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Classroom
Activities (download
this info as a PDF)
These activities are a sampling of
the many ways to create enthusiasm
for walking and biking to school.
Share these activities with
classroom teachers, club leaders and
other community youth groups.
1. Class by class competition.
Reward the class with the most
students who: walk to school; wear
decorated shoes for the walk; have
the most parents walking, etc. Throw
a party for the class with the most
walkers.
2. Frequent Rider Miles contest.
This contest rewards children who
come to school walking, biking, by
bus or carpool. For further
information, contact Safe Routes to
Schools at
www.saferoutestoschools.org.
3. Hold a “Best Ways to Get Your
Parents to Walk to School With You”
contest.
Have students come up with
one-sentence ideas for getting
parents to walk with kids. Get a
panel of local radio, TV and news
journalists as judges (this assures
coverage in local media, too).
Reward both creativity and
practicality. Compile a top 10 list,
printed with the winners’ names.
4. Have students draw a memory
map of their walk to school.
Have the teacher review the
highlights with the class. Find out
what different things, people, and
events the children pass on their
way to school. Discuss what
interesting things they saw, what
was beautiful, or what needed
improving. The teacher can assign or
read Dr. Seuss' And to Think I Saw
That on Mulberry Street.
5. Have students start a family
exercise program.
Have students work with their
parents to substitute one driving
trip with a walking trip that week.
Have students report what the trips
were and how many miles. At the end
of the week, figure out how many car
miles were reduced or how many
gallons of gas the class saved as a
whole.
6. Count people who are walking.
For one day have kids count how many
pedestrians they see and if they see
them doing something unsafe.
7. Have students interview people
who walk a lot.
The postman, police officers on foot
patrol, neighbors who walk for
exercise, etc. What do they see
because they walk a lot? What needs
to be improved for more people to
walk?
8. Invite local experts for a
school assembly.
The entire school can hear about
traffic/walking safety from a
policeman or the benefits of walking
from a fitness professional, etc.
9. Have students try the 2-1-5
Plan for a week.
That’s no more than two hours of TV
per day, at least one hour of daily
physical activity, and five or more
servings of fruits and vegetables
every day.
10. Write letters to city or
county council members.
For students in higher grades, have
them write letters to city or county
council members asking for more
sidewalks and more safe places to
walk, ride bikes, and play in
neighborhoods. Students in lower
grades could draw a picture of a
safe place to walk. |
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