Water Safety at Home

Overview

Students learn protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies to stay safe around water in the bathroom, backyard and around the house. The lesson builds from recognising safe/unsafe situations to rehearsing what to do and who to ask for help.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify ways to stay safe around water at home.
• WALT demonstrate protective behaviours when they see unsafe water situations.
• WALT practise help-seeking strategies for when something feels unsafe or too big to handle alone.
• WALT recognise trusted adults and safe places to go for help.

Success criteria

Students can:

• I can name safe behaviours around the bathroom and outside water.
• I can show what I should do if I see unsafe water (stop, move away, get help).
• I can identify who to ask for help and how to ask.
• I can explain why asking for help is important.

Curriculum links

• Health and Physical Education — AC9HP2P05: identify and demonstrate protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies to help them and others stay safe.
• Health and Physical Education — AC9HPFP05 (Foundation pathway): demonstrate protective behaviours, name body parts and rehearse help-seeking strategies.
• Health and Physical Education — AC9HPFP06 (Foundation pathway): identify health symbols, messages and strategies in the community that support health and safety (applied to familiar household safety signs/symbols).
• Health and Physical Education — AC9HP4P10 (upper pathway): apply behaviours that contribute to their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing through practical scenarios.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (Think–Pair–Share). Teacher shows 3 classroom pictures: a wet bathroom floor, a bucket/paddling tub left out, and a backyard puddle/pond. Students think-pair-share: “What could be unsafe here?” and “What might someone feel?”

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach: Protective behaviours. Teacher leads a short discussion and models 3 core steps using simple language and gestures: Stop, Move away, Get help. Students practise the gestures together and repeat a class chant: “Stop, move away, tell an adult.”

3. 12–20 min · Age-appropriate scenario practice (groups). Teacher divides the class into 3 zones with labelled cards: Bathroom, Backyard, Around the house. Each zone has a scenario card (examples: slippery floor near bath, small water container tipped over, cleaning bucket left with water). Students rotate in small groups (about 2 minutes each) and complete a quick task:

• identify the risk,
• choose one protective behaviour,
• choose the help-seeking action (who to tell and how).

4. 20–28 min · Rehearsal: Help-seeking scripts (role-play). Teacher demonstrates two scripts:

• “I’m not sure it’s safe. Can you come with me?”
• “Something is wrong. Please help.” Students rehearse in pairs using props (a “trusted adult” card, a phone shape or “help” sign). Teacher checks for respectful, clear language and correct actions (not going alone, not trying to fix it themselves).

5. 28–36 min · Safety symbol and message check. Teacher displays familiar classroom-friendly symbols/messages (for example: “Danger—keep away”, “Ask an adult”, “No running”, “Wet floor” sign). Students do a quick sort: “Helps me be safe” vs “Not a safety message.” Teacher connects this to home: “Many safety signs at home tell you what to do—always read them and follow them.”

6. 36–43 min · Class learning game: Safety choices. Teacher reads short statements; students move to a “Safe” or “Not safe” corner. Examples: “I can jump in a bath to play,” “I should dry and tell an adult if the floor is slippery,” “I should leave buckets alone and tell an adult,” “If someone is in trouble, I call for help immediately.” Teacher gives immediate feedback using the 3-step routine.

7. 43–45 min · Exit ticket (quick check). Students draw one safety action they will do at home and write one trusted adult they can ask (e.g., mum, dad, carer, neighbour, teacher). Teacher collects for formative assessment.

Resources

• Picture cards: bathroom floor, bath/tub edge, small bucket/tub, puddle/backyard water, cleaning bucket
• Zone signs: Bathroom / Backyard / Around the house
• Scenario cards (6–9) with age-appropriate risks
• “Stop, move away, get help” gesture chart
• Role-play cards with help-seeking scripts
• Safety symbol/message flashcards (“Danger—keep away”, “Wet floor”, “Ask an adult”, “No running”)
• Two corner signs: Safe / Not safe
• Exit ticket sheets and pencils/coloured crayons

Assessment

• Observation during scenario rotations: can students identify the risk and choose protective behaviours?
• Teacher listening during role-play: do students use the help-seeking scripts correctly and indicate a trusted adult?
• Exit ticket review: ability to state a safety action and name a trusted adult.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters for help-seeking: “I need help because…”, “Please come to…”, “You can help me by…”.
• Offer gesture supports and a visual routine card for “Stop, move away, get help” for students needing extra scaffolding.
• For EAL learners, use picture-based scenario cards and pair with a supportive buddy during rotations.
• For students who need extension, provide an extra “Why?” question: “Why is it unsafe to handle it yourself?”

Extension (advanced learners)

• Advanced challenge: After each scenario, students explain a “risk rule” in one sentence (e.g., “If water is on the floor, we keep away and tell an adult because it can cause falls”).
• Students also create one new home safety reminder poster using a symbol and a short message for their zone.