Summer in Australia and New Zealand means strong sun and busy beaches. Slip, Slop, Slap began in 1981 with a cartoon seagull, and surf lifesaving clubs began after swimming in the daytime was allowed at Sydney's beaches in the early 1900s. These short histories carry the safety steps children need every summer.
Seven pages. Page 1 tells how Slip, Slop, Slap began, and page 2 adds seek and slide, the UV index and when to put on sunscreen. Page 3 is about the old law against swimming in the daytime and the editor who broke it in 1902, and page 4 about the first surf lifesaving clubs, the red and yellow flags and what to do in a rip. Each text has questions to circle and one to answer in writing. Page 5 is a timeline drawn to scale, page 6 matches six words to their meanings, and page 7 plans an opinion: should every school have a "no hat, no play" rule?
Use it in the last weeks of the school year, before the summer holidays, or in the first weeks back. Check the UV index for your town together each day and record it on a chart. Page 7 makes a good class debate before children write.
Read a page together before a trip to the beach, and find the red and yellow flags when you get there. Check the UV index together in the weather report.
Short texts on how Australia and New Zealand learnt to stay safe in the summer sun and surf: Slip, Slop, Slap, the UV index, the fight to swim in the daytime and the first surf lifesaving clubs. Students answer questions, read a timeline, match words and write an opinion.
Tell us what to make next, or build your own with a worksheet maker.
This worksheet is free to download, print, copy, and hand out in your classroom or at home. You do not need to create an account, and there are no watermarks on the PDF.
