- Tuesday 28 February 2017
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The last thing any teacher wants is to have to implement safety procedures due to a natural disaster. But it’s best to be prepared. We have some simple tips on how to prepare your students for a natural disaster, and what to do if a natural disaster occurs during school hours.
Preparing your class
- Be well versed in your school’s emergency procedures.
- Employ a buddy system in your classroom. Assign students a partner, so in emergency situations they are responsible for each other.
- Alternatively, use the count-off system to check that all students are present. Assign each student a number that they keep for the whole year, and use the system to ascertain that everyone is accounted for.
- Make sure your emergency kit is up to date; especially if you teach in an area that is prone to natural disasters. Go to http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-07/emergency-survival-kits/5949978 for a detailed list of items suitable for an emergency kit.
- Make sure to hold trial emergency evacuations so students understand what is going on in a real emergency, and will be prepared. This means students should recognise alarms, know safe routes to evacuation areas, and what to do if they need to stay in the classroom.
- Get your students involved in emergency preparation. Have a look at https://www.ready.gov/kids/educators (US website) for great lesson plans that cover all year levels to help teach your students about emergency situations.
During a natural disaster
- Remain calm. Students will follow your reaction to the situation, so it’s important to remain positive.
- Follow already-practised emergency procedures, so students take relief in the familiar.
- Keep up to date with emergency information by using state/territory-relevant apps on your phone.
- If safe to do so, distract students (especially young students) with songs, games and activities that require little physical activity. (It would also be good to do this with other classes.)
Click to download the following article for more information on how to prepare your students for natural disasters, and what programs can help. The following article was written by Liz Addison for Class ideas K–3 #69.
