Choose Active Transport: A Teacher's Resource

Choose Active
Transport
A Teacher's Resource
for Year K-7 students to promote walking, cycling and other
forms of active transport to and from school.
Title: Choose Active Transport

SCIS NO: 1485266
29/10/2010
Choose Active Transport
Ringbound
SCIS NO: 1485268
29/10/2010
Online
ISBN: 978-1-921648-14-4
01/10/2010
Ringbound
ISBN: 978-1-921648-13-7
01/10/2010
Online
Produced by the Western Australian Physical Activity Taskforce, in collaboration with the
Department of Transport, National Heart Foundation (WA Division) and the Department
of Education. The resource was funded by the Department of Health (WA) and
Department of Sport and Recreation (WA).
Reproduction of this work in whole or part for educational purposes is permitted within an
educational institution on condition that it is not offered for sale.
For further information please contact:

08 9492 9630 or www.beactive.wa.gov.au
Copyright State Government of Western Australia.
Please note that the website hyperlinks listed in this resource were correct at time of printing.
In the unlikely event that a hyperlink malfunctions, teachers are advised to type the generic
address of this website into a search engine such as Google and search for the hyperlink from the
Homepage of the site.
All of the initiatives and events included in this resource were correct at time of printing.
These may change in the future.
Choose Active
Transport
Foreword
Physical inactivity is a leading contributor to Australias
increasing burden of diseases such as heart disease,
type 2 diabetes, some cancers and obesity. There
are some disturbing trends of increased overweight,
obesity and inactivity among Australian children
resulting in adverse health and social effects.
For good health, the National Physical Activity
Guidelines recommend that children between 5-12
years:
Need at least 60 minutes (and up to several hours)
of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.
Should not spend more than two hours a day using
electronic media for entertainment e.g. computer
games, TV, internet, particularly during day light
hours.
Unfortunately, Physical Activity Taskforce research
shows that only 41% of primary school aged boys
and 27% of primary school aged girls are meeting
the physical activity guidelines. In addition, 71% of
primary school aged boys and 75% of primary school
aged girls are exceeding the two hour per day of
recreational screen-based activity recommended in
these guidelines. 1
For all WA children to actively participate in sufficient
physical activity for good social and physical health, a
concerted response from our community is needed.
Schools provide an excellent avenue to foster positive
attitudes and skill development to enable out-of-school
participation in physical activity among children and
their parents, thereby acting as catalysts for change in
the broader community.
WA primary school students are encouraged to
increase their physical activity by walking, cycling,
scootering or using public transport to and from
school. These modes of transport are known as
active transport.
Active transport options are fun, economical and
healthy. They also provide additional benefits such
as lowering greenhouse gas emissions by reducing
car use, reducing traffic congestion and encouraging
a more vibrant community with more people walking
and cycling in the neighbourhood.
It also has positive impacts on the healthy

development and growth of children with developing
independence, social skills, promoting movement and
reducing the effects of sedentary behaviour.
This resource provides a range of whole-school
approach ideas and developmentally appropriate
classroom based activities for Years K-7 students to
foster more active transport use at your school.
This resource has been a collaborative effort across
the government and community whom all support
the implementation of this resource and strongly
urge teachers, parents and communities to become
involved supporting active transport initiatives.
Hon Terry Waldron, MLA

Chair of the Physical Activity Taskforce and Minister of
Sport and Recreation.
1. Martin, K., Rosenberg, M., Miller, M., French, S., McCormack,
G., Bull, F., Giles-Corti, B., Pratt, S. Move and Munch Final Report.
Trends in physical activity, nutrition and body size in Western
Australian children and adolescents: the Child and Adolescent
Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (CAPANS) 2008. Western
Australia: Western Australian Government; 2010.
The Physical Activity Taskforce was established in

2001 to oversee the development and delivery of
a whole of government and whole of community
approach to increasing physical activity levels in
Western Australia. It comprises government, nongovernment, academic and local government
agencies.
Acknowledgements
Choose Active Transport is a collaborative project
of the Department of Transport, National Heart
Foundation (WA Division), Department of Education
and the Physical Activity Taskforce. It is proudly
funded by the Department of Health (WA) and
Department of Sport and Recreation (WA).
The collaborators would like to acknowledge the
organisations and individuals who provided assistance
in the development of this teacher resource:
Connolly Primary School
Currambine Primary School
Dunsborough Primary School
Little Grove Primary School
Mt Tarcoola Primary School
Wembley Primary School
York District High School
Public Transport Authority
South Metropolitan Public Health Unit
School Drug Education and Road Aware
Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative
Child and Adolescent Community Health
Environmental Health Directorate
Cancer Council of WA
Bikewest
Writer: Kim Chute: Titan Consulting

Illustrations and design: Shannon Melville: Lemon
Zest Design
IMPORTANT: The following activities should

only be undertaken in accordance with policies
and procedures relevant to the Department of
Education (WA), Catholic Education Office and
Association of Independent Schools WA.
ii
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
ii
Introduction
What is active transport?
What is the aim of the Choose Active Transport resource?
Why is it important to encourage an active transport philosophy in your school?
What does our school need to consider when planning a whole-school active transport program?
Curriculum
Ethos and Environment
Parents and Community
Sample parent information letter
How does the resource link to the WA Curriculum Framework and the K-10 syllabus?
Overview of the Choose Active Transport resource
Early Childhood Overview
Middle Childhood Overview
12
Planning a whole school active transport curriculum
18
Early Childhood Planning
18
Middle Childhood Planning
19
Early Childhood Topics

Topic 1: Setting the scene for active transport
21
Topic 2: Safer pedestrians
33
Topic 3: Safer cycling and play
47
Topic 4: Active transport is good for my health, family and the environment
57
Topic 5: Taking the active transport challenge
67
Middle Childhood Topics

79
89
Topic 3: Safer cycling
99
Topic 4: The health benefits of active transport
109
Topic 5: The social benefits of active transport
119
Topic 6: The environmental benefits of active transport
135
Learning experiences in this resource

that foster a whole-school approach are
marked with this icon:
iii
Introduction
What is active transport?
Active transport refers to travel modes that include
physical activity e.g. cycling, walking, Walking School
Bus or walking to use public transport.
What is the aim of the Choose Active Transport
resource?
The resource aims to promote more physically active
and safer lifestyles in children by:
Developing an understanding of the health, social
and environmental benefits of active transport.
Developing an understanding of the safety issues
and practices associated with walking, cycling and
other modes of active transport.
Developing skills necessary to make decisions
about active transport that may affect their health
and safety.
Fostering positive health and safety attitudes and
behaviours that can inform and enhance the quality
of their own and others lives.
Involving and supporting parents and other
community agencies to reinforce consistent
physical activity and safety messages.
Empowering students, parents and teachers to
make active contributions to a whole school action
planning approach to behaviour change.
Why is it important to encourage an active
transport philosophy in your school?
There has been an increase in the number of
Australian children who are overweight, obese
and inactive, resulting in adverse health and social
effects. An active transport program helps children
get the right amount of physical activity each day,
improves bone and muscle strength and develops
fitness.
A child who watches two hours or more of TV

each day is almost 50% less likely to participate
in any organised physical activity and there is
a 63% increase in the odds of the child being
overweight. An active transport program reduces
the time available for children to watch TV and play
computer games.2
In a recent survey, only 32% of WA primary school
aged boys and 26% of primary school aged girls
report to have actively commuted to school on the
previous day. Children who actively travel to school
are reported to be more alert on arrival than those
transported by car.1
More than two out of three WA children are driven
to and from school each day, even though many
live within two kilometres of school (10 minutes
cycling, 20 minutes walking distance).2
Habits and attitudes towards physical activity
are formed early and are thought to track into
adulthood. 2
A supported active transport environment:
Improves self confidence among young road
users and helps develop important road safety
skills.
Improves road safety and congestion around
schools by reducing traffic.
Helps make a school and surrounding
community feel safer by having more people out
and about, and more eyes around the school.
Encourages parent involvement in physical
activity. Children with parents as active role
models are more likely to be active.2
Helps the communitys impact on climate
change by reducing pollution through car
emissions.
Only 41% of WA primary school aged boys and

27% of primary school aged girls are currently
meeting the National Physical Activity Guidelines
of at least 60 minutes (and up to several hours) of
moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.1
Around 71% of WA primary school aged boys and
75% of primary school aged girls are exceeding
the recreational screen-based activity guidelines
of no more than two hours a day using electronic
media for entertainment e.g. computer games, TV,
internet, particularly during day light hours.1
Introduction
Why is a whole-school approach the best way to
encourage active transport when travelling to and
from your school?
What does our school need to consider when

planning a whole-school active transport
program?
A whole-school approach is dependent on teachers,

parents and communities working together to
plan and implement physical activity programs,
making changes to the culture of the school and the
environment, to create greater ability for children to
lead healthy, active lives.
The following ideas and school-based programs aim

to assist schools to develop action plans in order to
assess, plan and implement a whole-school approach
to an active transport program or to complement the
mandated two hours of physical activity per week for
Year 1-10 students, that is part of the Department of
Educations policy for all students.
Research shows those interventions which

incorporate whole-school approaches to physical
activity, including curriculum, policy, environmental
strategies and family involvement, appear to be more
effective than a curriculum only approach.3
The whole-school or Health Promoting Schools
Framework consists of the following three areas:
Curriculum
Curriculum
School
ethos and
environment
Parents and
community
The learning experiences in this resource aim to

assist teachers to plan and implement a curriculum,
teaching and learning program to promote the use of
more active transport among children, and to improve
their skills to safely negotiate their environment.
It is equally important for school communities
to consider the school organisation, ethos and
environment by establishing the schools physical
and social environment to support play, walking and
cycling.
To address the area of parents and community, the
learning experiences in this resource have been
complemented by a number of Home Activities and
links have been made to other school-based active
transport, road safety and physical activity programs.
Learning experiences in this resource that foster a

whole-school approach are marked with this icon:
Curriculum
Decide which learning experiences in Choose
Active Transport each year group is going to
complete and by when.
Access the Department of Education website for
curriculum support relating to Health and Physical
Education www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/
physicalactivity/ and www.det.wa.edu.au/
curriculumsupport/healthandphysicaleducation/
Access other relevant road safety learning
experiences from School Drug Education and
Road Awares (SDERAs) Early Childhood and
Middle Childhood Challenges and Choices
resources. www.sdera.wa.edu.au
or ph: 08 9264 4743
Access Transperths Get on Board teacher
resource to encourage public transport use.
www.transperth.wa.gov.au or ph: 08 9326 3970
Access Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative
(AuSSI) WA resources such as BioWhat?, Green
Waste Matters, Ollie Saves the Planet and Water
Matters and Aussi Goals.
www.det.wa.edu.au/sustainableschools or
ph: 08 9264 4776
Take part in the following active transport
initiatives:
Make tracks2schools a four week walking and
cycling challenge for Year 5 to 7 students in Term
4 that also provides curriculum activities. www.
heartfoundation.org.au/maketrackstoschool or
ph: 08 9388 3343
Introduction
Walk to School Wednesday on the first
Wednesday in November as part of Walk Week
Walk There Today. www.transport.wa.gov.au/
walking or ph: 08 9216 8447
Walk Safely to School a National walk to
school day in May for primary students to walk
safely to school. www.walk.com.au or
ph: 02 9968 4555
Safety in Schools Week an annual school
safety awareness event coordinated by Kidsafe
held in June. Cycling WA provide bike safe
information during this week.
www.wa.cycling.org.au or 08 9348 3422
Cycle to School Day an annual cycle to
school day for Year 5-7 students, teachers and
parents held in March as part of Bike Week
www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycletoschoolday or
ph: 08 9216 8306
The Walking School Bus a supervised
walking group for students to and from school
escorted by parents and volunteers.
www.transport.wa.gov.au/walkingschoolbus or
ph: 08 9216 8000
National Ride to School Day - http://www.bwa.
org.au/riding-to-school/
Bike to Work Challenge an annual six-week
challenge in September/October open to all WA
workplaces, including primary and secondary
schools (teachers and staff, students and
parents) as part of Cycle Instead in Spring.
www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycleinsteadinspring
or ph: 08 9216 8556
Access the Road Safety Around Schools
Guidelines to help identify and address road safety
hazards around your school.
www.roadwise.asn.au/schools ph: 08 9213 2068 or
08 9213 2066
Contact the WA Police Traffic Warden State
Management Unit if you require a traffic warden.
www.police.wa.gov.au or ph: 08 6274 8731
Contact the WA Police Student Pedestrian Policy
Unit to apply for a childrens crossing.
www.police.wa.gov.au or ph: 08 6274 8767
Contact a Local Government TravelSmart Officer
(metropolitan schools only) to assist with planning
and implementing a Walking School Bus;
accessing the TravelSmart to School curriculum

activities; accessing bike education; tailoring a
solution to slow traffic or reduce congestion; and
increase active transport.
Encourage students to use identified safe
pathways and designated pedestrian or warden
crossings.
Reward or acknowledge students/classes
that have increased their active transport at
assemblies/in newsletters.
Provide adequate and secure storage racks for
student and staff bikes.
Consider participation issues for students who may
be unable to cycle or walk to school due to the
distance they live from school; special needs; no
access to bikes/helmets; parents work hours. For
more information about inclusion visit
www.disability.wa.gov.au/gettingabout.html
Promote two messages to parents and students at
assemblies and in newsletters:
Students up to the age of 12 years are allowed
to ride on footpaths.
The school recommends that students under
the age of 10 years walking or cycling to school
must be accompanied by an adult or carer.
Encourage staff to model appropriate road safety
behaviours and take part in active transport to and
from work and celebrate this annually via joining
the Bike to Work Challenge, Cycle to School Day
and Walk Week events.
Record Bike to School/Work or Walk to School/
Work days in your calendar.
Refer to www.policies.det.wa.edu to view the Duty
of Care for Students policy, in particular Appendix
A, regarding journeys to and from school.
Promote the Safety House Program in your
community.
www.safetyhousewa.org.au or ph: 08 9271 7622
Inform parents through assemblies and newsletters
of your schools commitment to a whole-school
active transport ethos and the importance of their
support and involvement.
Invite parents to see their childs class receive
active transport encouragement awards or perform
learning activities from this resource at assemblies.
3
Introduction
Use the Home Activities from this resource.
Record Bike to School and Walk to School days
in your classroom calendar.
Encourage parents to be active role models
and explain that they play an important role in
shaping their childs physical activity attitudes
and behaviours. Print off or order school sets of
Set your children on the right path: a guide to
promoting walking and cycling to school.
www.heartfoundation.org.au/parentcampaign or
ph: 1300 362 787
Print off or order school sets of Unplug and Play
an information brochure that encourages parents
to limit childrens electronic media use to no more
than two hours a day and encourages active
play alternatives. www.heartfoundation.org.au/
parentcampaign or ph: 08 9388 3343
Contact local media and advocate to the P&C to
gain publicity and school support for your active
transport program. Useful media tips are available
in the advocacy guide for parents: Healthy
Environments, Healthy Children: Advocating for
walking, cycling and other health issues.
www.heartfoundation.org.au/parentcampaign or
ph: 08 9388 3343
Take part in the following active transport
initiatives:
Make tracks2schools- a four week walking and
cycling challenge for Year 5 to 7 students in
Term 4 that also provides curriculum activities.
www.heartfoundation.org.au/wa or
ph: 08 9388 3343
Walk to School Wednesday - on the first

Wednesday in November as part of Walk Week
- Walk There Today. transport.wa.gov.au/walking
Walk Safely to School a national walk to
school day in May for primary students
www.walk.com.au or ph: 02 9968 4555
Safety in Schools Week an annual school
safety awareness event coordinated by
KidsafeWA and held in June.
Cycle to School Day on the Wednesday
during the annual Bike Week in March
www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycletoschoolday or
ph: 08 9216 8306
National Ride to School Day http://www.bwa.
org.au/riding-to-school/
Bike to Work Challenge in September/
October open to all WA workplaces, including
primary and secondary schools www.transport.
wa.gov.au/cycleinsteadinspring
or ph. 9216 8556.
1. Martin, K., Rosenberg, M., Miller, M., French, S., McCormack,
G., Bull, F., Giles-Corti, B., Pratt, S. Move and Munch Final Report.
Trends in physical activity, nutrition and body size in Western
Australian children and adolescents: the Child and Adolescent
Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (CAPANS) 2008. Western
Australia: Western Australian Government; 2010.
2. Childrens Physical Activity Coalition. Charter for Active Kids:
a Blueprint for active and healthy children in Western Australia
[Internet]. 2009 [cited 2010 Jun 18]. Available from: http://www.
heartfoundation.org.au
3. National Heart Foundation. Blueprint for an active Australia
[Internet]. 2009 [cited 2010 Jun 18]. Available from: http://www.
heartfoundation.org.au
All of the initiatives and events included in this

resource were correct at time of printing. These may
change in the future.
Introduction
Sample parent information letter:
To be placed on school letterhead and sent home with the accompanying pamphlet Set your children on the right
path: a guide to promoting walking and cycling to school.
Available www.heartfoundation.org.au/parentcampaign or ph: 1300 362 787
Dear family
Did you know that for good health, the National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that children
between 5-12 years:
Need at least 60 minutes (and up to several hours) of moderate to vigorous physical activity every
day?
Should not spend more than two hours a day using electronic media for entertainment e.g. computer
games, TV, internet, particularly during day light hours?
Unfortunately only 41% of primary school aged boys and 27% of primary school aged girls are getting
enough exercise and 71% of primary school aged boys and 75% of primary school aged girls are
spending more than two hours each day in front of a computer or TV.
For our children to get enough physical activity for good social, physical and mental health, a concerted
response from the community is needed.
Our school aims to foster positive attitudes and skill development towards physical activity through our
health and physical education program.
Another way we are hoping to increase physical activity levels among our students is to encourage
students to walk, cycle or take public transport to and from school. In other words, choose active
transport.
Active transport options are fun, economical and healthy. They also provide additional benefits such
as teaching your child valuable road safety skills, reducing traffic congestion and encouraging a more
vibrant community with more people walking and cycling in our school neighbourhood.
Children under 10 years should be accompanied by an adult when walking or cycling to school.
Your child will be undertaking activities in the classroom that help encourage walking and cycling to and
from school or even parts of these trips. I ask that you talk to your child about how you can all be more
active when you are coming to or going home from school even just for one or two days each week.
Thank you in anticipation for your support.
Yours sincerely
Principal
5
How does the resource link to the WA Curriculum

Framework and the K-10 syllabus?
Participation in the activities outlined in this resource
will support the delivery of content for Year K-7
students in:
the Health and Physical Education Learning Area
some aspects of the English, Design and
Technology, Maths, Science and Society and
Environment Learning Areas
Assessment strategies can be developed within the

suggested learning activities to evaluate students
progress.
This resource has two sections: Early Childhood
(Year K-3) and Middle Childhood (Year 4-7). The big
picture book Matildas Morning Adventures has been
designed to accompany the learning experiences in
the Early Childhood section.
all of the Curriculum Framework core shared

values shown below;
A pursuit of knowledge and a commitment to
achievement of potential
Self acceptance and respect of self
Choose Active
Transport
Matildas
Morning
Adventures
A story with active travel and road safety messages for children
Respect and concern for others and their rights

Social and civic responsibility
Written by Kim Chute

Illustrated by Shannon Melville
Environmental responsibility
Teachers need to make professional judgments about

when to introduce content based on students prior
learning and achievement.
Choose Active Transport incorporates an explicit focus
on an integrated approach to curriculum with a strong
emphasis on literacy and numeracy. The educational
entitlements and needs of the following groups have
also been considered:
boys and girls
learners from culturally diverse backgrounds
learners from various socio-economic backgrounds
learners with disabilities or learning difficulties
rural and isolated learners

Overview of Early Childhood Topics
This describes the content addressed in the Early Childhood topics that will address the content outlined in the
Curriculum Framework: Health and Physical Education Learning Area Content in the context of Growth and
Development, Lifestyle Choices and Safety.
The content has been listed under the strands from the Early Childhood phase of the Health and Physical
Education K-10 Scope and Sequence. This scope and sequence is an advisory document and along with the
previously developed Curriculum Guides, provides additional support for teachers in the implementation of the WA
Curriculum Framework. Links to other Learning Areas are also shown.
Health and Physical Education Learning Area Content

Topic 1
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Setting the
scene for active
transport
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
dimensions of health
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing
emotions
ENGLISH
Learning
Experience
1: How we travel
2: Why we travel
the way we do
3: Making a case
for active transport
Active transport involves

physical activity.
Expressing
opinions about
active transport.
Always using the car for

short trips is not a healthy
option.
Building and
nurturing
relationships
Physical activity optimises

personal health.
Healthy people engage in
regular physical activity.
Growth and development

There are a range of
personal actions that can
increase physical activity
and promote health e.g.
active transport.
Social and emotional

wellbeing
Active transport helps
improve social and
emotional wellbeing.
Ways to keep healthier

and safer
Our actions can encourage
friends and family to engage
in active transport.
Resources and consumer

skills
There are people and
equipment in the community
that can help others engage
in active transport and be
physically active.
Showing care
and concern
during games and
discussions.
WORKING WITH
OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
Sharing space and
equipment with
peers.
Using strategies to
follow instructions
to work with
others.
Choosing active
transport often
involves a change
in travel habits and
attitudes.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
How to take
responsibility for
own active transport
decisions.
Identifying positive
and negative factors
relating to active
transport.
Planning before
deciding
Reading:
Comprehension
Processes
and Strategies
(Learning
Experience 1-LE1)
(LE3)
Writing: Contextual
understandings
(LE2) (LE3)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE2)(LE3)
TECHNOLOGY
AND
ENTERPRISE
Technology
Processes: (LE3)
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to travel
modes to and from
school.
Considering factors
that may influence
a short-term goal to
use active transport.
Deciding and
acting
Choosing a shortterm goal to use
active transport and
reflecting on their
progress.

Overview of Early Childhood Topics continued

Topic 2
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Safer
pedestrians
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing
emotions
ENGLISH
Reading:
Comprehension
Processes
and Strategies
(Learning
Experience 2LE2)
Learning
Experience
1: Hold an adults
hand
2: Crossing the
road
3: Safer routes to
school
Children who value their

health and safety hold an
adults hand or hold onto a
siblings pram when in the
traffic environment.

There are many physical
factors that make a child
vulnerable as a pedestrian
such as height, lack of
peripheral vision, poor
judgment of sound.

wellbeing
Set goals to minimise risk
such as always holding an
adults hand, holding onto a
siblings pram and crossing
with a traffic warden.

and safer
Features of the traffic
environment make people
safer e.g. footpaths, median
strips.

skills
There are people who can
make the traffic environment
safer e.g. adults, traffic
wardens.
Ways to express
needs or opinions
about how to stay
safer.
Preventing
and managing
conflict
How to use voice,
posture and
facial expression
to be assertive
when someone is
making them do
something unsafe
as a pedestrian.
WORKING WITH
OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
Sharing space and
equipment with
peers.
Using strategies to
follow instructions
to work with
others.
Modifying action
in response to an
unsafe situation.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
How to take
responsibility for
own pedestrian
safety.
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
How to seek help in

unsafe situations.
(LE2) (LE3)
The rights, rules and

responsibilities of a
pedestrian.
SOCIETY AND
ENVIRONMENT
Planning before
deciding
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to crossing
roads and safer
routes to school.
Deciding and
acting
Managing peer
influences e.g.
taking a shorter
route rather than a
safer route, crossing
between vehicles.
Strategies to
manage influences
of unsafe pedestrian
behaviour from
peers and family.
Writing: Contextual
Understandings
(LE1) (LE3)
Investigation,
Communication
and Participation:
Planning and
Conducting (LE3)


Topic 3
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Safer cycling and

play
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing
emotions
ENGLISH
Reading: Text
conventions
(Learning
Experience
2-LE2)
Learning Experience
1: Wear a helmet
every time
2: Safer bikes-safer
riders
3: Road rules for
cyclists

health and safety wear
a helmet and ride under
adult supervision.

wellbeing
Set goals to minimise risk
such as always wearing a
helmet when riding.

and safer
environment make riders
safer e.g. shared paths,
footpaths, signals.
Resources and
consumer skills
Safety information
products and services
and the personal safety
needs they meet e.g.
helmets, fluorescent
clothing.
Ways to express
needs or opinions
about how to stay
safer.
Preventing
and managing
conflict
How to use voice,
posture and
facial expression
to be assertive
when someone is
making them do
something unsafe
as a pedestrian.
WORKING WITH
OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
Sharing space and
equipment with
peers.
Using strategies to
follow instructions
to work with
others.
Modifying action
in response to an
unsafe situation.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
How to take
responsibility for
own safety as
a rider such as
wearing a helmet
and riding only with
an adult.
Writing: Writing
Process Strategies
(LE1) (LE2) (LE3)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1) (LE3)
How to seek help in

unsafe situations.
The rights, rules and
cyclist.
Planning before
deciding
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to crossing
roads and safer
routes to school.
Deciding and
acting
Managing peer
influences e.g. not
wearing a helmet or
not cycling with an
adult.
Strategies to
manage influences
of unsafe cycling
behaviour from
peers and family.


Topic 4
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Active transport
is good for
my health, my
family and the
environment
PROMOTING WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing
emotions
ENGLISH
Reading:
Comprehension
Processes
and Strategies
(Learning
Experience 3 LE3)
Writing:
Writing Process
Strategies (LE2)
(LE3)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1) (LE2) (LE3)
Learning Experience
1: Active transport is
good for my health
2: Active transport
has many social
benefits
3: Active transport
is good for the
environment
Children need 60 minutes

of huff and puff physical
activity each day to stay fit
and healthy.
health and safety engage in
active transport.
personal health.
A school environment that
has reduced greenhouse
gas emissions and traffic
congestion is a healthier
environment.

increase physical activity and
promote health, including
choosing active transport.
The lungs, the heart, the
brain, muscles and bones all
have a function in physical
activity.

wellbeing
Active transport and physical
activity helps improve social
and emotional wellbeing and
makes children more alert
and ready to learn.
Active transport is a fun
activity to enjoy with family
and friends.

and safer
Their actions can encourage
in physical activity.

skills
There are people and
equipment in the community
that can help keep others
physically active.
10
Ways to express
needs or
opinions about
how to use
active transport.
WORKING
WITH OTHERS
Cooperating
and
collaborating in
groups
Sharing space
and equipment
with peers.
Using strategies
to follow
instructions to
work with others.
Monitoring the
physical activity in
their daily lives.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
How to take
responsibility for
own regular physical
activity and active
transport.
consequences to
physical activity
and negative
consequences to
being sedentary.
Planning before
deciding
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to active
transport they can
undertake.
Considering factors
that may influence
a short-term goal to
use active transport
to become more
physically active.
Deciding and
acting
Choosing a shortterm goal to be
more physically
active - choosing
reflecting on their
progress.
SCIENCE
Life and Living:
Structure and
Function (LE3)
MATHEMATICS
Number:
Understand
operations (LE2)


Topic 5
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Taking the
active transport
challenge
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing
emotions
ENGLISH
Reading:
Comprehension
Processes and
Strategies (Learning
Experience - LE1)
(LE2) (LE3)
Writing: Writing
Process Strategies
(LE2) (LE3)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1)
Learning
Experience
1: Leave the car
behind for a day
2: Planning for
active transport
3: Setting active
transport goals

and healthy.
health and safety engage
Choosing active transport
takes planning and
commitment from the
whole family.
Growth and
development
increase physical activity
and promote health,
including choosing active
transport.

wellbeing
Some active transport
options are more suited to
some families than others.

and safer
There are ways to
overcome barriers to active
transport.
Their actions can
encourage friends and
family to engage in active
transport.
Resources and
consumer skills
Ways to express
needs or
opinions about
planning to use
active transport.
WORKING
WITH OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
Sharing space
and equipment
with peers.
Using strategies
to follow
instructions to
work with others.
Monitoring their
current use of active
transport.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
How to take
responsibility for
their own active
transport use.
Identifying barriers
and enablers to
being able to use
active transport
regularly.
Planning before
deciding
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to active
transport they can
undertake.
MATHEMATICS
Number:
Understand
operations (LE2)
Collect and
Process data:
Summarise and
represent data
(LE3)
Considering factors
that may influence
short-term goals to
Deciding and
acting
Choosing a shortterm goal to choose
reflecting on their
progress.
There are people

and equipment in the
community that can help
promote active transport.
11

Overview of Middle Childhood Topics
This describes the content addressed in the Middle Childhood topics that will address the content outlined in
the Curriculum Framework: Health and Physical Education Learning Area Content in the context of Growth and
Development, Lifestyle Choices and Safety.
The content has been listed under the strands from the Middle Childhood phase of the Health and Physical
Education K-10 Scope and Sequence. This scope and sequence is an advisory document and along with the
previously developed Curriculum Guides, provide additional support for teachers in the implementation of the WA
Curriculum Framework. Links to other Learning Areas are also shown.

