Nothing Scares Me: YEAR 1 - HPE - Explain

Old Dog and Elly fear goannas, Ms Chen fears geckos, and Big Cuz fears the dentist. Little J boasts he isn’t scared of anything, but this may not be true. When Mick, Ally, Little J and Old Dog go to the beach, Little J discovers that his hero, Mick, is scared of Hermit crabs. Together, on the cliff, Mick and Little J overcome their shame of being afraid and help each other to be brave.

Explain - Identify and explore natural and built environments in the local community where physical activity can take place 

Theme - PHOBIA, PLACE

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, engage students with the following learning activities to support their understanding about personal and social safety, and actions to take.

As a class, revisit the fears of Little J, Big Cuz, Old Dog, Elly and Uncle Mick within Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, and ask students to recall that Little J was afraid of heights. Have students recall the two places where Little J feared heights: the climbing frame at school and the cliff on the beach.

Explore how students in the class may also be afraid of heights, or feel uncomfortable when confronted with various places: at home, school, the bush, or in the community. Encourage students to talk about their experiences of adventure, and to explain any misadventure about playing in different spaces or on unfamiliar equipment.

Take the class to the school playground or local park and provide students with a basic map of the play equipment and play areas. Have students think about the safety considerations the school has made within the design of the playground. Point out examples to students about how the playground has been built using materials that are considered safe for children to play on or with. Have the class suggest what these materials are, such as plastic, rope, rubber, wood and sand. Have students explain why these materials are considered safe for children to play on or with. Have students suggest materials that they would consider unsafe to play with or on, such as glass, concrete, small foam balls, etc.

Suggested teacher resource: Danger returns to playgrounds: ‘It's ok if your children have an accident’.

Provide examples and talk with students about how consumer organisations use a star rating system to accredit the design, safety, suitability and durability of products. Have students suggest the standards they would expect to apply on play equipment. Develop a class rating form, or use Kahoot, and list the criteria (suggested by the class) for. applying a 5-star standard for play equipment in the school and/or a local park.

Collate the results for each set of play equipment to see which of these the students consider is:

safest

  • well designed for the purpose
  • built with sustainable/safe materials
  • most enjoyable to play on or with
  • attractive and suited to the environment
  • able to last the longest time.

Have students suggest some rules/behaviours that would make play in the playground and on the equipment safer. Ask students to work in pairs and design a Little J & Big Cuz sign that reminds other students how to play safely.

Suggested teacher resources:

If possible, explore how people interact in a natural environment, such as the beach and the bush. Have students consider the safety precautions that people, specifically children, would need to adopt when they are On Country. List their suggestions, for example:

  1. SLIP, SLOP SLAP: wear a hat, using sunscreen when outdoors, wearing a T-shirt and sunglasses to cover up
  2. let people know where they are going and when they expect to arrive
  3. take plenty of water with them
  4. carry a mobile phone
  5. take a good map of the Country.

For further advice, contact the local National Parks and Wildlife service, or similar organisations:

Teaching resources for Aboriginal families and/or Torres Strait Islander families to teach safety in different contexts, include: