Standard of Learning

3.1   The student will explain that health habits impact personal growth and development. Key concepts/skills include:

1. food and beverage choices based on nutritional content;
2. the benefits of physical activity and personal fitness;
3. safe and harmful behaviors;
4. positive interaction with family, peers, and other individuals.

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Understanding the Standard

The student will be able to recognize safe and unsafe behaviors.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

The student will:

• discuss the steps for making decisions:
• identify your options;
• evaluate each choice;
• determine the best choice; and
• identify the benefits of the choice you selected.
• describe safe behaviors. (wearing a seatbelt, not playing with matches, wearing a helmet, not talking to strangers, etc.)
• identify unsafe behaviors and how they can harm your health.

Sample Lessons

All About Safety
Grades 2-4
Children need to learn safety skills. They need to practice recognizing unsafe conditions and selecting behavioral responses that avoid the potential dangers. Helping children acquire good judgment and good safety habits allows them to grow in independence without jeopardizing their welfare.
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Safety/SFY0008.html
Sponsor: The Educator’s Reference Desk
Free

Basic Water Safety
Grades: K-3
Water safety is very important for children to learn. This lesson shows children at a young age, basic safety rules for swimming pools or lakes, and how to help out a distressed swimmer by the use of a reaching assist.
Sponsor: Ask Eric
Contact: http://www.eduref.org (select lesson plans – health – safety)
Free

Bicycle Safety Obstacle Course
Grades 2-6
Riding a bike is a privilege that almost everyone has the chance to experience once in a lifetime. Bike riding can be very enjoyable, but it can also be dangerous if it not rode the proper way. This lesson will allow the students to ride through a bicycle obstacle course, teaching them about bike safety, riding tips, and traffic signs.
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Safety/SFY0004.html
Sponsor: The Educator’s Reference Desk
Free

Bicycle Safety Rodeo
Grade 1-5
A bike rodeo skills course should provide a fun and safe environment for a third grade class to learn various skills and practice them until they can ride with confidence and experience. This rodeo will consist of a driving course designed to simulate actual road conditions. It will be an effective way to help a class learn how to ride safely.
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Safety/SFY0005.html
Sponsor: The Educator’s Reference Desk
Free

Character Education Lesson Plan: Bullying
Grade(s) K-3
The purpose of this lesson is to teach students what bullying is and how to replace bullying traits with others traits such as self-control and compassion.
http://www.character-in-action.com/character-education-bullying.htm
Free

Different but Equal
Grade(s) 2-3
The purpose of this lesson is to show pupils that although we are different in many ways, we are all equal.  Sometimes people have a dislike for particular groups of people without valid reason. Sometimes people get jealous if they see other people belonging to a group, so they may bully them to make themselves feel better.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/different_but_equal.pdf
Free

Fair and Unfair
Grade(s) 2-3
This lesson plan uses examples from a book for students to pick out the bullies and traits of a bully.  By using the book, students are able to understand how bullying is hurtful by the use of a scenario.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/fair_and_unfair.pdf
Free

Fire and Fire Prevention
Grades 2-3
A thematic unit on fire and fire prevention is essential for students of all age levels. However, knowledge of this topic becomes particularly important for young children, who are vulnerable when a fire occurs due to their inexperience and lack of knowledge about the potential dangers of fire. Children in the second or third grades often use appliances, and they may be placed in situations where fires can easily occur. Teaching children about the dangers of fire and informing them about how to become active in preventing fires may actually prove life-saving should they ever be involved in a serious fire.
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Safety/SFY0012.html
Sponsor: The Educator’s Reference Desk
Free

"I've got me and I'm glad!"
Grade 3
This lesson plan is designed for third grade students, to help them appreciate and learn about themselves.  This lesson is an important behavior to learn because it is essential for students to have good self-esteem and to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
http://www.csee.net/LessonPlans.asp?id=8
Free

Kids Bullying Kids
Grade(s) 3-8
In this lesson students will share their experiences with bullying in an anonymous survey.  From this survey they will determine percentages based on the results of the survey.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2055.shtml
Free

People We Trust
Grades K-3
In addition to learning the difference between medicines and harmful drugs, students will also need to learn about safe behaviors for acquiring medicines. In this lesson, they will take part in activities which will help them learn the people in their lives they can trust to give them medicines. 
http://www.acde.org/educate/k3plan2.htm
Sponsor: American Council for Drug Education
Free

Playground Safety Check
Grades 3-12
Students will be introduced to playground safety in this lesson. They will be taught to be proactive and aware by being asked to investigate their own playground an make notes about how safe it is or isn't.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/01-1/lp233_03.shtml
Sponsor: Education World
Free

Safe/Unsafe Story Game
Grades: 3-4
Students will write creative stories in groups about safe and unsafe behaviors, using their knowledge of Risk Watch.
Sponsor: Risk Watch Lesson Plans
Contact: http://www.nfpa.org/riskwatch/lsn_34_safeunsafestory.html

Lesson Ideas

• Student listen to a story demonstrating what to do in case of fire. They become "fire safety spies" and use a student handout to do a fire safety check at home.
• Students discuss how common household products and even medicines can make people sick when not correctly used. They then work in small groups to list potentially poisonous products found in an assigned room of the house (i.e., kitchen, bath, garage...)
• Students learn about the importance of wearing a helmet properly through a demonstration, an object lesson (using an egg), and use of a student handout.
• Students then design posters that advocate the proper use of helmet to protect against head injury.
• Students identify different types of weapons, discuss ways to stay safe, and practice role plays that show how to stay safe in the presence of a weapon.
• Students write creative stories in groups about safe and unsafe behaviors, using the knowledge from previous lessons.

Additional Instructional Resources

• CDC-National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Fact Sheets - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/cmprfact.htm
• Code Red Rover Safety Lesson Plans - http://www.coderedrover.org/teachers/teachers_lesson.asp
• The Educators Reference Desk- School Safety - http://www.coderedrover.org/teachers/teachers_lesson.asp
• Health Teacher (membership fee) - http://www.healthteacher.com
• Kids Health For Kids- Watch Out - http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/
• National SAFE KIDS Campaign - http://safekids.org
• RISKWATCH - http://www.riskwatch.org
• Safe America - http://www.safeamerica.org
• Safe USA - http://www.safeusa.org
• Safety – http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/health.htm (health & fitness 3-5)
• Safety City - http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/kids
• Second Step - http://www.cfchildren.org/cfc/ssf/ssf/ssindex/
• VDH, Center for Injury & Violence Prevention (CIVP) - http://www.vahealth.org/civp

Assessment Ideas

The student will:

• role-play different situations where they choose to make safe decisions.
• draw a picture that illustrates safe and harmful behaviors.
• write a short story about safe behaviors.
• have students look through magazines to find pictures of people being safe (e.g. wearing a safety belt) and unsafe (e.g. riding a bike without a helmet).

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