Topic 1
Knowledge and understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Setting the
scene for active
transport
PROMOTING WELLBEING
The meaning and dimensions
of health
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing
emotions
ENGLISH
Reading:
Comprehension
Processes
and Strategies
(Learning
Experience 1LE1) (LE3)
Writing:
Contextual
understandings
(LE2)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1)
Learning Experience
1: Travel now and

then
2: Factors that
influence travel
behaviour change
3: The car as
part of Australian
culture
Active transport involves physical

activity and is a better alternative
to car use in some transport
situations.
Healthy people engage in regular
physical activity including active
transport.
Car use is part of an Australian
culture and encouraging more
active transport will require a
cultural shift.
There are important long-term
benefits of reducing our reliance on
cars at individual, community, city,
and global levels.

There are a range of personal
actions that can increase physical
activity and promote health e.g.
active transport.
Social and emotional wellbeing

Active transport helps improve
social and emotional wellbeing.
Ways to keep healthier and

safer
Car use has had a major impact on
our health and fitness, air quality,
physical and natural environments.
Peoples travel choices impact on
their health, their community and
the environment.
There are a range of factors
(convenience, personal satisfaction,
cost, efficiency, time and resources)
that influence travel behaviour
change.
12
Expressing
opinions about
active transport.
Sharing reasons for
making decisions
about alternatives
to current travel
habits with others.
Practicing
communicating
about the wider
benefits of active
transport beyond
the personal.
WOKING WITH
OTHERS
Building and
nurturing
relationships
Practicing
strategies for
limiting the
negative impacts of
friends.
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
Choosing active
transport often
involves a change
in travel habits and
attitudes.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
Monitoring own
familys use of the
car and considering
opportunities
where more active
transport may be
possible.
How to take
responsibility for
own active transport
decisions.
and negative factors
relating to active
transport.
Planning before
deciding
Selecting, applying
and adjusting skills
when collaborating
to achieve group
goals.
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to travel
modes to and from
school.
Leading, initiating
and facilitating
Considering factors
that may influence
short-term goals to
Resources and consumer skills
Showing
independence and
initiative in group
activities.
There are people and equipment in

the community that can help others
engage in active transport to be
physically active.
Convincing
others to share a
particular point of
view.
Deciding and
acting
Critically evaluate
ways to encourage
more active
transport use.
MATHEMATICS
Collect and
Process and
Interpret data:
Summarise and
represent data
and Interpret data
(LE1) (LE3)
Measurement:
Collect and
process data
(LE2)
SCIENCE
Earth and
Beyond:
Sustainability
of life and wise
resource use
(LE3)

Overview of Middle Childhood Topics continued

Topic Two
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Safer
pedestrians
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing emotions
Monitoring own and

others non verbal
behaviour and active
listening skills.
Modifying action
in response to an
unsafe situation.
ENGLISH
Writing:
Writing process
strategies
(Learning
Experience 1 LE1) (LE2) (LE3)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE2) (LE3)
Learning
Experience
1: Stop, Look,
Listen, Think in
more challenging
situations
2: Have I got time
to cross?
3: How safe are
the roads around
our school
Strategies to cope
with influences on
pedestrian behaviour.
Personal actions
to reduce the harm
to self and others
associated with being
a pedestrian.
Ways to keep
healthier and safer
Identifying personal
attitudes and values
towards using safer
pedestrian behaviour.
environment make
people safer e.g.
footpaths, median
strips, safe routes to
school.
Behaviours and
situations relating to
pedestrians that may
be risky or harmful.
Resources and
consumer skills
Identifying people in
the community who
contribute to a safer
traffic environment e.g.
traffic wardens, local
councils, police.
Conveying clear and

reasoned statements
and views related to
safety as a pedestrian.
Preventing and
managing conflict
Practicing assertive
communication in
harmful pedestrian
situations.
Developing strategies
to assist self and
others to avoid the
harms associated with
unsafe pedestrian
situations.
WORKING WITH
OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
Following instructions
and adapting
communication skills
to suit the purpose of
the group.
Responding to
questions, ideas and
advice of others.
Practicing ways to
contribute to group
cohesiveness and
effectiveness.
Appreciating the need
to accept differing
attitudes and opinions.
Leading, initiating
and facilitating
Explaining safer
pedestrian behaviours
to others.
DECISION MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
Practicing identifying
vehicle speed and
stopping distances,
safe crossing
distances, and
deciding on safer
routes to walk to and
from school.
and negative
consequences of a
decision.
Considering the
rights, rules and
pedestrian.
Planning before
deciding
Applying knowledge
of road rules to make
safer pedestrian
decisions.
Identifying more than
one option in relation
to crossing roads
and safer routes to
school.
MATHEMATICS
Number:
Estimate (LE2)
Collect and
Process and
Interpret data:
Summarise and
represent data
and Interpret data
(LE3)
SOCIETY AND
ENVIRONMENT
Investigation,
Communication
and
Participation:
Planning and
Conducting (LE3)
Deciding and acting

Managing peer
influences e.g. taking
a shorter route rather
than a safer route,
crossing between
vehicles.
Strategies to manage
influences of unsafe
pedestrian behaviour
from peers and
family.
13


Topic 3
Knowledge and
understandings
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
Safer cycling
Learning Experience
1: Riding comes with
responsibilities
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
dimensions of
health
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing emotions
Monitoring own and

others non verbal
listening skills.
Modifying action
in response to an
unsafe situation.
ENGLISH
Reading: Text
conventions
(Learning
Writing:
Writing Process
Strategies (LE2)
(LE3)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1) (LE2) (LE3)
2: Know the rules for

safe riding and know
safe places to ride
3: Finding safer routes
to cycle to school
Strategies to cope
with influences on
cycling and riding
behaviour.
Personal actions
to reduce the harm
to self and others
associated with
being a rider.
Ways to keep
healthier and safer
Identifying personal
attitudes and values
towards using safer
riding behaviours.
Features of the
traffic environment
make riders safer
e.g. footpaths,
shared paths, safe
routes to school.
Behaviours and
situations relating to
riders that may be
risky or harmful.
Acceptance
of personal
responsibility for
safety.
Appreciating
the need and
responsibility to
behave safely as a
rider.
Personal attitudes
and action to
promote safety of
themselves and
others e.g. asking
friends to wear a
helmet, ride in safer
areas.
Conveying clear and

reasoned statements
safety as a rider.
Preventing and
managing conflict
Practicing assertive
communication
in harmful riding
situations.
Developing strategies
to assist self and
others to avoid the
harms associated
with unsafe riding
situations.
WORKING WITH
OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
and adapting
the group.
Responding to
advice of others.
Practicing ways to
contribute to group
cohesiveness and
effectiveness.
Appreciating the
need to accept
differing attitudes and
opinions.
Leading, initiating
and facilitating
Explaining safer
cycling behaviours to
others.
14
DECISION MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
Identifying risks
in cycling related
situations and
making decisions to
reduce their level of
harm e.g. wearing a
helmet, using correct
cycling behaviour,
maintaining their
bike, planning safer
journeys.
Planning before
deciding
Identifying more than
to cycling situations
and finding safer
routes to cycle to
school.
Planning to reduce
risks as a cyclist.
Deciding and acting

Managing peer
influences e.g. not
wearing a helmet, not
cycling a safer route.
Strategies to manage
influences of unsafe
cycling behaviour
from peers and
family.
SOCIETY AND
ENVIRONMENT
Investigation,
Communication
and
Participation:
Planning and
Conducting (LE3)


Topic 4
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
The health
benefits of active
transport
PROMOTING WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
SELF
UNDERSTANDING
Managing emotions
Learning Experience
1: Overcoming
barriers to active
transport

and healthy.
Monitoring the physical

activity in their daily
lives.
2: Physical activity
and your heart
health

health and safety engage in
active transport.
3: Setting physical
activity and active
transport

personal health.
Practicing
communicating
about the
health effects of
physical activity
and active
transport on
their body.
ENGLISH
Writing:
Writing Process
Strategies
(Learning
experience 1 LE1)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1)

increase physical activity and
promote health, including
choosing active transport.
Active transport helps build
strong muscles and bones;
helps prevent heart diseases
and reduces the risk of
type 2 diabetes and some
cancers.
improve fitness and maintain
a healthy body weight.

wellbeing
Active transport and physical
activity helps improve social
and emotional wellbeing and
makes children more alert
and ready to learn.

and safer
Their actions can encourage
in physical activity and active
transport.

skills
Teachers, parents, friends,
sporting clubs, health clubs
and the media are important
sources of information and
support relating to regular
physical activity.
Monitoring own
and others non
verbal behaviour
and active
listening skills.
Reviewing the
situation
How to take
responsibility for their
own regular physical
activity and active
transport.
consequences to
physical activity and
negative consequences
to being sedentary.
Conveying clear
and reasoned
statements and
Planning before
views related
deciding
to the health
benefits of active Identifying more than
transport.
to active transport they
WORKING
can undertake.
WITH OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups.
Following
instructions
and adapting
communication
skills to suit the
purpose of the
group.
Responding to
questions, ideas
and advice of
others.
Practicing ways
to contribute
to group
cohesiveness
and
effectiveness.
Appreciating
the need to
accept differing
attitudes and
opinions.
Considering factors that

may influence shortterm goals to use active
transport or become
more physically active.
SCIENCE
Life and Living:
Structure and
Function (LE2)
SOCIETY AND
ENVIRONMENT
Resources:
Economics/
Geography
Identify barriers and

enablers to engaging
in physical activity and
active transport.
Investigating the
sporting and physical
activity abilities/
resources available in
their community.
Deciding and acting

Choosing a shortterm goal to be more
physically active choose active transport
and reflecting on their
progress.
Considering people,
resources and skills
required to maintain
long term use of active
transport and lifelong
physical activity.
15


Topic 5
Knowledge and
understandings
Interpersonal
skills
Selfmanagement
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
The social benefits of

active transport
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
The meaning and
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
ENGLISH
Writing:
Writing Process
Strategies
(Learning
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE1)
SOCIETY AND
ENVIRONMENT
Resources:
Economics/
Geography (LE1)
Investigation,
Communication
and
Participation:
Planning and
Conducting (LE2)
(LE3)
Learning Experience
1: Active transport has
many social benefits
2: A closer look at public
transport
3: Planning to use public
transport

health and safety engage
personal health.

wellbeing
Active transport and
physical activity are fun for
children to do with friends,
family, grandparents and
helps improve social
wellbeing.
develop childrens road
safety skills.
save the family money
in car running costs and
parking.
Active transport develops
a sense of community and
makes people feel safer.

and safer
Their actions can
family to engage in active
transport.
There are safety rules
for correct behaviour
that keep people safer
on public transport.
Using public transport can
be fun, save your family
money and teach you new
road safety skills.
skills
public transport options
available to them and
public transport use
involves planning.
16
Practicing
communicating
about the social
benefits of active
transport.
Monitoring own
and others non
verbal behaviour
and active
listening skills.
Conveying clear
and reasoned
statements and
views related
to the social
benefits of active
transport.
WORKING
WITH OTHERS
Cooperating
and
collaborating in
groups
Following
instructions
and adapting
communication
skills to suit the
purpose of the
group.
Responding to
questions, ideas
and advice of
others.
Practicing ways
to contribute
to group
cohesiveness
and
effectiveness.
Appreciating the
need to accept
differing attitudes
and opinions.
Practicing
planning to use
public transport
safely.
Practicing
making
decisions in
risky situations
related to public
transport.
Planning
before deciding
Identifying more
than one option
in relation to
active transport
they can
undertake for a
school or family
excursion.
Consider
costs, timing,
availability and
timetables when
planning to use
public transport.
Deciding and
acting
Considering
safety rules
and behaviours
required to keep
them safe on
public transport.


Topic 6
Knowledge and
understandings
Self-management
skills
Links to other
Learning Areas
The
environmental
benefits of
active transport
PROMOTING
WELLBEING
and safer
RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS
Communicating
Learning
Experience
1: Car use and
greenhouse gas
emissions
Their actions can

family to engage in
active transport.
DECISION
MAKING
Reviewing the
situation
ENGLISH
Writing:
Writing Process
Strategies
(Learning
Experience
2-LE2)
Listening and
Speaking:
Processes and
Strategies
(LE3)
2: Getting the facts

about cars and the
environment
3: Making a case
for environmental
alternatives
Active transport and car

pooling reduce pollution
by cutting down car
emissions and improve
road safety around
schools by reducing
traffic congestion.
Enhanced greenhouse
effect is a global issue
that is influenced by
small changes made by
individuals.
Resources and
consumer skills
Local and national
governments have
the potential to make
decisions that encourage
more active transport
use.
Practicing
communicating about
the social benefits of
active transport.
Monitoring own and
others non verbal
listening skills.
Conveying clear and
reasoned statements
the social benefits of
active transport.
WORKING WITH
OTHERS
Cooperating and
collaborating in
groups
and adapting
the group.
Responding to
advice of others.
Planning ways to
reduce their familys
greenhouse gas
emissions through
car use.
Planning before
deciding
Identifying more
than one option in
relation to reducing
their familys
greenhouse gas
emissions through
car use.
Identifying
the savings in
greenhouse gas
emissions that
walking to school
each day will bring
over a week, a
month and a year.
MATHEMATICS
Number:
Understand
numbers (LE1)
(LE3)
Collect and
Process and
Interpret data:
Summarise and
represent data
and Interpret data
(LE1)
Practicing ways to
contribute to group
cohesiveness and
effectiveness.
Appreciating the
need to accept
differing attitudes and
opinions.
17
Planning a whole-school active transport

curriculum
This whole-school active transport curriculum has
been designed to be conducted within the classroom
and can be taught within the Health and Physical
Education Learning Area Contexts of Growth and
Development, Lifestyle Choices and/or Safety.
Teachers will need to collaborate with other teachers
to decide which learning experiences in this resource
are suitable for which year group. A suggested
age group has been identified for each learning
experience, although teacher judgments about the
particular content, emphasis and activities chosen will
be influenced by factors such as:
The prior experiences and learning of their
students.
Their students learning needs and outcomes.
The different ways of learning by their students.
The available resources.
The cultural and geographical settings in which
learning takes place.
Learning experiences have been designed as a
collection of suitable activities, rather than one lesson.
Teachers may choose to conduct one or more of the
activities described in each learning experience.
Activities that promote whole school activity have
been highlighted with the following icon:
Early Childhood Planning
The Early Childhood section places more emphasis
on the safety issues involved with being a pedestrian,
cyclist and playing. The importance of parents/
caregivers being involved in their active transport to
and from school is stressed. Public transport options
are also introduced.
Key messages to stress for parents of

children aged 4-8 years:
Children with parents as active role models are
more likely to be active.
Active transport to and from school can help
children get the right amount of physical activity
each day at least 60 minutes and up to several
hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity as
well as improve their fitness and build strong bones
and muscles.
18
Other alternatives to walking children to school

may include walking to one persons house and
carpooling or stopping bus/car earlier and walking
the rest of the way or walking to the school bus.
Active transport can help develop childrens road
safety skills and confidence as well as being a fun,
social activity.
Active transport can help improve the road safety
around the school and reduce their impact on
pollution through reducing car emissions.
Ensure children are supervised at all times in or
near traffic hold their hand or ensure children
hold onto a siblings pram when crossing roads, in
carparks, on footpaths and in driveways.
Teach children how to cross the road and provide
children with frequent opportunities to practice
travelling to and from school using the safest
footpaths and crossing places.
Children under 10 years should be supervised
when walking or cycling to school as they are still
developing their peripheral vision and hearing, are
easily distracted and have difficulty judging speed
and distance of oncoming traffic.
Enforce the law that children must always wear
approved bicycle helmets that are properly fitted
and secured.
As Early Childhood teachers will be aware, children
aged 4-8 years benefit from learning through play. To
encourage this play and develop students road safety
literacy:
Create a map of the school and its neighbourhood
on a large sheet of cardboard, and provide a range
of small people and animals for students to move
safely around the streets.
Provide a collection of cardboard road signs;
large boxes that can represent buses and train
carriages; and bus and train tickets in the home
corner and at playtime.
Provide a collection of active transport buddies
or soft toys that can accompany students on their
active transport journeys to and from school, or on
other outings with their families. Students can use
these toys to retell aspects of their journey to the
class or discuss what they have learnt with their
family.
Middle Childhood Planning

The Middle Childhood section recognises that
some children are travelling to and from school
independently; encourages them to be critical
assessors of their own cycling and walking
environments; and identifies ways to address
any barriers to active transport. It increases
students awareness of the road and road rules and
their responsibility in using it safely. The health,
environmental and social advantages of taking more
opportunities to walk, cycle and travel by public
transport are also explored.
Please note that the website hyperlinks listed in this
resource were correct at time of printing. In the unlikely
event that a hyperlink malfunctions, teachers are advised
to type the generic address of this website into a search
engine such as Google and search for the hyperlink from
the Homepage of the site.
Key messages to stress for parents of

children aged 9-12 years:
Children with parents as active role models are
more likely to be active.
Active transport to and from school can help
children get the right amount of physical activity
each day at least 60 minutes and up to several
hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity as
well as improve their fitness and build strong bones
and muscles.
Active transport can help develop childrens road
safety skills and confidence as well as being a fun
social activity.
Active transport can help improve the road safety
around the school and reduces their impact on
pollution through reducing car emissions.
Remind children to always Stop, Look, Listen and
Think when in the traffic environment.
Children under 12 years are allowed to cycle on
footpaths while anyone can ride on a shared path.
Teach children to look out for vehicles coming in
and out of driveways.
Children under 10 years should be supervised
when walking or cycling to school as they are still
developing their peripheral vision and hearing, are
easily distracted, and have difficulty judging speed
and distance of oncoming traffic.
Make sure children know people who live along
their safe route to and from school or places they
can go if they feel unsafe.
Expect their children to know and operate within
the law in regard to pedestrian road rules, use of
helmets and cycling safely.
Support children in recognising their role as
independent road users by helping them plan their
own active transport to and from school, to use
public transport and to participate in family travel
decisions.
19
20

We have a strong dependence on private cars for transport which has changed our
communities and cities.
Most WA children are driven to and from school each day even though they live close to
school.
Active transport is when people increase their physical activity as a means of transport
e.g. cycling, walking, Walking School Bus.
Many factors influence our choice of travel mode based on need, distance, convenience,
weather, motivation.
Planning travel may result in a reduction in car trips which, in turn, would reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
Choosing active transport options often involves a change in current travel habits and
attitudes.
Walking, cycling and using public transport have advantages and disadvantages as travel
options.
Engaging in active transport to and from school involves family as well as individual
commitment.
Topic 1
Setting the scene

Learning experience 1: How we travel
Suggested
for K-Year 1
students
Key message: Walking and cycling are active transport.
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
We have a strong dependence on private cars for

transport.
Practice communicating about active transport.
Most WA children are driven to and from school

each day even though they live close to school.
Identify more than one option in relation to

transport choices.
Active transport is when people increase their

physical activity as a means of transport e.g.
cycling, walking, The Walking School Bus.
Resources / Preparation:
Explain that most WA children are driven to and from

school each day even though they live close to school.
Worksheet 1.1: How we travel

Whiteboard the following table
Car
Walk
Bike
Public
transport
Other
To
School
From
School
Total
Activity 1
Ask students to think about how they came to school
today. Using the prepared table, students either
place a tick against their mode of transport on the
whiteboard or vote using a show of hands and teacher
records tallies on the table.
Repeat the same procedure to collect information on
how they plan to get home today.
Discuss:
What was the most popular way for children to
come to and from school in our class?
What was the least popular way?
What do you think are some reasons for this?
Who decides how you travel to and from school?
What sorts of things will decide how we travel to
and from school e.g. weather, time, distance from
school, access to car, and access to public
transport?
Explain that your school is trying to encourage families

to use active transport to travel to and from school,
and to help students find part of the 60 minutes of huff
and puff physical activity they need each day for good
health.
Ask students to guess what active transport may
be? Responses may include walking, cycling, roller
skating.
Public transport is also considered an active transport
as it involves walking to and from the bus/train.
Explain that active transport is when people increase
their physical activity as a way to get from one place
to another.
Is there anything that could happen at our school
that would make it easier for you to travel to and
from school using active transport?
Students brainstorm some of the advantages of:
walking to and from school
cycling to and from school
catching public transport to and from school
other possible active transport options such as The
Walking School Bus
Students complete Worksheet 1.1: How we travel
using the information on the whiteboard and
information from the discussion.
21

Students draw a picture showing them using an active
mode of transport that they think would best suit their
family to come to school.
childs name up . . . all the way to school to the tune

of The Wheel on the Bus while picking up children
from designated spots on the court/play area.
Students complete the sentence: This is me walking/

cycling/catching a bus to school with Mum, Dad,
Grandma, other adult.
Send worksheet home with students and ask them to

discuss active transport options with their family.
Access www.transport.wa.gov.au/walkingschoolbus
for details on how to set up a Walking School Bus
in your school
Use pictures from above website or relevant page
in Matildas Morning Adventures as stimulus
Activity 2
Worksheet 1.2: I remember how Matilda came

to school
Activity 3
Conduct a shared reading of Matildas Morning
Adventures.
If students have not read the story before, ask
students to predict:
What the story may be about?
What characters they think may be in the story?
During the story, ask questions such as:
Ask students to suggest ways they could get more

exercise coming to school even if mum or dad couldnt
walk with them.
What do you think will happen next?
Explain The Walking School Bus program to

students.
How would you choose to get to school?
Discuss:
Who has used (or heard of) a Walking School
Bus?
What are some good things about The Walking
School Bus? Get physical activity; feel awake
when you get to school; meet new friends; have
fun; see more things than you can see from the
car; reduce the number of cars in the school
car park making the area safer and reducing
Who walks at the front and back of The Walking
School Bus? Why? An adult for safety.
What sorts of things would decide whether you
used The Walking School Bus? Whether it
came near your house, whether your parents
thought it was safe, whether you knew anyone else
on it.
Could we create a Walking School Bus at our
school?
Ask students to spread out evenly along the inside
boundary of a large, but defined space such as a
netball court or play area.
Sing: The Walking School Bus picks substitute
22
Matildas Morning Adventures
How would you feel if your family suggested you

walked or cycled to school?
How do you think the story might end?
After the reading ask:
Why do you think we read this story?
What are some of the important things about safety
you have learnt from this story?
What are some of the ways Matilda got to school?
Students work with a partner and try to recall the five
different active transport options Matilda used to get to
school, in the correct order that they were used in the
story. e.g. On Monday Matilda walked with her mum.
Students write or draw a summary of their discussion
or cut out words on Worksheet 1.2: I remember how
Matilda came to school to create a story sequence.
Hear feedback and whiteboard the correct responses.
Using a thumbs up, thumbs down voting system
where a thumbs up gesture means yes, a thumbs
down gesture means no, and a flat palm means not
sure, ask students:
W
ould you find it easy to walk to school one day a
week?
Ask the same question for the other modes of active
transport and tally voting on whiteboard.

Discuss:
Which active way to come to school would be the
easiest for most students in our class to do? Why?
Which active ways to come to school are harder for
most students in our class to do? Why?
What could you/your family or the school do to
make this an easier thing to do?
23
How we travel
Worksheet 1.1
Our class tally

Today ___ children in our class
came to school by car.
came to school by walking.
came to school by cycling or scooter.
came to school by public
transport or school bus.
In our class most children came to school
today by ______________________________
_____________________________________.
The weather today was___________________
_____________________________________.
24
I remember how Matilda came to school
rode her bike
Monday
#
Tuesday
Worksheet 1.2
Wednesday
walked
with mum
Thursday
Friday
#
Walking
School Bus
walked
with dad
bus
25

Learning experience 2: Why we travel the way we do
Key message: Plan to get out of the car and onto the streets.
Suggested
for Year 2
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Many factors influence our choice of travel mode,

based on need, distance, convenience, weather,
motivation.
Share reasons for making decisions about

alternatives to current travel habits with others.
Planning travel may result in a reduction in car

trips which, in turn, would reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
Monitor own familys use of the car and consider

opportunities where more active transport may be
possible.
Choosing active transport options often involves a

change in current travel habits and attitudes.
Worksheet 1.3: Why we travel the way we do
www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycletoschoolday
has a Hands Up survey form that may be
downloaded to tally students transport modes to
school
Activity 1
Using Worksheet 1.3: Why we travel the way we
do students work with a pair and try to recall all the
journeys they have made over the last two days
other than to and from school. After discussing with
their partner, students write or draw the destination
and mode of transport on their worksheet.
Discuss:
What was the most common type of transport that
you used?
Why was this the most popular choice? Car use
will probably be most popular choice. Responses
may include: convenience; destination was too far;
too hot/wet to walk; use car out of habit.
Were all the trips necessary?
Why would it be better to plan our trips in the car
and combine trips? Cars burn fuel and gases
which come out of the back of the car. These
gases contain carbon dioxide and other waste
gases. Large amounts of these gases can pollute
the air and damage our environment. They are
called greenhouse gas emissions.
26
W
hich types of transport helped you keep fit?
Explain that these are called active transport and
that active transport is when people increase their
physical activity as a way to get from one place to
another.
Why do you think your family chose to take these
trips by bike/walking etc? It was a fun family
outing; destination was close; our family likes to
walk/ride; or it was a lovely day.
Were there any trips you could have completed
using active transport (including public transport)
rather than in a car?
Why is it good to walk other than use the car?
Save petrol money; less congestion on our roads;
less greenhouse gas emissions; better for our
health; more fun to mix with other people.
What do you think our school could do to
encourage families to use active transport to travel
to and from school?
The letter to the family on the worksheet may be
completed as a whole class activity with students
making suggestions for the letter and copying it from
the whiteboard.
Students complete worksheet and then brainstorm fun
family trips they have made that did not involve a car.
For example catching a bus to the city, walking to the
football.

