Help encourage safe mobility around your school! Teachers can use our lesson plan for students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 or choose from a range of resources, activities and stories to engage students in learning to travel safely.
Introduction to Street Safety
Objective: Introduce students to the concept of staying safe while walking and crossing streets.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
- Div 1 + 2 (K-6) DIY Presentation
- Let’s Learn: Crosswalk Safety
- Traffic Signs Colouring Page
Teacher Guidance: Use the Let’s Learn: Crosswalk Safety presentation to introduce students to crosswalks and street safety.
Student Practice: Complete the Traffic Signs Colouring Page in class or at home and practice the 3 steps to crossing safely.
Objective: Introduce students to the concept of staying safe while walking and crossing streets.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
- Let’s Learn: Safe and Unsafe Behaviours
- Journal Entry Template
- Whiteboard
- Markers
Teacher Guidance: Use the Lets Learn: Safe and Unsafe Behaviours presentation to talk about the behaviours and discuss the following:
- What makes a behaviour safe or unsafe?
- How can we improve unsafe behaviours?
Student Practice: Students can complete a journal entry and write about a time they felt safe or unsafe when crossing the road.
Objective: Introduce students to the concept of staying safe while walking and crossing streets.
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Materials:
- Safe Crossings Story: A Vision Zero Comic
- Safe Crossings Story: Illustration Activity
- Safe Crossings Story: Writing Activity
Teacher Guidance: Read A Safe Crossings Story to the class or have them take turns reading it to each other. Once the story is done invite students to engage with the story by creating illustrations to go along with the story, or by creating their own Safe Crossings Story!
Student Practice: Students can continue to explore road safety by creating their own illustrations for the Safe Crossings Story! Alternatively, students can choose to write their own safe crossings story!
Understanding Traffic Signs and Signals
Objective: Familiarize students with basic traffic signs and signals.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
- Let’s Learn: Traffic Signs Presentation
- Traffic Signs Colouring Sheet
- Scavenger Hunt Take-Home Activity
Teacher Guidance: Use the Let’s Learn: Traffic Signs slide deck to introduce students to common traffic signs. Discuss the following with students:
- Have you seen any of these signs in your neighbourhood?
- How can signs help us to stay safe on the road?
Student Practice: To review the different traffic signs students can complete the Traffic Signs Review Colouring Sheet at home or in class.
Objective: Familiarize students with basic traffic signs and signals.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
- Let’s Learn: Traffic Lights
Teacher Guidance: Use the Let’s Learn: Traffic Lights slide deck to introduce students to traffic lights. Discuss the following with students:
- How do traffic lights help keep people safe?
Student Practice: To help students familiarize themselves with the way traffic lights operate and affect traffic, play the game Red Light, Green Light with students in an open and safe environment.
Red Light, Green Light Game Instructions
- Have students stand in a horizontal line facing you
- The person calling the game will stand across the room on the finish line.
- When you say “Green light” everyone moves toward the finish.
- When you say “Yellow light” everyone must move in slow motion toward the finish line.
- When you say “Red light” everyone must stop moving.
Objective: Familiarize students with basic traffic signs and signals.
Time Frame: 20 minutes
Materials:
Teacher Guidance: Have a review discussion with students about the different traffic signs and signals.
Student Practice: Students can further enjoy their learning about traffic signs and signals through flash cards and a matching game that can be completed in small groups or pairs.
Safe Ways of Moving
Objective: Show students how to be safe pedestrians when walking near streets.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
- Let’s Learn: Holding Hands
- Safe Crossings Story: Helping Hands
Teacher Guidance: Use the Let’s Learn: Crosswalk Safety slide deck to introduce students to crosswalks and street safety.
Student Practice: Complete Crosswalk Safety Colouring Page in class or at home and practice the three steps to crossing safely.
Objective: Show students how to be safe pedestrians when walking near streets.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
Teacher Guidance: Use the Safe Street Explorer Activity to introduce students to crosswalks safety practices.
Student Practice: Complete the Journal Entry template in class or at home and share your experience completing the Safe Streets Explorer activity.
Objective: Practice with students how to be safe pedestrians when crossing the street.
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Materials:
Teacher Guidance: Use the Street Crossing Champions Activity to take all of the students' crosswalk safety practice and bring it to life!
Student Practice: Students can complete the Street Crossing Champions Illustration Activity and draw an illustration about their experience as a Street Crossing Champion. Their experiences can then be shared with the class or in their smaller Street Crossing Squads.
Being Visible on the Streets
Objective: Teach students how to be visible to drivers when walking or biking.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
Teacher Guidance: Use the The Park in the Dark story to support the Let’s be Safe While Walking Activity and teach students the importance of being visible when moving around their neighbourhoods.
Student Practice: Students can complete a journal entry writing about what they learned and how it will impact the way they move around their neighbourhood in the dark.
Objective: Teach students how to be visible to drivers when walking or biking.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
- Be Seen Adventure: A Safety Quest
- Reflective Materials
- Construction Paper
Teacher Guidance: Use the Be Seen Adventure: A Safety Quest Activity to introduce students to the importance of utilizing reflective materials to move safely.
Student Practice: To help students familiarize themselves with the use of these reflective materials, allow for open play with their avatars.
Objective: Teach students how to be visible to drivers when walking or biking.
Time Frame: 20 minutes
Materials:
- Safety is in Fashion
- Reflective Materials
- Craft supplies
Teacher Guidance: Use the Safety is in Fashion Activity to re-emphasize the importance of utilizing reflective materials to move safely. This activity will show how students may be able to incorporate these safety elements into their daily lives in a fun way.
Student Practice: Challenge the students to take this activity home with them ant to engage their parents and siblings into moving and dressing for safety.
Review and Graduation
Objective: Review key concepts and celebrate students completion of the street safety program.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
Teacher Guidance: Read the Safety is for Sharing story to re-emphasize how important it is that we all work together to move safely. If we help one another to learn the rules of the road, and to share stories we will all be a little bit safer.
Student Practice: Encourage the students to share their stories at home, with friends and help everyone become Vision Zero Ambassadors.
Objective: Congratulate the students on all their hard work and present them with a graduation certificate.
Time Frame: 20 Minutes
Materials:
Teacher Guidance: Congratulations! You’ve used all of the Vision Zero Schoolkits digital resources to teach your students how to move safely! Give yourself a pat on the back for being an amazing advocate for safety on our streets and providing those learnings to the next generation of road users!
Student Practice: Celebrate!