Year 5 – 6 | UV Social Media

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

Background

Students create three social media posts to effectively engage students online and inform them of sun safety. These social
media posts are intended to be in the style of an infographic. Infographics use striking, engaging visuals to communicate
information quickly and clearly. Students are encouraged to understand and present different styles of social media
graphics. This can include different formatting for social media platforms (Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter),
different media types (GIF, infographic, video post, image-based posts).

Key messages

• Research has established that childhood and adolescence are critical periods during which sun exposure could
  contribute to skin cancer later in life
• It is estimated that more than 75% of all skin cancers could be prevented by practising sun protective behaviours in
  childhood and adolescence
• 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 radiation and heat are not the same thing
• The UV Index can be 3 or above when it is cool and cloudy
• 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 and above, use all five forms of protection: clothing, sunscreen, a broad-brimmed
  hat, shade and sunglasses
• There are many different health messages and information that can influence our health decisions and behaviours
• Look for information from credible sources to make informed decisions around sun protection.

Resources

• Social media content creation platforms such as Adobe, Canva or other design apps
• Student access to a device or shared screen.

Instructions

1. Ask key questions and introduce task to students.
2. Research SunSmart infographics. What do you notice about infographics? What is their purpose?
3. Encourage further research and learn about what makes an engaging social media post. Note: Target this towards what
   would be effective in informing students their age about sun safety, on social media.
4. Plan, design and create three infographics for social media posts about sun protection, targeted at their age-group.

Key questions

• Why is health education about sun protection important?
• What makes a social media post effective?
• How would you describe your demographic? How will this impact on the social media post?
• What are some of the barriers around sun protection that impact on this demographic? Such as peer pressure, tanning,
  caps on school uniform list rather than SunSmart hats