Walk This Way. Red Colour Group- Intermediate

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Alfred Richards
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1 Walk This Way Activity Overview: Students will learn how to cross the road safely, from the basics of pedestrian signals to the importance of using pedestrian push buttons, avoiding distractions, being bright at night, and where to walk along roadways that do not have sidewalks. Objectives: To teach students how to use and understand pedestrian crossing signals To teach students why it is important to use pedestrian push buttons To teach students how to stay safe when crossing intersections by avoiding distractions and being bright at night To teach students where to walk along roadways that do not have sidewalks Materials: Pedestrian crossing signal Reflective arm bands Travel Challenge Cards sets (3 different sets) Model intersection (Large tarp illustration of an intersection OR lines chalked onto grass) Challenge Station 1: Four sets of headphones, headphone splitter, stereo, noisemaker (making sound of a car) Challenge Station 2: Mystery box with challenge question, leash, 1 reflective armband, water bottle, yoyo, pet waste bags, envelope (holding answer key and 8 reflective arm bands) Challenge Station 3: Mystery box with challenge question, 5 laminated images of cell phones, image of WALK signal on sign (at Challenge Station 4, facing Challenge Station 3) Challenge Station 4: Mystery box with challenge question, containing model (of rural road, 2 cars, and pedestrians), and answer key Set-Up: Challenge Station 1 (inside tent): Plug in the pedestrian signal and stereo to the extension cord. Plug the headphones into the headphone splitter connected to the stereo. Place the Challenge Station 1 Travel Challenge Cards at the station. Challenge Station 2: Place Challenge # 2 Mystery Box and Travel Challenge Cards at the station. Challenge Station 3: Place Challenge # 3 Mystery Box and Travel Challenge Cards at the station. Place the sign illustrating the WALK signal at Challenge Station 4 so it is facing Challenge Station 3. Challenge Station 4: Place Challenge # 4 Mystery Box and Travel Challenge Cards at the station. Take Down: Ensure all mystery boxes contain all required materials, including the challenge question and answer key. Put all of the materials back into the bin and turn off the pedestrian crossing signal. Safety: Remind students not to run. Accessibility: All students can participate. Remind students about audible pedestrian signals which can be requested through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind for people with vision impairments. People with visual impairments are given an instructional session after the system is installed where they have requested it. The machine makes two different sounds: one for when the pedestrian is going east/west and one for when they need to walk north/south. Unfortunately, the pedestrian crossing signal we have at the festival is not equipped with the audible option, so, if children who are visually impaired visit the activity, you can mention the program to them/their chaperone. 1/7

2 What Will I Be Doing? (Procedure) Before you start the activity, check with the teacher or chaperone that the entire group is present and ready to start. This activity can accommodate a maximum of eight students at a time, split into two teams of four. Remember that kids have more fun when they are doing a challenge and discovering the answer, rather than watching and listening. Part 1: Activity Say: Welcome to Walk This Way. Walking is a great way to get around It helps you stay active and healthy, reduces stress, and helps the environment. Does anyone know what a pedestrian is? We call anybody travelling by walking or running a pedestrian. We are all pedestrians sometimes. This activity will give you the knowledge to make safe decisions when you are a pedestrian. Say: There are four Challenge Stations. At each Challenge Station, you will have a chance to participate in an activity or solve a mystery. Once you complete the activity, you will solve a Travel Challenge to go to the next station. If the group has more than four students, split them into two teams. One team will start at Challenge 1(in the tent), and the other team will start at Challenge 3. Each team will then rotate counter-clockwise from one Challenge to the next. At Challenge Station 1: Say: Some people choose to wear headphones to listen to music when walking or jogging, and this activity will help us see what can happen when a pedestrian wears headphones. You are going to line up on this line facing the tent wall, and if you choose, you are each going to put on one set of headphones. If you then hear any road noises, raise your hand. Once you have explained the activity, put the students in a line with their backs to you, turn the music on, and let the students put on the headphones. CAUTION: Ensure the music is at a normal listening volume, and not too loud to damage the students hearing. With the students facing away from you, use the toy car to make road noises. See how many students indicate they can hear the noise by putting up their hand. Turn off the music and ask the students to remove the headphones. Reveal how many students (if any) could hear the road noises. Ask: Why could it be unsafe to wear earbuds or headphones when walking or crossing the street? Discuss: Hands up if you have eyes on the back of your head? That s right, none of us. However, our ears can actually help us know what is happening behind us. They give us important information that can help us detect whether traffic is coming. If we have headphones in, we can t hear if a car is coming. We also can t hear someone yelling Watch out or perhaps someone honking a horn. It s best to avoid listening to music when walking or jogging outdoors. If you really want to listen to music, always remove your headphones or both earbuds when crossing the street, keep the music low, and always keep one earbud out even when walking on the sidewalk. > Before travelling to Station 2: Say: Now that you have solved the mystery of why it is unsafe to wear headphones or ear buds when walking, we will complete our Travel Challenge to get to Challenge Station #2. Ask: How many of you walk outside and have seen this signal before? (Point to the signal) then ask: When you arrive at an intersection with traffic lights and want to cross the street, what is the first thing you should do? Take some suggestions from the students, then explain the answer: Always look for a pedestrian push button. Here are some different pedestrian push buttons you might find on poles at intersections in Peel. Show students the pedestrian push button pictures in the Travel Challenge #1 Cards. 2/7

