Year 1 – 2 | SunSmart Hopscotch

Protecting My Skin full resource download  |  Concept 5: Taking positive action to reduce risk download

Background

SunSmart Hopscotch is a great way to reinforce and practice SunSmart behaviours by getting outdoors and active while
building on the knowledge and skills around the five sun protection measures: Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide.

Key messages

• There are five ways to protect your skin from the UV rays from the sun. Slip on a shirt, Slop on sunscreen, Slap on a hat,
  Seek shade and Slide on sunglasses.
• The sun produces 3 things, light that we can see, heat that we can feel and UV radiation that we cannot
  see or feel. It is invisible.
• Skin damage is caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, not temperature. A cool or overcast day can have similar UV levels
  to a warm, sunny day.
• UV and heat are not the same thing. We do not only need to use sun protection when it is hot. The UV Index can be 3 or
  above when it is cool and cloudy too.

Resources

• Chalk
• Marker, token or small stone

Instructions

1. Prepare to go outdoors, what do you need to do? Hats, sunscreen, etc.
2. Choose a shady, hard surfaced space outdoors, such as under a veranda, trees near quadrangle or netball court.
3. Using the chalk, draw a hopscotch grid.
4. Ask students to fill in numbers 1-5 or the words Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide, and/or images of each of the five
   sun protection measures.
5. Students play hopscotch as normal; the student tosses the stone into the first square, making sure the stone lands
   within the square. Then, the student hops through the squares skipping the square with the stone in it.

Variation

1. As the students hop on the squares, students expand and consolidate understanding.
2. If the student lands on a word, the student completes the sentence stem, e.g., ‘Slip on a shirt’.
3. If the student lands on an image, call out the names of the items or whether it is representing
   Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide.
4. Students mime the appropriate action associated with the image.
5. As the students hop on the squares, students pronounce word in a different language.

Key questions

• Why is it important to find a shady place to play?
• What are the five SunSmart strategies to protect our skin?
• Why do we need to be SunSmart?
• What types of hats are best for sun protection?
• Describe a SunSmart shirt.

When completing activities and lessons outdoors when the UV Index is 3 or above, please remember to be SunSmart