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Water Safety Education Resources

In a pool, at the beach, on a boat or even in a bathroom, water safety education is important not only for children but for adults as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that there were 3,582 fatal unintentional drownings in 2005 along with an additional 710 deaths from boating-related incidents. There are many resources available that provide educational materials related to water safety for teachers, local organizations and even individuals who wish to educate their families at home.

  1. I'm Safe!

    • I'm Safe, a division of the company Child Safety Solutions, provides educational resources created through a cooperation of leading experts on a variety of safety topics to educate children, including water safety. There are free resources, such as a lesson plan on why it is important to be safe around water and a fact sheet on water safety for parents available. The website also provides water safety education resources for a fee that include activity books, event kits and certification awards for children who have learned about water safety.

      I'm Safe!--a Division of Child Safety Solutions, Inc.
      PO Box 1403
      Rockland, ME 04841
      877-669-7233
      imsafe.com

    American Red Cross

    • Among their main efforts of providing relief for disaster victims, the American Red Cross aids communities by offering educational materials related to health and safety. The water safety program of the American Red Cross features an online course to teach parents about maintenance and safety regarding the home pool, swimming lessons for children and adults through local chapters and courses for lifeguards and swim coaches on preventing and responding to water-related incidents.

      American Red Cross National Headquarters
      2025 E Street, Northwest
      Washington, DC 20006
      202-303-5000
      redcross.org

    Alaska Sea Grant

    • The Alaska Sea Grant provides many educational resources related to the seas and coast, including a series available in their bookstore called "Surviving Outdoor Adventures." The series serves as a curriculum for students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Volume 1, "Survivor!," covers personal flotation devices, cold-water survival skills and boating safety. Cold-water safety is covered further in volume 2, "Cold Water Safety and Survival," and Boating Safety is the focus of volume 4, "Small Boat Safety and Survival."

      Alaska Sea Grant
      University of Alaska Fairbanks
      PO Box 755040
      Fairbanks, AK 99775-5040
      907-474-7086
      seagrant.uaf.edu

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

    • The National Water Safety Program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides a variety of educational resources that include teacher guides, children's activities and safety cartoons with Bobber the safety dog. The teacher guides include an introduction to the Safe Passage program, evaluation forms, reproducible class materials divided into three age groups for students from kindergarten through the fifth grade and color picture print-outs related to boating. During the children's activities, Safe Passage, they learn about swimming, dams and rivers, boating and fishing and water rescue.

      Headquarters, US Army Corps of Engineers
      441 G. Street, Northwest
      Washington, DC 20314-1000
      202-761-0011
      usace.army.mil

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