Student Health and Safety Plan

Lesson Plan # 1 

Lesson Title
Grade	Younger elementary setting (Kindergarten to Grade 3)
Content Area	Health Education
Objectives and Outcomes	By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to identify the harmful relationship between the use of substances such as tobacco and alcohol and decision-making. Also, they will understand the concepts of sexuality and gender diversity.
Standards	Standard 1: Essential Concepts  A. Describe the harmful short- and long-term effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, including inhalants.  1.4. A. Explain why it is dangerous to taste, swallow, sniff, or play with unknown substances.
Materials	I wish Daddy didn’t drink so much by Judith Vigna.
Procedure
Introduction	The teacher will ask the students if they have ever seen a person using tobacco or alcohol or other harmful substances.  The teacher will explain that the substances are harmful to our bodies and the people we love.
Guided Practice	The teacher will distribute copies of I wish Daddy didn’t drink so much by Judith Vigna to each learner.  The teacher will ask the learners to read the story individually, read aloud by individual students, or the teacher will read the story aloud.  The teacher will seek for reactions from students by asking questions such as:  What is the message of our story?  How did alcohol affect Lisa’s father?  Describe Lisa’s family? How many male and female members are in Lisa’s family? Do you think they were affected differently or the same by Lisa’s father’s alcoholism?  The teacher will record the correct responses on the board.
Independent Practice	Ask learners to draw a square on their books and write at least five negative effects of alcohol or other harmful substances they can think of using different colors.  Slow students will be added ten more minutes to complete their list, while fast students will be asked to add three more effects.
Closing	Students can read their summaries to the partners they chose.
Assessment	The teacher will provide a list of ten effects of alcohol and other substances and with the help of their parents, they will color the boxes corresponding with the correct answers.

Lesson Plan #2 

Lesson Title
Grade	Grades 4-8
Content Area	Health education
Objectives and Outcomes
Standards	Standard 1: Essential Concepts  A. Describe the harmful short- and long-term effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, including inhalants.  Standard 2: Analyzing Influences  2.3. G. Analyze the influence of alcohol and other drugs on sexual behaviors
Materials	Drinking, a love story by Caroline Knapp, Teacher’s guide.
Procedure
Introduction	The teacher will inform students that the lesson is about substance abuse and sexual behaviors.  Each student will receive a copy of drinking, a love story by Caroline Knapp.
Guided Practice	The teacher will ask the learners to read the story on their own.  Ask the learners to give their reactions about the story read.  The teacher will ask questions such as:  What message did you get from the story? Examples of possible responses include substance use impairs health decision-making and might cause impulsive reactions leading to regrettable outcomes.  What was alcohol’s influence on the story’s author? Possible responses include she engaged in sex with individuals she barely knew, did not use protection or practice safe sex, and her inhibitions were decreased.  What do you think were the reasons why the author of the story decided to engage in alcoholism? Do you think there are different reasons for males and females?  Answers include lack of healthy coping skills, poor relationships and communication with parents, and peer influence. Research indicates that males are more likely to have used drugs before engaging in sexual activity than females. Individuals who take drugs are less likely to use protection because they tend to use the drugs before sexual activity hence impaired thinking. As a result, they are highly exposed to sexually transmitted infections.  State the outcomes of deciding to use substances such as alcohol according to the story you’ve read.  In your opinion, is the story relevant to most young people today? Explain your response.
Independent Practice	The teacher will divide the students into two groups. Each group should have students with diverse academic abilities hence the need for the teacher to allocate group embers. The groups will engage in a competition. Students will receive an explanation on the questions that each team will receive at a time. Every time a correct response is given, ten pints will be awarded to the group. An incorrect answer will not earn any points. If needed, the teacher can encourage a brief discussion after each question. After all the questions are done, the group with the highest number of points will be declared the winner.
Closing	The teacher will provide a reflection of the lesson’s basics and respond to any questions that learners might have.
Assessment	With the help of their parents, students will identify ways in which media affects substance use in adolescents and teenagers. The teacher will collect the written answers from students the following day and assess them and give grades.

Student Personal Health and Safety Plan 

An individual’s safety is not a static condition. Rather, it is a capacity. A school must ensure that it is able to evaluate risks to student health and safety and implement appropriate choices. It should plan for a perceived danger and available alternatives. Safety is the ability to understand what must be changed. In this proposed student personal health and safety plan, the school community has a role to play in ensuring that students remain safe and healthy. According to Scott (2003), in a safe school, the adult population cares for children and protects them from foreseeable dangers, and effectively and appropriately nurtures their developing independence. Students are assisted in developing understanding and respect for various potential dangers and the responsibilities they must implement for themselves and other learners (Scott, 2003). Safety and health are strategies ton realities of life identified through experience and a point of view that young students often do not have but will develop over time (Scott, 2003). The activities and considerations presented in this proposal will help students recognize, anticipate, and respond to various potential dangers to their health and safety and the role that the school and parents will play in achieving this goal. 

