Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 1

Lesson Video

This page supports the lesson note with a companion video and a short classroom-ready summary.

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Performance objectives

• This lesson serves as a crucial revision and consolidation of key Life Skills topics covered throughout the term, with a special focus on Healthy Living and Personal Safety. For Grade 1 learners in South Africa, these are not just classroom topics; they are essential survival skills for daily life. Understanding which foods give them energy to learn and play, and knowing how to stay safe when walking to school, playing at home, or interacting with others, empowers them to be confident and responsible. This lesson revisits these concepts to ensure they are deeply understood and can be applied in real-world situations, from packing a healthy lunchbox with local fruits to knowing to say 'no' to a stranger.
• Learning Objectives:
• By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Identify and Sort: Correctly identify and sort at least five different foods into 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' categories.
• State Safety Rules: Verbally state two important safety rules for being at home (e.g., not playing with fire) and two for being on the road (e.g., holding a grown-up's hand).

Lesson summary

This lesson serves as a crucial revision and consolidation of key Life Skills topics covered throughout the term, with a special focus on Healthy Living and Personal Safety. For Grade 1 learners in South Africa, these are not just classroom topics; they are essential survival skills for daily life. Understanding which foods give them energy to learn and play, and knowing how to stay safe when walking to school, playing at home, or interacting with others, empowers them to be confident and responsible.

Lesson notes

This section revisits the core ideas of staying healthy and safe. We will use simple language and examples that are easy for Grade 1 learners to understand and remember.

A. Healthy Eating: Fuel for Your Body! Why do we eat? Just like a car needs petrol to go, our bodies need food for energy. This energy helps us run, jump, play, and even think hard in class! But not all food is the same. Some foods are super-helpers, and some are just for a small treat sometimes. The Three Types of Super-Foods (Go, Grow, and Glow Foods): Go Foods (Carbohydrates): These give you lots of energy to move and play. They are the 'petrol' for your body.

Examples from South Africa: Pap (maize meal), bread (especially brown bread), rice, potatoes, and samp. When you eat your breakfast pap, you are filling your body with 'Go' power for the school day!

Grow Foods (Proteins): These help you grow big and strong. They build your muscles and bones.

Examples from South Africa: Chicken, fish, beans (like sugar beans in a stew), lentils, eggs, and milk or maas (amasi). Eating beans and chicken helps your body repair itself and grow taller.

Glow Foods (Vitamins and Minerals): These foods make your skin glow, your eyes shine, and they fight off sickness like colds and flu. They are like your body's little bodyguards!

Examples from South Africa: Oranges, bananas, apples, mangoes, spinach (morogo), carrots, tomatoes, and pumpkin. Eating a juicy orange at break time helps your body fight germs. 'Sometimes' Foods (Unhealthy Foods): These are foods that taste nice but have a lot of sugar or unhealthy fat. They don't have the 'Go, Grow, or Glow' power. It's okay to have them as a small treat, but not every day.

Examples: Sweets, chips, fizzy drinks, and cake. Eating too many of these can make you feel tired later and can be bad for your teeth.

B. Personal Safety: Being Smart and Aware Why is safety important? Staying safe means protecting our bodies from getting hurt. When we are safe, we can be happy and healthy. We need to know the rules to stay safe at home, at school, and on the road.

Safety on the Road: The Robot (Traffic Light): Red means STOP! Never, ever cross the road when the robot is red for you. Green means GO! But wait! You must still check for cars. You only cross when a grown-up is holding your hand and tells you it is safe. Stop, Look, and Listen: Before you cross ANY road, even a small one, you must: STOP at the edge of the pavement. LOOK to your right, then to your left, then to your right again. LISTEN for any cars coming. If it is all clear, you can walk quickly (don't run!) across, holding a grown-up's hand. Always walk on the pavement, not in the road where the cars drive.

Safety at Home: Fire is not a toy: Never play with matches, lighters, or candles. They can cause a very big and dangerous fire.

Electricity can hurt you: Never put your fingers or anything else into plug sockets. Don't play with wires or electrical appliances like the kettle.

Strangers: A stranger is someone you and your family don't know. Never open the door for a stranger. If a stranger talks to you or offers you sweets, say "NO" loudly and run to a safe grown-up you trust, like your Mom, Dad, or teacher.

Knowing Your Information: It is very important to know your own full name and your parent's name. It is also a great idea to learn one parent's phone number. If you ever get lost, you can tell this information to a police officer or a teacher, and they can help you get home safely. Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question 1: Food Sorting Look at these foods: an apple, a packet of chips, a piece of chicken, a fizzy drink, a carrot. Which of these are 'Go, Grow, or Glow' foods that are healthy for you?

Solution 1: Apple: Healthy. It's a Glow food that fights sickness.

Chicken: Healthy. It's a Grow food that makes you strong.

Carrot: Healthy. It's a Glow food that is good for your eyes. The packet of chips and the fizzy drink are 'sometimes' foods (unhealthy) because they have too much salt and sugar.

Question 2: Safety Scenario Lerato is playing outside, and her favourite ball bounces into the street. What is the safest thing for Lerato to do? a) Run into the street quickly to get it. b) Ask a grown-up to help her get the ball. c) Cry and leave the ball in the street.

Solution 2: The correct answer is b) Ask a grown-up to help her get the ball.

Commentary: It is never safe to run into the street without looking, especially after a toy. Cars can come very fast and might not see a small child. A grown-up can watch for cars and get the ball safely.

Question 3: The Robot Rhyme Complete the missing words in our Robot Safety Rhyme: "When the robot light is red, I must ______. When the robot light is green, I must still be ______." Solution 3: "When the robot light is red, I must STOP." "When the robot light is green, I must still be CAREFUL (or SAFE/SEEN)."

Commentary: This helps reinforce that green doesn't mean it's automatically 100% safe.