School-based preparedness curriculum
Three lesson plans — primary, middle and high school — and a trauma-informed drill protocol. Written so a teacher can run them in their own classroom without buying anything.
Curriculum Three lesson plans + drill Print-ready CC BY-NC 4.0
Do not frighten them. The aim of disaster education is not to describe the danger but to teach a child what to do. Showing footage of destruction, sounding an unannounced alarm and using a "you will die" narrative raise anxiety without changing behaviour. Every step of this curriculum is built on that principle.
Framework
Three outcomes, three levels
The curriculum rests on three outcomes, and each level repeats all three at an age-appropriate depth:
- Body memory. The movement made without thinking when shaking starts: drop, cover, hold on.
- Connection. Where to go afterwards, who to meet, who to tell.
- Competence. A concrete preparedness task the child can complete themselves, at home and at school. The sense of being able to act is the direct antidote to anxiety.
Each lesson plan runs for 40 minutes and can be used on its own. The three are designed to run in parallel across different year groups in the same school. A class teacher can deliver them.
Lesson plan 1
Primary (ages 6–10) · "Like a tortoise"
At this age the target is movement, not knowledge. Throughout the lesson the question answered is not "what happens in an earthquake" but "what do we do in an earthquake".
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5 min
Opening — the ground moves
Blocks on a tray are gently rocked. Framed with the sentence "the ground sometimes moves, and we get ready". No images, video or sound effects are used.
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10 min
The tortoise move
Drop, cover and hold on, taught through the tortoise image: go down on your knees, get under your shell (the table), hold your shell. The teacher demonstrates first; the class copies.
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10 min
Game — "Shake, stop, tortoise!"
Free movement while music plays; when the teacher calls "tortoise", everyone gets under a table. Three rounds. No competition or elimination; the aim is not speed but the move becoming automatic.
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10 min
My safe adult
Each child draws and names two adults who will find them, one at school and one at home. The sheet goes home, and the family is asked to know the same names.
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5 min
Closing — a calm end
Three slow breaths and a short story. The lesson does not end on high arousal. Homework: choose the safe table at home together with the family.
Lesson plan 2
Middle school (ages 11–14) · "The map of our home"
This age wants reasons and enjoys taking responsibility. The lesson ties the knowledge to a concrete task carried home.
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8 min
Why the ground shakes
Plate movement, faults and wave propagation explained with a simple model, with the eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus shown on a map. No catastrophe scenario is described; the mechanism is.
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7 min
Drop, cover, hold on — with the arguments
Why don't we run? Why not the doorway? Why no lift? The students work out the reasons themselves; grounds replace memorisation.
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15 min
Group work — hazard hunt
Groups sketch the classroom and mark everything that could tip, fall or block the way out. Each group proposes one fix; the workable ones go to the school management that week.
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7 min
The family plan task
The family disaster plan form is handed out. The task belongs to the student: fill in the meeting point and the off-island contact with their family and bring it back within a week.
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3 min
Closing
A one-sentence round: "The one thing I'll do at home this week is…" Keep it small and specific; what is doable gets done.
Lesson plan 3
High school (ages 15–18) · "Who does what on our street"
Adolescents are both the age group most at risk in a disaster and the one most able to help. This lesson puts them in the role of a participant rather than a spectator.
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8 min
Who the first 72 hours belong to
In the first hours, most rescues are carried out not by professional teams but by the neighbours already there. Told concretely, this makes the responsibility real.
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10 min
What to do and what not to
Do not enter rubble, do not attempt heavy lifting, do not move an injured person unless you must. Instead: report locations, relay calls for help, carry water, look after younger children, check on older neighbours.
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10 min
Misinformation module
The four verification moves are applied to real examples of false information from disasters. Fake appeals for donations and old footage presented as new are worked through specifically.
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10 min
Scenario work
Groups receive short field scenarios: "You're at school, the shaking has stopped, there's no signal, your sister is at primary school." Each group writes and presents its first three steps. Scenarios contain no injury detail and no deaths.
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2 min
Closing and volunteering
The school disaster team and routes into volunteering are introduced, with contact details left for interested students.
Drill
Trauma-informed drill protocol
Done well, a drill builds confidence; done badly, it produces trauma. The sequence below assumes that students who have lived through an earthquake or lost someone are in the room.
Before — preparation
- Announce it. Early drills are never unannounced. The day and time are given in advance.
- Affected students are identified beforehand and offered the option of staying in the room or observing.
- An information note goes to parents.
- If an alarm sound will be used, play it beforehand; a sudden loud noise must not be a surprise.
- The evacuation route for disabled students is planned in advance with a named companion.
During — running it
- Signal → drop, cover, hold on → wait 60 seconds.
- "The shaking has stopped" announcement → orderly evacuation, without running.
- Roll call at the assembly point; if anyone is missing, the notification chain runs.
- Time is recorded but not raced; what is measured is order, not speed.
- A teacher is assigned in advance to any student who cries or freezes.
After — closing
- Ten minutes of settling back in class: breathing, water, a short conversation.
- A round of "what went well, what shall we change" — improvement, not criticism.
- Any student who struggled is referred to the counselling service, without pressure.
- Problems are written down and fixed before the next drill.
Never do this
- Unannounced drills presented as real, with realistic sound effects
- Showing video of destruction or of bodies
- Asking students to recount their own earthquake memories in class
- Speed competitions between classes and naming a class as having failed
- Punitive language: "If you do that, you'll die."
Frequency: at least two drills a year. The first is announced; the second may be run with only short notice — if the class is ready and arrangements have been made for affected students.
Printable
Teacher checklist
School: Class: Date:
Before the lesson
- Affected students identified
- Counselling service informed
- Note sent to parents
- Materials ready (paper, pens, sketch)
- Safe table or area identified in the room
After the lesson
- Every student practised the movement
- Safe adult / meeting point written down
- Homework set
- Lesson ended calmly
- Any student who struggled was referred
At school level
- Evacuation plan current and displayed
- Assembly point marked
- Cupboards and shelves secured
- Evacuation plan for disabled students in place
- Two annual drills in the calendar
- Family disaster plan forms distributed
Support
We will come to your school
We can take your teachers through the curriculum, run the first drill with you and review your school's evacuation plan. We prepare separate adaptations for special schools and inclusive classrooms.
References
Where the information on this page comes from
The educational principles, the drill protocol and the school safety headings are adapted from the sources below. The lesson sequences and activities are TAKDER's own design.
- Education in emergencies
- Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (2024). INEE Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery. inee.org
- Behaviour during shaking, and drills
- Earthquake Country Alliance. Drop, Cover, Hold On and Great ShakeOut drill guidance. earthquakecountry.org
- School safety framework
- Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (2022). Comprehensive School Safety Framework 2022–2030. gadrrres.net
- Trauma-informed schools
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Creating Trauma-Informed Schools. nctsn.org
- North Cyprus guidance
- TRNC Civil Defence Organisation. Beklenilmeyene Hazır Olmak (Being ready for the unexpected). sivilsavunma.gov.ct.tr
Links go to the publisher; last accessed 11 September 2026. If you spot an error in a citation, tell us and we will correct it.