Lesson 11: Survival Strategies
Grade Level: K-6
Suggested Time: 60 mins
Overview
Students will imagine what it would be like without access to modern medicine and sanitation. They will split up in teams and forage outdoors and in the classroom for materials that can be used to aid in hygiene and medicine. They will be tasked with finding solutions to specific ailments or hygiene issues and present to the rest of the class about what they invented.
Objectives
- Students will learn various methods to stay clean and healthy without modern showers,medications, and cleaning products.
- Students will learn basic first aid and first response techniques.
- Students will cooperate and engage in team-building activities and shared learning.
Required Materials
- (1 pair per student) sturdy work gloves
- (1 pair per student) safety glasses
- Various everyday indoor and outdoor objects (string, sticks, pieces of cloth, etc.)
- Items typically found in a bathroom cabinet or pantry (bottle of peroxide, cotton balls,alcohol, baking soda, vinegar, vitamin E oil, lemon juice, baby oil)
- Items typically found in an office and household (paperclips, stapler, tape, clothes,buckets, empty bottles)
- Some plants could include Aloe (for burns), mint or lavender (to add to toothpaste or soaps), citrus fruit, willow (the bark contains aspirin).
Multimedia Resources
Optional Multimedia Resources
Before the Lesson/ Background Information
- Read “African Black Soap” and summarize for the students. Article. http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/african-black-soap/
- Prepare the classroom or another room for the game, as well as an outdoor area if possible. It is best to have at least two different spaces, but not mandatory. Distribute household and outdoor objects throughout the space. You can cluster types of items together just like they would be found in a house or yard. There may also be some useful items already there!
- Identify any plants or trees in the space(s) you are using. Do they have any medical or material value?
- Think about sanitary and medical issues that would need to be addressed. Make sure you have some objects that can be used for these.
The Lesson
Part 1: Stranded!
- Inform the class that they are all stranded in the same location. Everyone is of different ages and backgrounds, with a variety of skill sets. Everyone can contribute in a meaningful way,and cooperation is necessary for survival. You’ve traveled far, and a few people have sustained injuries. These injuries must be treated to enable healing and prevent infection.And of course, everyone is dirty. People need ways to clean their teeth and bodies without the amenities they are used to, like bottled toothpaste.
Part 2: Survival Teams
- Separate the class in two teams. One team will handle medical ailments; the other will take care of sanitation and hygiene for the group.
- Allow the students to have some fun with storytelling. What are some of the things that have happened to them? Have the medical team come up with a list of ailments. Have the sanitation team come up with a list of sanitary problems that need to be solved and soaps that need to be made.
- Review the lists that the groups came up with. Strike off any unrealistic items and guide them as needed.
- A list for medical might include: fever, infection, large cut, broken bone, head cold, blisters;examples of sanitary needs or issues include: toothpaste, soap, disinfectant, wet shoes and socks, moldy or soiled clothes, shampoo.
Part 3: Medical Expedition
- Send the groups out into the world. Tell them that their weary band of travelers has just happened upon a shelter that has been raided before, but still has some items in it. Have them do an inventory of the objects available in the room(s) or yard. They should write a list and potential uses for each item.
- Have students experiment with the objects. In some cases, they will be able to build what they need. In others, they will need to make a plan of action. For example, they are not going to extract aspirin from willow bark. Instead, have them note the willow tree and discuss its possible value. Another example is thinking of ways to heat up water. If you put a plastic bottle in a sunny area—especially if it’s dark plastic—it will heat up. Where students are unable to find a use for an object, address the object during discussion later.
- The group that solves the most problems wins!
Part 4: Discussion
- Discuss any items that the students couldn’t find a way to use, and any problems that were left unsolved. Can the other group think of what to do?
- Discuss the assigned reading with the class. African Black Soap is made with natural,organic ingredients without the use of any harsh chemicals. Can they think of local plants and substances that have similar properties?
Accommodations
- Provide a print out of expectations and steps of what the student(s) will be completing in their survival team.
- Have specific areas for the student(s) to go to find a use for an object and its potential use.
- Print out the discussion questions you will be addressing.
Modifications
- You could provide a partial grade on the individual progress or effort based on their effort with the survival team and medical expedition.