Making Safe Choices

Curriculum Links

Key Learning Area: Health and Physical Education
Strand: Personal, Social, and Community Health
Sub-Strand: Being healthy, safe, and active
Curriculum Content Descriptor: ACPPS018 - Identify and practise strategies to promote health, safety, and wellbeing.
General Capabilities: Personal and Social Capability; Critical and Creative Thinking

Lesson Duration

40 minutes

Learning Intentions

Students will:

• Identify situations where safety is a concern.
• Understand the importance of making safe choices at home, school, and in their community.
• Practise simple safety strategies to use in everyday life.

Success Criteria

Students can:

• Recognise and describe unsafe situations.
• Suggest appropriate safe choices or actions in these scenarios.
• Participate in role-play activities to demonstrate their understanding of safety strategies.

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Lesson Outline

Introduction (10 minutes)

1. Acknowledgement of Country (1-2 minutes)

• Begin with a brief Acknowledgement of Country to show respect for the Traditional Custodians of the land.

2. Setting the Scene (3-4 minutes)

• Sit in a circle on the mat and ask students:
  • “What does it mean to feel safe?”
  • “Where do you feel safe, and why?”
• Show pictures of scenarios (e.g., a playground, a beach, a busy road) and ask, “Are these places always safe? Why or why not?”
• Explain today's focus: identifying unsafe situations and learning how to make safe choices.

3. Safety Importance (3-4 minutes)

• Explain: “Making safe choices keeps us from getting injured and helps us look after our friends and family too!”
• Briefly discuss examples of common safety hazards (e.g., crossing roads, playing with sharp objects, dealing with strangers). Use age-appropriate terms and examples, grounded in students’ daily experiences.

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Body (25 minutes)

1. Group Brainstorm: “Spot the Unsafe” (5 minutes)

• Display a poster or digital image showing an environment with multiple hazards (e.g., a kitchen, playground, or house yard).
• Ask students to identify and name unsafe items or activities they can see in the image. Write these on the board as a shared list.
• For each hazard identified, prompt students:
  • “Why is it unsafe?”
  • “What could you do to stay safe?”

2. Role-Play and Problem Solving (15 minutes)
Divide students into groups of 4 (6 groups total). Assign each group one safety scenario to act out and discuss:

• Crossing the road safely (using a zebra crossing or waiting for the green light).
• Encountering a stranger when playing outside.
• Finding a sharp object like scissors or a knife at home.
• Dealing with water safety at the beach or pool.
• Spotting a spill or broken glass in the classroom.
• Noticing someone without a helmet riding their bike.

Steps for the Activity:

1. In groups, students role-play the unsafe scenario (1-2 minutes).
2. Pause the role-play at the “unsafe” moment.
3. As a group, discuss: “What safe choice can we make?” or “What safety strategy can we use?”
4. Act out the safe choice and share with the class (quick performance: 2 minutes each group).

Teacher Guidance:

• Monitor groups to ensure they stay on task and provide age-appropriate suggestions.
• Encourage students to use 'I' statements (e.g., "I will look both ways before crossing the road.") to internalise the safe strategies.

3. Quick Movement Activity: “Safe or Unsafe?” (5 minutes)

• Call out different safety scenarios (e.g., “Wearing a helmet when riding your bike” or “Running across the street without looking both ways”).
• If the scenario is safe, students jump up and shout, “Safe!”
• If the scenario is unsafe, students sit down and shout, “Unsafe!”
• Keep the energy high to engage students and recap key concepts learned so far.

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Conclusion (5 minutes)

1. Reflection and Sharing (3 minutes)

• Ask students:
  • “What is one thing you learned today about staying safe?”
  • “How can you use what you learned to help keep your friends and family safe?”
• If time allows, go around the circle and ask each student to share their favourite safety strategy from today’s lesson.

2. Reminder (2 minutes)

• Reinforce that safety is everybody's responsibility. Encourage students to talk to a trusted adult (e.g., a parent or teacher) if they ever feel unsafe or unsure about a situation.

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Assessment and Differentiation

Assessment Methods:

1. Observe participation during brainstorming, role-playing, and movement activity to gauge understanding of safety concepts.
2. Assess students’ ability to identify unsafe situations and provide safe alternatives.
3. Use student responses during reflection to informally evaluate learning outcomes.

Differentiation:

• For students needing additional support: Pair with a buddy or provide visual prompts to aid understanding.
• For more advanced learners: Encourage them to suggest their own safety scenarios for additional role-playing.
• Ensure activities are inclusive and accessible to all students (e.g., providing adapted roles for students with physical disabilities in role-play scenarios).

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Resources

1. Laminated images or posters of “safe” and “unsafe” scenarios.
2. Props for role-playing (e.g., small traffic signs, pretend pool/beach accessories).
3. Whiteboard and markers for group brainstorming and note-taking.

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Extension/Home Task

• Ask students to go home and draw a picture of a time they made, or can make, a safe choice (e.g., putting on sunscreen at the beach, holding an adult’s hand when crossing the road). Bring it to school to display in a “Safe Choices Wall” to reinforce learning.

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Teacher's Reflection

• Were students able to identify unsafe situations and suggest safe choices?
• Did the role-play activities engage everyone and support collaborative learning?
• Could this lesson be extended or modified for future teaching?

End lesson with a reminder: Making Safe Choices helps keep everyone happy and healthy!