Activity 2
Read Matildas Morning Adventures to class and
discuss the reasons why Matildas family may have
chosen each type of transport for each day of the
week Good weather; parents work regime; access
to public transport; days the Walking School Bus
may be available.
Stress that making an active transport choice to get to
school may not always have been the easiest option
for Matilda. She may have had to get out of bed a little
earlier, she would have had to use more energy and
effort to get to school, and she may have had less
time to play with her friends when she got to school.
Matilda found something positive in every type of
active transport she used. Ask students to recall the
positive aspects for each day.
Remind students that Matilda told her mum that she
loved what she did last week so much she now wants
to try active transport to get home from school as well.
Students imagine they are Matilda and write or draw a
list of suggestions on how they would like to get home
using active transport each day next week e.g.
On Monday I would like to walk home with my friends
mum.
Share opinions between corners and then give

students the opportunity to move to another corner if,
after hearing others opinions, they have changed their
minds:
If I had to choose active transport to get to school I
would choose:
1. Walking.
2. Cycling.
3. Walking School Bus.
4. Public transport.
I think the best thing about active transport is that:
1. It makes me more healthy and active.
2. Saves my family money on petrol.
3. It causes less traffic around school and cuts down
pollution.
4. It helps me get better at riding and crossing roads .
I think choosing to come to school every day by active
transport would be:
1. Easy.
2. Difficult.
3. Difficult at first, but then you would get used to it.
4. Not sure.
On Tuesday I would like to . . .

Encourage students to think of other options to those
presented in the book such as walk to the school bus
or park the car further from school and walk the rest of
the journey.
Prepared numbered signs: 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Activity 3
Prepare four signs, each numbered 1, 2, 3, or 4 and
place a sign in each corner of the room.
Pose the following questions to students and ask
them to move to the corner which best describes
their opinion and share their reasons for choosing the
corner.
27
Why we travel the way we do
Worksheet 1.3
Think about all the trips you have

made over the last two days. Write
down where you travelled and how
you travelled e.g. car bus train walk
bike other.
' '
'
'
'
Where I travelled
e.g. Basketball practice
28
How I travelled
car
Choose one car trip where you could have

walked cycled or caught a bus.
' class letter to your family. Tell
Copy the
them two reasons why you would like to
walk or catch a bus or train next time.
Take your letter home to your family.

Learning experience 3: Making a case for active transport
Suggested
for Year 3
students
Key message: Active transport has lots of advantages.
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Our strong dependence on private cars for

transport has changed our communities and
cities.
Share attitudes to different types of active

transport.
Walking, cycling and using public transport have

advantages and disadvantages as travel options.
Practice responding to barriers to using active

transport to and from school.
Engaging in active transport to and from school

involves family as well as individual commitment.
Worksheet 1.4: Making a case for active
transport
Sheets of paper for PMI
Activity 1
Explain that in our community and all around Australia
the car is our main choice of transport and that even
when their grandparents were young, people relied
less on the car and walked and cycled more.
Ask students to think about the street they live in, the
area around their school and the city.
What things in these environments exist because
of cars? For example roads, kerbs, garages and
carports, car parks, round abouts, speed humps,
traffic lights, road signs, freeways, pedestrian
overpasses, speed cameras, petrol stations, car
yards, mechanics.
Discuss:
How different would our community be without
cars?
get to know people in their community; children

dont get to know how to be safe pedestrians and
cyclists.
Explain that to make their communities better now and
in the future, people need to work together to balance
the use of the car with other ways of travelling.
Explain that active transport is a good option. Active
transport is when people increase their physical
activity as a way to get from one place to another.
Can you guess what active transport may be?
Responses may include walking, cycling, scooter.
Public transport is also considered an active
transport as it involves walking to and from the
bus/train.
Students form groups of four and conduct a Plus
Minus Interesting (PMI) on either:
walking
cycling
public transport
Would it be better or worse? Why?

What would our school be like if our playground
was made into a carpark?
What are some of the bad things about always
making trips in a car? People get unfit and
unhealthy; costs lots of money to maintain a car;
road rage, streets not safe for pedestrians; dont
29

For example: Cycling

Plus
Minus
Interesting
improves
fitness and
health
can be
dangerous
can use car

to take bike to
safe shared
path
Activity 2
fun/stress
relieving
quick travel
parking easier
no pollution
cheaper than
car
must own a
bike
dependent on
weather
roads not safe
for cyclists
breathing in
pollution
can take bikes

on trains
it would be
safer to ride
your bike if
there were less
cars
When the groups have completed PMI, students

pass sheets to the group to their right and this group
considers any new factors that they can add to this
new PMI. Continue to pass on the sheets several
times until no new ideas are elicited.
Students complete Worksheet 1.4: Making a case
for active transport individually.
30
Read Matildas Morning Adventures to class and

discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of
Matildas active transport choices.
Assign a day of the week to each group and the
corresponding type of active transport that Matilda
used.
Students make a list of things that would encourage
more children and their families to choose this type of
active transport. e.g. cycling prizes for cycling every
day for a month awarded at assembly, more secure
bike racks that are out of the rain, no staff or parent
parking near shared paths.
Students present their findings to the Principal, at a
school assembly or to the P&C using a PowerPoint
presentation.
Making a case for active transport
Worksheet 1.4
Complete these sentences.

Active transport is good because
__________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
List some good things about cycling.
e.g. It keeps you fit.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________.
List some bad things about cycling.
e.g. Drivers dont see you.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
List some good things about walking.
e.g. It doesnt cost anything.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
List some bad things about walking.
e.g. It can be slow.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
List some good things about public transport.
e.g. It is quicker than driving.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
List some bad things about public transport.
e.g. Bus and train stops are not always at convenient
places. ____________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
31
32

Key messages for parents and students:

Holding an adults hand when walking near the road or in carparks makes small children
safer and more visible. Alternatively, children can hold onto a siblings pram.
There are rules for safe pedestrian behaviour when using footpaths, shared paths,
carparks and crossing driveways.
The Stop, Look, Listen, Think search strategy will keep small children safer when crossing
driveways.
Cross the road where you can see traffic and traffic can see you.
There are some places that are safer to cross such as crosswalks, straight stretches of
road, traffic signals, over and underpasses.
There are safer routes to walk to and from school and within the local area.
Topic 2
Safer pedestrians
Generally, children under 10 years are at risk as pedestrians because they have one third of
the peripheral vision of adults; are still developing directional hearing; are easily distracted
and have difficulty judging speed and distance of oncoming traffic.

Learning experience 1: Hold an adults hand
Key message: Always hold an adults hand when walking near the road or in carparks.
Suggested
for K-Year 1
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Holding an adults hand when walking near the

road or in carparks makes small children safer
and more visible.
Practice the Stop, Look, Listen, Think search

strategy when crossing driveways.
Share attitudes about being a safer pedestrian.
There are rules for safe pedestrian behaviour

when using footpaths, carparks and crossing
driveways.
The Stop, Look, Listen, Think search strategy
will keep small children safer when crossing
driveways.
Relevant pictures in the Discussion Photo
Pack available in the SDERA Early Childhood
Challenges and Choices resource.
Activity 1
Brainstorm pedestrian hazards within the traffic
environment, especially on the way to and from school
such as:
Roads without footpaths.
Bike riders on footpaths.
Cars reversing from driveways or into carparks.
Motorbikes and farm machinery moving in and out
of farms.
School buses parking.
Explain that the students are going to play a game
to let you know what they know about being a safe
pedestrian.
Explain the rules of the game, which are:
Listen to the question.
Put your hands on your head if you think the
answer is yes.
Questions
If you are walking on the footpath you must hold an
adults hand Yes
You must always hold an adults hand when you
are near the road or in a carpark Yes
If you cant hold an adults hand, you can hold their
bag, their clothes or a pram if they have one Yes
You should keep left on the footpath when you are
walking Yes
You should keep left on the footpath when you are
walking towards another pedestrian or cyclist Yes
You should stand back from the kerb when you are
waiting to cross the road Yes
The safest place on the footpath is the side closest
to the traffic No
Hazards on the footpath can change from day to
day Yes
When you are walking on the footpath and come to
a driveway, you should always stop, look and listen
for car backing out and then think whether its safe
to cross Yes
Put your hands on your bottom if you think the

answer is no.
If you cant walk on a footpath it is safer to walk on

the right hand side of the road, so you can see the
traffic coming towards you Yes
Fold your arms if you are unsure of the answer.
It is important to be a safe pedestrian Yes
Play the game, noting where knowledge gaps exist.

The game can be replayed at the end of the lesson to
check for learning and understanding.
33

Hands are for holding when you are crossing
the road by the Hooley Dooleys available in the
SDERA Early Childhood Challenges and Choices
kit; or Matildas Morning Adventures.
Activity 2
Young children have under-developed peripheral
vision and directional hearing, difficulty judging speed
and distance, and their smaller stature makes it
difficult for drivers to see them.
It is important that students understand that holding
an adults or older persons hand on the footpath, in
car parks and while crossing the road will help keep
them safer. Read Hands are for holding when you are
crossing the road or re-read the sections of Matildas
Morning Adventures where Matilda is holding an
adults hand.
Discuss:
Whose hand do you hold when you are walking on
the footpath, in a car park or crossing the road?
Why do you need to hold an adults hand when
crossing the road? Adults know where you are
and can stop you if there is a hazard; adults know
more road rules and can protect you; you will feel
safer; drivers cant always see small children but
they are more likely to see the adult because they
are taller; it shows you are a respectful road user.
Why do you need to hold an adults hand when you
are walking near the road? Similar responses to
previous question.
Why do you need to hold an adults hand when you
are in a car park? Adults can see more clearly
whether cars are going in or out of parking bays;
cars move a lot faster than you do plus similar
responses to previous question.
What can you do if an adults hand is not free?
They can hold an adults bag, clothing, pram, or
shopping trolley.
What can you do if you dont have an adults hand
to hold? Walk with an older student; walk away
from the road edge; know how to cross the road
safely.
What could you say to someone who thinks its silly
to hold an adults hand?
34
Students draw a picture of themselves holding hands

with an adult or older sibling or student if adult
supervision is not an option while walking to school.
Write or scribe accompanying sentences or safety
messages. e.g. I hold Mums hand when I walk to
school to stay safe.
This activity has been adapted from Challenges and Choices Early
Childhood Resource, SDERA, 2005.
Worksheet 2.1: Stop, Look, Listen, Think in
driveways
Parent helpers
Safe driveway in school grounds
Digital camera
Activity 3
Discuss and record the procedures for using Stop,
Look, Listen, Think strategy when crossing a
driveway:
Stop well clear of the driveway and make sure
you are back from the kerb.
Look to see if any cars are reversing or coming
into driveway. Make eye contact with the driver if
you can.
Listen for car engine noises, reverse beeping
sounds from trucks.
Think is it safe to cross the driveway and walk
straight across if it is.
Ask students to mime actions to each of the steps in
the strategy.
Emphasise the importance of holding an adults hand,
bag, pram etc throughout the procedure.
Take students and parent helpers to a quiet driveway
on the school grounds. Make sure helpers are aware
of the Stop, Look, Listen, Think strategy, and that
students understand they are not to go on the road.
Have a parent helper drive in or out of the driveway
repeatedly and allow each student time to practice
the strategy with an adult, ensuring that all steps are
practiced. Remind students of the miming actions for
each step.
Take digital photos of students practicing each step.
Photocopy four photos that best represent each step
and ask students to place in the correct order. Display
the photos where parents pick students up.

Older students can complete Worksheet 2.1: Stop,
Look, Listen, Think in driveways.
Submit digital photos of the incursion and summary of
the strategy to the school newsletter or website.
Clip art, digital photos from the incursion, old
magazines and poster paper.
Activity 4
In groups, students make a large poster to show the
importance of:
Holding an adults hand when walking to or from
school.
Using the Stop, Look, Listen, Think strategy when
crossing driveways.
Display the posters where parents/caregivers gather
and have students explain their posters to their buddy
students in another class.
Worksheet 2.2: How we came to school
3 or 4 active transport buddies (soft toys) each
stored inside a shopping bag with a scrap book
and markers.
Activity 5
Home activity: Introduce 3 or 4 active transport
buddies (soft toys) to the class and explain that
everyone will have a turn to take these buddies home,
along with a shopping bag, sharing book (scrap book)
and some markers.
Ask students to walk to or from school with an adult or
older person, and record with their family things they
did that made them safer on Worksheet 2.2: How we
came to school. e.g. held an adults hand; used Stop,
Look, Listen, Think; crossed at a safe place. Students
paste their worksheet into the sharing book.
35
Stop, Look, Listen, Think in driveways
Worksheet 2.1
When you are walking to or from school

always be careful near driveways and '
carparks. Remember the Stop Look Listen
Think rule when crossing driveways.
'
'
'
Draw a picture to show you using each step:
Stop: back from the kerb
and road.
Look: for cars coming in or

out of the driveway.
Listen: for traffic.
Think: is it safe to cross?
Walk across the driveway

holding an adult s hand.
'
36
How we came to school
Worksheet 2.2
Draw a picture of how you and your active

transport buddy came to school today:
We ______________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
to make it a safer journey.
Parents please fill out the section above to explain what you
did with your child to make it a safer trip to school using active
'
Think; crossed at a safe place.
transport. e.g. held an adult s hand; used Stop, Look, Listen,
Thank you for being an active and safe role model for your child.
37

Learning experience 2: Crossing the road
Key message: Stop, Look, Listen, Think is the safest way to cross the road.
Suggested
for Year 2
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Stop, Look, Listen, Think is the safest way to

cross the road.
Practice the Stop, Look, Listen, Think search

strategy.
Always hold an adults hand when crossing the

road.
Practice identifying safer places to cross near the

school.
Know how to cross the road if an adult is not

available.
Share attitudes about being a safe pedestrian.
Cross the road where you can see traffic and

traffic can see you.
There are some places that are safer to cross
such as crosswalks, straight stretches of road,
traffic signals, over and underpasses.
First Best Friends by Margaret Wild available in the
SDERA Early Childhood Challenges and Choices
resource; or Matildas Morning Adventures.
Activity 1
Read First Best Friends or re-read sections of
Matildas Morning Adventures where Matilda is safely
crossing the road.
What safe/unsafe things did the characters do in

the story?
Activity 2
Why do you think Matilda held an adults hand

when she was coming to school?
Which place did Matilda use to safely cross the
road?
Why was this safe?
What must you do and think about when youre
crossing the road? Introduce Stop, Look, Listen,
Think strategy and stress the importance of
crossing the road where you can see traffic and
traffic can see you.
Ask students to share their walking to or from school
experiences, explaining why they liked the experience
and what they did to stay safer.
Although students need to understand that it is
38
important to walk to school with an adult, this may

not always happen in all families. Teachers need to
be sensitive to this and also encourage other safer
options such as using the Walking School Bus,
walking with older friends, siblings, walking to catch
the school bus.
Worksheet 2.3: Safer places to cross
Explain that some places are safer to cross the road

than others and that there are many people and
things in the road environment put in place to make
pedestrians safer.
Discuss:
Can you think of people or things on the road
that have been put in place to make it safer for
pedestrians to cross the road? Traffic wardens,
Walking School Bus, crosswalks, flashing lights
near schools, 40km hour speed limits around
schools, KissnDrive parks, push button traffic
signals, median strips, pedestrian under and over
passes, maze crossings at railway lines.
Can you think of a safe place to cross if you cant
find any of these special safety features? On a

straight stretch of road where you can see traffic
and traffic can see you.
Assign students to groups of three and give each
group a copy of Worksheet 2.3: Safer places to
cross.
Listen for traffic coming.

Think is it is safe to cross the road? If its not,
start the process again.
Cross with an adult or older person, holding
hands.
Students must decide as a group which pictures

depict scenes where it is safer to cross and mark
these with a tick. Using the same group consensus,
they must mark the unsafe crossing pictures with a
cross.
Discuss that it may be necessary to do this strategy

several times before it is safe to cross and that it is
important to use this strategy even when there are
crossing facilities such as traffic lights or there is a
traffic warden in place.
Hear feedback and discuss reasons why each picture

is safer or unsafe. Stress that it is a different road
experience every time students cross the road. Even
though the cars may have stopped for you to cross
the crosswalk yesterday, you should not think they
will stop again tomorrow. Always remember to Stop,
Look, Listen, Think, and to walk (not run) across the
crosswalk.
Mark out a road and footpath in the playground for

students to practice the strategy. Ask the following
questions during the practice:
Explain that sometimes they also need to Stop, Look,

Listen, Think several times before it is safe to cross.
Answers
Heavy traffic on a major
road
Light traffic on a local road
On the crest of a hill
Between parked cars
In front of a school bus
At a crossing with a traffic

warden P
On a straight quiet road P Behind a school bus, but wait

till bus has moved away and
check for other traffic
At a roundabout
At an overpass P
At an underpass P
Photocopy Worksheet 2.4: Stop, Look, Listen,
Think to A3
Several active transport buddies (soft toys)
Digital camera
Activity 3
Using Worksheet 2.4: Stop, Look, Listen, Think,
explain the Stop, Look, Listen, Think strategy for
crossing roads more safely:
Stop back from the kerb, road edge, behind the
yellow line at a railway crossing.
Look for traffic coming from both sides of the
road.
What are you looking and listening for?

How will you know when its safe to cross?
Why dont you run across the road when its safe to
go?
Why do you sometimes have to do all the steps
again?
Why is it important to do this even when you are
walking with an adult?
When students are confident, with appropriate parent
help, take the active transport buddies for a walk
around the streets near the school. Students practice
selecting safer places for the buddies to cross roads
including straight stretches of road, traffic warden
crossings, crosswalks, traffic signals and overpasses
if available.
Photograph students with the buddies at appropriately
safe places to cross, and with students practicing
each of the steps of the Stop, Look, Listen, Think
strategy.
In rural areas, discuss crossing on straight stretches
of road; crossing after the school bus has moved
away from the kerb and when there is no other traffic;
using pedestrian crossings at railway lines; looking
for heavy trucks which take a longer time to stop than
cars.
Display the photographs with appropriate captions to
help students revise their understanding of safe and
unsafe places to cross, and the Stop, Look, Listen,
Think strategy. Alternatively, cut up the different
section of Worksheet 2.4 and ask students to paste in
the correct order and draw a picture of them Practicing
this skill.
39
Safer places to cross
Heavy traffic on a major road
Worksheet 2.3
Light traffic on a local road
Between parked cars
40
At a crossing with a traffic warden
In front of a school bus
Behind a school bus
On a straight quiet road
At a roundabout
At an overpass
At an underpass
Stop, Look, Listen, Think
Worksheet 2.4
Stop
Look
Listen
Think
41

Learning experience 3: Safer routes to school
Suggested
for Year 3
students
Key message: Find your safer route to and from school.
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
There are safer routes to walk to and from school

and within the local area.
Practice finding the safest route to walk to and

from school.
Walk with an adult or older person and hold

their hand when crossing roads, driveways or in
carparks.
Share attitudes about being a safe pedestrian.
Always choose the safest place to cross the road.

Remember to use the Stop, Look, Listen, Think
search strategy every time you cross the road.
Know the location of Safety Houses on their safe
route to school.
Activity 2
Wheres Banjo Mum? by Libby Hawthorn available

in the SDERA Early Childhood Challenges and
Choices resource; or Matildas Morning Adventures
Explain that students will be sharing opinions about

being a safe pedestrian while walking to and from
school.
Activity 1
Explain that you will read out some statements

relating to being a safer pedestrian. Some statements
will be more important to their personal safety than
others its up to the student to decide.
Read Wheres Banjo Mum? by Libby Hawthorn and

ask students to identify the hazards that Jess and
his mum were exposed to while travelling home from
school. Discuss the safer strategies they used getting
on and off the bus, crossing the road, and in the car
park.
Alternatively re-read Matildas Morning Adventures
and discuss whether Matilda came to school by the
same route each day and possible safety reasons for
why the route changed? Walked with mum on quiet
streets and crossed at crossing with traffic warden;
cycled on shared path and used cycle underpass;
walked another way with dad to avoid road works.
Students write and illustrate about one chosen section
of either story; or write and illustrate a recount of the
journey with safety messages highlighted in colour.
42
Read each statement and ask students to consider it

before placing themselves along a Very Important to
Not Important continuum:
Knowing the safest places to cross the road on the
way to and from school.
Knowing where your local Safety Houses are.
Always walking with an adult or older person.
Knowing your name and address.
Knowing the Stop, Look, Listen, Think strategy to
cross a road.
Looking for cars coming in and out of driveways.
Never walking home by yourself.
This activity has been adapted from Challenges and Choices Early
Making eye contact with drivers before crossing a

crosswalk.
Knowing where your friends live.
Two prepared signs: Very Important and Not

Important placed at either end of the classroom to
make a continuum.
Knowing what to do if the adult or older person you

walk home with doesnt turn up.

Provide opportunities for students to hear others
reasons for choosing their position on the continuum
for each statement, and allow them to change position
if they change their minds after hearing their peers
opinions.
Students are to imagine they are going on a class

excursion. Assign one destination to each group and
students decide on the safest route from the school to:
The closest bus stop.
Worksheet 2.5: Choosing the safest place to

cross.
A local park.
Activity 3
Students discuss reasons for their choices and mark

the route with a distinctive colour or code to represent
their group.
Revise the crossing procedure Stop, Look, Listen,

Think verbally. Repeat outside in the school
playground using court markings to represent roads
and footpaths.
Analyse the steps:
Stop Why? Where/When?
Look Where? What for? Why?
Listen What for? Why?
The local library.

The local shops.
Other relevant landmark.
One person from each group takes their map and

moves to the group on their right. This spokesperson
must explain the reasons for their route choice. Other
new group members must check to see if a safer
alternative can be found.
Think About what? Stress that its OK to change

your mind and reassess the crossing.
Photocopy street directory of local suburb or area.

Mark in the school and known Safety Houses
Hold an adult or older persons hand Why? For

how long?
Photocopy to A3 one for each student

Photocopy to A2 for class map
Stress that in the Thinking step students need to

consider factors such as:
www.safetyhousewa.org.au/
The speed of the vehicle.

The time it takes to cross.
Class map can also be developed using online

resources - Whereis: www.whereis.com
Google Earth: www.earth.google.com
How long the vehicle will take to stop.
Activity 5
The visibility in all directions.
Home activity: In class, discuss with students the

safest places to cross the roads around the school
e.g. on straight stretches of road, at the traffic warden
crossing, at the crosswalk, after the bus has moved
away, at the over/underpass, at the traffic lights, away
from the roundabout.
Weather and road conditions.

Using Worksheet 2.5: Choosing the safest place
to cross, students work in pairs and decide why this
situation is unsafe as a crossing point and suggest a
safer crossing alternative.
Interactive whiteboard or A3 photocopy of local
suburb or area
http://www.safetyhousewa.org.au/
Activity 4
Scan a street directory map of the suburb or local
area, including the school, and use on an interactive
whiteboard. Alternatively photocopy to an A3 size for
each student.
Students locate their home on the map and highlight

the route they think would be the safest to walk to and
from school, marking in safe places to cross.
Ask students to share the map with their families and
make any changes that their family suggests.
Students use a personalised marking code or colour
to record their route on a class map.
Discuss:
How far do most of you live from school?
Who walks or uses other active transport to or from
school regularly?
43

How long do you think it would take for you to walk
to or from school?
Why do you think this would be better for you and
the environment than being driven to school every
day?
Which were the most common safe places to
cross? Why?
Where are some unsafe places to cross? (e.g.
near busy intersections; roundabouts; bends in
roads; on crests of hills.)
Are there any other unsafe places to look out for
around our school e.g. teachers car park, parent
pick up area?
What could we do as a school to make these
places safer?
Does your safe route go near a Safety House?
Do any students take the same route?
How could you make it easier for your families
to walk or cycle to or from school? (e.g. roster
walking or cycling with a different family each day,
form a Walking School Bus).
44
Choosing the safest place to cross
Worksheet 2.5
Choosing the safest place to cross the road is

important.
Remember:
1. Use Stop, Look, Listen, Think every time you cross a road.
2. Its OK to change your mind and pick a safer place to cross.
3. Its OK to repeat Stop, Look, Listen, Think until you are sure its
safe to cross.
All these road crossing situations are not safe.
Talk to your partner about:
What makes each one unsafe?
Where would be a safer place to cross?
Standing on the island (or

median strip ) in heavy traffic
On a curve or a bend
At a roundabout
Near workmen working

on the footpath
Coming out between parked cars

45
46

The most common injuries for children who cycle or ride wheeled devices result from falls.
Correct use of helmets decreases the risk of head injury by 85%.
It is law in WA to wear a helmet carrying the Australian Standards Mark (AS2063) when
riding on the road, a footpath or shared path. This includes children on bikes with training
wheels and sitting in baby seats behind an adult.
Bicycles need to be the correct size (i.e. child needs to be able to touch the ground
while sitting on the seat); and properly maintained and fitted with safety features such as
reflectors, brakes and bell.
Children under 12 years are allowed to ride on footpaths.
Road rules and safety messages that Early Childhood children need to be aware of
include:
Wear a helmet every trip.
Always ride with an adult and only on footpaths or shared paths.
Young riders should be particularly alert near driveways, gateways and intersections.
Ride on the left hand side of the footpath or shared paths.
Give way to pedestrians at all times.
Travel in single file on all paths.
Use a bell when approaching others on the footpath.
Indicate clearly if they are planning to stop or change direction.
Topic 3
Safer cycling and play
Children under the age of 10 years should not cycle on the road or by themselves
because they are still developing their peripheral vision and hearing. It is recommended
that if parents choose to ride with their young child to and from school, that they do so on
shared paths or footpath, and that they dismount and walk their bikes across the road.

Learning experience 1: Wear a helmet every time
Key message: Always wear a correctly fitted helmet when riding a bike or other wheeled
device.
Suggested
for K-Year 1
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Always wear a correctly fitted Australian

Standards approved helmet when riding a bike,
scooter, skateboard or other wheeled device.
Practice a helmet safety check.

Share attitudes about being a safer rider.
Always ride with an adult.

