CIVIL DEFENCE EDUCATION Curriculum Strands Health Language: Social Studies Links to: Levels 2-4 Healthy Communities & Environments Speaking, Writing, Listening, Viewing, Presenting Place and Environment Maths, Art & Craft What is a Disaster? Groups discuss and settle on a definition of a disaster. Begin a media hunt for a week (tv, radio, newspapers) and collect and display information on disasters - in New Zealand - overseas Use atlas skills to identify where and add pinned lables to a world/NZ map Analyse each disaster. Can the pupils say… - what were their causes? - how would people be affected? Identifying Situations Brainstorm and list all the situations and phenomena that could cause hazardous situations in New Zealand that might lead to a Civil Defence Emergency, eg - earthquake - volcanic eruption - storm… Identify the consequences that each situation can lead to, eg a storm can lead to a flood… Can they list them in the order of the most likely to occur? Can pupils identify the most common type of disaster in NZ? (flood) Our Local Area Focus on the disaster that theyfeel is most likely to occur in their local area. Pupils justify their selections. (a call to the local Civil Defence will sort out any argument) Brainstorm ideas of what might happen in the event of this disaster occurring. Encourage discussion by asking questions, eg - where might you be at the time of the disaster? - what would be your greatest needs at the time of the disaster? - how would you get food, water, heat, help? - where would other family members be? - which of the things we take for granted would not be available (electricity)? Pupils all contribute ideas to a ‘Disasters Considerations’ wall chart. Being Well Prepared Although we can not accurately predict when a disaster might occur,can the pupils suggest ways to better deal with it when the situation occurs? eg knowing what can occur, knowing how to deal with it and being prepared allow us to cope better. Carry Out a Survey Pupils plan and run a home survey to find how well their family members are prepared for an emergency. Ask… - are family members familiar with thecivil defence messages in the phone book? - can all family members identify the strongest part of the house to shelter in during a severe storm? - is there an emergency kit in the house? If so, what does it contain? - has the family an evacuation plan? Using the Data Collate results and display in appropriate visual (graphs) form. Identify areas of concern. How can the pupils help get these messages across? Implement the plan. Civil Defence Kits Pupils imagine that they and their families have to face three days without outside help. List the items they would want to find in their civil defence kit. Compare the results with theminimum requirements of a house hold survival kit … - First Aid Kit - Torch & Batteries - Matches/Lighter - Can Opener - Radio and Batteries - Food and Water Invite a member of your local Civil Defence Team to talk to the class about disaster preparedness in the local area. Ask your principal or BOT member to talk to the class about the school emergency plan. In the light of their research, do the students think any parts of it need updating or extending? Do you have a lesson you would like to share with other teachers? Simply email us an attached Word, Works or PDF file and we will add it to our library. Don't forget to include your name and school so we can acknowledge your work.