Fall In, Float, Shout
A calm rehearsal of what to do after an unexpected fall in: get back to the surface, hold on or float, and call for help.
- Stages
- Stage 2
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Safe Entry, Back Float, Water Safety
- Equipment
- Noodle
- Age
- 5–12 years
- Group size
- 1–8 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2, Recap / Safe Exit
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
- Rating
- 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings
Safety notes
- Never push swimmers in; the swimmer chooses when to slide.
- Only practise in standing depth.
What it develops
- Enter the water safely without help
- Float on front and back and return to standing
- Know simple ways to stay safe in water
How to run it
- Swimmers sit on the edge. Talk briefly about falling in by accident.
- On your cue they slide in (as if they slipped), turn back to face the wall and hold on.
- They wave one arm and shout 'Help!'.
- Progress: slide in, lie back in a supported back float, wave and shout.
Teaching cues
- Turn to the wall.
- Hold on or float.
- Wave and shout.
Make it easier
- Slide in holding the teacher's hand.
- Hold a noodle as soon as you are in.
Make it harder
- Float on the back for 5 seconds before signalling.
- Swim three metres back to the wall after the float.
Common faults
- Swimmers try to swim away from the wall.
- Panicking and splashing instead of floating.
Corrections
- 'The wall is your friend – look for it first.'
- Practise the float part on its own first.
Assistant / L1 role
- Wait in the water a metre from the edge beside the swimmers who are nervous about entering, so they know someone is close while they practise the sequence.
Helps with
Community feedback
Used this with my Stage 2 class today. The two less confident swimmers struggled at first, but a noodle under their shoulders worked really well and they were floating on their own by the end.
Good warm-up. I shortened it to about four minutes and finished with a race to stand up safely.