Ride on a shared path or footpath.
Give way to pedestrians.
cycling and are not clearly visible to drivers.
Why should children your age never ride on the

road? As above.
Activity 1
Share the pages in Matildas Morning Adventures
when she rides to school.
Discuss:
What are Matilda and her mum doing to stay safer
while riding to school? (Wearing helmets and
shoes; wearing bright colours; riding on a shared
path; riding on the left hand side of the path;
stopping at the road; and walking the bike across
the road.
Why would these things make them safer?
Sit students in two concentric circles so each student
is facing a partner. Students share experiences of
riding bicycles and other wheeled devices.
Now pose the following questions for students to
consider and then share their thoughts and ideas.
Move the inside circle clockwise one place after every
few questions:
Which is the safest place to ride: on a shared path,
a footpath or a road? Why? A shared path is
the safest option as it is away from vehicles and
usually free of pedestrians. Children under 10
years should not cycle on the road.
Why should you also ride with an adult? Children
under 10 years have poorly developed peripheral
vision and hearing; are still mastering the skills of
Why is it important to wear a helmet every time you

ride a bike, skateboard, scooter, rip stick or use
roller blades?
Why do you think some children might choose not
to wear a helmet?
What could you say to a friend who thought
wearing a helmet was silly?
Why is it important to wear a helmet that fits
snuggly and covers your forehead? A helmet
that is too loose or fastened incorrectly may slip off
if they fall off their bike, scooter etc and increase
their risk of injury. To provide sufficient protection,
the helmet should cover their forehead and
temples.
Is it important that children wear their helmets even
if they are just riding in their backyard? Why?
Yes, they may still fall off their bike and have a
head injury in their backyard.
Is it important that children who live in the country
wear a helmet when they ride their bikes on their
farm? Why? Yes, they may still fall off their bike
and have a head injury on the farm. Stress that
cycling near their house is the safest option as
tractors, motorcycles, utes etc are often moving
around a farm.
As a group, invite students to share their opinions
for each question and identify other questions for the
47

class to explore.
Worksheet 3.1: Wear a helmet every time
Students bike helmets
Activity 3
Parent helpers or older buddy students
Brainstorm ideas families could use to make sure they

were safe before they went riding, skateboarding etc.
Whiteboard a summary of responses. For example:
Activity 2
Ask students to bring their bike helmets to school. In
pairs or as a whole class discuss:
What is the padding inside for?
How does the chin strap work?
Why should there be no frays or twists in the
straps?
How do you adjust the straps for a better fit?
Which coloured helmets would be the safest?
D
o you think it will be hard or easy to fit a bike
helmet correctly? Why?
Conduct a helmet safety check using a volunteer
student:
Wear closed shoes.

Wear bright clothing.
Wear knee and elbow pads for skateboarding.
Plan a safe route with no roads.
Younger students can cut out the pictures from
Worksheet 3.1 and add them to the appropriate parts
of a picture they draw of themselves riding a bike.
Older students complete this worksheet as it is using
the information on the whiteboard.
Check the outside of the helmet is not damaged in

any way.
Home activity: Ask students to show the worksheet

to their families and explain to their families why they
are safe in their drawing.
Check that the helmet has the Australian

Standards label.
Place helmet low on the forehead.
Poster paper, markers, crayons
Check that it fits snuggly on the head.
Activity 4
Do up the buckle, ensuring that straps are not

frayed or twisted.
Students design a poster to remind their parents and

other students to always remember to wear a helmet
when riding a bike or other wheeled devices. The
poster must include information about the importance
of a correctly fitting helmet. Display in assembly area
or where parents gather.
Place your palm under the front of the helmet and

push up and back. The helmet should not move if
correctly fitted.
It may be useful to compare a correctly fitted helmet
check with an incorrectly fitted helmet check.
Working with a parent helper or older buddy students
who understand how to properly fit a helmet, students
check whether their helmets fit correctly and discuss
ways to improve the fit if they are too loose or tight
e.g. insert or remove the thicker pads attached inside
the helmet which manufacturers provide.
Those students who do not have helmets can help
another student to check and adjust theirs.
48
Wear a correctly fitted helmet.
Wear a helmet every time
Worksheet 3.1
I know how to be a safer rider. When I ride my bike or

any other toy with wheels I wear:
'
'
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
I always ride on a shared path or footpath with an adult.
Draw a picture of you riding safely with an adult.
49

Learning experience 2: Safer bikes safer riders
Key message: A bike that is the right size is easier to control.
Suggested
for Year 2
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

Practice a bike safety check.


Ride on a shared path or footpath.
A bicycle should be suitable for the riders size
because it is easier to control.
Bicycles should be checked before every ride
using a safety check list.
A correctly fitted bike preferably with trainer
wheels to stress the importance of using them until
the rider is confident
Bike helmet correctly fitted to one student
Activity 1
Organise to have a bike with trainer wheels available
prior to the activity.
In pairs, students brainstorm as many words for the
parts of a bike as possible: handlebar; seat; wheels;
trainer wheels; pedal; hand brake; tyres; rear reflector;
front reflector; wheel reflector; spoke; rim; valve; bell;
chain; pedal. Whiteboard a class list on the board.
Give each pair a card and assign one word from the
list to write clearly on the card. Students blu-tac their
card to the appropriate place on the display bike.
Discuss:
Some parts of the bike have been designed to
keep us safer. Which parts do we need to check
to make sure we are safer every time we ride our
bikes? Brakes, reflectors, well maintained tyres,
a clean chain, a stable seat. Discuss reasons for
each safety feature.
What else do we always need to wear before we
ride a bike, scooter, skateboard? A correctly fitted
bike helmet.
50
Demonstrate how to conduct a bike helmet safety

check on a volunteer student:
Check the outside of the helmet is not damaged in
any way.
Check the helmet has the Australian Standards
label.
Place helmet low on the forehead.
Check that it fits snuggly on the head.
Do up the buckle, ensuring that straps are not
frayed or twisted.
Place your palm under the front of the helmet and
push up and back. The helmet should not move if
correctly fitted.
Demonstrate the right fit using the owner of the
display bike. The rider should be able to straddle the
bike, have at least their toes touching the ground on
both sides, and be able to reach the handlebars.
Discuss:
Why is it important to ride a bike that fits you
correctly? It is easier to control and therefore
safer to ride.
What were Matilda and her mum doing to stay
safer while riding to school? Wearing helmets
and shoes, wearing bright colours, riding on a
shared path, riding on the left hand side of the
path, stopping at the road, and walking the bike
across the road.

Why is it important to always ride with an adult?
Children under 10 years have poorly developed
peripheral vision and hearing, are still mastering
the skills of cycling, and are not clearly visible to
drivers.
Why is it important to ride on shared paths and
footpaths? As above.
Students draw a picture of the display bike and label
the parts that need to be checked every time they ride
as part of a safety check.
Home activity: Ask students to take Worksheet 3.2:
Bike and helmet safety check home and complete
with their family. If they do not have a bike, they could
perform the check on another family member or
neighbours bike.
Students return the worksheets and as a class, tally
the number of smiley or sad faces for each item and
complete a class summary of results. Discuss key
areas for improvement if applicable.
51
Bike and helmet safety check
Worksheet 3.2
Dear family
Did you know that the correct use of bike helmets can decrease the risk
of head injury to cyclists by 85%? For maximum protection, the helmet
must fit snuggly, cover the forehead and fasten firmly, with a 2 finger
space between chin strap and chin.
To test for correct fit, place your hand on the top of your childs helmet
and try to move it. If it is correctly fitted and adjusted it should not move
forwards, backwards or sideways.
Just like their helmet, your childs bike needs to fit their body size.
A bike is the correct size if your child can touch the ground with their toes
and reach the handle bars while sitting on the seat. Remember children under 10 years are still
developing their peripheral (side) vision and hearing, so should always ride with an adult and
never ride on the road.
Please help your child complete the following safety checks:
My helmet
Yes J
No L
Yes J
No L
The helmet is in good condition on

the outside.
The helmet is neither too loose nor
too tight.
The helmet covers the forehead.
The chinstrap clip fastens firmly.
The straps are free of twists or frays.
My bike
The wheels do not turn when the
brakes are applied.
I have a horn or a bell on my bike.
The seat is at the right height and
does not tip or twist.
The tyres are pumped firm and not
split.
The chain is clean and runs
smoothly.
There are reflectors on the back of
the bike and on the wheels.
Thank you and happy riding with your child!
52

Learning experience 3: Road rules for cyclists
Suggested
for Year 3
students
Key message: Everyone is responsible for safer cycling know the rules.
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
It is the law in Australia to wear a correctly fitted

bike helmet when riding a bike.
Share attitudes about being a responsible rider.
It is the law in Australia that children under 12

years can ride on footpaths.
Practice making safer decisions about being a

responsible rider.
A footpath or shared path is the safest place to

ride unless a No Bicycle sign is on display.
Always give way to pedestrians.
When riding on the footpath or shared path:
Always ride on the left hand side.
Use a bell or let others know you are
approaching.
Ride in single file unless you are overtaking.
Activity 1
Place students in small groups then pose the following
statements.
Students vote on each statement using thumbs up
for agree and thumbs down for disagree. Students
discuss reasons for their opinions and attitudes. The
safer options are shown below.
Riding safely on your bike shows pedestrians and

other cyclists that you value being a safe rider.
(Agree)
One large sheet of paper per group
Its OK to ride my bike on the footpath without an

adult. (Disagree)
You need to wear a correctly fitted helmet every
time you ride your bike, skateboard or scooter on a
footpath or shared path. (Agree)
A footpath or shared path is the safest place to ride
unless a No Bicycle sign is on display. (Agree)
Cyclists have to give way to pedestrians on a
footpath or shared path. (Agree)
Children your age dont need to worry about
learning rules for safer cycling because they
always ride with an adult. (Disagree)
Ringing your bell to let a pedestrian know you
are approaching on your bike is not a good idea
because you might scare them. (Disagree)
Activity 2
In groups of four, students draw up a placemat on a
large sheet (as shown) and sit so that they are facing
a section on the placemat.
Students write their thoughts on the following question
in their section of the placemat:
What rules and behaviours do you need to
remember to make sure you are a safer rider?
Students may need some explanation of behaviours.
e.g. wear a helmet every time; always ride with an
adult. Encourage students to consider safety on
53

scooters, skateboards and rip sticks as well.
Students review all ideas from the brainstorm and

place the five most important safety considerations for
riders in the centre circle. Share these with the rest of
the class.
Worksheet 3.3: Everyone is responsible for

safer cycling
Activity 3
Ensure students cover the following:
In groups of three, students use Worksheet 3.3:

Everyone is responsible for safer cycling.
A
lways wear a correctly fitted bike helmet when
riding a bike, scooter or skateboard.
Always ride on a footpath or shared path unless a
No Bicycle sign is on display.
Always give way to pedestrians.
When riding on the footpath or shared path:
Always ride on the left hand side.
Use a bell or let others know you are
approaching.
Ride in single file unless you are overtaking.
54
Choose three options for each dilemma and then

choose the option they like best, giving reasons for
their answers.
Home activity: Students take their worksheets home
and discuss with their family. Would their family
members have made the same choices? Why/Why
not?
Everyone is responsible for safer cycling
Worksheet 3.3
For each problem think of three choices you could make. Tick the one you
like best and give' reasons for your decision.
A friend wants you to ride your scooter on the road but your parents
have told you that you should only ever ride on a footpath or shared
path. What could you do? Tick the choice you like best and explain why
you chose it.
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
My reason __________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
You are riding to school with your mum and a friend. Your friend keeps
riding next to you not in single file behind you. What could you do?
'
1. ____________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________
My reason ____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Your friend wants you to ride to school with him but you are only
allowed to ride with an adult. What could you do?
'
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
My reason ___________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
You are staying at a friends place and both decide to ride to the park
with her dad. You ride her brothers bike and wear his helmet. The seat is
too high for you and the helmet is too loose. What could you do?
1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
My reason ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
55
56

Topic 4: Active transport is good for my health, my family and the environment
Walking and cycling to and from school has many health benefits.
Health Active transport can:
Help children get the right amount of physical activity they need each day at least 60
minutes.
Build strong bones and muscles.
Improve fitness by improving the way the heart and lungs can pump oxygen efficiently to
the muscles.
Help achieve and maintain a healthy weight which can help prevent heart disease and
diabetes.
Help promote a sense of well-being.
Make children more alert and ready to learn at the start of the school day.
Social Active transport can:
Be a fun activity for children to enjoy with their family, siblings, friends, grandparents, dog.
Help the family save money.
Environment Active transport can:
Help reduce the schools impact on pollution by cutting down car emissions.
Improve road safety around the school by reducing traffic congestion.
Topic 4
Help make the community feel safer by having more people moving about the streets.
Health, family and environment
Help develop childrens road safety skills.

Topic 4: Active transport is good for my health,
my family and the environment.
Learning experience 1: Active transport is good for my health
Key message: Active transport helps me get the exercise I need every day.
Suggested
for K-Year 1
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Active transport can -
Identify positive consequences to physical

activity and negative consequences to remaining
sedentary.
Help children get the right amount of physical

activity they need each day at least 60 minutes.
Improve fitness by improving the way the heart
and lungs can pump oxygen efficiently to the
muscles.
Help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Practice communicating about the health effects of

physical activity and active transport on their body.
Practice locating heart beats and monitoring how
this is affected by exercise.
Share attitudes about physical activity.
Help promote a sense of well-being.

Make children more alert and ready to learn at the
start of the school day.
5-6 strips of paper per student
Worksheet 4.1: Active transport is good for my
health
Those that make you sweat and use many body

parts.
Those that dont make you sweat but use many
body parts.
One sheet of butchers paper per student
Those that dont use many body parts.
Activity 1
Attach the strips of paper to the board/wall under the

appropriate heading.
Explain to students that just as Australians have

been given guidelines around what they need to eat
to help them stay healthy, such as eating 5 serves
of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit each day, similar
guidelines have also been developed around physical
activity. These National Physical Activity Guidelines
state that children need at least 60 minutes of huff
and puff physical activity (exercise) each day to stay
healthy.
Ask students to identify activities they do with their
family over the weekend and after school e.g. reading;
watching TV; eating; walking; sports.
Students record these pictorially and/or written on
strips of paper and then individually sort their strips
into one of three groups:
Explain that those activities which use many body

parts i.e. involve physical activity/exercise, are ones
that keep us healthy. If they only do those activities
which dont use many body parts, such as watching
TV, they may become unhealthy.
Discuss:
Do you think you get one hour of exercise each
day? Why/Why not?
What might happen to us if we don't exercise
every day? Not being fit and strong; getting
sick; putting on weight; being bored; having fewer
friends.
57

How could walking to or from school help you get
more exercise each day?
What are some other good things about walking
to or from school each day? Stress social
benefits such as fun activity to do with family, dog
etc; learn new road skills; save money on petrol;
environmental benefits such as reduced car
emissions; less traffic congestion around school.
What other things could you do to get more
exercise each day? Create a Walking School
Bus; walk to the shops instead of driving; walk the
dog; turn off TV and play outside; walk up stairs
instead of taking the escalator at shopping centres;
walk to the school bus instead of driving.
Explain that exercise improves fitness by improving
the way the heart and lungs pump oxygen efficiently
to the muscles. When they exercise, their heart and
lungs work together to pump lots of blood, which
carries oxygen to the muscles. For instance when they
run, their leg muscles need oxygen to keep working.
If they are not fit, their heart and lungs cant pump
enough oxygen-carrying blood to them. They get tired,
cant breathe properly and have to stop.
Using a map of WA and a relevant tally scale such

as 1 lap = 10kms, add dots to the map until the class
eventually walks to Perth (or further if the interest is
maintained).
Discuss the different types of hazards and road signs
they would need to look out for along the way. e.g.
road trains, trucks, farm machinery in rural areas and
higher density of traffic and different road signs closer
to Perth.
One sheet of paper per student
KidPix
Activity 3
Students make and record the following observations
about their body before exercising:

Is your skin hot/cold?
Discuss:
Is your skin dry/wet?
E
xercise can improve our fitness. Can you think
of any other ways exercise might be good for our
bodies and health? Ensure students suggest:
builds strong bones and muscles; helps maintain
a healthy weight; helps keep brain alert; and
improves mental health.
Is your breathing slow/fast?
Do you feel tired/ energetic?
Is your heart beating fast/ slow?
Explain the different body parts represented on

Worksheet 4.1: Active transport is good for my
health, and how they are affected by exercise.
On butchers paper, students draw a large picture of
themselves walking to school holding an adults hand.
Students colour in the body parts and paste them in
the appropriate place on the drawing of their bodies.
NB: The smiling face on the worksheet represents
improved mental health.
3 fluoro vests
Large map of WA
Activity 2
For rural students who will find it difficult to walk to
58
school create a 'Walk to Perth Walking School Bus.

Using the teacher aide and the teacher as the front
and back of the bus, each day give a different child
the fluoro vest to wear and walk one lap of the oval or
school in the bus as a class.
Allow students to participate in a vigorous activity e.g.

running, dancing. Back in the classroom, students
repeat the above observations and discuss changes
that occurred to their body during and after exercise.
Explain that to perform this activity, the body uses
energy from the food they eat, and that walking and
cycling and other exercise helps burn up this food,
and helps them maintain a healthy weight.
Focus on mental changes that students experienced
such as feeling more awake; feeling happy; feeling
energised; as well as the physical changes.
Choosing from a selection of media, students illustrate
a before and after walking to school picture, aiming
to reflect that exercise not only makes your body
physically healthy, but also maintains and improves
mental health.
Alternatively students could use KidPix to illustrate
these changes.

Cardboard for stethoscopes one per pair of
students
Activity 4
Discuss that the heart is a muscle and like all
muscles, it needs exercising.
Students make a cardboard stethoscope by rolling
cardboard into a cylinder and in pairs locate and listen
to the heartbeat of a partner.
Have students skip or jog on the spot for 30 seconds
and repeat listening to heartbeats. See if students can
count their partners heart beats in 30 seconds and
double it.
Record all the students heart beats per minute in
graph form.
Discuss the differences in heart rate before and after
activity and why these differences occur.
Discuss how exercise makes their heart and lungs
work to capacity and improves their general function.
Walking to or from school is an easy way to exercise
all the muscles in their bodies, including their heart.
Home activity: Students complete the listening to the
heartbeat activity at home on a family member and
share their experiences with the class.
59
Active transport is good for my health
Worksheet 4.1
#
#
60

my family and the environment
Learning experience 2: Active transport has many social benefits
Suggested
for Year 2
students
Key message: Active transport is fun and saves money.
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

sedentary.

activity they need each day at least 60 minutes
to stay healthy.
Be a fun activity for children to enjoy with their
family, siblings, friends, grandparents, pets etc.
Practice communicating about key road safety

messages they would need to recall when using
active transport.

Help the family save money in car running costs
and parking.
One sheet of butchers paper per student
Activity 1
to help them stay healthy, such as eating 5 serves
and puff physical activity (or exercise) each day to
stay healthy.
Explain that as well as keeping them healthy, exercise
is also fun.
Brainstorm:
What things about exercise make it fun?
Prompt students to consider the sports they play
and the fun they have during physically active
outings with their family. e.g. meet new friends;
spend time with family and extended family; spend
time with pets; go to pleasant places like beaches
and parks; get outside in the fresh air; laugh a lot;
learn new skills; gain confidence.
What things about watching TV or playing

computer games is fun? Prompt with: Play with a
friend or another family member; learn new skills.
Aim to make the list short!
Place students in two concentric circles and ask them
to discuss the following. Move one of the circles after
several questions so that students are working with
another partner:
Discuss:
Which lets us have fun with more people: exercise/
sport or watching TV/ playing computer games?
If you just watched TV or played computer
games after school, do you think you could get
your recommended 60 minutes of huff and puff
physical activity each day to stay healthy? Why/
Why not?
How could walking to or from school help you
achieve your recommended 60 minutes of huff
and puff physical activity each day to stay healthy?
What are some fun things that you might
experience if you walked to or from school each
day? Meet new friends; see new things on the
way home; walk their dog; have time to talk to
Mum or Dad; plan different routes.
61

What are some things that walking to and from
school or walking in general might do to help you
or your family? They get to practice some road
safety skills, their family gets fitter and healthier;
their family saves money on petrol and running
costs of car.
What are some other good things about walking to
or from school each day? Stress health benefits
such as building strong muscles and bones;
improving fitness; maintaining a healthy weight;
environmental benefits such as reduced car
emissions; less traffic congestion around school.
Hear feedback from students after each question.
Students draw two sets of footprints on a large sheet
of paper one set about their size and the other set
about their mum or dads size.
In their set of footprints students draw or write about:
All the fun things about walking to or from school.
Home activity: Students ask a parent or family
member to complete their own list in the larger
footprints. Share the findings as a class.
Clip art, art supplies, old magazines and interactive
whiteboard
Poster paper one per pair of students
Activity 2
Explain that the school is trying to encourage more
students to walk and cycle to or from school each day
and that their job is to encourage parents to do this
with them.
Explain that you need two types of posters to help
with this task:
One to remind parents of the benefits of active
transport.
One to remind parents of the key road safety
messages for walking or cycling with children their
age.
Revise the key road safety messages and whiteboard
them for students to use on their posters:
Always hold an adults hand.
Always use Stop, Look, Listen, Think when
crossing the road.
62
Ride with an adult on a footpath or shared path.

Students use clip art, collage or drawing to create
their posters.
Display the posters in a parent meeting area.
Active transport buddies soft toys
Home activity:
Send the active transport buddies home with
students and encourage them to walk to or from
school one day in the next week.
Ask students to explain to the class about the fun
things their buddy saw or did on the way to or from
school.
Keep a tally of the number of car trips that have been
saved by using the active transport buddies in your
class.
Each kilometre of car travel avoided saves up to 25
cents. Ask each student to calculate their total savings
for the week and add this data to the class tally.
Collate and present data to show the total number of
car trips saved, and total money saved for the class.
Students report the tally to their buddy class, at
assembly or in the school newsletter.

my family and the environment
Learning experience 3: Active transport has many environmental benefits
Key message: Active transport is good for the environment.
Suggested
for Year 3
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Identify positive environmental consequences of

active transport.

activity they need each day at least 60 minutes
to stay healthy.
Practice communicating about environmental

consequences of active transport.

Help reduce your schools impact on pollution
through reducing car emissions.
Improve road safety around your school by
reducing traffic congestion.
Help make the community feel safer by having
more people moving about the streets.
One Y chart per group
My health
computer games, TV, internet, particularly during

day light hours.
Explain that the school is trying to encourage more
students to walk and cycle to or from school each day
to help them meet these guidelines.
In groups of three, students draw a Y chart and label
each section as shown. In the appropriate sections,
students list and discuss:
Reasons why active transport is good for:
My health.
My family
The environment
My family.
The environment.
Activity 1
Explain to students that Australians have been
given guidelines called the National Physical Activity
Guidelines that state that:
Children need at least 60 minutes of huff and puff
physical activity (or exercise) each day to stay
healthy.
Children should not spend more than two hours a
day using electronic media for entertainment e.g.
See the tab page on page 56 of this topic for

appropriate responses. Hear feedback from groups
and collate common findings on the whiteboard.
Home activity: Students use this information to write
a letter to their family to explain the advantages of
choosing active transport to travel to and from school.
Send letter home with students and ask them to
discuss it with their family.
63

Worksheet 4.3: Get the facts about cars and the

environment one set per group.
Envelopes with one of the following prediction tasks

printed on the front:
Activity 2
Predict what type of transport people in WA will be

using in 50 years time.
Cut up the question and answer cards on Worksheet

4.3: Get the facts about cars and the environment
and distribute cards to each group.
Explain to students that each question card has a
matching answer card.
Students take an assortment of question and answer
cards each. A student reads out a question card and
the rest of the group checks their answer cards to see
if they have the matching card. The child who thinks
they have a matching card reads it out. Other students
decide whether it is correct.
Repeat the process until all cards are matched.
Clarify any questions that may arise from this process.
Students work in pairs to reflect on their learning by
using thought shapes:
= the most important thing I have

learnt from this quiz.
= what I enjoyed most about the quiz.
= thoughts still going around in my

head about the effects that cars have
on our environment.
Students share their responses to these shapes. The

thoughts generated from the thought bubble can be
used to plan further learning experiences.
Predict what might happen to our lives when fossil

fuels like coal, wood and oil run out.
Predict some benefits for students at our school if
everyone walked to school each day.
Predict some ways our school could encourage
students to walk or cycle to school each day.
Predict what might happen to students if all the
playgrounds at our school had to be made into
carparks.
Activity 3
Revise environmental facts associated with car use
such as:
More than two out of three WA children are driven
to and from school each day, even though many
live within two kilometres (10 minutes cycling or 20
minutes walking) of school.
In Australia, cars and trucks that use petrol and
diesel make up about 14% of our greenhouse gas
emissions.
Driving to school adds more cars around the
school, making the roads less safe for children.
Active transport is a safer option.
Explain to students that they are going to make some
predictions about a range of issues associated with
car use and active transport.
Divide students into small groups and give each group
an envelope with a prediction task written on the
outside as shown.
As a group, students write their predictions to their
task on one piece of paper and post it in their
envelope.
Students rotate their envelope to the next group, and
without reading the responses of the previous group,
repeat the process for their new prediction task.
After 3 rotations, students open their current envelope,
summarise key predictions and report back these
findings to the whole class.
64
Worksheet 4.3
Get the facts about cars and the environment
Q2: A car can produce

4 times its weight in
carbon monoxide. True
or false?
A: True - A car can

produce 4 times its
weight in carbon
monoxide.
Q3: More than half of

WA children are driven
to school. True or false?
A: True - More than two out

of three WA children are
driven to and from school
each day, even though many
live within two kilometres
(10 minutes cycling or 20
minutes walking) of school.
Q4: What are greenhouse

gases?
A: Greenhouse gases are

gases that build up in
the atmosphere and
stop the suns rays from
escaping. Too many
of these gases are not
good because the planet
warms up too much.
A: True - Half of all

trips people make in
cars in Perth are less
than 5 kms in distance.
Q1: Half of all trips in

Perth are less than 5kms.
True or false?
Q5: It is safer to drive to A: False - Driving to

school than walk. True or school adds more cars
around the school
false?
making the roads
less safe for children.
Walking is a safer
option.
65
66
Worksheet 4.3
Q6: Do car exhausts

cause pollution?
A: Yes - Car exhausts

are made up of carbon
dioxide and other
wastes gases that pollute
our air.
Q7: Walking and riding

to school helps make the
community safer. True
or false?
A: True - When more

people walk and ride
to school more people
are out and about and
people feel safer.
Q8: Without the

greenhouse effect the
earth would not be
warm enough for human
animal and plant life.
True or false?
A: True - The greenhouse

effect is important. This
is when the suns energy
warms the earth and
reflects most of the heat
back into space. Too
many greenhouse gases
can cause the earth to
overheat though.
Q9: Using public

transport instead of the
car can save you money.
True or false?
A: True - Using public

transport instead of
the private car can save
you money in fuel car
repairs and parking

costs.
Q10: Each kilometre you

walk or cycle instead of
using the car saves up
to half a kilogram of
greenhouse gases. True or
false?
A: True - Each kilometre

of car travel avoided
saves up to half a
kilogram of greenhouse
gas and 25 cents in car
costs.

Choosing active transport takes planning and commitment from the whole family.
Some active transport options are more suited to some families than others.
There are ways to overcome barriers to active transport.
Choosing active transport on a regular basis involves goal setting.
There are several steps required to reach a short-term goal of increasing ones physical
activity.
An adult must always walk or ride to or from school with students under 10 years.
Topic 5
Active transport challenge

Learning experience 1: Leave the car behind for a day
Key message: There are people who can help you be active.
Suggested
for K-Year 1
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Choosing active transport takes planning and

commitment from the whole family.
Practice planning to walk to or from school one day

a week.
Some active transport options are more suited to

some families than others.
Share attitudes about using active transport.
There are ways to overcome barriers to active

transport.
An adult must always walk or ride to or from
school with you.
Activity 1
Re-read Matildas Morning Adventures to students.
Discuss:
Matilda came to school a different way each day
and often with different members of her family.
Can you think of reasons for this? Time available;
availability of the Walking School Bus; parents
work schedule; weather conditions.
What planning would Matilda and her parents
have had to do before she went to school each
morning? Get up early enough to walk/cycle;
plan a safe route to school; check helmet and bike;
check bus timetable.
Who could help you with this planning?
Whose idea was it for Matilda not to come to
school by car?
Encourage students to think of logistical problems

such as working parents; busy roads; younger
siblings; distance; lack of time; catch school bus.
White board responses to last question. Students
think about their own family and choose a problem
they think they may encounter and conduct a think,
pair, share with a partner on:
How could you overcome this problem so you
could walk to school? Drive part of the way and
walk the rest; arrange to go with another adult who
lives close by; choose a safer route to walk; get
up earlier; walk on a day that mum or dad might
not be working; walk at the same time as a family
member when it is more convenient.
Students draw a picture of their solution and write or
scribe their solution under the picture.
Home activity: Students explain their picture to their
family and discuss the possibility of walking to school
one day next week.
Did Matilda like this idea?

