Lesson Plans
About Safe Routes to School Lesson Plans
Many schools in Colorado rely solely on physical education and extracurricular classes to teach children bicycle and pedestrian skills and lessons. The Colorado Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program aims to expand on these activities by incorporating bicycle and pedestrian lessons in core K-8 classes (math, science, history, language arts, etc.) with the goal of getting kids thinking about the benefits of walking and bicycling throughout their entire learning. These lesson plans were created to align specifically with the State of Colorado's standards for education for core K-8 classes and have been reviewed by the Colorado Department of Education.
Click here to download the full set of lesson plans or choose from the index below.
If you can't find what you need here, perhaps you will be inspired to create a lesson that incorporates these ideas! Please feel free to share your creativity in lesson plan development and classroom success stories by e-mailing [email protected].
Core Subject Bicycle and Pedestrian Lesson Plans Index (K-8)
| Level Index |
Recommended Grade |
Content Area |
Lesson Title |
| Early Elementary | K-1 |
Reading, Writing, |
|
| Early Elementary | K-1 | Comprehensive Health and Physical Education |
Blast Off with Healthy Eating |
| Early Elementary | K-2 | Reading, Writing, and Communicating |
Left Foot, Right Foot |
| Early Elementary | 1-3 | Social Studies; Mathematics |
Ways We Get to School |
| Early Elementary | 1-3 | Social Studies, Reading, Writing, and Communicating |
|
| Early Elementary | 1-3 | Social Studies | Walking Treasure Hunt |
| Early Elementary | 2 | Science | Students in Motion |
| Early Elementary | 2-3 | Social Studies | |
| Early Elementary | 2-3 | Social Studies | Mapping My Route to School |
| Late Elementary | 3-5 |
Mathematics |
Climb a 14er |
| Late Elementary | 4-5 |
Mathematics, Science, |
What Color Is My Air Today? |
| Late Elementary | 4-5 |
Social Studies |
Two Wheels and a Path |
| Late Elementary | 4-5 | Social Studies; Mathematics |
Walk Across the Country |
| Late Elementary | 4-6 | Social Studies, Visual Arts | Walking Trail Adventure |
| Late Elementary | 4-6 | Visual Arts | Recycled Materials as Art |
| Late Elementary | 4-6 | Social Studies; Reading, Writing and Communicating |
Eco-Points Score Card |
| Late Elementary | 4-6 | Social Studies | Historical Perspectives: Women's Suffrage |
| Late Elementary | 4-6 | Social Studies; Reading, Writing and Communicating |
How Walkable or Bikeable is Your Community? |
| Late Elementary | 5-6 | Social Studies, Reading, Writing and Communicating |
A Bicycling We Will Go |
| Late Elementary | 5-6 | Mathematics | Traffic Tally |
| Late Elementary | 5-6 | Social Studies | Historical Perspectives: African-American on an Integrated Sports Team |
| Late Elementary | 5-6 | Social Studies | Transportation: A View Into the Future with a Look at the Past |
| Late Elementary - Junior High |
5-7 | Social Studies, Mathematics Reading, Writing and Communicating |
Bike Around Colorado |
| Late Elementary - Junior High |
5-8 | Mathematics | Gears and Proportions |
| Junior High | 6-7 | Reading, Writing and Communicating |
Taming of the Bicycle |
| Junior High | 6-8 | Science, Reading, Writing and Communicating |
The Bicycle as a System |
| Junior High | 6-8 | Visual Arts | The Bicycle as Art |
| Junior High | 8 | Science | Transportation Efficiency |
Pedestrian Safety Lesson Plans (K-2)
These pedestrian lesson plans are a combination of indoor and outdoor lessons that can be used together or separately, depending on time and space available. Each lesson builds on the concepts and skills of the previous one, and the review of the concepts and key messages is encouraged. The outdoor lessons are the practical application of the skills learned in the indoor lessons.
Pedestrian Safety Lesson Plans (K-2)
These lesson plans cover:
- An introduction to traffic
- How to be visible
- How to stop and search before crossing the street
- Safely crossing the street
- Recognizing visual barriers
- How to cross at intersections
- Parking lot safety
- School bus safety
- Finding a properly-fitted helmet
- Review and evaluation, with safety pledge
Bicycle Safety Lesson Plans (3-6)
These bicycle safety lesson plans are a combination of indoor and outdoor lessons that can be used together or separately, depending on time and space available. Each lesson builds on the concepts and skills of the previous one. The outdoor lessons are the practical application of the skills learned in the indoor lessons.
Bicycle Safety Lesson Plans (3-6)
These lesson plans cover:
- Bicycle helmet fitting
- Finding the right bicycle fit
- Bicycle safety check
- Starting and stopping techniques
- Learning the rules of the road
- Avoiding hazards while bicycling
- Riding skills: scanning, rock dodge & riding with traffic)
- Navigating the road and choosing the best route
- Being visible and observant while bicycling
- Dealing with driveways
- Understand intersections
- Road positioning and proper signals
- Bike parking and locking
- Rules for riding on a multi-use path
Additional Resources
There are many ways walking, bicycling and active living concepts can be integrated into students' daily lives. This section includes items listed in the 'Materials' section of each lesson plan as well as a list of books that would be good additions to your school library. This section also contains information on where to find items like helmets, bike rodeo materials, etc., as well as links to helpful websites and additional project or science fair ideas.
