc
If you don’t listen to or watch the news you won’t be informed and therefore can’t get prepared in time.

Part B: Hazard strategies

Step 1.

Let your students know that they are going to read a real-case scenario about people who have experienced a hazard. Students will need to take notes and make suggestions in response to the article.

Step 2.

Ask students to read the following ABC article: You want to cry, but you don't dare (abc.net.au/news/backstory/2022-03-17/reporting-trauma-loss-qld-nsw-floods-abc-reporters/100899480) and divide the class into small groups, where they will undertake a “Take note” activity to help them identify the key points in the reading that relate to the effects and hazard preparedness.

Ensure you check in with your class and take note of students that may have experienced a hazard and their sensitivity towards the topic.

Step 3.

Divide the class into small groups, where they will undertake a “Take note” activity to help them identify the key points in the reading that relate to hazard preparedness.

Step 4.

Give each student an index card, and ask them individually to take note of:

one effect of the Queensland and NSW floods disaster on the people and land in the article
one thing people could do in order to be better prepared in the future.

Step 5.

Ask the students to discuss their responses within the group and to record their notes on the Student Worksheet.

Step 6.

While students are working, ask them to nominate one member from each group to report back to the class, and lead a class discussion to draw out the effects of a hazard and how people can be better prepared in the future.

Potential answers include:

Effects (physical, emotional and psychological) are not limited to the article:

Preparedness:

Injury, damage to property, destruction deterioration of health conditions (distress).
Damage to pumping equipment and electrical installations.
If the flood level is sufficient, it can wet electrical engines, pumps, starters, or switchboards.
Damage to dams and reservoirs. Dams and reservoirs located in river channels are at high risk to flooding.

Evacuate early
Don’t compare new disasters to the past AS disasters are often worse than they have been in the past
Be aware of the early signs of flooding
Know how you may be warned of possible flooding
Keep local emergency numbers handy (near your phone, on your mobile and on your fridge)
Move as much of your furniture and possessions as possible to a higher level
In a life‐threatening emergency, call 000 (triple zero).
Plan and pack an emergency evacuation kit
Turn off all plugs and electricity.

Step 7.

Explain to students they will undertake a ‘post-it parade’ activity to brainstorm the strategies they could use to prepare themselves and the classroom for a possible disaster.

Use two sheets of butcher paper (or an electronic discussion board, e.g. two screens in Jamboard). Write “Practical strategies” at the top of one page and “Psychological strategies” on the other. Invite students to add at least one sticky note to each sheet with their ideas – one idea per sticky note.

Practical strategies:	Psychological strategies:
Know your school’s emergency and evacuation plan	Know your school emergency plan and what to do ahead of time.
Prepare a household emergency and evacuation plan	Know about the risks and what you can do – this will help you to deal with emergencies more effectively should they occur and if children need to remain in school.
Prepare an emergency kit with food, clothes and medical equipment ( https://www.ready.gov/kit) ( https://www.redcross.org.au/emergencies/prepare/packing/) (https://youtu.be/7_diceQvTqE)	Prepare yourself psychologically for what might occur so that you feel more in control and are aware of what to expect.
Know emergency contacts (lists of family and friends) and keep them somewhere easy to locate, such as in your emergency kit.	Know that feeling worried and stressed is normal, that you can manage the stress and fear by learning how to identify feelings, bodily responses and thoughts, and having coping statements like, ‘I can cope with this, we know what to do’.
Know where, how and when to get help	Learn breathing exercises to slow down breathing and keep calm.
Know where you can get up-to-date, reliable information about the disaster	Help your students to identify and label their feelings. Teach them how to slow their breathing and calm down to help manage panic and overwhelming feelings.
Gather facts and information about the threat	Listen to students’ concerns and check in with any misperceptions or ideas and correct them.
Access critical information about warnings and actions to take	Know that if an emergency occurs, children will be worried about themselves and their separation from their parents, carers or pets and will need reassurance. Prepare in advance statements that engender understanding and support, and encourage calmness.
Discuss your school’s emergency plan regularly with your students and keep it somewhere everyone can see
Practice emergency drills and evacuations in your school and have a discussion with your students before and after. This will help to set expectations of what will happen and remind students that they are prepared and know what to do
Communicate with parents and carers so that they know the school’s plan in the case of an emergency (this prevents parents from taking additional risks trying to contact or reach the school in an emergency).

