Games, activities and lesson plans

Hi kids and teachers - this page has been designed for you!

We have lots of fun games and activities for you to try, as well as information for school projects. 
Plus there are plenty of lesson plans to take this information into classrooms. 

On this page:

Chatterbox

 

Chatterbox
 

Print and build your own chatterbox, download and use the instructions below to learn how to build it and how to play.

 

WOW Day colouring sheet

 

WOW Day sheet

Celebrate Wear Orange Wednesday each May with this colouring sheet for young children.

Download the WOW Day colouring sheet (PDF)

 

Activity Book

 

Red Cross Get ready activity book

Enjoy this fun activity book to help kids prepare for an emergency. 

Download the Red Cross Children's activity book 

 

Foldable VICSES truck

 


Create your own VICSES truck with this foldable truck. Just print out and follow the guide. (We recommend printing on hard card)

Download the VICSES foldable truck template 

Free education programs delivered at your school

VICSES volunteers run free school visits for Victorian primary schools. The interactive presentations cover the topics of floods, storms or how to prepare for emergencies. With links back to the curriculum, the presentations are tailored to primary and secondary school students and run for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Learn how to plan and manage in an emergency at school, and head to our plan and stay safe page or our educational activities page for more. Further questions? Email the VICSES Community Engagement Team at engagement@ses.vic.gov.au.

Go to the School visits page to submit a request for VICSES to visit your school.

 

Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service with Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health have put together a series of children’s books for natural disasters called Birdie and Mr Frog.

Two of these books focus on flood and earthquakes. These natural disasters can be very frightening and upsetting for babies and young children. Reading a story with a caring adult can help a young child work through the scary experiences and ‘big feelings’.

There’s information for parents and carers too. The authors encourage children to come and meet Birdie and Mr Frog! 

Birdie and the earthquake
Birdie and the Earthquake

Birdie and the flood
Birdie and the Flood

Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) has loads of information available for students working on a school project. This page will help you learn about what we do, our history and how to plan, prepare and stay safe during emergencies and disasters.

These links will take you to pages that will help you learn more about VICSES and assist with your project:

Learn about natural hazards in Victoria:

  • Find out how to stay safe during a flood on our flood page

  • Find out how to stay safe during a storm on our storm page

  • Find out how to stay safe when travelling on the road on our road safety page

  • Find out how to stay safe during an landslide on our landslide page

  • Find out how to stay safe during a tsunami on our tsunami page

  • Find out how to stay safe during an earthquake on our earthquake page

Glossary

Some of the words used in emergencies can be tricky. If you don’t understand a word you can use this glossary to help you.

Words used in describing emergencies and weather

If you are having trouble finding what you are looking for, try using the search function to search the entire VICSES website. You never know what interesting things you will learn!

Li'L Larikkins are a group of friends having big adventures and learning about natural hazards in a small outback town.

In these videos you will get to meet Amy, Trev and Jimmy as well as Tucka a crazy Irish rabbit, Maddy the Koala and Bob the dog who thinks he's a superhero.

Lesson plans for prep to Grade 7 are available below the videos.

Never swim or play in flood water.  There can be lots of really yucky and dangerous things floating just under the surface.

Your emergency kit should include a torch, a radio, spare batteries, first aid kit, a pair of rubber gloves, your home emergency plan as well as food and water for three days.  You never know what kind of emergency may happen, so it’s important to have a complete kit, just in case.

Storms are dangerous and can change quickly.  It is important to listen to warnings and act early to prepare for storms.

It is important to clean up before a big storm..  Toys and other things can blow around and even hit houses or people if they are left lying around.

Never drive in flood water.  The water moves very fast and the current is very strong making it dangerous for cars and people.

Tsunamis are powerful and dangerous waves.  If you hear a tsunami warning at the beach you need to move to higher ground.

Heavy rain can lead to flash flooding.  A low creek or river can become dangerous very quickly in bad weather.

It’s ok to be scared during a big storm. Make sure to stay inside and don’t stand under trees.

Li'L Larrikin Lesson Plans

The award-winning Natural Hazards Safety Program was developed by SES Agencies in partnership with the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) and was distributed to every primary school in Australia during March 2011. The 30-second videos are designed to increase children's awareness of the potential dangers inherent in floods, storms, cyclones, tsunamis and other natural hazards.

There are a total of 30 lesson plans, with three lessons covering each of the 10 Li’L Larrikin Safety Videos.

1. Playing in floodwater

2. Emergency plan

3. Emergency kit

4. Acting Early

5. Cleaning up

6. Driving in floodwater

7. Tsunami warning

8. Staying inside

9. Flash floods

10. During a storm

Each of the Li'L Larrikin teaching and learning activities is aligned with the Five E's teaching framework approach devised and used in the Primary Connections program.

This section contains resources for secondary students who are interested in finding out about what they can do in an emergency and how they can prepare, and also how you can get involved with VICSES.  There are also a number of links to websites that can provide further information about meteorology, natural disasters and what different agencies are doing to help Victorians in emergency situations.

Useful websites

Get involved - Junior VICSES Members

If you are a young person interested in getting involved, please head to our junior membership page in the join us section