3 Ask: Does anyone know why it is important to push the pedestrian push button? Take some suggestions from the students, then explain the answer: Pushing the pedestrian push button does two important things: 1) Pushing the button brings up the WALK signal with the green light. 2) At many intersections, pushing the button changes the light cycle so that you have more time to cross. (The light stays green longer, so that you will have enough time to get across the road.) If there is no pedestrian button, the WALK signal will come up automatically. Explain: Let s push the button and wait for the WALK signal. When we see the WALK signal, we can cross to Challenge Station 2. At Challenge Station 2: Let the students open Mystery Box #2. Read the Challenge Station #2 card aloud to the students. Once they have decided as a group on which three items they should bring along when walking the dog at night, open the Answer Key envelope and reveal the answer. Answer: The leash, the pet waste bags, and most importantly, the REFLECTIVE ARM BAND. Explain: When we end up walking home from a friend s house or from the bus stop in the evening, or taking the dog for a walk, we may not realise how invisible we are to drivers in the dark. If drivers can t see us, then they won t be able to stop for us. Research has shown that wearing bright clothing or white clothing does not give drivers enough warning to stop for you in time. Don t forget to always be bright at night Wear a reflective arm band, reflective ankle band, or reflective vest when walking at dawn, dusk, and at night or buy jackets or clothing with reflective stripes built in. If the students want to practice putting on and wearing the reflective arm band, they can each take one from the Answer Key envelope and put it on. DON T FORGET TO COLLECT THE REFLECTIVE ARM BANDS AND RETURN THEM TO ANSWER KEY ENVELOPE BEFORE THE GROUP LEAVES THE ACTIVITY. > Before traveling to Station 3: Say: Now that you have solved the mystery of what to wear when walking at night, we will complete our Travel Challenge to get to Challenge Station #3. Say: Pretend I am the light pole and you are waiting at the corner to cross. I will show you different traffic lights and pedestrian lights. When the light changes, if you think it is your turn to cross, then you can cross over to where I am standing. Once you cross to Challenge Station #3, hold up the Travel Challenge Cards and flip to the first drawing of the light signals (showing the amber light and DON T WALK signal). Say: Do you think it is your turn to cross now? Then flip to the next card and say, Do you think it is your turn to cross now? Then flip to the third card and say, Do you think it is your turn to cross now? Then flip to the fourth card and say, Do you think it is your turn to cross now? When the pedestrian signal is displaying the WALK signal, tell students, If you are just starting to cross now, you re right. If you crossed sooner, you were crossing when you did NOT have the RIGHT OF WAY, according to the law. How do we know when it is our turn to cross the street? Answer: Students may suggest that it is our turn to cross when the traffic light is green. Correct them by saying, Actually, it is our turn to cross when we see the WALK signal. The WALK signal is this picture of 3/7

4 a person walking. By law, we are not allowed to cross the street unless the pedestrian signal shows the WALK signal. As pedestrians, we need to look at the pedestrian signals, and remember that the traffic lights are for drivers, not for pedestrians. Ask: If it is now our turn to cross the street, what do we do before we leave the curb? Answer: Stop and look all ways to make sure it is safe to cross. If any students have not yet crossed to Challenge Station 3, ask them to practice doing this and cross the street under the WALK signal to meet you at Challenge #3. *If students ask Why is there sometimes a green light for cars, when the DON T WALK signal is up? Answer: - Sometimes this happens because no one pushed the pedestrian push button, so the WALK signal was not triggered. - We often see a DON T WALK signal with a green light when there is an advance green light for cars turning left. In some cases, this is indicated by a green arrow pointing left, or a flashing green light. This means that cars who want to turn left have the right of way. The DON T WALK signal is shown at this time because the cars would be driving across the pedestrian s path when they are crossing. Remember that the DON T WALK signal is being shown because it would not be safe to cross at this time. When the DON T WALK signal is shown, pedestrians do NOT have the RIGHT OF WAY. At Challenge/Travel Station 3: Let the students open Mystery Box #3. Inside are five pretend phones (laminated images of phones) that show a maze on the screen. Let each student receive one phone. Point to the sign illustrating the pedestrian crossing signal (located at Challenge Station 4 facing towards Challenge Station 3) and say If you think it is our turn to cross the street, you may cross. Count how many students looked at the phone as they crossed the street. Ask: Hands up if you think you looked at the phone while crossing the street. Reveal how many students looked at the phone while crossing the street. Explain: Texting or even talking on the phone can be very distracting when crossing the street. These types of distractions can take our attention away at the crucial moment when we would need to react to avoid being hit by a car. We might assume that because our phones are fairly small, we are still seeing what is around us. However, research has shown that the parts of our brain that would normally help us see what is around us (our peripheral vision) are busy with what we are doing on our phone, and that s why we can t pay attention to what is going on outside of our phone s screen. We are virtually blinded to what is happening around us. Remember to put away any electronic devices when crossing the street and look around you the entire time you are crossing. At Challenge Station 4: Let the students open Mystery Box #4. Read the Challenge Station #4 card aloud to the students. Once they have decided as a group about which pedestrians are walking on the correct side of the road, open the Answer Key envelope and reveal the answer. INCORRECT CORRECT Answer: When you are walking where there is no sidewalk on either side of the road, it is important to walk FACING traffic in the lane closest to you. Explain: If you are walking alongside traffic in the lane closest to you, like these people (point to the people in the model), you can t see the traffic that is coming up from behind in the lane closest to you. Research shows that in Ontario, almost twice as many people are hit by cars when walking on the wrong side of the road, compared to walking facing traffic in the lane closest to them. When you are 4/7