Would it have been harder for Matildas parents to
walk/cycle to school with her if she didnt like the
idea of not going by car?
What do you think of the idea of walking to school
with your mum or dad or another adult?
Do you think walking to school might be easier for
some families than others? Why/Why not?
67

Large scrap book and a sheet of paper per student.
Set your children on the right path: a guide

to promoting walking and cycling to school
pamphlets. Available at: www.heartfoundation.org.
au/parentcampaign or ph: 1300 362 787
Activity 2
Brainstorm Places in the community where people
exercise i.e. footpath, shared path, park, pool, oval,
courts, gym, beach, river.
Have two students cooperate to paint/draw a picture
of one of these places. Label paintings and display,
allowing sufficient space for voting underneath each
painting.
Using a smiley face symbol, ask students to vote by
drawing this symbol in highlighter next to their familys
favourite place to exercise. Create a class big book
from the paintings.
Brainstorm People in the community who can help
you stay physically active e.g. teacher; parents; other
family members; friends; sporting coaches; local
service clubs.
Calculate in minutes roughly how much time students
spend in physical activity at school e.g. sport, recess,
lunch, class games.
Explain that to stay healthy children need 60 minutes
of huff and puff exercise every day.
Brainstorm ways of finding more time to increase this
number. For example:
Walk to and from school.
Watch less TV.
Take the dog for a walk every day after school.
Kick the footy or throw a netball with someone in
my family every day.
Jump on the trampoline every day.
Dance to music or music videos every day.
Help out with farm work
Students choose one option and draw a picture of
themselves engaging in this activity.
68
Worksheet 5.1: Leave the car behind
Activity 3
Ask students to indicate who walks to school already.
Explain that the school is trying to increase this
number by asking parents or another trusted adult to
walk to school with them at least one day next week.
Home activity: Students take the pamphlet and
Worksheet 5.1: Leave the car behind and return it to
school by the end of the week.
According to the returned worksheets, are there any
students who are unable to take part? Try to arrange
alternative solutions.
Follow up activity: Using a sharing circle, students
discuss:
Were you able to walk to school one day last
week?
If you did, who and what helped you achieve this?
If you didnt, can you think of some reasons why
this may have been too difficult to achieve?
How have you, your family and our community
benefited from you walking to school? They and
their family have got more exercise; more alert for
school; spent time with parents or grandparents;
spent time with dog; less traffic congestion around
our school; improved air quality around our school.
Students write a storyboard or procedural text to
describe their journey, or a time they exercised with
their family if they were unable to walk to school.
Leave the car behind
Worksheet 5.1
Dear family,
The National Physical Activity Guidelines state that to stay healthy, children:
need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.
should not spend more than two hours a day using electronic media for entertainment
e.g. computer games, TV, internet, particularly during day light hours.
To help your child get the right amount of physical activity to grow and develop, and to help
improve road safety around our school, we are encouraging active transport. Active transport is
when you use physical activity to travel somewhere e.g. walking and cycling to and from school.
Please note that all students under 10 years should be accompanied by an adult at all
times and we recommend that you walk to school with younger students rather than ride.
Should you choose to ride with your younger child, we recommend that you only use shared
paths or footpaths and walk your bikes across all roads. Take particular care near driveways,
gateways and intersections. Please remember to always wear a correctly fitted helmet.
To kick-start this program, we are hoping that your child can walk to school at least one day
next week, or for older students, set some goals to walk to school with an adult more regularly.
Please indicate below the day/s you or another trusted adult could walk with your child to school
next week:
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Some skills that you can remind your child of while on your walk:
Remember to always hold an adults hand when crossing the road. Alternatively your child
could hold onto a siblings pram or your bag.
Remember to always walk on footpaths or shared paths if provided.
Remember to Stop, Look, Listen, Think when crossing the road:
Stop back from the kerb or road edge.
Look for traffic coming from both sides of the road.
Listen for traffic coming.
Think is it safe to cross the road? If its not, start the process again.
Cross with an adult or older person, holding hands.
Remember to check driveways for vehicles.
Remember to cross the road together where you can see traffic and traffic can see you.
There are some places that are safer to cross such as crosswalks,
straight stretches of road, traffic signals, over and underpasses.
There are safer routes to walk to and from school tell your child/ren
why you have chosen the route you have.
Thank you for encouraging your child to become

more physically active. Children with physically
active parents as role models are more likely to
be physically active themselves.
69

Learning experience 2: Planning for active transport
Key message: Choosing active transport takes planning and commitment from the
whole family.
Suggested
for Year 2
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Choosing active transport takes planning and

commitment from the whole family.
Practice planning to use active transport regularly.

Share attitudes about using active transport.
Some active transport options are more suited to

your family than others.
transport.
school with you.
Things I would need to plan
Things an adult would need to plan
Do jobs and get ready on

time to leave
Wake you up in time to do

jobs and get ready on time
Wear clothes suitable for

the weather
Get other children in family

ready in time
Remember to hold an
adults hand
Plan a safe route to school
Worksheet 5.2: Planning for active transport
Activity 1
Explain that to help students get the recommended
60 minutes of huff and puff physical activity they
need every day to grow and develop, and to help
improve road safety around their school, the school is
encouraging walking and cycling to and from school
i.e. active transport.
Re-read Matildas Morning Adventures to students.
Ask students to recall the order of the different types
of active transport Matilda used e.g. Monday she
walked with her mum, Tuesday she rode with her
mum etc. Whiteboard these.
Assign a day of the week to each pair of students and
ask them to draw a T chart labelled:
Things I would need to plan
Things an adult would need to plan
Remember to Stop Look

Listen Think
Help plan a safe route to
school
Allow time for you to practice

Stop Look Listen Think
Allow time for you to practice
looking for a safe place to
cross
Students report their findings to the whole class.

Discuss:
Do you think some types of active transport would
be easier to plan than others? Why?
Do you think some types of active transport would
be safer than others? Why? Explain that riding to
school is not recommended for children their age.
Should their family choose to ride, they should only
use shared paths or footpaths and walk their bikes
across all roads.
Which type of active transport do you think would
suit your family? Why?
Students are to imagine they are using the mode of

active transport assigned to them and think about
the planning involved to ensure this way of getting to
school is safe and fun. Model a walking example:
70

Can you predict anything that might stop you from
walking to school? Encourage students to think
of logistical problems such as distance, working
parents, busy roads, younger siblings, lack of time.
How could you overcome these problems? Drive
part of the way and walk the rest, arrange to go
with another adult who lives close by, choose a
safer route to walk, get up earlier, walk on a day
that Mum or Dad might not be working.
Students choose the active transport that they think
they would be most likely to try with their family
and complete Worksheet 5.2: Planning for active
transport.
to promoting walking and cycling to school.
Pamphlets. Available at: www.heartfoundation.org.
au/parentcampaign or ph: 1300 362 787
Worksheet 5.2: Planning for active transport
Worksheet 5.1: Leave the car behind on pg 70
Activity 2
Home activity:
Students take the Worksheet 5.2 home and discuss
with their family. Send the pamphlet and Worksheet
5.1 home to complement this activity.
Follow up activity:
Using a sharing circle, students discuss:
Were you able to walk to school one day last
week?
How did planning what to do before, during and
after help you?
benefited from you walking to school? They and
their family have got more exercise; more alert for
school; spent time with parents or grandparents;
spent time with the dog; less traffic congestion
around their school; improved air quality around
their school.
Students write letters to explain the benefits of the
schools active transport program. Submit some to the
local newspaper with relevant photos and some into
the school newsletter or website.
71
Planning for active transport
Worksheet 5.2
Walking and riding to school can be fun.

To stay safe and have fun you need to plan ahead.
Things to remember
Things to remember
Things to remember after
before I ............... to school
during my ........... to school
I .......................... to school
Record how you came to school every day this week:'

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
What did you enjoy the most about ................... to school?

_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
72

Learning experience 3: Setting active transport goals
Key message: Choosing active transport takes goal setting and commitment.
Suggested
for Year 3
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Choosing active transport on a regular basis

involves goal setting.
Raise awareness of the amount of physical activity

in their daily lives.
There are several steps required to reach a shortterm goal of increasing ones physical activity.
Make decisions and practice setting short-term

goals to be more physically active.
Choosing active transport on a regular basis takes

planning and commitment from the whole family.
Plan strategies to achieve these short-term goals.

transport.
Consider factors that may influence short-term

goals to be more active.

school with you.
Worksheet 5.3: Choosing active transport
to promoting walking and cycling to school.
Pamphlets available free at: www.heartfoundation.
org.au/parentcampaign or ph: 1300 362 787
Worksheet 5.1: Leave the car behind on pg 70
Activity 1
Explain that to help students get the recommended
60 minutes of huff and puff physical activity they
need every day to grow and develop, and to help
improve road safety around their school, the school is
encouraging walking and cycling to and from school
i.e. active transport.
Calculate in minutes roughly how much time students
spend in physical activity at school e.g. sport, recess,
lunch, class games.
Brainstorm ways of finding more time to increase this
number. For example:
Walk to or from school each day.
Take the dog for a walk every day after school.
Ask Mum or Dad to drop you further away from
school and walk the last leg of the trip
Kick the footy or throw a netball with someone in

my family every day.
Jump on the trampoline every day.
Dance to music or music videos every day.
Explain that walking or cycling to school is an easy
and fun way to get around 20 minutes of physical
activity each day.
Students complete the first table on Worksheet 5.3:
Choosing active transport to monitor how many
minutes of physical activity the students are getting by
commuting to and from school each day with a family
member or older class buddy.
Record findings on a class graph at the front of the
room and discuss how the results could be improved
or changed.
Students think of a short-term goal that they could
achieve over the next couple of weeks to increase
their physical activity by 20 minutes a day. The goal
can involve any physical activity, but it MUST involve
at least one day of active transport. They record their
goal on the worksheet.
Students discuss with a partner things they may need
to achieve this goal e.g. help from family, special
equipment, better time management.
Walk to the school bus stop
73

Hear feedback as a class. Whiteboard some of the
common strategies to achieve each goal. Students
add the appropriate strategies to their worksheet.
Model a goal explaining that achieving a goal is often
easier if broken down into small steps.
For example, taking the dog for a walk choose a set
time of the day that suits Mum or Dad; remind them
before hand; get lead, plastic bag and dog; wait at the
front door for an adult.
Students break their own goals into small steps; write
or draw these steps; and then take home to share with
family.
To monitor the progress of the goals, keep a single
class graph constructed from a tally, showing how
much physical activity the class does at school, and
then another for at home activity each day.
An earlier graph can be completed prior to this goal
setting activity to make comparisons. Allow each
student to colour in their increase to encourage
responsibility and ownership.
Discuss:
Were you able to get an extra 20 minutes of
physical activity every day?
Which part of your physical activity goal was the
easiest to achieve e.g. walking the dog, walking to
school?
What do you think the school could do to make
walking and cycling easier for you and your family?
Why is it important for you to always walk or ride to
school with an adult and not by yourself?
benefited from choosing active transport last
week? They and their family have got more
exercise; more alert for school; spent time with
parents or grandparents; spent time with dog; less
traffic congestion around our school; improved air
quality around our school.
Follow up activity: Students could repeat the goal
setting activity the following week, but include two
days of active transport for the week.
74
Worksheet 5.3
Record how much physical activity you

did last week coming to and from school:
MINUTES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO THE NEAREST FIVE MINUTES

Car = 0 Walk Bike
Public
transport
Other
MONDAY
To school
(morning)
From school
(afternoon)
TUESDAY
To school
From school
WEDNESDAY
To school
From school
THURSDAY
To school
From school
Please turn over
75
Worksheet 5.3
FRIDAY
To school
From school
TOTAL
TOTAL MINUTES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FROM
ALL TYPES OF ACTIVE TRANSPORT
76
How did
you go
achieving
your goal
each day?
Total
Type of
physical
activity
and time
- to the
nearest five
minutes
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
Set a goal to increase your physical activity by 20 minutes each day

over the next week.
FRIDAY

Worksheet 5.3 continued
77
78

We have a stronger dependence on private cars for transport than our grandparents and
this has had a major impact on our health, fitness, air quality, and physical and natural
environments.
Most WA children are driven to and from school each day even though they live close to
school (within 10 minutes cycling or 20 minutes walking distance).
Peoples travel choices impact on their health, their community and the environment.
Active transport (walking, cycling, Walking School Bus, public transport) is a better
alternative to car use in some transport situations.
There are a range of factors including convenience, personal satisfaction, cost, efficiency,
time and resources which influence travel behaviour change.
Car use is part of the Australian culture and encouraging more active transport will require
a cultural shift.
There are important long-term benefits of reducing our reliance on cars at individual,
community, city, and global levels.
Topic 1
Setting the scene

Learning experience 1: Travel now and then
Key message: The car has changed our lifestyles and our communities.
Suggested
for Year 4
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
We have a stronger dependence on private cars

for transport than our grandparents and this has
had a major impact on our health, fitness, air
quality, and physical and natural environments.
Share opinions about active transport.

Identify more than one option in relation to
transport choices.
Most WA children are driven to and from school

each day, even though they live close to school.
Active transport including walking, cycling,
Walking School Bus and public transport is a
better alternative to car use in some transport
situations.
Worksheet 1.1: To drive or not to drive
Activity 1
Explain Worksheet 1.1: To drive or not to drive to
students and give students a week to complete.
Create a graph to show class results.
Discuss:
What was the most common type of transport that
you used?
Why was this the most popular choice? Car will
probably be most popular choice. Responses may
include: convenience, destination was too far, too
hot/wet to walk, use car out of habit.
What was the least common type of transport?
Why?
Which types of transport would help you keep fit?

Explain that these are called active transport and
that active transport is when people increase their
physical activity as a way to get from one place to
another.
Why is it good to use types of transport other than
the car to get to school? Save petrol money,
less congestion on our roads, less greenhouse
gas emissions, better for our health and fitness,
more alert and ready to learn, fun to mix with other
people.
What do you think our school could do to
encourage families to use active transport to travel
to and from school?
In groups, students collate the findings from these
questions and write a paragraph to put on the school
webpage or in the school newsletter.
How do you think our reliance on the car will affect

our health and fitness and the environment?
Consider environmental issues such as air quality,
traffic congestion, loss of flora and fauna to cater
for car parks, more roads, freeways etc.
What sort of things will decide how we travel to
school? Distance, weather, availability may
influence travel modes. Explain that most WA
children are driven to and from school each day
even though they live close to school.
79

Activity 2
In groups, students devise a set of questions that can
be collated to form a class questionnaire to find out
about the following:
Modes of transport have changed over the last 50
years. Has our greater reliance on the car affected
our health and fitness, the look and feel of our
communities, and the environment?
Students use the final class questionnaire to interview
an older person grandparent, neighbour or friend.
Local retirement villages may assist with this activity.
Possible questions could be:
Did your family own a car and if so how many?
How did you get to school?
What other sorts of transport did you use?
Where did you shop corner shops, supermarkets
or big shopping centres?
Were there home deliveries of any food?
How has the car affected the development of your
town/suburb?
Did you worry about pollution and the environment
when you were young?
Students could video or record the interview, or
prepare a written summary of their findings.
80
80
To drive or not to drive
Worksheet 1.1
Record where you travelled (destination) and how you travelled each day for every trip
that you made.
Example
Destination
school
How I travelled
car
Destination
home
How I travelled
walked
Destination
basketball
How I travelled
car
Destination
home
How I travelled
car
Destination
shops
How I travelled
walked
Destination
home
How I travelled
walked
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN
Shade in the graph below to record your total number for each type of transport.
30
28
26
Number of
trips
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
Total
car
walking
cycling
public transport
other
81
To drive or not to drive
Worksheet 1.1
Reflect on your results:

What was your most common type of transport? __________________
What was your least common type of transport? __________________
What were the main purposes that you and your family used a car?
1.
________________________________________
2.
________________________________________
3.
________________________________________
4.
________________________________________
5.
________________________________________
Which car trips do you think were most important and why?
1.
_____________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________
Imagine your familys car or cars had broken down all last week.
How could you have travelled differently from a car?
Car use:
Alternative transport:
1.
e.g. to and from school
walking
2.
_____________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________________
6.
_____________________________________________________
Were there some trips that you would not have been able to make
without a car? Why/Why not?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
82

Learning experience 2: Factors that influence travel behaviour change
Key message: Active transport is a good option to travel which needs planning ahead.
For students
Key understandings:
We have a strong dependence on private cars
with most WA children being driven to and from
school each day, even though most live close to
school, within a 10 minute cycle or 20 minute walk.
Car use has had a major impact on our health
and fitness, air quality, and physical and natural
environments.
Suggested
for Year 5
students
Key skills:
Monitor own familys use of the car and consider
opportunities where more active transport may be
possible.
Share reasons for making decisions about
alternatives to current travel habits with others.
There are a range of factors including

convenience, personal satisfaction, cost,
efficiency, time and resources that influence travel
behaviour change.
First page of Worksheet 1.1: To drive or not to
drive on pg 82
Google Earth - http://www.google.com/earth/
index.html
Activity 1
Explain first page of Worksheet 1.1: To drive or not
to drive.
Give students a week to complete.
Create a graph to show class results.
Scan a street directory map of the local suburb/town
or locate the neighbourhood on Google Earth. Using
a data projector or interactive whiteboard, students
choose five destinations from their worksheet where
a car was used. Estimate the distance of each
destination from their homes.
use active transport next time e.g. convenience,

personal satisfaction, cost, efficiency, time, weather
and resources.
Discuss:
What are some advantages of using a car for
these trips? Convenient, fast, not dependent on
weather, not dependent on availability.
What are some disadvantages of using a car to
take these trips? Reduction of physical activity
and fitness, greenhouse gas emissions, traffic
congestions, cost of fuel and maintenance, lack of
community interaction, frustration and road rage,
loss of income for corner deli's when people drive
to larger shopping centres.
Which of the alternative types of transport that
you have identified would be better for the
environment? Why?
Check the distance. Is the distance under 2kms?

you have identified would help keep you fit and
healthy? Why?
Describe how the trip to each destination could

have been completed using an alternative type of
transport i.e. active transport.

you have identified would provide opportunities for
community interaction?
Describe reasons for originally choosing to

complete this trip in a car.
Students develop a pamphlet, poster or PowerPoint

presentation which could be displayed in the school
foyer. The poster will outline the positive reasons for
Using the scale, students:
Describe factors that might influence the choice to
83

using active transport and suggest ways for families to
reduce their dependency on the car.
Two prepared signs: Agree and Disagree placed
at either end of the classroom to represent a
continuum.
Activity 2
Students participate in a values continuum to explore
their values about car use and active transport.
When they have moved to their chosen place on the
continuum that best represents their opinion, they
must explain to a partner why they chose to stand
where they did.
With their partner they need to think of one question
to ask someone who chose a different end of the
continuum to clarify why they took the position they
did.
Value Statements:
I think that cars are a necessary part of our
lifestyle.
I think that every family should just be allowed to
own one car.
I think that using active transport e.g. walking,
cycling, and using public transport is too much
effort for short trips.
Choosing to walk to school every day would be an
easy option for me.
The main reason I would choose to walk to school
every day would be to improve my fitness and my
health.
The main reason I would choose to walk to
school every day would be to improve the traffic
congestion around the school and improve the air
quality.
My family would use public transport if there were
more services near our home.
Roads need to be more pedestrian and cyclist
friendly to encourage more people to walk and
cycle.
84
84

Learning experience 3: The car as part of Australian culture
Key message: We can make a difference to changing our car culture.
Suitable
for Year 6-7
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Peoples travel choices impact on their health,

their community and the environment.
Practice communicating about the wider benefits of

active transport beyond the personal.
Car use is part of an Australian culture and

encouraging more active transport use will require
a cultural shift.
Critically evaluate ways to encourage more active

transport use.
There are important long-term benefits of

reducing our reliance on cars at individual,
community, city, and global levels.
Discuss:
Worksheet 1.2: Lets jump in the car
Why were all these journeys done by car?
Access to: www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/

GVGPublicUI/home.aspx
How else could people have travelled to complete

these purposes? Explain that active transport is
the term used to describe people increasing their
physical activity as a means of transport.
www.carbonneutral.com.au/calc/?type=ind
Activity 1
Explain that cars play a large part in Australians lives
and have become part of our culture. It is surprising
how often we just jump in the car to go somewhere.
Working in small groups, students develop mind-maps
to explore the role of the car in relation to aspects of
Australian culture:
The car and the look and feel of our community
environment.
The car and what we spend our money on.
The car and how we spend our leisure time.
The car and the jobs/businesses it creates.
The car and its impact on our safety.
Australian's use of the car compared to other
countries.
Explain Worksheet 1.2: Lets jump in the car. Over
one week, each student records the purposes and
distances of all the trips done by the family, whether
the student is a passenger or not. At the end of the
week they tally the kilometres travelled each day and
calculate the grand total for the week's travel.
How many different types of active transport can

you think of?
As a class, students:
Summarise the various purposes of car travel
during the week.
Total the distances travelled for all members of the
class.
Calculate total greenhouse gas emissions
generated, using either the web-based Carbon
Neutral or Green Vehicle Guide calculator (as
shown).
Record the transport alternatives that could have
been used considering the distances involved.
Each student chooses three of the trips on their record
and:
Suggests how they could have travelled using an
alternative mode of transport.
Completes a PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting Point
analysis) for each choice of travel, considering
ease of use, efficiency, environmental impact, cost,
health benefits etc.
85

Worksheet 1.3: Getting the facts on transport
use in Australia
Activity 2
Explain that there are important long-term benefits of
reducing our reliance on cars at individual, community,
and global levels. Given the strong reliance on the
car in Australian culture, encouraging more active
transport use will require a cultural shift.
Discuss the statistics presented on Worksheet 1.3:
Getting the facts on transport use in Australia.
Students answer the questions in small groups or
individually in written form.
In pairs, students imagine and record possible
consequences to our health, our community and the
environment if we all made small changes to our
travel habits.
86
86
Lets jump in the car
Worksheet 1.2
To see how much your family relies on the car, use the table below to
complete the sections for Distance and Purpose for EACH car trip on
EACH day of the week over the next week for everyone in your family.
A return journey is a separate trip.
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Sun
Distance (kms)
Single journey
Purpose
Distance (kms)
Single journey
Purpose
Distance (kms)
Single journey
Purpose
Distance (kms)
Single journey
Purpose
Distance (kms)
Single journey
Purpose
Distance (kms)
Single journey
Purpose
Total kms
87
Getting the facts on transport use in Australia
Worksheet 1.3
Transport used by Australians to get to their place of work/school or full-time study in 2009
type of transport
Car= 80%
Public transport=14%
Walk =4%
2. How do you think peoples travel

choices impact on:
Cycle = 2%
10
1. Why do you think most

Australians drive by car to their
place of work or full-time study
rather than choose more active
transport?
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
percentage
Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/ 26 May 2010
their health?
their community?
the environment?
Active Transport use among WA primary students - 2008

reported participating in active
transport in the past 7 days
reported actively commuting
to school the previous day
Source: Move and Munch Final

Report. The Child and Adolescent
Physical Activity and Nutrition
Survey (CAPANS) 2008. Western
Australia: Western Australian
Government; 2010.
reported actively commuting home

from school on the previous day
10
20
30
40
50
1. How do you think these statistics would compare to your class or your school?
2. Why do you think so few primary aged students participate in active transport?
3. In what ways could your school encourage more students to use active transport to and from school
each day?
Reasons for using public transport on usual trip to work/school or full-time study - 2009
Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/ 26 May 2010
Only 14% of Australians chose to use

public transport to get to their place of
work or full time study in 2009.
Look at the reasons people gave for
using public transport on the graph on
the left.
88
What do you think the government,

local communities and businesses
could do to encourage more people
to use public transport rather than use
their car?

It is not recommended that children under 10 years walk to school without an adult.
There are rules for safe pedestrian behaviour when using footpaths, shared paths,
carparks and crossing roads.
The Stop, Look, Listen, Think search strategy needs to be revised to keep children safer
when crossing driveways, gateways, intersections and roads.
Children should cross the road where they can see traffic and traffic can see them
making eye contact with the driver is important.
There are some places that are safer to cross such as crosswalks, signal crossings,
warden controlled crossings, roads with median strips, straight stretches of road, over and
underpasses.
The road environment is volatile. Anticipating and reacting to hazards is a crucial aspect of
safer road use.
It is important to identify potentially dangerous crossing situations and to move to a safer
place to cross if necessary. This is especially so when unsure of the speed of the traffic,
the time it takes to cross, visibility in all directions, road and weather conditions.
Many factors influence our decision making strategies as a road user.
There are safer routes to walk to and from school, and within the local area.
Topic 2
Safer pedestrians
Generally, children under 10 years of age are at risk as pedestrians because they have one
third of the peripheral vision of adults; are still developing directional hearing; are easily
distracted; and have difficulty judging speed and distance of oncoming traffic.

Learning experience 1: Stop, Look, Listen, Think in more challenging situations
Key message: Assess the risk then apply Stop, Look, Listen, Think.
Suggested
for Year 4
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
It is not recommended that children under 10

years walk to school without an adult.
Practice identifying potentially dangerous crossing

situations, assess risks, decide on safest places
to cross and apply the Stop, Look, Listen, Think
search strategy to cross safely.
Hold an adults hand when crossing the road.

such as crosswalks, signal crossings, warden
controlled crossings, roads with median strips,
straight stretches of road, over and underpasses.
It is important to identify potentially dangerous

crossing situations and to move to a safer place
to cross if necessary.
may need to be applied many times before it is
safe to cross.
Cross the road where you can see traffic and
traffic can see you making eye contact with the
driver is important.
Activity 1
Brainstorm places where it may be difficult to cross
the road, especially on the way to and from school
such as:
Crests of hills.
Curves and bends.
At a roundabout.
Between parked cars.
In heavy traffic.
Near cars reversing from driveways or entering car
parks.
At traffic lights without pedestrian signals.
Wide roads with no median strip.
Near signs or obstacles on a footpath or shared
path.
After getting off a bus.
Allocate one situation from the brainstorm to each pair
of students.
Students discuss the safest behaviour needed to
cross the road in their situation and present their
safest decision either as a role play or as a drawing.

