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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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March
2006
Volume
10 - Number 2 |
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In February, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and The Advertising Council, launched a new website, Ready Kids. The
website is a national public service advertising campaign designed to teach
children, aged 8-12, how to prepare for and respond to natural disasters,
potential terrorist attacks and other emergencies. In a press release
Secretary Michael Chertoff said of the new site, “As we have encouraged families
to prepare for emergencies, parents and teachers have often asked if there
is information appropriate to share with children, so we are pleased to share
Ready Kids in response to these requests…. We hope the Ready Kids website
and in-school materials will help facilitate discussions about this important
subject and encourage all families to get an emergency supply kit, make a
family emergency plan and be informed about the different emergencies that
can happen.”
The Ready Kids website (www.ready.gov) features games and puzzles as well as age-appropriate, step-by-step instructions on what families can do to be better prepared for emergencies. The steps that the website outlines are: 1) Create A Kit, 2) Make a Plan, 3) Know the Facts, 4) Graduate from Readiness U (This is just a simple quiz that prints a certificate for children when they complete it.). While discussing specific emergencies such as tornado, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hurricane and terrorism, the website emphasizes that being prepared and having a plan can be helpful in any situation. Children are guided through the process by a family of mountain lions. The family, Rex, his wife Purrcilla, daughter Rory and their best friend, Hector Hummingbird, are meant to teach children how to take steps to be prepared for emergencies. As they navigate through the site, children follow the adventures of Rory, as she helps her family prepare for emergencies. The family was modeled on the Advertising Council’s other memorable children’s mascots such as Smokey the Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog. In addition to the website, Homeland Security developed in-school materials for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students nationwide. The course materials, developed in partnership with Scholastic Inc., provide teachers with lesson plans that explain emergency preparedness information to students while meeting national standards for language arts, social studies and geography. DHS plans to distribute the materials to 135,000 middle-school teachers in the 25 largest metropolitan areas as well as making them available for download on the website. In an effort to provide a well-rounded curriculum, DHS consulted with a number of other organizations including the American Psychological Association, American Red Cross, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of School Psychologists, National PTA, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, U.S. Department of Education, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |