Wetbook Guide  #

Overview  #

The Wetbook is a waterproof multi-page booklet used by instructors during the Aquatic Safety Education course for lesson plan tracking and for recording student attendance and assessments. The Wetbook pages are ordered by class and include the following information: class start and end times, school name, pool location, group designation, group level, student names, student baseline assessment scores, and any student special needs information.

A Wetbook is prepared for each instructor after the initial student group assignment process is completed; it includes the recording pages and information specific to each group of students the instructor is responsible for. Typically, instructors are provided separate Wetbooks for each pool location that occur during the same school session.

The Wetbook is approximately 6” X 9” in size. The Wetbook pages are printed on waterproof paper with a standard laser printer and are assembled with a coil or comb binding tool. Mechanical “kids- pencils” with 1.3mm HB #2 lead and smudge resistant erasers are recommended for recording. Inkjet printers and standard ink pens cannot be used on waterproof paper. There are special waterproof ball-point pens available, however they are less economical and cannot be easily erased.

Although the primary user of a given Wetbook is the assigned instructor, other team members use the recorded information for a variety of reasons. Trained staff members transfer attendance and assessment information from the Wetbooks to online attendance sheets and grade books for each school. Team leaders use the recorded information to monitor lesson plan and skill progression for each group. Team mentors use the information to discuss lesson pacing and other topics with new instructors. During a primary instructor’s absence, a substitute instructor will rely on the recorded information to determine which lessons or skills to teach and assess.

The remainder of this guide introduces each Wetbook page section in the order they are typically used. As the guide progresses, the sections build upon each other to provide a complete overview of how to use the Wetbook.

Sections  #

Page Layout  #

There are two Wetbook pages for each skill level of the Elementary School Curriculum — a front page and back page. The following page layouts for the Beginner Level illustrate the arrangement of the divided information and recording sections. The other skill levels, Fundamental and Intermediate, have similar two-page layouts and can be viewed in the Appendix at the end of this guide.

Front Page Layout  #

Back Page Layout  #

Legend  #

The LEGEND section is located near the bottom of each page, directly below the table. The legend on the front page defines the acronyms used in the header, CODE, and BASELINE sections. The legend on the back page defines the acronyms for the lesson skills in the same order that they appear in the assessment section.

Legend Section - Front Page  #

Legend Section - Back Page  #

Header  #

The multi-field header section, located at the top of each page, provides school, class, and group identification information. The CL# and GRP boxes in the upper-left corner serve as a quick page reference. The CL# box identifies the class number (1 to 9), and the GRP box identifies the group designation (A to Z).

The LVL box, located to the right of the GRP box, specifies the skill level of the group (e.g., Beginner, Fundamental, or Intermediate). Depending on the group level, the LVL box will include either B1 or B2 (Beginner Level), F1 or F2 (Fundamental Level), or I1 or I2 (Intermediate Level). The numeric character, 1 or 2, following the alphabetic character is a sub-level classification used to specify which Block Lesson Plan to use for a given group level if more than one lesson plan is provided for the level.

The INST box, below the CL# box in the upper-left corner, includes the name of the instructor assigned to the group. To the right of the LVL box are the TIME, SCHOOL, and POOL boxes; the TIME box includes the specific time frame that the class is scheduled to take place, the SCHOOL box includes the name(s) of the participating school(s), and the POOL box includes the name of the venue or location of the pool.

Header Section Sample - Front Page  #

Student name  #

The STUDENT NAME section, located on both the front and back pages, contains the list of students that are assigned to the group. Only the first names, or preferred names, of the students are provided and they are typically listed in alphabetical order. Student names may be written in or crossed off the list as needed — if a new student is assigned to the group or if a student is transferred to/from another group.

Student Name Section Sample - Front Page  #

Code  #

The CODE section is located on the front page to the left of the STUDENT NAME section. The purpose of the CODE section is to notify instructors of a student’s circumstance or special needs. There are four single-letter codes: F, L, M, and S.

