Year 5 – 6 | Hat Investigation: See My Hat

Protecting My Skin full resource download  |  Concept 4: Keeping Your Skin Sun Safe download

Background

In this lesson, students explore the role of hats over the years and their purpose. Students apply their research to create a
‘history of hats’ collage displaying a variety of hats defined by their purpose. Hats have many purposes and have evolved and
changed over the years.

Key messages

• Hats have played various roles over times and have different purposes, including sun protection
• UV radiation and heat are not the same thing
• The UV index can be 3 or above when it is cool and cloudy
• The skin on your face, neck and ears is much thinner and more sensitive to UV damage than other skin on your body. A
  good hat can help protect these sensitive areas, but not all hats offer the same level of protection
• Broad-brimmed, legionnaire and bucket hats provide the best sun protection from UV radiation as they cover the face,
  neck, ears, and crown of the head
• Caps are not sun protective because they only protect your scalp and forehead
• For best protection when the UV is 3 or above, use all five forms of protection: clothing, sunscreen, broad-brimmed hat,
  shade, and sunglasses
• Play time should not be restricted if a hat has been forgotten and students should be encouraged to play in the shade.

Resources

• See My Hat exhibition
• History of Hats
• Hat Wiki
• The Hat Museum
• A3 paper or poster paper

Instructions

1. Research the history of hats and other resource links.
2. Take notes and develop categories for different hat types:
   – hats for work
   – hats for play
   – hats for fashion
   – hats for sun protection
3. Print off a range of hat types for each heading.
4. Create a hat collage on poster paper using the hat images. Creativity is encouraged to display this information.
5. Record the name of the hat, hat type and a brief description about the purpose of each hat.

Key questions

• What is the purpose of a hat?
• Is a cap SunSmart? Why not?
• What makes a SunSmart hat?
• What are the differences between a cap and a broad-brimmed hat?
• What other ways can you protect yourself from UV radiation?
• Are there any hats you found that were different or interesting?