Elementary students often ride bicycles with friends for entertainment, and others sometimes ride their bikes to school. Teaching bicycle safety at the elementary level prepares children for everyday riding situations. A child with bike safety experience is better able to avoid dangers associated with bike riding, such as crossing the road and knowing when to ride.
Helmet Lesson
The bicycle helmet plays a crucial role in keeping a child safe while riding. Plan a lesson to emphasize the significance of the helmet. Musk melons work as a representation of the head. Drop one melon onto the ground to demonstrate the damage that occurs from hitting the ground unprotected. Strap a second melon into a bicycle helmet. Drop that melon from the same height to show how it stays protected. This experiment leads to discussions about why kids should wear helmets every time they ride a bike.
Practice
A chance to practice bike safety skills away from traffic makes kids more proficient in an actual riding situation. A track or concrete basketball court works well as a practice area. If the kids are able to bring their bikes to school, let them ride around the selected area. Draw sidewalks and intersections with sidewalk chalk for a more realistic practice area. Homemade stop signs and traffic lights add to the setting. If kids aren't able to actually bring their bikes, have them pretend to ride bikes while practicing road rules such as stopping at intersections, looking both ways before crossing and using hand signals. Encourage the kids to find a partner to practice the buddy system for riding bikes.
Review
Review activities assess student retention of bike safety skills. They also serve as a refresher. Posters or safety presentations from the school are one example of a review activity. Have the kids design a poster that highlights bike safety skills such as following traffic rules, wearing light colors and riding during the day. Hang the posters where the kids will see them often to remind them of the skills.
Media Sources
Different forms of media offer a way to incorporate bicycle safety lessons into the classroom. Go to the library and look for bicycle safety videos to show the class, or find some through your local education resource agency. Bike safety videos often include a visual representation of dangerous biking situations that you can't safely demonstrate in real life. For example, the video might show a child crossing the street without looking or riding out into the street between parked cars.
Children's books are another option for introducing and reviewing bike safety skills. Ask the librarian to pull relevant books on the topic. Read the books to the class or keep them in the classroom library for the kids to review.
Tips
Keep the bicycle safety lessons positive to avoid scaring the children from riding their bikes. While they need to know how to stay safe, they should also enjoy riding their bikes to take advantage of the physical activity it offers. Review bicycle safety concepts throughout the year so the students keep the information fresh.
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