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Public transit users take 30 percent more steps and spend roughly eight more minutes walking each day than drivers.

Lessons in walking and biking safety

Apr 15, 2020 | by Maya Norris

Did you know that Active Trans has an assortment of resources that advocates, teachers, and parents can use to educate children about walking and biking safety both inside and outside the classroom?

With parents and teachers looking for walking and biking education ideas for their kids during the “stay-at-home” order, we wanted to share some of our resources.

Last year Active Trans worked with other advocates to pass the Illinois Bike Walk Education in Schools Act, legislation requiring that K-8 public schools teach biking and walking safety to students.

To encourage districts to comply with the new law, Active Trans helped develop complete lesson plans that cover bicycle and pedestrian safety.

The lesson books include best practices for walking and biking safely alongside vehicles, such as using hand signals and understanding traffic signals; the health benefits of walking and cycling; and how they can reduce their environmental footprint by walking and biking.

Active Trans also worked with the Illinois Association of School Boards to compile a resource list and share it directly with school districts.

The resource list includes the following three easy-to-use lesson guides developed by Active Trans and available for download.

Normally used in the classroom or after-school programs as well integrated with physical education and health classes, these plans could also be used by parents in the home environment. The lessons are based on the Common Core and Illinois Learning Standards.

Please take a look at other education resources, too. They include information on bike rodeos, interactive classes that teach kids safety tips and bicycle handling skills; classes on bicycle maintenance; and a course on how to ride a bicycle safely in traffic. There’s even a comic book we created aimed at teens and preteens.

You can support the fight for safer walking and biking during and after the COVID-19 pandemic by becoming an Active Trans member or renewing your membership today. You can also make a one-time donation.

Image courtesy of PBS.org.