The orientation exercise is considered to be the foundation and lays the groundwork for all other exercise activities. It is an informal, planned event, designed to bring together school officials and responding agencies that have a role or interest in plans, problems, standard operational procedures (SOPs), or equipment. It may also introduce a new hazard or problem that needs to be addressed. It is usually structured as one-on-one questions with participants, panel discussions, brainstorming activities or case studies.

To maximize the orientation activity, schools should identify a specific orientation goal and several written objectives. In addition, schools should consider other logistics, such as meeting facilities, refreshments, handouts, agendas, invitations to the participants, and facilitation of the seminar, guiding discussion and encouraging participation.

An orientation/planning workshop can be done in combination with a tabletop exercise.

The tabletop exercise is a planned activity in which school officials, key staff, and emergency response organizations are presented with simulated emergency situations, without time constraints. It is conducted as an informal meeting, in a conference room environment, and is designed to elicit constructive discussion from the participants. Participants will examine and attempt to resolve problems (discovered in the vulnerability assessment) based on existing plans and procedures. The success of the exercise is largely determined by the group participation. All individuals are encouraged to discuss decisions in depth with the emphasis on slow-paced problem solving, rather than rapid, spontaneous decision-making.

A tabletop exercise should have community specific goals, objectives, and a scenario narrative (enclosed – choose one).

Definition of Exercise Activities – Page Two

• Prepare
• Send out invitations
• Arrange the facility
• Prepare handouts and an exercise package (this contains problems/issues, messages, discussion generating questions, exercise scenario narrative, current response plans, etc.)
• To assist schools, sample scenarios and questions/issues are included in this package.

• Set the stage
• Greet all the participants
• Read the exercise scenario narrative (enclosed – choose one) to start the exercise.

• Monitor the action
• The facilitator should control the flow by guiding the discussions, managing the time, and encouraging resolution of problems, if possible. If a larger than normal participation is expected, additional facilitators may be added to the exercise. Individual problems or issues could then be assigned to groups.

• Collect data
• Sign-in sheets
• Player activity sheets (response to the problems or issues)
• Evaluation reports
• Player critiques