Session 1 · TRACE: Time & Place
Hazard or disaster?
- 10 minHook: a jar of sand and water on the desk. Tap the table hard ten times. What happens to the top? Hold that thought until week 2.
- 10 minRead the Civil Defence request. Talk: what is the difference between a natural event and a hazard? (An event becomes a hazard when it puts people or property at risk.) When does a hazard become a disaster?
- 20 minHazard map of Aotearoa: on a blank outline map, mark where earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, tsunami and landslides have happened, using the Te Ara natural hazards pages. What patterns do you notice?
- 10 minChoose your class context: our school on shaky ground, river and floodplain, or the coast and Pacific neighbours. Write three questions you want answered.
Session 2 · TRACE: Time & Place
The four Rs and our place
- 10 minMeet the four Rs: Reduction (lower the risk), Readiness (plan before), Response (act during and just after), Recovery (rebuild over months and years).
- 15 minCard sort: 20 actions (plant trees on steep hills, pack a grab bag, send a text alert, rebuild a bridge higher, hold a ShakeOut drill). Sort them into the four Rs. Argue about the tricky ones.
- 20 minSchool readiness walk in pairs: find the assembly point, three safe spots under strong furniture, and three things that could fall. Mark them on a school map.
- 5 minExit card: which R does your family do best? Which one is missing?
Getting started
Use the picture version of the four Rs card sort, with one example already placed in each column.
Stretch
Find your school or home on your regional council's hazard map. Which hazard layers cover it?
Checkpoint
Every student can name the four Rs with an example of each, and every group has a first school hazard map.
Activities for this week
- Four Rs hazard map of our place: Which hazards could affect our school or neighbourhood, and where are the safe places?
Useful this week
- Natural hazards and disasters ↗ An overview of the hazards Aotearoa faces and where they happen.
- Under the Earth's surface ↗ How moving plates under New Zealand cause earthquakes and volcanoes.
- Earthquakes topic ↗ Articles, videos and activities on earthquakes and the people who study them.