Who can save a life? Anyone can. The key is to not get in trouble yourself.
Activity - Set up four chairs in the front of the room in the seating arrangement
you would find in a small boat. Have four pieces of orange construction
paper cut out in the form of a bib. These represent life vests. Select
four children to be in the boat. Have each one put on a life vest and select
one to be the driver. Have them sit in the boat and tell them their out
at sea. Have the whole class sing the first few verses of the Gilligan's
Island theme song.
"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough the tiny ship was tossed..."
(Have one fall out of the boat).
"if not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost
the Minnow would be lost"
Discuss the different ways to rescue the person. Remind the would be
rescuers about the importance of calling 9-1-1 if possible. Tell
them that an easy way to remember how to help someone without risking your
own life is the phrase "Reach, Throw, and Row. In other words;
Reach - Extend a branch or an oar. By being securely on land
you can be the most help.
Throw - If the person needing help is too far away, throw a floating
object to them such as a life vest or a beach ball. This will keep them
afloat while another plan is being developed.
Row - If you have access to a boat and you know how to use it,
row over to the person and help them aboard.
Ocean conditions play a big part in keeping lifeguards busy. Eight
out of every ten people rescued along the California coastline are those
who get caught in rip currents. They're not rip tides because they have
very little to do with tidal action and they are not undertows because
they don't pull people underwater but they can be dangerous if you don't
know what to look for. Show overhead. Explain current is running out to
sea but the current is very narrow. Swimmers who know this can easily swim
parallel to shore and then swim in.
Rip currents are easy to spot. Just look for the areas with little
or no surf. That's because the water is deeper in a rip current area and
the swells are less likely to break in deeper water. Surfers use rip currents
just like downhill skiers use ski lifts. They can be very helpful if used
correctly.
Every year many people suffer serious neck injuries because they
didn't pay attention to the important water safety rule "Look Before
You Leap"
Activity - Have a child stand up on a
chair with a small bowl of water on the floor directly below them. Tell
the child that no matter what, don't jump and hold on to him/her. In a
ringleader's voice announce, "Ladies and Gentleman, children of all ages,
Roberto is going to thrill us with a death defying leap into this small
bowl of water. Lets count down from 5. 5,4,3,2,1...silence, laughter. Ask
Roberto why he didn't jump. Roberto will say it was too shallow. This is
the time to remind everyone that any water you're not sure about can be
just as shallow and you don't want to find out with your head!
Dangerous marine animals can be found on many beaches. Everyone
should check with their local lifeguard to learn what to look out for in
their area. Along the California coast, for instance, their are stingrays.
Stingrays are small flat fish that bury themselves in the sand and wait
for a meal to swim by. They're only dangerous to people when we step on
them. Then they have no choice but to swing their barbed tail around and
sting the foot that's standing on them. To avoid stingrays you can do the
stingray shuffle.
Activity - Put some music on with a good
beat and have the whole class do the stingray shuffle. Simply slide to
the left and slide to the right. In fact, slide any direction you want!
Just keep your feet on the ground and give the stingrays a chance to get
away.
