Lesson 14.1: Injury Prevention and Safety at Home

Overview

This lesson focuses on injury prevention in the home and preparing for natural disasters.

Learning Targets

  • LO1: Differentiate between unintentional and intentional injuries.
  • LO2: Analyze different ways to prevent falls in your home.
  • LO3: Explain how to keep yourself and others safe from firearms in your home.
  • LO4: Create a plan of what you should do if there is a fire in your home.
  • LO5: Design a plan for what you would do if there was a natural disaster in your area.

Preparation

Chapter Opener: Use the chapter 14 How Prepared Am I for an Emergency? self-assessment to introduce the chapter before moving on to Lesson 14.1 or assign the self-assessment as a homework task before starting this lesson.

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 14.1 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 14.1 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 14.1 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Advocating for Gun Safety.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Self-Assessment: Have students complete the How Prepared Am I for an Emergency? self-assessment.
  • Journal Question: If you have been in a natural disaster, describe what happened. Was there something you wish you had done differently or had with you that you didn’t? Why or why not? If you haven’t been in a natural disaster, explain what natural disaster could strike where you live and what you are most worried about.
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 14.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 14.1 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Advocating for Gun Safety

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 14.1 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Advocating for Gun Safety.
  2. Tell students they will be creating an advocacy project for guns to be locked up in homes and for students to speak up if they hear of someone having a gun at school or talking about harming others.
  3. Ask students to form small groups with other students who have a similar interest in the topic and how to present the information.
  4. Have small groups answer the questions on the worksheet. They will need to have some time to do this and will need access to the Internet.
  5. Ask groups to share their answers to the worksheet questions with the class and the answers on the board. Have the class choose responses from each question and put together an advocacy plan they can present.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Discuss with a friend or trusted adult what you would do if you heard about a classmate who was talking about bringing a gun to school. Would you tell someone, and if so, whom would you tell? Would you talk to the classmate beforehand? Why or why not? What would you do to protect yourself and others?

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Differentiate between unintentional and intentional injuries?

    Unintentional injuries are accidental and prevented primarily by paying more attention to what you are doing. Intentional injuries are either caused by someone else or self-inflicted.

  • Analyze different ways to prevent falls in your home?

    Make sure floor space is clear of items to prevent tripping. You should have good lighting outside to see at night and make sure to pay attention to where you are walking and what you are doing.

  • Explain how to keep yourself and others safe from firearms in your home?

    Firearms should be kept unloaded and in a locked firearm safe. Locks can be added to individual firearms even in a firearm safe for extra safety. You should never treat a gun as if it were a toy and always assume a gun is loaded.

  • Create a plan of what you should do if there is a fire in your home?

    The most important thing is to get out quickly and call 911. Know the different ways you can get out of your room and your house, depending on where you are when the fire happens. If you live in an apartment building, know the locations of all the exit stairs from your floor. If you can’t get out of your room or your house because there is smoke or fire, stuff wet towels or sheets around the door and vents to keep smoke out. Hang a brightly colored item out your window to let firefighters know where you are if you cannot get out.

  • Design a plan for what you would do if there was a natural disaster in your area?

    General guidelines for a natural disaster include making sure you have food that will keep if the power goes out, water, first aid supplies, medications, and flashlights and batteries in case you are stuck at home for several days.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Look around your house and see if you have any smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. Both types of alarms tend to look similar, so you may need to ask a family member to differentiate the two. There should be a smoke alarm in each bedroom, in the hallway of the bedrooms, in the living room, near a stairway if you have one, and on every level of the home including the basement. Carbon monoxide alarms should be located in the hallway of the bedrooms and on every level of the home. Find out from a family member when they were last tested and when the batteries were changed. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms should be tested every month, and the batteries changed at least once a year.

Option: Assign the How Prepared Am I for an Emergency? self-assessment as a homework task if it was not used at the start of this lesson.