Teacher guide to lesson 1

Learning intentions

  • KNOW: The capabilities of a disaster resilient person.
  • UNDERSTAND: The meaning of personal resilience and disaster resilience.
  • DO: Identify skills and attributes that contribute to personal and disaster resilience.

Success criteria

I can: Describe the attributes (characteristics) of resilient people.

Lesson time: 60 minutes.

Disaster resilience is our ability to prevent, withstand and recover from the harmful impacts of natural hazards on people, places and the natural environment. Resilience doesn’t happen by itself, but it can be developed through knowledge, understanding and practice.

In Victoria we experience hot summers and freezing winters. We also experience storms, floods and bushfires. These events are a natural part of our environment, but they can also pose a risk to our safety. As our climate changes, we are likely to see more frequent and intense floods, storms and bushfires, so it’s really important that we know how to protect ourselves.

In an emergency, disaster resilient individuals are capable of:

  • keeping themselves and their families safe from harm,
  • adapting to changes in the physical, social and economic environment,
  • being self-reliant if external resources are limited or cut off, and
  • learning from the experience to be more prepared next time.

Supporting resources

Vocabulary and concept cards: Use this list to develop students understanding of key concepts and vocabulary in this lesson.

1
Disaster resilience challenge

This quiz tests disaster resilience skills, attributes and knowledge of the student. There are no right or wrong answers.

The result of this quiz provides a baseline measurement of students understanding of hazards and disaster resilience. In lesson five the students complete the same quiz to then identify if there has been any change in their knowledge.

Choose one natural hazard that is most likely to impact your area: bushfire, storm or flood.

Bushfire quiz

  1. Has a bushfire ever happened in your area? If yes, provide some more information about it.
  2. Describe some of the things you would do to prepare for a bushfire.
  3. Describe some things you would need to consider as part of your family’s emergency bushfire survival plan.
  4. What kinds of things do you think you should have in your family’s bushfire emergency kit?
  5. If there was a bushfire in your area, what would you do to be safe?
  6. How will you know if there is a bushfire threatening your local area?
  7. How can young people your age help the community to become more resilient to bushfire hazards and disasters?

Storm quiz

  1. Has a storm ever happened in your area? If yes, provide some more information about it.
  2. Explain what you need to do to prepare for a storm.
  3. Describe some things you would need to consider as part of your family’s emergency storm plan.
  4. What kinds of things would you include in your family’s storm emergency kit?
  5. If there was a storm in your area, what would you do to be safe?
  6. How will you know if there is a storm about to impact your area?
  7. How can young people your age help the community to become more resilient to storm hazards and disasters?

Flood quiz

  1. Has a flood ever happened in your area? If yes, provide some more information about it.
  2. Explain what you need to do to prepare for a flood.
  3. Describe some things you would need to consider as part of your family’s emergency flood plan.
  4. What kinds of things would you include in your family’s flood emergency kit?
  5. If there was a flood in your area, what would you do to be safe?
  6. How will you know if there is a flood about to impact your area?
  7. How can young people your age help the community to become more resilient to flood hazards and disasters?

2
Tilly Smith - Lesson save lives

Tilly’s story highlights the critical importance of hazard education in preventing the tragic impacts of natural hazards and disasters. Students will view Tilly’s video and respond to the questions in the quiz.

  1. Where did Tilly go to school? Answer: Surrey, England.
  2. Where was Tilly on Boxing Day 2004? Answer: Phuket, Thailand.
  3. What did Tilly do when she realised that a tsunami was coming? Answer: She alerted her parents and sister and headed back to the hotel.
  4. How old was Tilly when the tsunami happened? Answer: 10 years old.
  5. Why is it important for young people to learn about disaster resilience? Answer: Just like Tilly, if young people can anticipate disaster and act, lives can be saved.

3
Optional activities

  • Feelings word search:
  • Disaster Resilience in our community: think-pair-share on local community impacts of flood, storm and bushfire.
    1. Do you know of any disasters that have happened locally?
    2. How have people demonstrated resilience to these hazard events?
    3. What is happening now to build community resilience to the impacts of similar events that might happen in the future?
    4. What do you think a disaster resilient community looks like?

Possible answer: A disaster resilient community is

      • A community with well-rehearsed emergency plans
      • fire mitigation processes in the cooler months (e.g. fuel reduction burns)
      • appropriate building development and construction controls suitable to local hazards and risks
      • widely adopted personal and business financial mitigation measures (e.g. insurance suitable to the risks)
      • people understand the risks that may affect them
      • people have taken steps to anticipate disasters
      • people work together with local leaders using their knowledge and resources to prepare
      • people work in partnership with emergency services, their local authorities and other relevant organisations before, during and after emergencies
      • detailed emergency management plans identify local hazards and their impacts on the community
      • land use planning systems and building control arrangements
      • following a disaster, a satisfactory range of functioning of the community is restored quickly (e.g. school returns)

4
Revisit learning intentions

Recap on the lesson with referring to the definition of a disaster resilient individual. Disaster resilient individuals are capable of:

  • keeping themselves and their families safe from harm,
  • adapting to changes in the physical, social and economic environment,
  • being self-reliant if external resources are limited or cut off, and
  • learning from the experience to be more prepared next time.

The lesson learning intentions:

  • KNOW: The capabilities of a disaster resilient person.
  • UNDERSTAND: The meaning of personal resilience and disaster resilience.
  • DO: Identify skills and attributes that contribute to personal and disaster resilience.

5
Exit pass

Which of the disaster resilient skills and attributes that Tilly and the Wye River community have, do you also have?