Year 5 – 6 | Our School Sun and Shade Audit

Protecting My Skin full resource download  |  Concept 5: Taking positive action to reduce risk: Promoting and actioning effective sun protection strategies download

Background

This is a useful activity for students (and staff) to recognise the degree of shade in commonly used areas at your school,
such as where students eat their lunch. The activity is designed to encourage students to seek shaded areas for outdoor
activities and eating areas. It reinforces the SunSmart message that seeking shade is one of five important strategies of
preventing skin damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Key messages

• Seeking shade is important to protecting our skin from UV
• Shade moves throughout the day and this can impact on planning outdoor activities and utilising sun protection
• Whenever possible, make use of natural or built shade. Bring your own portable shade such as umbrellas, tents or
  marquees
• Sun protection practices should use a combination of Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide

Resources

• Activity sheet: Observation Record sheet
• SunSmart: The Shade Handbook
• SunSmart: The benefits of quality shade
• Clipboards
• Map of the school grounds
• Coloured pencils

Instructions

Observe

1. Visualise, identify and sort shapes and objects that are part of the school environment. Describe their key features in
   the environment according to the amount of sun and UV protection.
2. Walk around the school to audit and observe the amount of sun and shade on the different areas in the school.
3. Record shade and key features on the activity sheet and repeat at three different times of the day.
4. Construct a scaled map of the school and use a grid reference system to describe locations. Label to indicate buildings
   and outdoor areas.
5. Create a legend using well-shaded, needs good shade and could have better shade as three of your identifiers.
6. Mark on the map any area of the school that is from one of the three categories.

Calculate and interpret:

7. Display your data in a graph or a table and convert your data to percentages.
8. Explore efficient ways to calculate the perimeter of buildings or outdoor spaces.
9. Explore efficient ways of finding the areas of rectangles.
10. Calculate the total area of shaded and unshaded spaces in the school grounds.

Question:

11. Pose questions and collect data by observation or conduct a survey about the time of the day and the effect of the sun
    and UV radiation.
12. In pairs, students survey the school at three different times of the day to identify where and when different areas are in
    full sun or in the shade or protected from the sun.
13. Students record the areas of the school students mainly use.
14. Students identify areas of full sun exposure, partial, shade and record on their map using different colours for the times
    of the day.

Apply:

15. Students identify which areas could be improved regarding reducing sun exposure. Discuss actions that could be done
    to improve sun safety and increase shaded areas.
16. Students explore practices that they can adopt and implement in the school setting to improve health and wellbeing of
    the class and reduce the sun exposure and UV risk.

Reflect:

17. Class presentation and debrief: Plan, rehearse and deliver a presentation on action areas.

Key questions

• Which areas are already well-shaded?
• Which areas need to have good shade?
• Which areas could have better shade?
• What did you discover by completing the sun and shade audit?
• Discuss how shady places feel – some are cooler, darker, warm, or light.
• Which areas need shade improvement? Why? What solution do you recommend?
• Why is it important to protect our skin from the sun?