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Curricula – "Kids on the Move" (K-5)
Introduction | Grades pK - 3 |
Grades 4 - 5 | Appendices
Curricula – "Smart Moves" (6-8)
Math & Thinking Lessons
Links
Kids on the Move
Introduction and How to Use This Curricula
Welcome to PORTLAND KIDS ON THE MOVE, a traffic-safety curriculum with an
emphasis on environmental concerns. This curriculum was written and designed
especially for Portland-area school children, kindergarten through fifth
grade. Educational consultants contracted by the City of Portland Office of
Transportation developed the program with the assistance of an advisory
committee composed of Portland Public Schools administrators, teachers,
parents, and Portland traffic-management specialists. In addition, Tri-Met,
the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Portland Department of
Transportation, and the Oregon Department of Education contributed materials
and representatives to the final product.
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Yes but they are not provided as part of the lesson plan. At the time
this curriculum was designed, the consulting teachers determined that they
wanted the lessons to meet standards but did not want the specific standards
identified because it would hamper their ability to be flexible.
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Goals of the Program
PORTLAND KIDS ON THE MOVE has two primary goals: (1) to instruct children
in basic pedestrian, bicycle, and motor-vehicle occupant safety; and (2) to
encourage children to walk, ride bicycles, and use mass transit as a regular
means of transportation. To meet these goals, 25 lessons with specific
objectives involve students in the classroom and in active, hands-on
experiences.
Though stranger safety is critical when students are in city streets,
biking, walking, or riding a mass-transit system, the subject does not
directly relate to the traffic/environment theme. Therefore, lessons on
stranger safety are included as supplements in the Appendices rather than
placed right in the lesson plans.
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Why This Program Is Important
Experts estimate Portland’s metro-area population will reach nearly
1,650,000 by the year 2000. What this could mean to the livability of
Portland in terms of traffic management and pollution control is unpleasant
to imagine. Portland’s transportation system is already burdened, even
with an extensive bus program and the addition of light rail. Thousands more
automobiles on Portland’s current street system cannot be accommodated,
nor can they be tolerated. Part of the solution lies in educating young
people who live in the Portland area. An appreciation of the values of
walking, bicycling, carpooling, and using mass transit must be developed,
not only to preserve the livability of the City of Portland, but to ensure
its survival.
Some cities in other countries are far ahead of us. In many, the bicycle
is the primary means of urban transportation, and fast, fuel-efficient
trains take passengers long distances. Automobile-dependent Americans will
have to use new modes of transportation if we are to preserve our natural
environment. This curriculum is an effort to educate Portland children to
value and enjoy alternative transportation.
Just as important as transportation issues is the issue of traffic
safety. Traffic accidents are the number-one cause of death and injury to
young people, and most such accidents could be avoided if schoolchildren
learned and consistently reviewed basic traffic safety. While almost all
children ride bikes, fewer than one in 1,000 schools in the nation teach
bicycle safety. Park programs, youth organizations and clubs, associations
such as AAA and Red Cross, and educational programs such as this curriculum
have been trying to fill the need.
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Background Educational Philosophy
The developers of PORTLAND KIDS ON THE MOVE have tied this course to
proven educational philosophy and practices. The following concepts are
woven into the materials and methodology:
- Because students have individual learning styles, material is
presented in a number of different ways to be meaningful to all
students.
- Most students learn best when actively involved in instruction with
"hands-on" activities requiring full participation.
- Instruction begins with what students already know and builds on this
base.
- Students learn from sources other than the teacher, such as parents,
peers, and other community members.
- An inclusive educational environment is essential, with no limitations
based on sex, race, economic status, or disability.
- Forms of enrichment are made available for teachers and students who
seek more than the basic course content.
- Parent/guardian involvement is critical in linking course instruction
to real life and reinforcing important concepts.
It is assumed that students will get feedback on their progress and
recognition for their successes from parents, teachers, peers, and the
community.
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Ideally, PORTLAND KIDS ON THE MOVE would become an all-school project
extending a full month, which might be called Traffic Safety Month or
Portland Kids on the Move Month. The month could end with a celebration,
with students receiving certificates for participation and special
recognition for their efforts.
If all-school participation is not possible, individual teachers can use
the lessons as they choose. However, a number of lessons involve cross-age
teaching with 4th- and 5th-graders instructing and
modeling for K-3 children. Parent involvement is built into the program in
many lessons, and extensions involving community members – such as police
officers, bicycle mechanics, and other volunteer speakers and helpers –
are recommended. The more people involved, the more emphasis and energy
expended, the more likely the instruction will be remembered.
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PORTLAND KIDS ON THE MOVE contains 25 lessons: 14 lessons that are most
appropriate for Grades pK-3 and 11 lessons that are most appropriate for
Grades 4-5. All lessons include nine main components: level, subject area,
objective, time, materials, suggested activities, assessment, extension, and
additional resources. Some lessons repeat basic information included in
earlier lessons because some students will not have learned it previously.
Level – A full range of Grades K-5 is indicated for each lesson
plan since many of the activities may be taught in all the grades, in
blended-primary classrooms, and/or to students with differing experience,
knowledge, needs, and abilities. