Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

25 minutes – Part A: Community Advice Brainstorm
20 minutes – Part B: Excursion Or Website Review
25 minutes – Part C: Recommendations
5 minutes – Reflection

Note: Each activity in this lesson is defined as either in-class or an excursion. Disaster Resilience: Positive Impacts Of Natural Hazards - Geog & Science - Years 7 & 8 has a list of recommended organisations for an excursion.

Part A: Community Advice Brainstorm

In-class activity or before/on excursion activity

Step 1.

Brainstorm the following questions with students to get them thinking about local advice on natural hazards:

Do you think you can personally have an impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of members of your community? Why/why not?
Who would you go to in the community to find out about natural hazards and why have you suggested that person or organisation?
How easy do you think it would be to ask that person or organisation for information? What steps would you need to take?
What questions would you ask? Write these down.

Use the board or a shared online document or app, like Mindmeister.

Note: Barriers could include asking their parents for permission, needing transport to get to the organisation, worries about ‘bothering’ adults, a perception that natural hazards is something only adults need to think about.

What information have you seen in the local community about natural hazards in the area? What format were they (signs/posters/brochures)?
What advice have you seen on the school grounds about hazards?
What aspects of how the information is presented make it easier to remember?
What aspects make it difficult to remember or understand?

Step 2.

Watch this video about Anglesea Primary School’s collaboration with the CFA:

Note: This is a long video so you may not wish to play it all. We recommend students view at least the first four minutes and from 8:10 to the end.

AIDR | Survive and Thrive (https://youtu.be/594cHWSHH08)

Step 3.

Ask the class to think about, write down, then share with a classmate their thoughts on the following questions:

What surprised you about the amount of influence the students had on the community’s preparedness?
What reasons did the students give for finding the experience valuable?
If you were involved in a ‘Shark Tank’ and needed to inform the community about a natural hazard, how would you present the information? Some ideas are a speech, posters, song, dance.
The students expressed their desire to help during a bushfire. How would it make you feel to know you could help others during a natural hazard and had the knowledge and skills to make a difference?

You can show students this picture to get a better view of the map created by Anglesea students:

Step 4.

Select students to share their responses. You might like to share more stories from this AIDR webpage and have students add to their responses afterwards.

Part B: Excursion Or Website Review

Excursion activity

Step 1.

When planning the excursion, ask the organisation to speak about:

Local natural hazards
How to prepare for them
What to do in the event the natural hazard occurs
How they are informing all members of the community about the natural hazard - preparation information and early warning systems
The importance of community members in preparing and planning for a natural hazard
The importance of young people being involved in preparing and planning for a natural hazard.

Step 2.

Communicate behavioural expectations for the students while on the excursion and listening to the presentation.

Step 3.

Monitor students as they participate in the presentation.

Step 4.

Select a confident student to thank the presenter.

In-class activity

Website review:

Step 1.

Provide students with this website from the Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience to find organisations in their state that support disaster resilience. Some provide general information about disasters or emergencies (eg. Red Cross) and others are more specific with their information.

Step 2.

Group students or allow them to choose groups of up to four.

Step 3.

Explain that each group member must choose one organisation from your state and review their website. Clarify they must choose a website that provides specific advice on a natural hazard (i.e. not Red Cross). Ensure they use a website that is a reputable source.

Step 4.

Explain that each group member must answer the questions on the Student Worksheet. They will need to share their responses with their group as they answer each question.

Questions:

What organisation’s website are you reviewing?
What are your initial observations of the site? Is it easy to view and navigate?
Which natural hazards are presented on the site?
Read the information on at least one natural hazard. In your opinion, has the information provided you with a clear understanding of the natural hazard? What are the recommendations to prepare for this natural hazard?
Reflect on your family’s preparedness for this natural hazard. Has your family discussed or planned for this natural hazard and what to do if it occurs?

Extension questions - thinking about accessibility:

How accessible is the website to people with English as an additional language?

Check from translation/language options on the Home page.

How accessible is the website to people with eyesight or hearing difficulties?

Is the text high contrast (dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background)? When you zoom in to make the text larger is it still easy to navigate the website? Do videos include captions or transcripts?

Part C: Recommendations

Excursion activity

Step 1.

Inform students they will now work in pairs to reflect on the information they learnt from the excursion.

Questions to answer:

What hazard or hazards did you learn about?
What are the recommendations to prepare for these natural hazards?
Reflect on your family’s preparedness. Has your family discussed or planned for this natural hazard and what to do if it occurs?
Why is it important that the whole community is involved in natural hazard preparation?

Extension opportunity: How does the organisation make sure all members of the community are informed about natural hazards and can access early warning systems?

In-class activity

Step 1.

Provide students with the two activity options to choose from. Explain they will work individually to reflect on their own circumstances.

Option 1:

Write a letter or monologue that could be used to inform your family and neighbours about a natural hazard and the importance of preparing for it.

Include:

What the natural hazard is that you have chosen.
How it could negatively impact your family and community.
Why your family needs to have a plan for this natural hazard and not solely rely on emergency services.
Why your plan should include assisting others in the community, such as immigrants, the elderly, people with disabilities, or people who moved into the area recently.
Steps or preparations that should be included in the plan.

Option 2:

Write a letter to the organisation you reviewed to convince them to make their information more inclusive and easier to understand, as well as easier to access by all community members (immigrants/elderly/people with disabilities).

Include:

An example of a natural hazard you found on the organisation’s website.
How the natural hazard could affect your family and community.
Why it is important every community member has a plan for this natural hazard.
How the information is not easily accessible for members of the community.
Ideas you have to make the information easier to access.

Step 2.

Invite students to swap letters or monologues with a classmate to give and receive feedback on their persuasiveness. Remind students that feedback should be of a constructive nature and allow for growth.

Reflection

Instruct students to individually reflect on the lesson by answering the following questions:

What feedback on your letter or monologue did you receive from a classmate that you found most helpful? What made the feedback useful to you?
What might you find difficult about informing your family about a natural hazard or communicating with an organisation about improvements to their website?
How will you overcome these difficulties and when will you provide them with the information?
What reaction do you hope you will receive and what action should they take?

Differentiated Learning

Extension -

Have students think about accessibility in the website review activity and after the excursion.
Extension questions - thinking about accessibility on the website:
- How accessible is the website to people with English as an additional language?

Check from translation/language options on the Home page.

How accessible is the website to people with eyesight or hearing difficulties?

Is the text high contrast (dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background)? When you zoom in to make the text larger is it still easy to navigate the website? Do videos include captions or transcripts

Excursion Extension: How does the organisation make sure all members of the community are informed about natural hazards and can access early warning systems?

Provisions for Learning Support - Group students who need support with helpful students or have them work as a pair during each activity.

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?

Disaster Resilience - Local Advice About Hazards

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Summary

Lesson guides and printables

In this lesson