Community Health Messages wellbeing lesson plan
A primary wellbeing lesson for Years 1 and 2 that helps Australian teachers introduce community health messages through a structured, ready-to-teach lesson. Students learn to recognise simple health messages, understand how these messages support healthy choices, and practise thinking about staying safe in different everyday environments.
Diversity, Equality & Society
Snapshot
Community Health Messages
The lesson gives teachers a structured way to introduce health messages and help students think about staying safe in different everyday environments.
Prep time:
5 to 10 minutes
Lesson length:
45 to 50 minutes
Key Focus
Understanding how health messages support healthy and safe choices
Lesson Format
Teacher-led discussion and structured activities
What students will learn
By the end of the lesson, students will be supported to:
Recognise
recognise simple health messages they may see or hear at school, home or in the community
identify examples of messages that help people stay safe, such as safety signs or simple instructions
recognise that different environments may have different health and safety messages
Understand
understand that health messages are designed to help people make healthy and safe choices
understand why messages about staying safe can look different depending on where they are
Practise
practise talking about what a health message is asking people to do
practise identifying safe choices linked to different everyday environments
practise explaining a health message in their own words
Who this lesson is for?
This lesson is designed for students in Years 1 and 2 who are beginning to learn about health messages, safety and community understanding.
It is suitable for:
primary wellbeing lessons
Health or PDHPE teaching
pastoral care, circle time or advisory sessions
introductory health and safety discussions
classroom conversations about community understanding
Suitability should be based on more than age alone. Teachers should consider the lesson focus, student maturity, cohort needs, classroom culture, existing discussion norms and available support pathways.
Best used when
Use this lesson when students need clear, practical language for recognising unkind behaviour and knowing what to do next.
Introducing health and safety concepts Use when students are first learning about health messages and what they mean.
Building community awareness Use when you want students to think about messages they see in different places, such as school or local community settings.
Reinforcing safe choices Use when revisiting classroom or school expectations about staying safe.
Supporting transition to new environments Use when students are moving between settings, such as starting a new year level or exploring new spaces at school.
Connecting with Health or PDHPE topics Use when planning a broader unit on health, safety or wellbeing.
Creating a structured wellbeing discussion Use when you want a calm, teacher-led discussion about health messages and safe choices.
The lesson can be used proactively with the whole class. It does not need to follow a specific incident.
Why this lesson matters
Students encounter health messages in many places, from school signs to simple instructions at home or in the community. Helping them understand what these messages mean, and why they exist, gives them an early foundation for making safe and healthy choices. This lesson is not only about remembering rules. It helps students build the thinking skills to notice a health message, work out what it is asking them to do, and connect it to staying safe in the environment they are in. By introducing this early, teachers help students build confidence in reading everyday health messages and understanding that staying safe can look different depending on where they are.
How this lesson supports wellbeing
This lesson supports student wellbeing by building practical social and emotional skills students can use in everyday school life. It helps students develop:
Capability How the lesson supports it
Health literacy Students learn to read and understand simple health messages.
Safety awareness Students recognise how messages help people stay safe in different places.
Critical thinking Students consider why a health message looks or sounds the way it does.
Community understanding Students see how health messages support safety for everyone in a shared space.
Communication Students practise explaining a health message in their own words.
Decision making Students connect health messages to making safe, healthy choices.
For teachers and school leaders, the lesson contributes to broader wellbeing, respectful relationships, child safety and pastoral care goals in Australian primary schools.
Teaching notes & Delivery Considerations
This lesson includes content about unkind behaviour, exclusion and asking adults for help. It should be taught with calm, clear discussion norms.
Before teaching
Review the health messages or examples you plan to use so they suit your students' familiar environments
Prepare simple, consistent language for talking about staying safe in different places
Remind students to use general examples rather than naming specific people or personal experiences
Be prepared to follow your school's child safety, wellbeing or child protection procedures if a student discloses harm or says they feel unsafe.
During delivery
Use everyday examples students may recognise, such as safety signs or simple instructions
Keep discussion focused on health messages rather than personal stories
Give students time to talk through what a message is asking people to do
Check understanding by inviting students to explain a message in their own words
Supporting safe discussion
Encourage respectful discussion and remind students not to share other people's private experiences
Reinforce that there are no right or wrong environments, only different safety considerations
Direct any safety concerns to a trusted adult following school procedures
Adaptation options
Use visual examples for students who need extra support with language
Extend discussion for students ready to compare messages across different environments
Offer partner or small group discussion for quieter learners