walking facing traffic, you can see the vehicles that are approaching you, and avoid them if need be for example, if the driver starts to swerve off the road for any reason (e.g. if they are distracted, driving under the influence, or if a collision between vehicles causes vehicles to leave the road).

5 walking facing traffic, you can see the vehicles that are approaching you, and avoid them if need be for example, if the driver starts to swerve off the road for any reason (e.g. if they are distracted, driving under the influence, or if a collision between vehicles causes vehicles to leave the road). > Before traveling to Station 1: Say: Now that you know where to walk when there is no sidewalk, we will complete our Travel Challenge to get to Challenge Station #1. Say: Pretend I am the light pole and you are waiting at the corner to cross. I will show you different traffic lights and pedestrian lights. When the light changes, if you think it is your turn to cross, then you can cross over to where I am standing. Once you cross to Challenge Station #1, hold up the Travel Challenge Cards and flip to the first drawing of the light signals (showing the flashing hand signal with the green traffic light). Say: Do you think it is your turn to cross now? Then flip to the second card and say, Do you think it is your turn to cross now? Then flip to the third card and say, Do you think it is your turn to cross now? Then flip to the fourth card and say, Do you think it is your turn to cross now? When the pedestrian signal is displaying the WALK signal, tell students, If you are just starting to cross now, you re right. If you crossed sooner, you were crossing when you did not have the RIGHT OF WAY, according to the law. Show students Travel Challenge Card #1 and ask: Do you know what the flashing hand signal means? Answer: The flashing hand signal means that you should not start crossing. If you have already started crossing, you may finish crossing. Ask: There are three reasons why it is not a good idea to start crossing when the hand signal is flashing, even if you think you have enough time to get across. Does anyone know what they are? Answers: 1. It is against the law to start crossing when the hand signal is flashing. 2. Once the DON T WALK signal starts to flash, this means that you will NOT have time to safely cross, if you are walking at a typical speed. Rushing or running across the intersection may make you more likely to trip and fall, or less likely to see a car that may be turning left or right across your path. 3. Once the hand starts flashing, if you start crossing you are preventing cars that need to turn left or right from having a chance to leave the intersection before the light changes. If we arrive at an intersection and the hand signal is flashing, to be safe we need to wait on the curb through the light cycle, until the WALK signal appears. Ask: If it is now our turn to cross the street, what do we do before we leave the curb? Answer: Stop and look all ways to make sure it is safe to cross. If any students have not yet crossed to Challenge Station 1, ask them to practice doing this and cross the street under the WALK signal to meet you at Challenge #1. 5/7

6 Part 2: Review Review each of the key messages with students. Ask: What is the first thing we should do when we get to an intersection with traffic lights? Answer: Look for the pedestrian push button and push it. Ask: At intersections with traffic lights, how do we know when it is our turn to cross? When we see the? Answer: It is our turn to cross when we see the WALK signal (or the walking man signal). Ask: Why is it unsafe to wear headphones or earbuds when walking or crossing the street? Answer: Because we can t hear what is happening around us, making it more difficult to avoid a vehicle in time if necessary. Ask: Why is it important to put away electronic devices like phones, tablets, or games when crossing the street? Answer: These types of distractions can take our attention away at the crucial moment when we would need to react to avoid being hit by a car. Ask: What should we always wear when walking at night, dawn, or dusk? Answer: Reflective arm bands, reflective ankle bands, or reflective clothing are best to help drivers see us. Flashing lights will also help drivers see us. Remember, if drivers can t see us, they won t be able to stop for us. Ask: When we are walking where there are no sidewalks, should we walk facing traffic in the lane closest to us, or should we walk with our backs to traffic in the lane closes to us? Answer: Where there are no sidewalks, it is important to walk FACING traffic in the lane closest to you. 6/7

Walk This Way Intersection diagram Tent = CHALLENGE STATION #1 CHALLENGE STATION #4 Simulated sidewalk Station leader stands here when displaying traffic light signals for Travel

7 Walk This Way Intersection diagram Tent = CHALLENGE STATION #1 CHALLENGE STATION #4 Simulated sidewalk Station leader stands here when displaying traffic light signals for Travel Challenge #4. Simulated intersection 1.5m Simulated crosswalk Station leader stands here when displaying traffic light signals for Travel Challenge #2. CHALLENGE STATION #2 CHALLENGE STATION #3 7/7

Pedestrian Safety Tips

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