This may need to be modelled first for students so
they understand that moving to a safer place to cross
is an option. Listen to feedback.
Students join with another pair and suggest What if
factors that may tempt them not to adhere to the safe
behaviour that they have planned for their situation.
Explain how they would overcome these factors e.g.
What if you are running late? What if its raining? What
if your friend says its OK to go?
Hear feedback and rotate the situations so students
practice making decisions in a range of challenging
situations.
Stress that it is important to:
Make eye contact with the driver before crossing, if
possible.
Recognise when you are crossing a road in an
unsafe situation, and then decide to move to a
safer place to cross.
89

Realise that crossing a road can often take some
time and that it is better to repeat the Stop, Look,
Listen, Think strategy many times until they are
sure it is safe to cross. (See Early Childhood
Worksheet 2.4 on pg 41 to revise this strategy if
students are unfamiliar with it.)
Discuss:
Why is it important to hold an adults hand when
you cross the road?
Where are the safer places to cross the road?
Where you can see traffic and traffic can see
you e.g. crosswalks, signal crossings, warden
What times of the day is the traffic the busiest
around our school?
How does that affect your safety?
Home activity: Students look within their local area
and find a difficult place to cross with their family
and take a digital photo of this location, print it onto
normal paper and write why they chose this location.
Students bring the photos to school and discuss and
display as a class collage, include in the newsletter or
use to make a picture book for younger students.
Worksheet 2.1: Identifying risks
Activity 2
If you were in this situation, what would you do?

Stress that it is important to:
Make eye contact with the driver before crossing, if
possible.
Recognise when you are crossing a road in an
unsafe situation, and then decide to move to a
safer place to cross.
Realise that crossing a road can often take some
time, and that it is better to repeat the Stop, Look,
Listen, Think strategy many times until they are
sure it is safe to cross.
If there is no footpath or shared path, walk as far
away from the edge of the road as possible on the
verge facing the oncoming traffic.
Just because you cross at a place you think is
safe one day, does not mean it will always be safe.
Traffic conditions change.
Students use one of the crossing situations to write
the beginning of a story about a girl or boy walking
to school with their mum, dad, older sibling. Students
introduce their crossing situation in their story and
then swap their story with a partner who must identify
the risks and write the ending by choosing a strategy
that will reduce the characters risks. Students share
their stories with the class or younger students.
This activity has been adapted from Challenges and Choices Middle
In groups, students cut up Worksheet 2.1:

Identifying risks and write the letters R (Road user),
C (Road Conditions) and L (Location) on the back of
corresponding cards to avoid the cards being placed
in the wrong pile.
Students place the cards into their corresponding
pile and turn over the top card of each pile. The
combination of the three cards creates a crossing
situation with its own level of risk. Students repeat
this process until they have five crossing situations,
which they then rank according to their possible level
of pedestrian risk, 5 being the highest.
In their groups students discuss:
What is it about each crossing situation that makes
it safer or more dangerous?
How could you make each situation safer?
90
90
Identifying risks
Worksheet 2.1
Road user = R
Road conditions = C
Location = L
A 6 year old by himself
In wet weather
On a wide road with no

median strip or island
A 12 year old by herself
With no footpath
Between parked cars
A 7 year old with an adult
With sun in drivers eye
On a curve or bend
in the road
#
A 10 year old listening to
an iPod
and by himself
On a fine day
Near the top or

crest of a hill
A 10 year old wearing

bright clothing by herself
Almost dark
At traffic lights without

pedestrian signals
Two 9 year olds walking

home together, walking the
same way they walk
every day
At peak hour with

lots of traffic
On a straight
stretch of road
A 5 year old with a 12

year old brother
When there is
very little traffic
At a crosswalk
A 10 year old wearing

dark clothing by himself
Where cars are

travelling very fast
At a road with a lolly-pop

traffic warden
An adult
Around lots of cars either

parking or pulling into
traffic
On a wide road with a

median strip or island
91

Learning experience 2: Have I got time to cross?
Key message: Dont cross the road if you are unsure about the speed of traffic or how
far away a car is from you.
Suggested
for Year 5
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Vehicle speed and distance from the pedestrian

are factors that must be considered when
deciding if it is safe to cross the road.
Practice identifying vehicle speed and stopping

distances, safe crossing distances. Decide on
safer routes to walk to and from school.

such as crosswalks, signal crossings, warden

crossing situations and move to a safer place
to cross if necessary, especially when unsure
of the speed of the traffic, the time it takes to
cross, visibility in all directions, weather and road
conditions.
may need to be applied many times before it is
safe to cross, especially around heavy traffic.
Separate hand drawn signs - 40km/h, 60km/h and
80km/h
Activity 1
Ask students to consider their knowledge of speed
and distance in relation to cycling and skating.
Discuss:
Do you leave it till the last second before you put
on your brakes?
What happens if you do? Consequences such as
injury, damage to bike, nervousness about riding
again.
How do you know when to start braking?
Does it take some time between thinking about
braking and actually stopping?
Explain to students that the distance taken for a
vehicle to stop in an emergency depends on the
92
drivers thinking time and braking time, as well as the

weather and road conditions:
Thinking time + braking time = stopping distance
Have students guess the emergency stopping
distance for a car travelling 40km/h, 60km/h and
80km/h.
Place the prepared signs at the correct stopping
distances so they can compare their estimations:
Speed
Stopping distance
40km/h
17.4 metres
60km/h
32 metres
80km/h
53.6 metres
Remind students that these are times for normal

passenger vehicles and that the time would increase
for semi-trailers and road trains.
Take students to common crossing places around the
school.

Discuss:
Presuming that cars travelling around our school
when you are coming and going are travelling at
40km/h, how long will it take these cars to stop in
an emergency?
How far back from the crosswalk, warden crossing
or other safe crossing places would that be? Find
a landmark for students to note and repeat the
process for a car travelling at 60km/h.
What things might affect the stopping distance?
Type of brakes, condition of road, type of road,
experience and alertness of driver.
Why is it important for pedestrians to know how
long it takes for a car to stop, and that it takes even
longer for trucks and buses to stop?
This activity has been adapted from Challenges and Choices Middle
Parent helpers
Activity 2
Ask students to estimate how long it would take them
to cross a common road used by most students at
their school.
With a partner, students count how long in seconds
it would take for them to cross this road, using a
simulated road marked out somewhere safe. Stress
the importance of Stop, Look, Listen, Think, and
walking straight across the road - not running.
Students check if their estimates were correct and
compare times with other students.
Utilise parent helpers to take small groups of students,
to stand on the footpath or shared path, near popular
crossing points around the school.
When cars approach, ask students to decide at what
point it would still be safe for them to cross the road
and to count the seconds it takes the car to travel from
this point to where they are standing.
safe crossing distance at this point?

What might you do differently next time you cross
the road near the school?
Who else in your family might need to know the
information you have just learnt?
Stress that it is OK for them to change their mind
when preparing to cross the road if they are unsure of:
The speed of the traffic and the time it takes to
cross.
Visibility in all directions.
Weather and road conditions.
Photocopy street directory of local suburb or area.
Mark in the school and known Safety Houses.
Photocopy to A3 one for each student.
http://www.safetyhousewa.org.au/
Photocopy one A2 class map. Class map can also
be developed using:
Whereis online: www.whereis.com
Google Earth: http://earth.google.com
Home activity:
In class, revise with students the safest places to
cross the roads around the school e.g. on straight
stretches of road, at the traffic warden crossing, at
the crosswalk, after the bus has moved away, at the
over/underpass, at the traffic lights, away from the
roundabout.
Students locate their home on the map and
highlight the route they think would be the safest to
walk to and from school, marking in safe places to
cross. Highlight any dangerous areas such as main
roads or streets without footpaths or shared paths.
Ask students to share the map with their families
and make any changes that their family suggests.
Discuss:
Compare this time with the time it took them to cross

the simulated road.
Which were the most common safer places to

cross? Why?
Discuss:
Where are some unsafe places to cross? e.g. near

busy intersections, roundabouts, bends in roads,
on crests of hills.
Are you allowing enough time to safely cross a

road when traffic is approaching?
What do you have to do if you are not?
How can you use landmarks to help you estimate a
93

Does your safer route go near a Safety House?
What other safe pedestrian behaviours do you
need to consider when you take this safer route to
school? Walk the safer route discussed with their
family; use Stop, Look, Listen, Think every time;
make eye contact with the driver when crossing;
leave a safe distance between them and the
vehicle when they cross; think about what might
obstruct the drivers view of them such as parked
cars and shrubs.
Students use a Before, During and After table to

plan safer ways to walk to and from school and share
these with their family. For example:
Discuss the route with my family.
Before
Practice walking the route with my

family.
Know any Safety Houses along
my route.

pick up area?
places safer?
Get permission to walk from my

family.
During
Walk with an older sibling or

parent if I am less than 10 years
old.
Stay on the planned route.
Who walks or uses other active transport to or from

school regularly?
Practice Stop, Look, Listen, Think.

Cross at the safe places I have
identified.

day?
Keep checking for hazards such

as driveways and car parks, and
dont talk to strangers.
After
Let my teacher or parents know if

I had any problems.
Review the route with my family
to let them know if I felt safe at
the crossing points we identified
together.
Continue to use the safer route to
school each time I walk.
Continue to practice Stop,
Look, Listen, Think and cross at
the safer places I identified or
modified.
94
94

Learning experience 3: How safe are the roads around our school?
Key message: Use safe practices to anticipate and react to hazards in the road environment.
Suggested
for Year 6/7
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
The road environment is a changing environment

anticipating and reacting to hazards is a crucial
aspect of safer road use.
Apply knowledge of road rules to make safer

pedestrian decisions.

crossing situations and move to a safer place
to cross if necessary, especially when unsure
of the speed of the traffic, the time it takes to
cross, visibility in all directions, weather and road
conditions.
Many factors influence our decision making
strategies as a road user.
Worksheet 2.2: Road safety issues around our
school
Access the Road Safety around Schools
Guidelines to help identify and address road safety
hazards around your school. www.roadwise.asn.
au/schools or ph: 08 9213 2068 or 08 9213 2066
Activity 1
Develop class mind map of the technologies that
have been developed to encourage safe behaviour
and to keep us safer in the road environment. For
example, traffic lights, pedestrian actuated lights,
speed cameras, breathalysers, reflective road signs,
cats eyes, overtaking lanes, rumble strips, guard
rails, warning signs to warn road users of changed
conditions.
These technologies have been developed over time
by researching best practice in road safety around the
world, and often involve collaboration between many
government agencies. These technologies aim to give
road users time to anticipate and react to hazards and
therefore stay safer.
Stress that the road environment changes every day.

Students need to focus on local changes such as road
works, weather etc. to encourage safe practices and a
positive active transport experience.
There is a strong link between safe road user
behaviour and reduced incidence of road related
trauma and crashes.
Explain that they are going to survey their local
school community for any traffic safety problems and
hazards, and plan for some changes that may be
required to address any hazards they identify.
Students complete Worksheet 2.2: Road safety
issues around our school or devise their own
surveys. In small groups students:
Summarise data in graphs or pie charts.
Choose two issues they think are affecting safety
around the school and develop a plan of action to
change the behaviour or the environment.
Promote any successes/changes in the school
newsletter, local paper or school website.
95

Worksheet 2.3: Pedestrian decisions
Activity 2
Discuss the difference between a split second
decision and a planned decision. Ask students to
give examples of each in a road safety situation e.g.
deciding to run across the road to get a football or
netball that has gone onto the road during training =
split second; choosing a safer place to cross the road
after deciding that the visibility at a roundabout is not
good = planned.
Discuss the consequences of some poor split second
decisions.
Explain that being a road user requires them to make
decisions continually. Some will be easy for them
to make e.g. waiting for the green walk signal to
appear before crossing at a set of lights; and some
will be more difficult e.g. assessing how fast traffic is
travelling as you attempt to cross a straight stretch of
road.
Students complete Worksheet 2.3: Pedestrian
decisions in small groups. Hear feedback.
Discuss:
Who and what might influence you when you make
decisions around roads? Parents, friends, peers,
road safety, media campaigns, your road safety
knowledge and skills, your road safety attitudes.
Would the decisions you made in each problem on
the worksheet have reduced the risk of injury?
Why is it useful to think about and plan decisions
for situations that might happen in real life?
96
96
Road safety issues around our school
Worksheet 2.2
Use this survey to assess the road safety hazards and problems in your school community.
Add any other issues that you think are relevant to your school.
Road safety issue
Comments
Pedestrian behaviour:
Do students Use school crossings?
Obey traffic wardens if available?
Stop and look before crossing?
Cross between parked cars?
Walk straight across the road?
Avoid playing on the road?
Wait until buses have pulled away before crossing the
road?
Have footpaths or shared paths to walk on?
Have to avoid broken, uneven or blocked footpaths or
shared paths?
Cyclist behaviour:
Do students Wear properly fitted helmets?
Ride double dinking another person?
Ride on the footpath or shared path?
Obey road signs and signals around the school?
Ride with an adult up to 10 years old?
Ride safely not too fast, use correct hand signals?
Ride through the staff car park?
Ride across school crossing instead of walk their bike?
Have a safe, dry place to store bicycles and helmets?
Have safe entry points to school grounds away from cars?
Teacher car parking
Do students walk and ride away from the car park?
Do teachers take care when entering and exiting car park?
Parent car parking
Do parents Use the Kiss and Drive bays properly (if available)?
Ensure students get out on the kerb side of the car?
Take care when entering and exiting car park?
Use only the car parks allocated to parents?
Speeding
Is it a problem around the school?
Are some times of the day worse than others?
Traffic congestion
Heavy vehicles on roads around the school
97
Pedestrian decisions
Worksheet 2.3
For each of the situations below decide:

1. What is the problem?
2. Suggest three choices?
3. What are the positive and negative things that could happen with each choice?
4. What do you think the person should do?
Callum is 11 years old. He is on the quiet road
he usually walks down to get to school, when he
notices that the road is closed for road works. The
only other way to get to school is along a busy
highway that does not have a crosswalk close to
the school. What should he do?
Meg and Tessa are 12 years old. They are

walking home from school on the footpath next to
a busy road. Tessa wants Meg to share her iPod,
but Meg knows that she should be listening for
traffic. What should Meg do?
Max is 12 years old and his sister Anne is 10.

They are waiting for the walk signal and the traffic
lights. Max tells Anne it is taking too long and they
should just run across after the next car. What
should Anne do?
Tom is going home with his friend Dans mum.
Dans mum parks on the other side of the road to
the school and yells out for them to quickly run
across the road because she is in a hurry. Tom
knows that it is safer to walk across the crosswalk
further up the road. What should Tom do?
Ella normally crosses her road to get to school at a
cross walk on a straight stretch of road. It is raining
today and she knows she wont be able to catch
the drivers eye to make sure they have seen her
before she crosses. There are traffic lights with a
pedestrian crossing two blocks further down her
street. What should she do?
98

The most common injuries for children who cycle or ride other wheeled devices result from falls.
Correct use of helmets decreases the risk of head injury by 85%.
On average each year in WA, around 500 children are admitted to hospital after falling from a bicycle,
and 300 children from rollerblading, roller-skating and skateboarding accidents.
It is law in WA to wear a helmet carrying the Australian Standards Mark (AS2063) when riding on
the road, a footpath or shared path. This includes children on bikes with training wheels and sitting
in baby seats behind an adult. Peer pressure is a major factor in children not wearing helmets and
protective gear.
A significant number of injuries result from riders not having control of their bicycle. Bicycles need to
be the correct size i.e. child needs to be able to touch the ground with their feet while sitting on the
seat; properly maintained; and fitted with safety features such as reflectors, brakes and bell.
Schools may choose not to encourage the use of skateboards and rip sticks as a mode of active
transport, given the higher risk of injury from lack of helmets and protective gear. Powered mini-bikes
and scooters should not be allowed. The riding of these types of vehicles on public roads is illegal
under current Australian law. Electric bikes can only be ridden by people 16 years and over and can
not legally be ridden on a shared path with the power engaged.
Bike security and bike maintenance are important aspects of being an independent bike user for older
students.
Road rules and safety messages that Middle Childhood children need to be aware of include:
Wear a helmet every trip.
Always ride with an adult and only on footpaths or shared paths if you are under 10 years old.
While vehicles reversing out of private driveways are required to give way, riders need to exercise
extreme care when near driveways, gateways and intersections.
Ride on the left hand side of the footpath or shared path.
Give way to pedestrians at all times.
Travel in single file on all footpaths or shared paths.
Use bike bell around 30 metres before you approach others on a footpath or shared path.
Indicate clearly if you are planning to stop or change direction.
Do not double dink.
Keep your bike in control by keeping at least one hand on the handle bars at all times.
Topic 3
Safer cycling
Children under the age of 10 should not cycle on the road or by themselves because they are still
developing their peripheral vision and hearing. If parents choose to ride with their young child to and
from school, it is recommended to ride on shared paths or footpaths. They should also dismount at all
roads and walk their bikes across the road.

Learning experience 1: Riding comes with responsibilities
Key message: Keep your helmet on and dont ride on the road.
Suggested
for Year 4
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

Practice using assertive responses when others

are encouraging unsafe behaviour.
Bicycles and other wheeled devices should be

regularly checked and maintained.
There are safer places to ride such as parks,
shared paths and footpaths (for riders under 12
years).
Make decisions that reduce the level of risk as a

rider.
Riders under 10 years of age should always

ride with an adult and ride on shared paths or
footpaths.
Peers, friends and family can influence riding
decisions and attitudes.
Students helmets be aware of equity issues in
assuming that all students will have helmets.
What are the main reasons for children crashing

and falling off bikes, skateboards and scooters?
Students may suggest things such as hit a kerb,
slid on wet or gravel path, didnt have control,
distracted, didnt see traffic, just mucking around.
Students review all ideas from the brainstorm and
place the five most common reasons in the centre
circle and share these with the rest of the class.
One large sheet of paper per group marked as

shown above
Worksheet 3.1: Bike and helmet safety check
Activity 1
Brainstorm the types of accessories that could be
used by riders to keep them safer and visible e.g.
helmets, knee and elbow pads, bright clothes, closed
in shoes, florescent vests.
Explain that a correctly fitted helmet will decrease
the risk of a head injury by 85%, and that they must
remember to wear a helmet every trip.
In groups of four, students draw up a placemat on a
large sheet (as shown) and sit so that they are facing
a section on the placemat.
Students write their thoughts on the following question
in their section of the placemat:
Explain to students that most crashes are caused by:

Lack of skills or knowledge.
Unsafe behaviour.
A hazard in the environment.
Ask students to re-assess the ideas in the centre
of their placemat and decide which of the above
categories their suggestions fall into. Hear feedback.
Explain to students that Australia was the first nation
to legislate for compulsory wearing of helmets by
cyclists in 1990.
Organise a fitting session where students with
helmets bring them to school and have them checked
for correct fit. Students use Worksheet 3.1: Bike
and helmet safety check and work with a partner to
check their helmet fit.
Students without helmets need to be paired with
students who have these items.
99

Discuss:
Why is it important to wear a helmet that fits
snuggly and covers your forehead? A helmet that
is too loose or fastened incorrectly may slip off if
they fall off their bike, scooter etc. and increase
their risk of injury. One that does not cover your
forehead and temples does not provide sufficient
protection.
Why have Australian Standards been created for
bike helmets? Ensure that students locate the
AS2063 sticker on their helmet.
Why is it the law in WA that all cyclists must
wear an approved bicycle helmet on roads, bike
paths and other public places such as car parks
and parks? Research shows that a helmet can
reduce the risk of head injury by 85% and brain
injury by 88%. Broken bones mend but when brain
cells are damaged, they die.
Why is it important to wear a helmet every time you
ride a bike, skateboard scooter, rip stick or roller
blades?
Why should you also ride with an adult? Children
under 10 years have poorly developed peripheral
vision and hearing; are still mastering the skills of
cycling; are not clearly visible to drivers.
Why should children your age ride on footpaths
and shared paths rather than on the road? As
above.
Where is it safer for someone your age to ride?
Parks, shared paths and footpaths rather than
busy roads.
Why do you think some children might choose not
to wear a helmet?
What responsibilities come with being a safe rider?
Knowing and using cycling laws correctly; always
wearing a correctly fitted helmet; being courteous
to pedestrians and other riders.
he/she can touch the ground with their toes and reach
the handle bars while sitting on the seat.
Home activity: Students take Worksheet 3.1 home
and check their bike/s with their family. Students bring
back the worksheet and discuss any common findings
and actions that were identified. Stress the importance
of regularly checking and maintaining their bike.
Suggest that students without bikes check neighbours
or friends bikes.
Worksheet 3.2: Rider decisions
Activity 3
In groups, students discuss the scenarios on
Worksheet 3.2: Rider decisions to identify the social
influences that may affect the person involved e.g.
overt peer pressure, or covert internal pressure that
makes you feel like you have to do something to fit
in.
Students discuss:
lack of skills or knowledge
unsafe behaviour or
hazards in the environment that made this
scenario potentially dangerous.
Students complete the worksheet and share their
decisions with the rest of the class.
Discuss:
Would it be hard or easy to say or do the things
you suggested in real life?
When have you been influenced by your friends to
ride unsafely?
Why is it useful to think about and plan decisions
for situations that might happen in real life?
Students can role play their responses to practice
assertive communication.
Childs bike that fits correctly
Activity 2
Explain that when a bike is the correct size for the
rider they have more control over it and are at less
risk of falling or crashing.
Demonstrate how to check for correct size by placing
student who owns the bike on the seat. Showing how
100
100
Bike and helmet safety check
Worksheet 3.2
Dear family,
Did you know that the correct use of bike helmets can decrease the risk of head injury to cyclists by 85%.
For maximum protection, the helmet must fit snuggly, cover the forehead and fasten firmly, with a 2 finger
space between chin strap and chin. To test for correct fit, place your hand on the top of
your childs helmet and try to move it. If it is correctly fitted it should not move forwards,
backwards or sideways.
Just like their helmet, your childs bike needs to fit their body size. A bike is the correct
size if your child can touch the ground with their toes and reach the handle bars while
sitting on the seat.
Remember children under 10 years old are still developing their peripheral (side) vision
and hearing, so should always ride with an adult and ride on footpaths or shared paths.
Please help your child complete the following safety checks:
My helmet
Yes /No
Action
Yes /No
Action
The helmet is undamaged on the outside.

The helmet is neither too loose or too tight.
The helmet covers the forehead.
The chinstrap clip fastens firmly with a two
finger gap between strap and chin.
The straps are not twisted or frayed and the
side straps fit snuggly under each ear.
My bike
The bike is the correct size for me.
I have a horn or a bell that works.
If I have gears, they change smoothly.
Wheels do not turn when the brakes are
applied.
The seat is at the right height, sits flat and
does not tip or twist.
The tyres are pumped firm, not split and
have good tread.
The chain is clean, runs smoothly and is
oiled.
The pedals spin freely.
The handgrips on the handle bars are
secure and have the ends covered.
There are reflectors on the back and front of
the bike; on the wheels; and they are clean.
101
Rider decisions
Worksheet 3.2
For each of the situations below decide:

1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the problem

Suggest three choices
What are the positive and negative things that could happen with each choice?
What do you think the person should do or say?
Charlie is 9 years old and riding with his friends Tom and Jack who are 10 years old.
Tom and Jack are riding on the road, but Charlie knows its safer for them to ride on the
footpath. They yell out to him to join them on the road and stop being such a baby. What
could Charlie do or say?
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Kate is riding with her friend in the park. Her friend says because its so hot they should
take their helmets off. Kate knows that its the law to wear a helmet where ever you are
riding and is worried about hitting her head on the footpath if she falls. What could she
do or say?
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
__________________________________________________
Luke and Matt are 11 years old. Luke is riding to school and Matt is walking. Luke offers
to double dink Matt so they can get to school quicker. Matt knows that this is not a safe
thing to do, but is worried Luke might think hes not cool. What could Matt do or say?
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
102
______________________________

Learning experience 2: Know the rules for safe riding and know safe places to ride
Key message: Knowing the rules and safe places to ride keeps you safer.
Suggested
for Year 5
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Bicycles are considered vehicles under the Road

Traffic Act and cyclists have the same rights and
responsibilities as other road users.
Locate relevant information on safe places to ride

in their neighborhood.

Riders under 10 years of age should always ride

with an adult and ride on footpaths or shared
paths.
Riders under 12 years of age may ride on the
footpath and this is a safer option than the road.
There are a range of rules for safe riding on
shared paths and footpaths away from the road.
One die per group
Worksheet 3.3: Bike quiz
Access www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycling and click
on Frequently asked questions
Activity 1
Place students in groups of six and give them a die
and the following questions:
1. What are three important safety rules to remember
when riding a bike on a shared path or footpath?
2. Why do you think children under 12 years old are
allowed to ride on the footpath?
3. Do you think boys are more likely to take risks
while cycling than girls? Why?
4. Why is it important for children under 10 years to
ride with an adult at all times and ride on footpaths
or shared paths rather than the road?
5. What things do you think would encourage children
to wear bike helmets every time they ride a bike,
scooter or skateboard?
Nominate a student in each group to throw the die

and the student shares their opinions on the question
that corresponds with the number thrown. The die is
then passed to the next member of the group and the
process is repeated until all students have had a turn
and all questions have been covered.
In pairs, students complete Worksheet 3.3: Bike
quiz to test their knowledge of cycling rules. Using
the Department of Transports website (as shown)
students locate correct information and mark their
quiz. Retain quiz sheets and results.
Using the website, students develop:
Five important facts or rules that someone their age
need to know before riding to school with an adult.
Five important facts or rules an adult would need to
know before riding their bike on the road.
Students share findings and then re-do the bike quiz.
Compare results with those attained in the initial
activity.
6. Do you think it would be easy to organise to ride

to school a couple of days each week? Why/Why
not?
103

Activity 3
Access to www.transport.wa.gov.au/
travelsmartmaps for TravelSmart Maps of many
areas, showing shared paths in the local area.
Using the information about cycling laws and safe

routes to cycle in their neighbourhood from the
previous activities, students work in groups to develop
an advertising campaign to inform young people of
some key cycling safety messages for their school.
The advertising campaign will also encourage
students to ride to school with their parents.
Access to www.transport.wa.gov.au/cyclinglaw for

Cycling and the Law.
One copy of local area map per student. Use
Whereis online www.whereis.com or Google Earth
on earth.google.com
Activity 2
Discuss:
Where are the safest places for people your age to
cycle?
Why is it important to stay away from busy roads
with lots of traffic?
Using a map of the local area and the TravelSmart
Access Guides (available online as shown), students
mark all the places away from main roads and roads
without footpaths that they consider would be safe to
ride their bikes, scooters and skateboards. Include
parks, shared paths, skate parks and footpaths away
from busy roads.
Each group uses PowerPoint or other media to

present their ideas in storyboard fashion with slogans,
graphics and animations explained.
The class, acting as advisors to the advertising
agency boss (the teacher), watches the presentations
and decides which would be the most effective in
promoting an increase in safe cycling to and from the
school.
Display the campaigns in the library or school foyer.
Students could write to the local council asking for

more shared paths and footpaths to be built that can
connect places so that they can ride there, away from
busy roads.
Families can also be encouraged to take part in the
following events:
Cycle to School Day on the Wednesday during
the annual Bike Week in March www.transport.
wa.gov.au/cycletoschoolday or ph: 08 9216 8306
National Ride to School Day - http://www.bwa.org.
au/riding-to-school/
Bike to Work Challenge an annual six-week
challenge in September/October open to all WA
workplaces, including primary and secondary
schools (teachers and staff, students and parents)
as part of Cycle Instead in Spring.
www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycleinsteadinspring or
ph: 08 9216 8556
Home activity: Students plan a safe route to ride to
school. Take their map home to discuss the possibility
of riding with a parent to school one day next week.
104
104
Bike quiz
Worksheet 3.3
1. Up to what age can you ride your bike on the footpath?

________________________________________________
2. A bike must have at least how many brakes to be legal?
________________________________________________
3. Do you have to wear a helmet if you are just riding on a
shared path or footpath?
________________________________________________
4. Can you use electric powered bikes or scooters on shared paths?
_________________________________________________________________
5. What does the sign NO BICYCLES mean?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
6. What types of warning devices must all bikes have on them to be legal?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
7. What is the law about hands on the handle bars?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
8. What are some special rules for shared paths and footpaths?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
9. A bike must have a rear reflector to be legal. True or
false?
_______________________________________________
10. What must a rider do to cross a rail track or pedestrian
crossing legally?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
11. How old does someone have to be before they can ride with a child in a child
carrier seat? ___________________________________________________
12. Does a child in a child carrier seat have to wear a helmet?
_________________________________________________________________
105

Learning experience 3: Finding safer routes to cycle to school
Key message: Ride the agreed safety route to school and always look for hazards.
Suggested
for Year 6/7
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Bicycles are considered vehicles under the Road

Traffic Act and cyclists have the same rights and
responsibilities as other road users.
Locate relevant information to cycle and use public

transport in their neighbourhood.

Riders under 12 years of age may ride on the
footpath and this is a safer option than the road.
Bike security and bike maintenance are important
aspects of being an independent bike user.
Access to www.transport.wa.gov.au/cyclinglaw
Activity 1
Explain to students that our attitudes to road safety
affect our behaviour on the roads. Pose the following
statements for students to consider.
Students indicate their opinion using thumbs up for
agree, thumbs down for disagree, and a flat palm for
unsure. Students justify their vote with a partner.
As a class, discuss differing views and why these
differences may occur e.g. peer and family influence,
previous experience.
Value Statements
It should be my decision to wear a helmet when I
ride a bike not the Governments.
Compulsory wearing of helmets has made cycling
less popular.
Two out of three WA students are driven to school
each day because parents consider this to be a
safer and more efficient mode of transport than
walking or riding.
It should be compulsory for students over 10 years
to walk or ride to school to help them get the hours
exercise a day they need to stay fit and healthy.
Its important to wear a helmet even if your friends
dont think its cool.
106
You should only have to wear a helmet if you

are riding on the road, not on shared paths or
footpaths.
If there were more shared paths and footpaths
in our neighbourhood, more people would ride to
school.
Explain that bicycles are considered vehicles under
the Road Traffic Act, and cyclists have the same rights
and responsibilities as other road users.
In pairs, students access the Department of
Transports website (as shown).
Using the Cycling and the Law page, develop a set of
five quiz questions and answers that can be used to
conduct a class quiz on cycling rules.
Review students questions for repetitions and
incorrect answers and conduct the quiz.
Students develop a poster, pamphlet or PowerPoint
presentation to highlight the key rules and safety
considerations that students need to be aware of if
they are going to ride to and from school.
Students could write to the local council asking
for more shared paths and footpaths to be built.
They could also submit online hazard report forms
for various locations. www.transport.wa.gov.au/
hazardreport
NB: Findings from Worksheet 2.2: Road safety
issues around our school may help identify black
spots around the school that could be considered in
their posters etc.

Worksheet 3.1: Bike and helmet safety check
Access to www.transport.wa.gov.au/cycling/
cyclingandthelaw
Home activity:
To highlight the importance of bike maintenance,
students take Worksheet 3.1: Bike and helmet
safety check home and check their bike/s with their
family.
Students bring back the worksheet. Discuss and
decide whether the laws relating to bike maintenance
outlined on the Department of Transports website
(as shown) on the Cycling and the Law page are
reasonable or unfair. What penalties, if any, should be
imposed if police find defects?

pick up area?
places safer for cyclists? Walk and cycle to school
rather than go by car; form Walking School buses;
report hazards on paths to the local council; report
areas where there are no paths and ask the local
council to construct them in the future.
Who cycles to or from school regularly?
day?
Home activity: Students use a Before, During and
After table to plan safer ways to cycle to and from
school and share these with their family (if applicable):
Before
Get permission to cycle from my

family.
Discuss the safer route I have
identified with my family.
Practice cycling the route with my
family.
Check brakes and tyres before I ride
each day.
Know any Safety Houses along my
route.
During
Cycle with an adult if possible.

Stay on the planned route off the
roads.
Practice Stop, Look, Listen, Think
when crossing all roads.
Walk bike across roads at the safe
places I have identified.
Keep checking for hazards such as
driveways, gateways, intersections
and carparks.
Dont talk to strangers.
After
Lock bike and store helmet securely

out of the sun and rain, at home and
at school.
Let my teacher or parents know if I
had any problems.
Review the route with my family to let
them know if I felt safe on the route
we identified together.
Continue to use the safer route to
school each time I cycle.
Continue to practice Stop, Look,
Listen, Think and cross with my bike
at the safer places I identified or
modified.
One copy of local area map per student. Use

Whereis online www.whereis.com or Google Earth
on earth.google.com
Activity 2
Students locate their home on the map and highlight
the route they think would be the safest to ride to and
from school, marking in safe places to cross.
Ask students to share the map with their families and
make any changes that their family suggests.
Discuss:
Which were the safest places to ride? Why?
Where are some unsafe places to cross the road
with your bike? E.g. near busy intersections;
roundabouts; bends in roads; on crests of hills.
What other safe cyclist behaviours do you need
to consider when you take this safer route to
school? Wear a helmet every trip; ride the safer
route discussed with their family; ride on shared
paths and footpaths; walk bike across roads;
take care crossing near driveways, gateways and
intersections; use Stop, Look, Listen, Think every
time they cross roads and carparks; make eye
contact with the driver when walking bike across a
crossing; leave a safe distance between them and
the vehicle when they cross.
107

Access to www.transport.wa.gov.au/
travelsmartmaps for TravelSmart Maps of many
areas, showing shared paths in the local area
Activity 3
Discuss the purpose of ParknRide and bike lockers/
bike cages at train stations in Perth.
ParknRide and bike lockers/bike cages enable
motorists/cyclists to securely leave their car/bike to
train or bus the rest of the way to their destination.
Using the TravelSmart Access Guides (available
online as shown) students locate the closest
ParknRide and bike locker facilities to their school
or suburb. Students plan a journey that takes them
into the Perth CBD using bike and train as transport
options.
Students can also use the Transperth Journey Planner
and Bikes on Train information (available online as
shown) to assist with their travel plans.
Discuss:
Why do you think these facilities are not available
at every train station?
If there were no bike lockers available but you still
wanted to ride to the train, what else could you do?
contact Transperth Comment Line on 13 16 08 and
request that they install more bike facilities at the
train station to cater for the increased demand for
bike parking.
What things could our school do to encourage
more students to ride to and from school? Contact the local council regarding missing
paths in the local area and any hazards on
paths via the hazard report form.
Make sure there are enough bike racks at
school and they are located where they can be
seen from class rooms or the main office.
Make sure that bike racks are secure and
provide shelter from sun/rain.
108
108

Active transport can:

Help children get the right amount of physical activity they need each day at least 60
minutes.
Improve fitness by improving the way the heart and lungs can pump oxygen efficiently to
the muscles.
Help achieve and maintain a healthy weight which can help prevent heart disease,
diabetes and some cancers.
Help promote a sense of well-being and contribute to positive mental health.
Make children more alert and ready to learn at the start of the school day.
Topic 4
Health benefits

Learning experience 1: Overcoming barriers to physical activity
Key message: Overcoming barriers to physical activity.
Suggested
for Year 4
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

sedentary.

muscles.
Help prevent heart diseases such as high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and strokes.

Identify barriers and enablers to engaging in
physical activity and active transport.
Share attitudes about physical activity and active
transport.
Help reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes

and some cancers.
Help promote a sense of well-being and
contribute to positive mental health.
Makes children more alert and ready to learn at
the start of the school day.
How does regular physical activity help the way

we think and feel?
Worksheet 4.1: Problem solving

One sheet of butchers paper per group
Activity 1
to help them stay healthy such as eating 5 serves
stay healthy.
In groups, students write the following headings and
accompanying questions on a separate sheet of
butchers paper:
Physical health advantages:

How does regular physical activity help our
bodies physically?
What diseases does regular physical activity
help prevent?
Mental health advantages:
Rotate all groups through each set of questions.

Students tick questions that other groups have agreed
with. Students add any new information.
Discuss answers as a class, ensuring the following
points have been raised:
Physical health advantages:

How does regular physical activity help our
bodies physically? Builds strong bones and
muscles; improves fitness by improving the way
the heart and lungs can pump oxygen efficiently
to the muscles; helps achieve and maintain a
healthy weight; improves balance and flexibility;
improves posture.
What diseases does regular physical activity
help prevent? Helps prevent heart diseases
such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol
and strokes; helps prevent obesity; type 2
109
Mental health advantages:

How does physical activity help the way we
think and feel? Gives us energy; makes us
more alert; helps our mood; makes us feel good
about ourselves; relaxes us; helps us learn and
sleep.
In small groups, students list physical activities they

do regularly under the headings: Organised sports,
Games and Other activities.
Discuss:
What are the most popular physical activities in this
class? Why?
What are the least popular physical activities in this
class? Why?
Which activities involve the most huff and puff?
Which ones involve the least huff and puff?
Who or what influences the types of physical
activities we choose? Parents, friends, media,
cost, skills, available facilities.
Explain that despite all the obvious physical and
mental advantages to regular physical exercise,
many young people still find it difficult to find the
recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day.
In small groups, students brainstorm some of the
barriers and enablers to physical activity using the
headings on the T chart below: (possible answers
suggested)
Reasons why people
might choose not to
exercise
Things that make it

easier for people to
choose to exercise
Think they have no

time
Getting up earlier so
have more time
Think they are too busy
Not watching television

in the morning or after
school
Dont like exercise

Feel embarrassed
about trying new sport
Doing it with friends
As a group, students write down several options for

the character in the scenario. Highlight the option their
group would most likely choose. Place this on a piece
of paper and put into the envelope.
Students pass their envelope onto the next group and
repeat the process without looking at the previous
group's responses. When all scenarios have been
completed by all groups, students share contents
of their final envelope and report the most popular
options back to the whole class.
Discuss:
Do you think you get 60 minutes of exercise each
day? Why/Why not?
What are some unhealthy effects of not exercising
enough every day? Not being fit and strong,
getting sick, putting on weight, being bored, less
friends.
How much extra exercise each day would walking
or cycling with an adult to or from school help you
get?
What are some other good things about walking or
cycling with an adult to or from school each day?
Fun activity to do with the family, dog etc; meet/
talk with friends along the way; see more things
when you walk; save money on petrol that can be
used for better things; environmental benefits such
as reduced car emissions; less traffic congestion
around school; learn new road rules; less stress;
social benefits.
What other things could you do to get more
exercise each day? Walk to the shops instead of
driving; walk the dog; turn off TV and play outside;
walk up stairs instead of taking the escalator.
Cant afford to play

sport/activity
Doing it regularly it
becomes a habit
Dont have correct

equipment
Varying activities
Having a goal
Home activity:
Dont have access to

facilities
Having the confidence

to try new things
Dont have the skills
Being able to afford it
Students interview family members about their

favourite physical activity and reasons why they like it.
Dont have parents

permission
Having the right

equipment
Dont have any other

friends involved
Having facilities close

by
Having support from
family or friends
110
Stick one of the scenarios from Worksheet 4.1:

Problem solving, or other appropriate student
generated problems, onto the outside of an envelope
and give one to each group.
Activity 2
Ask them about games/activities they enjoyed when

they were younger.
Students make a list of ten things they can do with
their family that involve physical activity and share
with class.
110
Problem solving
Worksheet 4.1
Tyson is home for an hour each day

after school before his mum comes
home from work. His mum says he
cant play in the street, but he can play
in the backyard. He usually just plays
video games every day. What could
Charlie do to be more physically active
after school before mum gets home?
Kalina would like to walk to school

every day but her mum and dad both
work. Her mum likes to drop her off on
her way to work so she knows she has
arrived at school safely. Who could
she talk to and what could she do?
Tory is a little overweight and just

doesnt like exercise. It makes him
hot and tired. He knows that doing
exercise every day will help him
lose weight. What things will help
make exercise more fun for him and
increase the chances of him doing
something every day?
Allisa has a one hour bus trip to and

from school every day. This makes it
hard for her to find time to exercise
before or after school. What could she
do to get more exercise each day?
111

Learning experience 2: Physical activity and your heart health
Key message: Choosing active transport is good for your heart.
Suggested
for Year 5
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

sedentary.

muscles.

Practice locating heart beats and monitoring how
this is affected by exercise.
Share attitudes about physical activity.

and some cancers.
The pulse rate of a fit person slows to its resting
rate after exercise much quicker than that of an
unfit person.
Worksheet 4.2: Physical activity and heart
health
Activity 1
Explain that the National Physical Activity Guidelines
and puff physical activity or exercise each day to stay
healthy.
Discuss:
Do you think you get 60 minutes of exercise each
day? Why/Why not?
What are some unhealthy effects of not exercising
enough every day? Not being fit and strong,
getting sick, putting on weight, being bored, less
friends.
How could walking or cycling to or from school help
you get more exercise each day?
112
How could always driving everywhere in the car

affect you and your familys health?
Brainstorm :
How can physical activity and active transport
improve your physical and mental health?
Physical health: Builds strong bones and
muscles; improves fitness by improving the way
the heart and lungs can pump oxygen efficiently
to the muscles; helps achieve and maintain a
healthy weight; improves balance and flexibility;
improves posture; helps prevent heart diseases
such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol
and stroke; helps prevent obesity, type 2
Mental health: Gives them energy; makes them
more alert; helps their mood; makes them feel
good about themselves; relaxes them; helps
them learn and sleep.

Distribute Worksheet 4.2: Physical activity and
heart health. Allow students time to read the
worksheet.
Allow time to practice taking their pulse, either on
the thumb side of their wrist or to the right of their
windpipe in their neck warn against using their
thumb as this has its own pulse and may confuse their
counting.
Using a stop watch, give students the command
to record their resting heart rate for 15 seconds.
Students multiply this by 4 and record their BPM
(beats per minute) in the appropriate column on the
worksheet.
Take students to a safe place so that they can walk
briskly for 10 minutes to simulate their walk to school.
Have students complete the rest of the heart rate
monitoring on the worksheet.
Students create a collage of all the positive things that
physical activity and active transport can do to help
improve their health.
Activity 2
Students record their own physical activity over a
week and graph the different types of activity engaged
in under the headings - sport, games with friends
and active transport etc.
Activity 3
Home activity :
Students repeat the heart rate recording activity above
with another person in their family. See if it is similar or
very different to theirs and explain the differences e.g.
age, fitness.
113
Physical activity and heart health
Worksheet 4.2
About your heart:

The heart is a strong organ made of muscle tissue. It pumps blood around your body
through a system of arteries, veins and capillaries called the circulatory system.
Oxygen and all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to grow and repair are in
the blood. Waste products that the body needs to get rid of are also in the blood.
Every time your heart beats, it sends blood through your arteries. This wave of blood
can be felt as a pulse which you can feel on your neck, temple, wrist, behind your
knees and above your elbow.
The pulse rate is also called the heart rate. Your pulse rate is the number of beats counted per
minute (BPM). An average human heart beats at 72 BPM.
For healthy hearts:

Exercise makes the heart stronger and helps prevent heart diseases like high blood pressure,
high cholesterol and obesity.
During exercise, your pulse is quicker than when you are resting because the heart is working
harder to provide enough oxygen for muscles to work. If the lungs and heart cant get enough
oxygen to the muscles, they get tired or become cramped.
In a fit person, a strong heart means their pulse rate slows to its resting rate after exercise much
quicker than that of an unfit person.
Healthy hearts and active transport:

Walking and cycling are great ways to make your heart stronger. The more walking and cycling that
is done, the fitter and healthier the heart becomes. Active transport makes heart health easy!
Record your heart rate:
Heart rate (BPM)
Resting heart rate
Immediately before exercise
Immediately after exercise
2 minutes after exercise
How long did it take for your heart to return to the resting heart rate after you had exercised?
____________________________________________________________________________
When was your heart rate the highest? _____________________________________________
Why was this? ________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Consider the amount of time your heart rate took to recover back to its resting heart rate. What can
you say about your heart health and fitness?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
114

Learning experience 3: Setting physical activity and active transport goals
Key message: Active transport makes getting the right amount of exercise easier.
Suggested
for Year 6/7
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

sedentary.

muscles.

Monitor own physical activity levels and set goal to
increase physical activity.
Investigate the sporting and physical activity
facilities/resources available in their community.

and some cancers.
There are facilities and services available in
the community to help promote regular physical
activity.
Teachers, parents and friends are important
sources of information and support relating to
regular physical activity.
If not, how could you reach your target?
Worksheet 4.3: Goal setting plan
If you did, was it easy/difficult?
Activity 1
Explain that the National Physical Activity Guidelines
stay healthy.
Ask students to consider the last few days and add
up the number of minutes of moderate to vigorous
physical activity they have engaged in, remembering
to count in active transport to and from school.
Discuss in small groups:
Did you reach your target?
Would walking or cycling to school make it easier?

How many hours a day did you spend watching
TV and playing computer games? Remind them
that the National Physical Activity Guidelines
recommend no more than 2 hours a day.
If you spent less time doing these things would you
have more time to exercise?
What else would make it easier to find 60 minutes
each day to exercise?
Explain that students are to plan how to achieve 60
minutes of physical activity for the next two days using
active transport to assist in achieving this goal.
115

Revise the different types of active transport that
are available to them, including alternatives such as
getting off the train or bus a stop earlier; walking to
the school bus; or stopping the car a few blocks away
from the school and walking the rest of the way.
In small groups, students also develop a list of
possible activities they can undertake by themselves
or with their family and friends. Copies of the local
shire/council directories may help students identify a
sport/activity they would like to try.
new game and rotated every ten minutes. Tally scores

and award prizes.
Most popular games could be included into the regular
physical activity program for the class/school.
Ask students to tally their physical activity for the day,
including active transport to or from school that they
may use.
Using the data they have already collected, students

set a short-term goal to increase their physical activity
over the next two weeks using Worksheet 4.3: Goal
setting plan.
Encourage students to set realistic plans and discuss
and record their progress to achieving their goal over
the next two weeks.
After two weeks, students complete and discuss the
second page of the worksheet.
Props and equipment suggested by students to
play their game
Activity 2
In groups, students devise a physical game or
activity suitable to be used as part of a class Tabloid
Olympics. The game must have the following
specifications:
Involve a team of six players.
Be able to run for at least 10 minutes.
Involve moderate to vigorous activity.
Have clear rules.
Have a scoring system.
Be safe.
Encourage students to be creative and think beyond
traditional sports that they already know e.g. a team
relay art competition where each team member
sprints up to an easel and bowl of paint. The team
member paints one brush mark towards a part of a
team painting, then sprints back and tags with the
next team member.
Students are responsible for the collection of any
props, equipment for their games. Team captains
explain their game rules. Teams are allocated to a
116
116
Help children get the right amount of physical activity they need each day at least 60 minutes.
Improve fitness by improving the way the heart and lungs can pump oxygen efficiently to the muscles.
Help prevent heart diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and strokes.
Help reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes and some cancers.
Help promote a sense of well-being and contribute to positive mental health.
Makes children more alert and ready to learn at the start of the school day.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How will you know if you have achieved your goal?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What steps will you take to achieve this goal?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What skills or equipment will you need to achieve your goal?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Who might help you achieve this goal? How?
Monday
Plan to get 60 minutes of physical activity a day for the next 2 weeks. Dont forget to include active transport in your plan.
Goal setting plan

Worksheet 4.3
117
Goal setting plan continued
Worksheet 4.3
Two weeks on
1. Were you successful in following your physical activity plan?
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
2. Which days of the week were easiest to get 60 minutes of physical
activity the daily amount recommended for children to stay fit and
healthy? Why?
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
3. Which days of the week were the most difficult to get 60 minutes of physical activity? Why?
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
4. Who helped you get the physical activity that you did and how? E.g. mum
came with me when I walked the dog
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
5. What helped you get the physical activity that you did? E.g. getting up
earlier than usual to walk to school
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
6. What changes could you make to your plan for the next 2 weeks to
help you achieve 60 minutes of daily physical activity?
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
7. Who or what could help you continue choosing active transport to get
to and from school into the future?
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
118

A third of our city space is taken up by roads and carparks which impacts on people and
community life as there is less space for recreation. Streets feel unsafe because fewer
people are out and about.
Using active transport, particularly public transport, can reduce the need for car parking
spaces, and in time, these areas could be used for more playgrounds, parks, houses or
community recreation centres.
In contrast to cars, which insulate people from each other, active transport e.g. walking,
cycling and public transport, stimulate social interaction on the streets. Road traffic
cuts communities in two and divides one side of the street from the other. With fewer
pedestrians, streets cease to be social spaces and isolated pedestrians may fear attack.
The social benefits of choosing active transport to get to school and work are:
Children get to enjoy a fun activity with their family, siblings, friends, grandparents or
dog.
Childrens road safety skills are improved.
A sense of community is created.
Families save money on car running costs and parking.
Topic 5
Social benefits

Learning experience 1: Active transport has many social benefits
Key message: Active transport is good for me and my family.
Suggested
for Year 4
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Share opinions about the social advantages of

active transport.

and parking.
Develop a sense of community.
Reduce the need for carparking space and create
more room for recreation space in our community.
Public transport use is cheaper than paying for
car running costs and parking.
One sheet of paper per pair of students
Activity 1
Explain that to make our communities better into the
future, people need to work together to understand
what creates healthy communities. This may involve
town planners, local government, local schools all
working together.
One way we do know how to make communities
healthier and safer, is to balance the use of the car
with other ways of travelling like walking, cycling and
using public transport.
This is one reason why our school is encouraging
students to choose active transport to travel to and
from school.
money in car running costs and parking; it relieves

stress for parents driving to work; it develops a
stronger sense of community and may feel safer and
friendlier because more people are out and about on
their streets.
Students consider their local community e.g. school,
shopping centres, sporting venues, and decide
whether the amount of space taken up with carparking
at these places is small or large.
Explain that about one third of our community space
is taken up with roads and carparks. This restricts the
amount of space for parks, gardens, playgrounds and
other recreational facilities, and makes communities
not as appealing.
Students brainstorm:
Positive and fun things about using active transport
to get to school and work for me and my family.
Encourage students to just think of social benefits,
rather than health or environmental benefits e.g. its
a fun activity for children to enjoy with their family,
siblings, friends, grandparents, pets; it helps develop
childrens road safety skills; it helps the family save
119

With a partner, students fold a sheet of paper into
quarters. Unfold it and answer the following questions
in each square:
How could we reduce the amount of space taken
up with carparking in our neighbourhood?
If the Principal banned parents from dropping their
children at school, what do you think the streets
around our school would look like?
If all the car parks around our school were pulled
out, what could you replace them with to make our
school community a better place?
If more people travelled to work and school by

public transport, there would be a lot less cars
on the roads and a lot more people walking and
cycling on the streets. Do you think this would
make our community feel safer? Why?
To assess the level of public transport use in their
school community, and to highlight the cost benefits of
using public transport, students use Worksheet 5.1:
Public transport use is good for our community.
If it was illegal to drive into the centre of Perth, lots

of carparks could be pulled down and more people
would feel safer walking and cycling in the city.
What sorts of things would you put in their place to
make the city a nicer place to be?
Listen to feedback. Students add new ideas to their
lists. Discuss with students ways that schools, local
government and developers could get people on side
to the idea of having fewer carparks and including
more bike parking facilities.
Students choose one question and using the
information they have collected, write a letter to their
parents, other classes, the local council or the local
paper, explaining what they have discussed.
Worksheet 5.1: Public transport use is good for
our community
Activity 2
Brainstorm different types of public transport available
to students in their community and allow students
to share their experiences of public transport use in
general.
Discuss:
Do you use public transport regularly? If not, why
not?
When you have, who did you go with?
Was it more fun than going in the car?
Did you see people talking/listening to music/
reading on the bus/train?
Do you think travelling on the same bus every day
to work or school would be more sociable than
travelling by yourself, or with a parent in a car?
120
120
Worksheet 5.1
Public transport use is good for our community
Use this survey to ask 5 adults how they usually get to work or study.
1. How do you usually get to work or study each day?
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Person 5
car
bike
bus
train
walk
other
2. Why do you use this type of transport?
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Person 5
3. How far do you travel to and from work/study and how much does it
cost you each day? Hint: a car costs around 25 cents per km to run.
Please also include parking if you go by car.
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Person 5
Distance
Distance
Distance
Distance
Distance
Cost
Cost
Cost
Cost
4. How long does it take you to get to work/study?

Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Cost
Person 5
121
Public transport use is good for our community
Worksheet 5.1
5. Can you give one advantage of using public transport and one
disadvantage?
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Person 5
1. Share your results with four other students and graph the different types of ways
people got to work and study. (Table 1)
2. What were the main reasons for peoples choice of transport? (Table 2)
3. Which type of transport cost the most per kilometre and which cost the least?
(Table 3)
4. Did catching public transport and cycling take longer than travelling by car per
kilometre? (Table 3 and 4)
5. What were the common advantages and disadvantages given about using
public transport? (Table 5)
6. How do you think governments could encourage more people to use public
transport?
122

Learning experience 2: A closer look at public transport
Key message: Public transport use can be fun and cost less than running a car.
Suitable
for Year 5
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Practice planning to use public transport safely.

and parking.
Develop a sense of community.
Reduce the need for carparking space and create
more room for recreation space in our community.
There are safety rules for correct behaviour that
keep people safer on public transport.
Public transport use is cheaper than paying for
car running costs and parking.
Public transport use involves planning.
One sheet of butchers paper per group
Positive and fun things about using active transport

to get to school and work for me and my family.
Worksheet 5.2: Knowing the rules for public

transport use keeps me safer
Activity 1
Explain that to make our communities better into the
future, people need to work together to understand
what creates healthy and safe communities. This may
involve town planners, local government, local schools
all working together.
One way we do know how to make communities
healthier and safer is to balance the use of the car
with other ways of travelling like walking, cycling and
using public transport.
This is one reason why our school is encouraging
students to choose active transport to come to and
from school.

stronger sense of community and may feel safer and
friendlier because more people are out and about on
their streets.
Brainstorm different types of public transport available
to students in their community and allow them to
share their experiences of public transport use.
Students complete Worksheet 5.2: Knowing the
rules for public transport use keeps me safer.
123

Worksheet 5.3: Planning a mystery tour
http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/Home/
JourneyPlanner/tabid/56/Default.aspx
Transperths Get on Board resource also
addresses safety and planning trips on public
transport
Activity 2
Explain that in groups, students are going to plan an
excursion for the class using public transport. This
will demonstrate some of the social benefits of active
transport such as having a fun outing, saving money,
and learning new road safety skills.
Country students may need to plan a journey from
a hypothetical metropolitan location to an appealing
destination.
Students use Worksheet 5.3: Planning a mystery
tour to plan excursion and conduct a class vote to
decide which excursion is the most popular option.
Teachers can choose to implement the excursion or
end the activity here. Remember to ensure all duty
of care procedures are followed if the excursion is
undertaken and advise Transperth of any planned
bus trips to ensure that the bus has the capacity to
transport all students.
Students could write a letter to the local paper or for
the school newsletter/website to explain the aim of
the excursion and the schools commitment to active
transport.
Students can also use the Transperth Journey
Planner (available online as shown) to assist with their
travel plans.
124
124
Knowing the rules for public transport use keeps me safer
Worksheet 5.2
SAFETY RULES
Here are some important safety rules around Transperth public transport use that
are easy to follow. With a partner write one or more reasons why you think this rule
has been made and/or what could happen if you didnt obey this rule.
Rule
Reasons for this rule
Always stand away from the kerb or

platform when waiting for a bus or
train.
Stand back and wait for passengers
to get off the bus or train before you
enter.
Wait until the bus has moved away
before crossing the road.
Always use overpasses, underpasses
or pedestrian crossing areas to cross
the tracks at a railway station. Never
walk across the tracks at any other
places.
Dont run, ride or skate around a bus
stop or railway platform.
Keep clear of the electric wires above
a train track. Contact, even with
objects or water, may result in death.
Signal if you want the driver to stop the
bus.
125
Knowing the rules for public transport use keeps me safer
Worksheet 5.2
BEHAVIOUR RULES
Here are some important rules about your responsibilities and behaviour when
using public transport. With a partner, write one or more reasons why you think
this rule has been made think safety, comfort, costs.
Rule
You must have a valid ticket at all
times and show it when asked by
staff.
Always show your Student
SmartRider when travelling on a
concession fare.
Offer your seat to passengers with
special needs e.g. elderly people,
parents with prams, people with
disabilities.
Be courteous to other passengers and
the driver.
Move down the train or bus so you
dont block doorways, and dont talk
to the bus driver when the bus is
moving.
When using audio devices, always
use earphones and keep the volume
low.
Smoking is not allowed on all
Transperth property.
Food and drink consumption is not
allowed on buses or trains.
126
Reasons for this rule
Planning a mystery tour
Worksheet 5.3
You are going to plan an excursion from our school to a destination of your choice
using only active transport e.g. walking, cycling, bus, train.
Here are some guidelines to help you plan your excursion:
We must be able to leave school no later than 9.30am and return by 2.30pm.
At least one leg of the journey must include public transport.
No part of the journey can include car use.
Bus and train fares must not be more than $5.00 per student.
1. Develop a plan for each stage of your journey:
Journey description
Estimated arrival and departure times
e.g. walk from school to bus stop
9.30am - 9.40am
2. Make sure you check your bus/train times and best routes by using
www.transperth.wa.gov.au
Journey Planner
Timetable
TravelEasy
3. Read the simple rules for travelling on Transperth public transport by using
www.transperth.wa.gov.au and click on Using Transperth. List the rules that you
will need to remember on your journey.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. Calculate how much the transport cost will be for each student.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
127
Planning a mystery tour
Worksheet 5.3
5. Calculate how much the transport costs would have been for each student if
they had travelled by car base calculations on two students per car and 25
cents per km travelled to calculate costs for the return trip.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
6. If a car takes around 8sqm to park and a bus takes around 33sqm to park,
how much space would be needed to park the cars at your destination if two
students travel in each car?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
7. If more people used public transport, we would have less need for carparking
space in our communities. If you were a town planner what would you do with
this extra space to make our community a better place?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
128

Learning experience 3: Planning to use public transport
Key message: Public transport is a safe and sociable alternative to car travel.
Suggested
for Year 6/7
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
Practice planning to use public transport safely.

Practice making decisions in risky situations

related to public transport.

and parking.
Develop a sense of community and make people
feel safer.
There are safety rules for correct behaviour that
keep people safer on public transport.
Using public transport can be fun, save your
family money, and teach you new road safety
skills.
Public transport use involves planning.
Worksheet 5.4: Planning a family outing
Transperths Get on Board resource also
addresses safety and planning trips on public
transport
Activity 1
Positive and fun things about using active transport to
get to school and work for me and my family. (Dont
forget to consider public transport as well.)
stronger sense of community and may make people
feel safer because more people are out and about on
their streets.
Explain that in groups, students are going to plan an

excursion with their family using public transport. The
excursion aims to demonstrate the social benefits
of active transport e.g. having a fun outing with their
family; saving money; learning new road safety skills.
Country students may need to plan a journey from
a hypothetical metropolitan location to an appealing
destination.
Students complete Worksheet 5.4: Planning a
family outing and share with their family.
Teachers can alternatively use Worksheet 5.3:
Planning a mystery tour and have students plan a
class excursion.
Remember to ensure all duty of care procedures
are followed if this activity is chosen and advise
Transperth of any planned bus trips to ensure that the
bus has the capacity to transport all students.
129

Worksheet 5.5: Safer decision on public
transport
Activity 2
Discuss commonsense ways of staying safe when
using trains and buses. e.g. avoiding travelling on your
own; sitting close to the driver; letting someone know
when you are due home and where you are going;
finding out travel times and routes in advance and
making sure you are at the bus stop or train station in
plenty of time.
Using Worksheet 5.5: Safer decision on public
transport, students read the safety and behaviour
rules for Transperth public transport.
Allocate a scenario from the worksheet to each group.
Students develop a role play showing how they would
solve the problem in a safe and legal way. Students
discuss the effectiveness of each strategy after
presenting their role play to the class.
130
130
Planning a family outing
Worksheet 5.4
You are going to plan an outing with your family and friends using only active
transport e.g. walking, cycling, bus, train. The outing can be to any fun destination
you like e.g. the beach, the movies, ice skating, visiting friends in another suburb.
Here are some guidelines to help you plan your outing:
At least one leg of the journey must include public transport.
No part of the journey can include car use.
Bus and train fares must not be more than $5.00 for children.
1. Develop a plan for each stage of your journey :
Journey description
e.g. walk from home to bus stop
Estimated arrival and departure times

9.30am - 9.40am
2. Make sure you check your bus/train times and best routes by using
www.transperth.wa.gov.au
Journey Planner
Timetable
TravelEasy
3. Read the simple rules for travelling on Transperth public transport by using
www.transperth.wa.gov.au and click on Using Transperth. List the rules that you
will need to remember on your journey.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
4. Calculate the transport costs for your family.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
131
Planning a family outing
Worksheet 5.4
5. Calculate how much the transport costs would have been if you had travelled by
car base calculations on 25 cents per km running costs.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
6. List some of the road safety skills you would have practiced on this outing by
being a pedestrian and a public transport user?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
7. If every kilometre you walk or cycle to school instead of using the car saves up
to 25 cents in running costs, how much would you save:
If you walked to and from school every day for a week? _________________
If you walked to and from school every day for a month?
(approximately 20 days) __________________________________________
If you walked to and from school every day for a year?
(approximately 200 days) _________________________________________
132
Safer decision on public transport
Worksheet 5.5
Transperth Safety Rules
Transperth Behaviour Rules
Always stand clear of the kerb or

platform when waiting for a bus or train.
You must have a valid ticket at all

times and show it when asked by
staff.
Stand back and wait for passengers to

Always show your student
get off the bus or train before you board. SmartRider when travelling on a
concession fare.
Never cross the road in front or behind
a bus, or between two buses. Wait
until the bus has moved away before
crossing the road.
Offer your seat to passengers with

special needs e.g. elderly people,
parents with prams, people with
disabilities.
Always use overpasses, underpasses or Be courteous to other passengers

pedestrian crossing areas to cross the
and the driver. Offensive behaviour is
tracks at a railway station. Never walk
not tolerated.
across the tracks at any other places.
Never run, ride or skate around a bus
stop or railway platform.
Move down the train or bus so you

dont block doorways and dont talk
to the bus driver while the bus is in
motion.
Keep clear of the electric wires above a Always have earphones on audio
train track. Contact, even with objects or devices and keep the volume low.
water, may result in death.
Where possible, remain seated at all
times when travelling on Transperth
services.
Smoking is not allowed on all

Transperth property.
Signal if you want the driver to stop the

bus.
Food and drink consumption is not

allowed on buses or trains.
Think about the Transperth safety and behaviour rules above and develop a role
play for your scenario. Show us how you would solve the problem in a safe and
legal way.
1. Suki catches the bus home from school each day. Her friends
dont validate their SmartRider and tell her not to bother to
validate hers as the driver never checks. She is worried she
will get a fine if she doesnt validate her ticket. What could
she do and say?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
133
How we travel
Worksheet 1.1
2. Jane and Meg are catching the bus into the city to see
a movie. Two boys start hassling them and calling them
names. They feel scared and are worried about getting
off the bus. What could they do and say?
____________________________________
____________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
3. Dylan and Troy have been to the skate park in Fremantle
and are catching a train home. Troy is skating on the
platform while they are waiting for the train and stirs
Dylan up for not skating as well. What could Dylan do
and say?
____________________________________
____________________________________
______________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. Mark and David need to cross the train tracks
to get to basketball training. They are running a bit
late. Usually they walk up to the overpass, but David
says to Mark that they dont have time for that today.
David says they should just race across the tracks.
Mark does not feel safe with this decision. What
could he do or say?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
134

After electricity generation, the largest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions in

Australia is caused by transport. This industry relies on carbon based energy sources
such as petrol and diesel which produce carbon dioxide gas emissions when used as a
fuel.
Using active transport, car pooling, servicing cars regularly, driving fuel efficient cars,
keeping tyres pumped to maximum recommended pressure are all ways families can
reduce their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
Encouraging active transport use at school not only cuts down pollution through car
emissions, but it improves the road safety around schools by reducing traffic congestion.
Topic 6
Environmental benefits

Learning experience 1: Car use and greenhouse gas emissions
Key message: Reducing car use cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions.
Suggested
for Year 4
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:
The car is a major source of air pollution and

Share attitudes about pollution and greenhouse

effect.
Enhanced greenhouse effect is a global issue

that is influenced by small changes made by
individuals.
Active transport and car pooling reduce pollution
by cutting down car emissions and improve
road safety around schools by reducing traffic
congestion.

Access to www.npi.gov.au/students/pollution-map.
html
Activity 1
Explain that the quality of the air we breathe affects
our health and also the health of our environment.
Brainstorm things that may affect the air quality in their
community e.g. car fumes, dust, pollens, bush fires,
pesticide spraying.
Ask students to place a tick against the thing that
they believe affects their air quality the most. Discuss
results and explain that after electricity generation, the
largest proportion of pollution (or emissions) is caused
by transport in Australia.
Discuss:
What are the effects of air pollution on people,
animals, plants and the environment?
Think about transport - How can people make
a difference to the pollution that their activities
around transport produce? Use active transport,
car pool, service cars regularly, drive fuel
efficient cars, keep tyres pumped to maximum
recommended pressure.
How else does car use affect the environment?
Deaths and injuries to wildlife, building new roads
and car parks causes loss of plant species, erosion
and loss of animal habitats.
Why would more students choosing active

transport make the roads around our school safer?
Less traffic congestion, improve students road
safety skills, more eyes on the streets.
Students explore the Interactive pollution map from
the National Pollutant Inventory website (as shown)
by clicking on the monkeys displayed on the map of
Australia. Students summarise the main points in their
own words.
Worksheet 6.1: Cars, pollution and greenhouse
gas emissions
Activity 2
Students work in pairs to read through Worksheet
6.1: Cars, pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions and reflect on their learning by using
thought shapes:
= the most important thing I have learnt

from this worksheet
= my opinion about active transport

now I have read this worksheet
= thoughts still going around in my head

about how cars affect our environment.
Students share their responses to these shapes. The

thoughts generated from the thought bubble can be
used to plan further learning experiences.
135

Worksheet 6.2: Active transport helps our
planet
www.operationclimatechange.com.au/index.html
has Travel and Air missions that may complement
this learning experience.
Activity 3
Students complete Worksheet 6.2: Active transport
helps our planet and display findings of the savings
in greenhouse gases in class graphs.
Students use this information from Worksheet 6.1 to
write a letter to their parents, other classes, the local
council, or the local paper, to explain how choosing
active transport instead of driving them to school is
better for the environment.
136
136
Cars, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Worksheet 6.1
Cars and pollution

Motor vehicle emissions (exhaust fumes) are one of the leading causes of
air pollution in Australia and around the world. In Australia, emissions from
passenger cars have increased by over 20% in the last 20 years.
Cars and greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) are gases found in the
atmosphere that build up naturally in the lower atmosphere and stop the heat from
the suns rays escaping into space. This is called the greenhouse effect. Without
this effect, the earth would be too cold - no life would survive.
Greenhouse gases are produced by:
Burning fossil fuels coal, wood, oil.

Cars and trucks using petrol and diesel.
Cutting down precious forest trees and not
replacing them.
Agricultural activities and use of fertilisers.
Rubbish rotting in dumps.
Use of aerosol sprays.
Global warming
Scientists fear that increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases may
increase the global temperature because the heat that is normally reflected back
into space cant escape. They say that this will lead to changes in the Earths
climate and weather patterns. This is called global warming. These warmer
conditions will also affect plant, animal and human life.
How can active transport change the amount of greenhouse gas

produced?
Man made impacts on global warming through emissions are significant. For
instance, after electricity generation, the largest proportion of emissions in
Australia comes from road transport.
Every little change that each person makes can reduce the amount of greenhouse
gas produced from transport, even just a little bit. You can:
Walk or cycle for short trips.
Combine several tasks into a longer car trip so that the
car is only going on one journey instead of several short
trips.
Walk, cycle, use public transport or car pool to go to
school, work or special events.
137
Cars, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Worksheet 6.1
Each kilometre of car travel avoided saves up to half a kilogram of greenhouse

gas and 25 cents in operating costs. Every litre of petrol saved cuts greenhouse
gas emissions by around 3 kilograms.
On average, a single bus carries 50 seated passengers and a train carriage holds
100 seated passengers. Most cars travelling to work only carry one person. If
these people use public transport, and more people walk and cycle to school
instead of driving cars, many cars would not use our roads.
This would mean:
Less traffic congestion and safer roads
around our schools.
Less pollution.
Less greenhouse gas emissions.
Less car parks required.
More on the internet:

Green Vehicle Guide www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au
National Pollutant Inventory www.npi.gov.au
Department of Climate Change www.climatechange.gov.au
138
Active transport helps our planet
Worksheet 6.2
Carbon dioxide 0.03%
All living things depend on air to survive. Our air is a mixture of

Nitrogen a colourless, odourless element that makes up
most of our air. (78%)
Oxygen a colourless, odourless element that is produced by
plants. All living things need oxygen to survive. (21%)
Carbon dioxide a colourless, odourless gas that is formed by
people and animals during breathing. (0.03%)
Which of these gases is the most important for our survival?
Cars and other vehicles produce exhaust. Exhaust is made up of carbon dioxide
and other waste gases that pollute our air and affect its quality. These gases are
called greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists are worried that too many greenhouse gas emissions are making the
earth too warm. This is called global warming.
Use your dictionary or the internet to find a definition for:
air pollution ______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
greenhouse gases ________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
global warming ___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Choosing to travel by active transport saves fuel and therefore reduces
Estimate how far your trip is from home to school each day ________________
If you are driven to and from school each day how many
kilometres total is this? ____________
If every kilometre you walk or cycle instead of using the car
saves up to half a kilogram of greenhouse gases, how many
kilograms of greenhouse gases would you save:
If you walked to and from school every day for a week?
___________________
If you walked to and from school every day for a month
(approximately 20 days)? __________
If you walked to and from school every day for a year
(approximately 200 days)? ___________
139

Learning experience 3: Getting the facts about cars and the environment
Key message: Active transport makes our air cleaner and our roads safer.
Suggested
for Year 5
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

Share attitudes about the greenhouse effect and

their role in reducing the consequences of climate
change.
The enhanced greenhouse effect is a global issue

individuals.
congestion.
Discuss:
Worksheet 6.1: Cars, pollution and greenhouse

gas emissions
How can people make a difference to the pollution

that their activities around transport produce?
Use active transport; car pool; service cars
regularly; drive fuel efficient cars; keep tyres
pumped to maximum recommended pressure.
Activity 1
Students complete the first two columns of the table
below in groups:
What we know
about gas
emissions and
global warming
What we want
to know about
gas emissions
and global
warming
What we have
learnt about
gas emissions
and global
warming
Students feedback their information from the first

column. Correct any misunderstandings as they arise.
Then in groups, students use Worksheet 6.1: Cars,
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and the
websites at the bottom of this worksheet to find out
information relating to the second column: 'What we
want to know . . . '
Students either summarise their research in column 3
or present it in a poster or PowerPoint format.
140
Why would more students and staff choosing

active transport make the roads around our school
safer? Less traffic congestion; develop student
road safety skills; more eyes on the streets.
Petrol and diesel come from oil. Scientists claim
that the world will be using more oil than it is
producing in about 50 years time. How do you
think we will adapt to this problem in terms of
transport? More research into alternative energy;
greater use of public transport such as electric
buses and trains; fuel will be more expensive as
will the cost of food and goods that need fuel to be
produced and transported.

environment
Activity 2
Cut up the question and answer cards on Worksheet
6.3: Get the facts about cars and the environment
and distribute one card to each student. Ensure that
poorer readers have cards with less text.
Explain to students that each question card has a
matching answer card. Students move around the
room to find the person with their matching card.
Standing in their matching pairs, students read out the
question card and then the answer card to the class.
Clarify any questions that may arise from this process.
Using the information they know about the link
between car use and greenhouse gas emissions,
students design a full page newspaper advertisement
outlining the environmental reasons for choosing
active transport.
Display the advertisements in the school newsletter or
on the school website.
141

Q1: Half of all trips in Perth are less than 5kms.
True or false?
A: True Half of all trips people make in cars in

Perth are less than 5 kms in distance.
Q2: A car can produce 4 times its weight in

carbon monoxide. True or false?
A: True - A car can produce 4 times its weight in

carbon monoxide.
Q3: More than half of WA children are driven to

school. True or false?
A: True - More than two out of three WA children

are driven to and from school each day, even
though many live within two kilometres of school.
Q4: What are greenhouse gases?
A: Greenhouse gases are gases that build up in

the lower atmosphere and stop the suns rays from
escaping. Too much is not good because the planet
warms up too much. This is called global warming.
Q5: In Australia, transport is a significant

contributor to our total greenhouse gas emissions.
True or false?
A: True - In Australia, cars and trucks that use

petrol and diesel make up about 14% of our total
Q6: A well tuned engine can reduce greenhouse

gas emissions. True or false?
A: True: - A well tuned engine can reduce

greenhouse gas emissions by 15% in one year.
Q7: What are the main types of pollution caused

by car exhausts?
A: The main types of pollution caused by

car exhausts are: carbon dioxide (the main
greenhouse gas in the atmosphere); carbon
monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.
Q8: Walking and cycling can reduce the amount

of greenhouse gases a family produces. True or
false?
A: True: - Walking, cycling and using public

transport are all small things a family can do to
reduce their greenhouse gas contributions to the
Planet.
Q9: Without a greenhouse effect, the earth would

not be warm enough for human, animal and plant
life. True or false?
A: True - A moderate greenhouse effect is

important - too many greenhouse gases can
cause the earth to overheat though.
Q10: Emissions from cars have increased by less

than 5% in the last 20 years. True or false?
A: False- Emissions from cars increased by over

20% over the last 20 years in Australia.
Q11: Each kilometre you walk or cycle instead

of using the car saves up to half a kilogram of
greenhouse gases. True or false?
A: True - Each kilometre of car travel avoided

saves up to half a kilogram of greenhouse gas
and 25 cents in operating costs.
Q12: Having the tyres on the family car pumped

to the recommended maximum air pressure
so they will roll easily can reduce the familys
greenhouse gas emissions. True or false?
A: True - Having the tyres on the family car

pumped to the recommended maximum air
pressure can save up to 100kg of greenhouse
gas over one year, and extend the life of the tyres.
142
Worksheet 6.3

Learning experience 3: Making a case for environmental alternatives
Key message: Reducing car use cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions.
Suggested
for Year 6/7
students
For students
Key understandings:
Key skills:

Share attitudes about greenhouse effect and their

role in reducing the consequences of climate
change.
The enhanced greenhouse effect is a global issue

individuals.
congestion.
Local and national governments have the
potential to make decisions that encourage more
active transport use.
Worksheet 1.2: Lets jump in the car on pg 88
Worksheet 6.4: Everyone can help reduce
greenhouse gas emissions
Access Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative
(AuSSI) WA resources such as BioWhat?, Green
Waste Matters, Ollie Saves the Planet and Water
Matters at: www.det.wa.edu.au/sustainableschools
or ph: 08 9264 4776
Activity 1
Explain that reducing greenhouse gas emissions
is the responsibility of governments, industry and
individuals. Students use the data collected from
Worksheet 1.2: Lets jump in the car to help
complete Worksheet 6.4: Everyone can help reduce
Discuss:
Which forms of transport create the lowest
greenhouse gas emissions? Why? Walking and
cycling do not rely on fossil fuel so dont create
greenhouse gas emissions. All other forms of
transport rely on carbon based energy sources
such as petrol and diesel which produce carbon
dioxide gas emissions when used as a fuel in
cars. Even hybrid electric/petrol powered cars are

responsible for the release of some carbon dioxide
gas emissions.
Do you think everyone is responsible for reducing
their greenhouse gas emissions, or is it something
that governments should look after?
What do you think some of the consequences
of climate change may be other than extreme
changes to our weather patterns? Long-term
water restrictions; damage to property in coastal
areas from water erosion; loss of flora and fauna
as their habitat is damaged; changes to the crops
we are able to grow.
Apart from reducing the greenhouse gas emissions
around our school, how could choosing active
transport make the roads around our school safer?
Less traffic congestion; develop student road
safety skills and confidence; more eyes on the
streets so safer.
143

Access to www.climatechange.gov.au/en/whatyou-can-do/teachers-and-students.aspx
www.operationclimatechange.com.au/index.html
has Travel and Air missions that may complement
this learning experience.
Activity 2
Students access the Australian Governments Climate
Change website (at the page shown) and follow the
links to Primary then Interactives.
Complete the first two interactive quizzes on climate
change.
Students write down five things that they learnt from
the quiz.
Worksheet 6.5: My opinion on active transport
and the environment
environment
Activity 3
Students choose one of the topics on Worksheet
6.5: My opinion on active transport and the
environment to present a 2 minute chook house
speech.
Using Worksheet 6.3: Get the facts about cars and
the environment, students research their topic for 20
minutes in pairs or small groups.
Students then have 5 minutes to write their notes for a
speech on this topic. Allow students another 5 minutes
to practice their speech with a partner. This part of the
activity may be noisy, hence the name chook house
speech.
Place all students names into a container and draw
out two names to present their speeches to half the
class concurrently.
Act as time keeper and repeat the selection process
until all students have spoken.
Students assess interpersonal skills of each speaker.
Write these skills on the board and explain before the
speeches commence.
e.g. speaks clearly and convincingly, makes good eye
contact, has positive body language.
144
144
Worksheet 6.4
Everyone can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Travel modes and kilograms of greenhouse gas generated per person per
1
kilometre
Kilograms per person per kilometre
1 www.greenhouse.gov.au accessed June 14 2010
!
1. Review your familys travel habits over the last week and using the graph
above, complete the table below.
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Total kms bike/

walking
Greenhouse gas
0kg/km
Total kms by train
Greenhouse gas
0.02kg/km
Total kms by bus
Greenhouse gas
0.03kg/km
Total kms car pooling
or driving with 4
passengers
Greenhouse gas
0.06kg/km
Total kms by car driver only
Greenhouse gas
0.33kg/km
Total kilograms of
greenhouse gas per
kilometre per day
145
Everyone can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Worksheet 6.4
Choosing to travel by active transport saves fuel and therefore reduces

Estimate how far your trip is from home to school each day________________
If you are driven to and from school each day how many kilometres total is this?
___________
Using the driver only amount of 0.33kg/km, how many kilograms of greenhouse
gases would you save:
If you walked to and from school every day for a week?
_________________________
If you walked to and from school every day for a month?
(approximately 20 days) ____________
If you walked to and from school every day for a year?
(approximately 200 days) _____________
146
My opinion on active transport and the environment
Worksheet 6.5
Choose one topic below to write a 2 minute speech. Your teacher will tell you how much time
you have to research, plan and practice your speech. Good luck!
1. Australia generates only 1.5 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, so our
actions alone cant stop the worst consequences of climate change. As individuals,
Australians are the worlds biggest polluters, so its important we play our part in the global
effort. Some steps in the right direction are . . .
2. There are parts of many cities around the world where car transport is not allowed and traffic
is limited to only pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. If the centre of Perth or Fremantle
became car free, the advantages and disadvantages would be . . .
3. Many industries oil, rubber, road building, car manufacturing and sales, advertising
agencies and the media benefit from the use of cars. Australian Federal, State and Local
Governments could make cars less appealing, and active transport including public
transport more appealing by . . .
4. China, the Netherlands, Indonesia and Japan all have high ownership and usage of bicycles.
Australian Federal, State and Local Governments could make cycling more appealing by . . .
5. Scientists fear that oil is becoming more and more scarce. Our dependence on oil for
petrol and diesel fuel is greater than ever before. If fuel became unavailable, or impossibly
expensive, this would have a huge impact on our society. Some of these impacts include . . .
147
Physical Activity Taskforce

Perth, Western Australia
First produced 2010
For further information go to
www.beactive.wa.gov.au
or phone 08 9492 9630

Choose Active Transport: A Teacher's Resource

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Title: Choose Active Transport

Choose Active Transport

SCIS NO: 1485268

Choose Active Transport

Choose Active Transport

Choose Active Transport

For further information please contact:

It also has positive impacts on the healthy

Hon Terry Waldron, MLA

The Physical Activity Taskforce was established in

Writer: Kim Chute: Titan Consulting

IMPORTANT: The following activities should

What is active transport?

What is the aim of the Choose Active Transport resource?

Why is it important to encourage an active transport philosophy in your school?

Ethos and Environment

Parents and Community

Sample parent information letter

Overview of the Choose Active Transport resource

Early Childhood Overview

Middle Childhood Overview

Planning a whole school active transport curriculum

Early Childhood Planning

Middle Childhood Planning

Early Childhood Topics

Topic 2: Safer pedestrians

Topic 3: Safer cycling and play

Topic 5: Taking the active transport challenge

Middle Childhood Topics

Topic 2: Safer pedestrians

Topic 3: Safer cycling

Topic 4: The health benefits of active transport

Topic 5: The social benefits of active transport

Topic 6: The environmental benefits of active transport

Learning experiences in this resource

A child who watches two hours or more of TV

Only 41% of WA primary school aged boys and

What does our school need to consider when

A whole-school approach is dependent on teachers,

The following ideas and school-based programs aim

Research shows those interventions which

The learning experiences in this resource aim to

Learning experiences in this resource that foster a

accessing the TravelSmart to School curriculum

Walk to School Wednesday - on the first

All of the initiatives and events included in this

Overview of the Choose Active Transport resource

How does the resource link to the WA Curriculum

Assessment strategies can be developed within the

all of the Curriculum Framework core shared

Respect and concern for others and their rights

Written by Kim Chute

Teachers need to make professional judgments about

Early Childhood Overview

Health and Physical Education Learning Area Content

Active transport involves

Always using the car for

Physical activity optimises

Growth and development

Social and emotional

Ways to keep healthier