Student Responsibilities 

Students have the following responsibilities to ensure that they remain safe and healthy: 

Conduct all activities in a safe and healthy way. 

Comply with all the safety and health policies and rules in the classroom and within the school premises. 

Ensure that their work areas inside the classroom are clean and well organized. 

Ensure that they are dressed appropriately for various activities in school according to the teacher’s instructions and school rules. 

Report any unsafe situations or equipment/items to the class teacher for appropriate action. 

Report any identified incident related to health or safety to any available teacher or the classroom teacher. 

Use personal protective equipment as needed. 

Check personal protective equipment before wearing it for any defects. 

Use tools and equipment for their intended purposes only and as they are made. 

Different parties can be included as required in different safety and health activities. Such parties include the school health and safety committee, parents, or other professionals to provide expertise in different areas such as drug and substance abuse or mental health issues in students. 

Student Safety Plan 

After an event involving students who show suicidal ideations or engages in self-harming activities, a safety plan will be completed. The plan will be completed by both the teacher and student so that practical strategies to ensure the student’s safety and health are implemented. In the student safety plan, factors such as warning signs, triggers, and healthy behaviors must be addressed. Examples of triggers that could cause unhealthy behaviors or self-harm include being isolated by friends or gossip. Warning signs include all the emotions or behaviors indicating that a learner requires help. Examples include dramatic changes in mood, social withdrawal, and the use of drugs, among others ( Sulkowski & Lazarus, 2016 ). Also, the student will identify the places that he/she feels safe and comfortable. Examples include a particular venue, imaginary place, or in the company of calm people, among others. The teacher can help the student identify such a safe place physically or emotionally. 

Staff members can offer support to ensure students’ safety and health by reporting any activities that might harm the health and safety of students to the classroom teacher or any other available teacher for appropriate action. If monitoring a student, they should seek consent from the student’s classroom teacher. Teachers should report any safety issues to the crisis team in school for appropriate action. Members of a crisis team can include the school counselor or after-school staff members. Parents play an essential role in ensuring the safety and health of students ( Sarquis, 2003 ). Their responsibilities will include in the safety plan will include keeping away all the objects that could harm a student while at home, communicating with the teacher on concerns about the health and safety of a student for supervision, and identifying ways in which they can help the students ensure their safety and health. 

Health and Safety Activities 

Physical safety workshop (once every six months)- one hour 

According to Seabert et al. (2015), introducing safety activities involving collaborative problems solving, discussing, and exchanging information is vital for students’ safety. Students will engage in age and development appropriate activities to learn about how to maintain their physical safety. Strategies such as appropriate use and storage of tools or items in school and why it is important to use protective equipment will be addressed. Reynolds (2009) argues that as children engage in safety activities, they learn how to recognize problems and communicate how they feel or think about the likely dangers of an event or condition. Besides, they learn how to navigate through the problems they might face by developing solutions ( Franklin et al., 2006 ). In these workshops, they will act in different roles, such as safety helpers understand different safety procedures and gain knowledge on how to respond in emergency situations. 

Sexual Health Day (July) 

On this day, students will be divided into age-appropriate groups and learn about the different aspects of sexual health such as STIs and abstinence, safe practices, sexual assault and harassment, communication, among others. On international days to create awareness on STIs, such as International AIDS day, students will engage in discussions on healthy sexual behaviors. 

Red Ribbon Week (October) 

The Red Ribbon Week occurs every last of October. It happens between 23 rd and 31 st October every year. During this week, students will have red ribbons, engage in planned activities on drug and substance use, as well as mental health education to raise awareness on substance use and abuse. Parents and professional mental health experts will be involved in the set activities at school. According to Sulkowski & Lazarus (2016), the awareness equips them with the skills they need to refuse illicit drugs when faced with negative peer pressure. Also, they gain knowledge on the dangers of using substances, even in isolated situations. 

References 

Franklin, C., Harris, M. B., & Allen-Meares, P. (2006). The school services sourcebook: A guide for school-based professionals. Oxford University Press. 

Reynolds, A. A. (2009). Elementary school principals’ knowledge and perceptions of research-based substance abuse and violence prevention programs. University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2391/ 

Scott, Z. E. (2003). Safety education in the elementary school: A technique for developing subject matter. Ruth Streitz. The Elementary School Journal, 28 (2), 155-156.  https://doi.org/10.1086/456025 

Seabert, D., Pateman, B., Symons, C., & Telljohann, S. (2015). Health education: Elementary and middle school applications. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 

Sulkowski, M. L., & Lazarus, P. J. (2016). Creating safe and supportive schools and fostering students’ mental health. Taylor & Francis.