Step 8.

Share and discuss your school’s emergency and evacuation plan with students, or invite your principal or OHS representative to discuss the plan with your class.

Step 9.

Once they have listened to or read the school plan, ask students if there is anything else they would like to contribute to the butcher's paper now that they have seen the school's emergency plan?

There are several websites you could show your class with various hazard ready plans if you wish to investigate other emergency plans. The NSW State Emergency Service offers insight into flood preparedness and how to stay safe.
See the website for more details: NSW State Emergency Service
(ses.nsw.gov.au/flood-resources/before-a-flood/things-you-can-do-before-a-flood/).

Part C: Create a disaster-ready plan

Step 1.

Explain to students they will now “show” the teacher and peers what they have learnt and either design a poster or film an advertisement for their school and community explaining the key information for a disaster-ready plan for the classroom. Divide the class into small groups and instruct them to plan their means of dissemination.

You may like to share some flood-ready plans, such as the flood plan on the QBE website (https://www.qbe.com/au/news/what-to-do-during-a-flood).

Ensure the plan contains the below information under the main headings: Before, During and After

OR

Anticipate, Prepare and Leave.

Criteria for your flood plan poster that students should consider:

A floor plan of the classroom identifying emergency exits, evacuation routes and a safe meeting location
A list of items for an emergency kit for the class. What would they need in the 24 hours following an event? You may need to instruct groups to agree on the ‘top ten’ items if their list becomes too long
Details of local radio stations or websites to get information during an emergency
A list of emergency and crisis services and contact numbers
How and where to disconnect main electricity or plugs.

Criteria for your flood plan advertisement:

Identifying emergency exits, evacuation routes and a safe meeting location
A list of items for an emergency kit for the class. What would they need in the 24 hours following an event?
Details of local radio stations or websites to get information during an emergency
A list of emergency and crisis services and contact numbers.

Part D: Hazard ready home

This can be a take-home task or to be completed in the following lesson.

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will now work individually to devise an emergency plan for their home and family. Explain that students should be open to feedback and that their family may have additional information or experience to share with them.

Students should be able to commence this activity in class, and they may use some of the information from the classroom disaster-ready plan, however, this activity will need to be completed at home so that students can discuss this with their family members. Students may wish to use poster paper or an online alternative.

Step 2.

Instruct students to create and document the following information.

A floor plan of their home identifying emergency exits, evacuation routes and a safe meeting location
A list of items for an emergency kit for the family. What would they need in the 24-hour period following an event and are there personal items of significance such as USB of photos or keeping photos in the Cloud, birth certificates, passports, insurance documents etc.
Details of local radio stations or websites to get information during an emergency.
A list of emergency and crisis services and contact numbers.
How and where to disconnect main electricity or plugs.

The Red Cross website has a template that may be useful to show your class https://www.redcross.org.au/globalassets/cms-migration/documents/emergency-services/rediplan-lite-interactive.pdf

Further examples of emergency plan templates:

Prepare Your Emergency & Evacuation Plan | Get Ready QLD (getready.qld.gov.au/plan)
Your Bushfire Plan | CFA (Country Fire Authority) (cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/before-and-during-a-fire/your-bushfire-plan)
How can a pillowcase help kids prepare for an emergency? (youtube.com/watch?v=L6h4v_N2yQo)

Step 3.

You may wish to ask students to present their home disaster-ready plans to the class, If it’s appropriate in your context, and if students are comfortable sharing.

Reflection

Based on the information presented in their disaster-ready plans for their classroom and home, ask students to write down their thoughts and questions by completing the 3-2-1 activity on the worksheet. Students record:
3 ideas or thoughts
2 further questions
1 piece of information that surprised them.

Differentiated learning

Extension

Research and invite a guest speaker back to the class to view the students’ posters and offer some feedback.

Provisions for learning support

You may wish to provide emergency information to students rather than have them undertake this research independently.

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice 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 - Preparing For A Flood

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