Stop Look Listen

Overview

In this sixth lesson of the unit “Healthy Growth and Safety,” students practise safe road-crossing behaviours through short teacher demonstrations, visual cues, and guided role-play. The focus is on tinana wellbeing by supporting students to stay safe in their environment, and on whānau responsibilities by practising how we help each other be safe.

Learning intentions

• WALT understand and practise a simple road-crossing safety routine: stop, look, listen, and cross with a buddy.
• WALT recognise that safety rules help keep ourselves and others safe.
• WALT role-play safety decisions using clear voices and respectful body language.
• WALT explain what we do and why, using words or pictures.

Success criteria

• I can say the stop–look–listen steps and show them with my body.
• I can pause and listen before crossing (not running ahead).
• I can look both ways and cross with a buddy.
• I can describe one safety rule using a sentence starter or a picture.

Curriculum links

• Waiora — tinana and environment: students build wellbeing by practising safe behaviours in shared spaces.
• Waiora in te whare tapa whā: learning supports physical safety and caring for others in the environment.
• Health and wellbeing progressions: students practise basic safety routines and begin to communicate simple reasons for safe actions through talk, role-play, and visuals.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–3 min · Kōrero whakatūwhera (warm-up). Teacher welcomes students, links to previous lessons (“We practised being safe around…”), and asks: “Where do we need to be safe—near the road, at the gate, or on the footpath?” Students respond with thumbs-up/pointing.

2. 3–8 min · Visual routine teach. Teacher shows a large “Stop • Look • Listen” visual card set and models each step slowly. Teacher says in Te Reo Māori: “Kati, mātakitaki, whakarongo.” Students repeat the words, then practise the actions (freeze, scan, listen).

3. 8–13 min · Guided practice with traffic sounds. Teacher plays short sound cues (quiet / vehicle approach / vehicle passing) or claps to mimic “moving cars,” then pauses. Students practise: when the sound signals “approach,” they stop at the edge line; when “passing,” they hold still and then prepare to cross. Teacher prompts: “What do we do now—stop, look, or listen?”

4. 13–22 min · Role-play stations (buddy safety). Teacher sets up 2–3 quick stations:

• Station A: Crosswalk mat with floor tape “edge line” and “other side.”
• Station B: Picture cards—students choose the correct step to match a scenario (e.g., “Your friend wants to run ahead”). Students rotate every ~3 minutes. In each station, one student acts as “walker,” one as “buddy/helper,” swapping roles halfway. Teacher circulates with prompts: “Show me how you stop,” “Who are we crossing with?” “What do we say to our buddy?”

5. 22–27 min · Scenario whole-class freeze role-play. Teacher reads a scenario: “You arrive at the crossing. You can see the road is busy. What do you do?” Students choose from three picture options held up by the teacher, then act out the correct response using the routine. Teacher adds a values link: “Manaakitanga—helping our friend stay safe.”

6. 27–30 min · Exit check (quick assessment). Teacher hands each student either a small “Stop • Look • Listen” card to hold up in order, or asks for a one-sentence response using a starter on the board: “First I _____. Then I ____.” Students complete as a group, while teacher observes.

Resources

• “Stop • Look • Listen” visual cards (large and small copies)
• Floor tape for an “edge line” and “crossing” area
• Crosswalk mat or sheet with a simple road outline
• Buddy role-play props (optional: small high-vis vest, token for “buddy”)
• Scenario picture cards (3–6 simple situations)
• Traffic sound cues (or teacher-made sound effects)
• Sentence starter board + pencils/crayons for a few students
• Whānau-friendly take-home “safety routine” mini-card (optional for today’s wrap)

Assessment

• Teacher observation checklist during role-play: correct order of steps, pausing before crossing, using buddy rule.
• Prompt-based questioning: “What do you do when cars are coming?” “Why do we stop?”
• Exit check: students show the routine in order (card order or quick sentence starter).

Differentiation

• Support: sentence starters (“First I… Then I… Because…”) and pictorial choices for students who need language scaffolds.
• Support: allow students to practise actions first without speaking; students can point to visuals instead of fully verbalising.
• Extension: ask some students to add a “safety reason” (“We stop so we don’t get hurt”) or to suggest an extra rule (e.g., “Hold hands with your buddy”).
• EAL/English learners and varied ages: pair mixed-ability buddies; teacher models key words in both English and Te Reo Māori consistently.