New Tricks: YEAR 1 - HPE - Engage

Little J dreams of being an acrobat in a circus when he grows up. With the help of Jacko and B-Boy, he practises circus tricks in the backyard after school. Uncle Mick, a search and rescue officer, comes to school to talk about his work. Little J uses his circus skills to demonstrate a search and rescue procedure.

Engage - Recognise situations and opportunities to promote health, safety and wellbeing

Theme - HEROES

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 3 ‘New Tricks’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding about personal and social strengths, safety, search and rescue work.

While viewing, Episode 3 ‘New Tricks’, have students pay attention to Uncle Mick’s school talk about what a Search and Rescue officer does.

Have students identify the skills needed by Uncle Mick to perform his work. List these skills on the board/IWB and prompt students if necessary, e.g. balancing, climbing, swimming, roping, hosing, lassoing, etc.

Ask students what the main purpose of being a Search and Rescue officer is, and to offer suggestions what each of the key terms (‘Search’ and ‘Rescue’) means in respect to Uncle Mick’s job.

As a class, view real search and rescue operations:

Ask students to identify and list the skills the Search and Rescue officers performed as part of the rescue, e.g. medical skills (ambulance/paramedics), flying skills (helicopter pilot), mapping/reference skills (navigation to finding people), etc.

Have students make suggestions for other occupations that involve ‘searching’ and/or ‘rescuing’, e.g. police, fire brigade officers, wildlife officers, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), etc. As an incursion, invite a representative from the fire brigade, police or ambulance/paramedics to come and speak with the students about their search and rescue work.

Invite students to talk with parents/carers about family stories and experiences relating to a search and/or rescue event. Have students share these stories with the class as a “Show and Tell’ opportunity.

Display the stories with titles resembling newspaper headlines and with images of the rescue (drawn or photographed), e.g. Jemima’s Auntie Jackie rescues puppy from python, etc. All the names of the people who have been saved by search and rescue operations, or who have saved someone/something should be listed within the news headlines.

Collate the stories into a class ‘search and rescue’ anthology for sharing with families.