During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Before class, clear your teaching space so that children may move quickly and easily from one side to the other. Make sure all of the children can fit in the centre of the space.
Unit Introduction: Young children quickly and readily absorb information. Their brains are designed for learning. However, young children are inexperienced and only know what they see or are told. This is why these safety lessons are so important. Young children usually view what they see and experience in their daily lives as “normal” and often do not question whether these experiences are right or wrong.
Because of their inexperience, young children need guidance to help them understand the difference between safe and unsafe people, places, and situations. The lessons that follow will teach the children how to stay safe. There are Teacher Tips throughout these lessons to guide you, the teacher, to help the children with these difficult topics.
As you teach these lessons, children may report information to you about unsafe people, places, or touch. It is important to listen and believe a child who reports situations that have made her feel unsafe. Listen and ask direct questions to understand the situation but try not to lead the child in his response so that he does not get confused about the details.
Some examples of direct questions to ask include:
Some examples of questions NOT to ask include:
Always check with your leadership about policies for child protection. If a child is in an unsafe situation, get the child help if possible from the appropriate person or group of people.
Whoever rests in the shadow of the Most High God will be kept safe by the Mighty One.
I will say about the Lord, “He is my place of safety. He is like a fort to me. He is my God. I trust in him.”
Psalm 91:1–2
We all want to be safe. Sadly, in our world, bad things happen. There are people that threaten our physical, emotional, and mental safety. Sometimes we may trust that a family member or someone in our community will not harm us because these people should be safe. However, this is not always true. Sometimes the people we least expect to be dangerous are the people who can cause us the most harm.
Have you ever encountered an unsafe person? If you have, think about what you felt at that time. Did you feel tense, afraid, or angry? It is in these moments that it is important to remember that God is a place of safety. You can come to Him and ask Him to protect you from unsafe people. You can also ask Him to comfort you when you are harmed by an unsafe person. God is trustworthy and safe!
Encourage families to read and talk about the Resource Article “The Rights of the Child.” Ask them to think about how this can help to keep children safe.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
As the children come to class, greet them and ask them to sit in the middle of your space.
Today we will talk about how some people make us feel safe and others make us feel unsafe. Have you ever felt safe with someone? Have you ever been with someone who made you feel that you were not safe?
As you talk about the right and left sides of the space, make sure to point to each side to help the children understand where to go.
Let’s listen to some situations about people who may make us feel safe or unsafe. For each situation, if you think the person is someone who would be safe for you to be with, go to the right side of our space. If you think the person is unsafe, go to the left side of our space.
You all did a good job making choices. It is important to look at all of the information you have about someone before you decide whether he is a safe or unsafe person. Let’s learn more about how to figure out if someone is safe or unsafe.
Help the children form groups of 4–5 children. There should be at least 4 children in each group.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between someone who is safe and someone who is not. It is easier to decide if someone you know is safe since you have more information about that person. If you do not know someone, you can learn about the person from the way the person speaks, looks, and acts. It is important to pay attention to how that person makes you feel and to trust that feeling. If your heart beats faster when you are near that person and you feel scared, that person may not be safe.
God created your amazing body! When he gave you emotions, He knew they could help guide you to figure out when someone is safe or unsafe. Listen to what the Bible says:
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well.
Psalm 139:14
Do you remember when we learned about emotions? God created emotions as signals to tell us things about ourselves and the world around us. If you feel scared or peaceful around someone, it is important to pay attention to that signal because it can help you decide whether someone is safe or unsafe.
Let’s work together to make a list of the qualities of a safe person. Qualities are the things that show us what something is. Think for a moment about someone who makes you feel safe. When you have thought of someone, put your thumb up in front of you.
Pause for the children to think. When you see that most of the children have their thumbs up—or after about 45 seconds—ask the children to answer the following questions in their groups. Give them about 1 minute to answer each question.
Let’s make a list of the qualities of a safe person. I will ask each team to name 1 thing they talked about that makes them feel safe with someone.
Optional: If you have paper, a chalkboard, or whiteboard, write the students’ answers as large as you can. If you do not, try to remember the students’ answers so that you may repeat them back to the class.
Listen to what safe people do:
Read or recall the list of the qualities of a safe person the class came up with.
Let’s talk about what qualities people have that make us feel unsafe. Think of someone who has made you feel unsafe. This could be someone you know or someone you do not know.
Give the children 30–45 seconds to think. Then ask them to answer the following questions in their groups.
Let’s make a list of the qualities of an unsafe person. I will ask each team to name 1 thing they talked about that makes them feel unsafe with someone.
Optional: If you have paper or a whiteboard and a pen or marker, write the students’ answers as large as you can. If you do not, try to remember the students’ answers so that you may repeat them back to the class.
Unsafe people use words that may make us feel angry or sad. They act in ways that are unkind and may even hurt us.
Unsafe people can be people you know, but they can also be people you do not know. You need to be careful when you meet someone you do not know. This is especially true if that person wants to be alone with you or take you someplace you do not normally go.
Here is a list of ways unsafe people may treat you or make you feel:
If someone makes you feel nervous or scared, always tell a safe adult, such as a parent or teacher.
What can you do if someone makes you feel nervous or scared?
I can always tell a safe adult. Ask children to repeat this with you 3 times.
What should you do if someone makes you feel unsafe?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Whenever possible, it is important that you do not go somewhere alone with an adult you do not know or who you feel is unsafe. If he still tries to get you to go with him, call out to someone near you who you think is a safe person. You can also try to run away from the unsafe person.
If you are not sure whether someone is safe to be around, you can pray to God about that person or situation. The Bible tells us that God cares about us.
Turn all your worries over to [God]. He cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7
God wants to know what worries you. He wants you to talk to Him when you are worried.
Remember that you should always tell a safe adult too! Even when you try to stay safe, sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes people hurt other people. You can talk to God because He is with you and will comfort you when you come to Him. You can trust God because He cares about you!
Now that we know what qualities safe and unsafe people have, let’s create a song to help us remember the things they do.
Allow 2–3 children to answer each of the following questions. Make sure to write or recall what the children say so that you can use their ideas in the song.
Verse 1: Safe people
You may use the following outline to help you create a verse about safe people. Insert some of the answers you gathered from the children in the blanks.
Verse 2: Unsafe people
You may use the following outline to help you create a verse about safe people. Insert some of the answers you gathered from the children in the blanks.
Chorus:
Let me tell you about safe and unsafe people.
Safe people are kind and unsafe people are hurtful.
Use a familiar melody with the lyrics you and the children created to sing the “Safe and Unsafe People” song 3 times.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give each child a crayon. Have the children draw smiling faces by the safe people they see and frowning faces by the unsafe people they see.
Today you learned ways to tell if people are safe or unsafe. God can help you try to figure out who is safe and who is not because He loves you and wants you to be safe. Our memory verse comes from a time when God’s people were in trouble and talks about God’s plan for His people. This reminds us of what God wants for each of us.
God wants us to be safe. Our memory verse today says:
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
“I know the plans I have for you,” announces the Lord. “I want you to enjoy success.I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Use the following motions with the first part of the memory verse. Repeat the motions with the children 3 times.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Psalm 139:14 and 1 Peter 5:7, over the children.
Blessing: May you know that God made you to be wonderful. May you trust in His love for you and listen to Him as He helps you to know the difference between safe and unsafe people.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
