Winter storm safety

What you'll need

• “Winter storm safety” slideshow
• “Winter storm safety game cards”
  • Print and cut out one set per group of three to four students
• “Winter storm safety” take-home activity

Winter storm safety slideshow

1. Slide 1: Today, we’re going to learn how to stay safe during winter storms when the power goes out.  
2. Slide 2: Our lights work using something called electricity. If you plug it in or turn it on, it uses electricity – like lights, refrigerators, computers and some stoves. 
   • Sometimes, our electricity can stop working. That’s called a power outage. Has anyone had that happen? What was it like? Hear some answers. 
3. Slide 3: Something we can do to get prepared for power outages is to make an emergency kit for home, like we have the emergency bag in our classroom. 
   • Optional: Show students the classroom’s emergency grab bag and what’s in it. 
   • What do you think goes in an emergency kit at home? Hear some answers. (First aid kit, flashlight, food and water, warm clothes, emergency plan, cash, whistle, radio. See Teaching notes for more information.) 
4. Slide 4: Let’s talk about how the weather is different between summer and winter. 
   • Put up your hand if you can think of one word to describe the weather in the summer. Hear some answers then ask for one word to describe the weather in the winter. 
   • In winter, it’s colder and we have more wind, rain and snow storms. Sometimes when this happens, the power goes out. What do you think makes the power go out? Hear some answers.
5. Slide 5: We use electricity safely all the time, but it can be dangerous. Power lines, that are normally held up in the air by power poles, can get knocked down, especially during storms. Downed power lines are a dangerous situation.
6. Slide 6: In order to stay safe from a downed power line, stay back 10 metres which is the length of a big yellow school bus.           
7. Slide 7: If you see downed power lines, have an adult call 911. An easy way to remember this is “Down. Danger. Dial.” If you see power lines DOWN, there’s a DANGER, so you need to DIAL 911.

Winter storm safety game

8. Have students use the “Winter storm safety game cards” to play a matching card game in small groups of three or four students to review what they just learned.
   • Give each group a set of “Winter storm safety game cards”.
   • Have each group look at the pictures and find the pairs of cards, allowing each student to find at least one pair.
   • Have them explain to their group what the picture from their pair(s) of cards means or represents. Use the images in the slideshow to review the six pictures - electricity, emergency kit, winter storms, downed power lines, stay back, call 911.
   • In their groups, have students make one pile of cards, shuffle and place them face down on their table. Review how to play a matching memory game. 
   • Remind them to explain the pictures when they find a match.
   • Continue playing until all pairs have been found.

Winter storm safety take-home activity

9. Explain that now they can be detectives at home and teach their families about electricity, how to stay safe around downed power lines and how to get prepared for power outages during the stormy winter season. 
   • Give each student a copy of the “Winter storm safety” take-home activity and review it with them.
   • When they get home, look for things that use electricity with their family and draw them on the first page.
   • Remind students to stay safe around downed power lines by remembering “Down. Danger. Dial.”
   • Parents and guardians can follow the links provided at BC Hydro and PreparedBC to find a full list of what to pack in an emergency kit and what to do during power outages.