Code Section Sample - Front Page  #

Notes  #

The NOTES section is located at the bottom of each page beneath the LEGEND section. There are two categories of notes: one, which notifies instructors of a student’s circumstance or special needs which are provided by the school and/or parent; and, two, pertinent information recorded by the instructor during the lesson for their future reference or for other staff members. Although notes are usually associated with the content or a section on the same page, it is recommended that the notes on both pages be read prior to the start of each lesson.

If a student requires an inhaler, a note would be included on the front page to correspond with the letter “M” next to the student’s name in the CODE section. Notes regarding student’s activity in class are written on the back page, since the assessment section is actively used during the instruction period. For example, the note “Lesson 2 - Jay left early due to a stomachache” would be recorded on the back page to provide an explanation regarding the student’s missing assessments for the given lesson day.

Notes Section Sample - Front Page  #

Notes Section Sample - Back Page  #

Attendance  #

The ATTENDANCE section is located to the right of the CODE section and is used to record the daily attendance status (i.e., present or absent) of each student. Students who participate in a lesson, whether they enter the water that day or not, are to be recorded as present with an “X” in the corresponding lesson day column — L1 through L8. Students who are absent or do not participate on a given day are to be recorded as absent with a “—” in the corresponding lesson day column.

Note: Students who are present at the pool facility but do not participate in a day’s lessons activities should stay with their primary school teacher outside of the instructional area.

Attendance Section Sample - Front Page  #

Baseline  #

The BASELINE section provides a record of each student’s performance during the Baseline Assessment that is administered on the first lesson day (i.e., Lesson 1). This initial assessment includes a measure of a student’s comfortability to lower their face into the water; the length of time they can float and tread; their ability to swim on their front, back, and side; and their overall swimming distance capability. Instructors can use this information for additional insight into each student’s competence for daily lesson planning, and as a reference to determine a student’s progression during the course.

Baseline Sample - Front Page  #

Assessment  #

The ASSESSMENT section, located on the back page, is used to record student assessment results for each skill taught during the course. The SET and SKILL labels used for the column headers correspond to the skills and skill sets illustrated in the Block Lesson Plan for the group’s skill level. Safety SkillsSafety skillA method which improves the ability to interact with water in a way that increases the likelihood of avoiding and/or recovering from a hazardous aquatic situation. have a bold column header for visual identification. Each Safety Skill is paired with a Knowledge ObjectiveKnowledge objectivesThe cognitive learning goals associated with a competency, skill, activity, lesson, or session/unit. column designated by a +/- header.

Each assessment recording consists of two entries in the respective column. This first entry is a numeric value representing a rubricRubricA scoring guide that includes rating scales and descriptions of one or more criteria used to evaluate the performance of a skill. score or a time/distance measurement, as defined in the skill documentation, and is recorded in the student’s corresponding row. The second entry is a numeric value representing the lesson day that the group was assessed and is recorded in the bottom row labeled LESSON #.

Knowledge Objectives assessment recordings also consist of two entries; a “+” symbol representing a satisfactory verbal response, or a “-” symbol representing an unsatisfactory verbal response is recorded in the student’s corresponding row. Similar to the numeric rubric scores discussed above, the lesson day number is recorded in the bottom LESSON # row.

Assessment Section Sample - Back Page  #

Re-Assessment  #

The RE-ASSESSMENT section is located on the right side of the front page. This section is used to record the re-assessment of a skill. An instructor may choose to re-assess a student on a subsequent day if the student did not perform as well as expected during the original assessment or if the instructor is confident the student has improved since a prior assessment. For each re-assessment, three entries are recorded per column: the acronym for the skill in the top row (below the section header), the assessment results (score) in the student’s row, and the lesson number of when the skill was re-assessed in the bottom row. For Safety Skills, a second column should be used if the Knowledge Objectives are also re-assessed.

Re-Assessment Section Sample - Front Page  #

Appendix  #

Elementary School Curriculum  #

Beginner Level  #

Beginner Level - Front Page  #

Beginner Level - Back Page  #

Fundamental Level  #

Fundamental Level - Front Page  #

Fundamental Level - Back Page  #

Intermediate Level  #

Intermediate Level - Front Page  #

Intermediate Level - Back Page  #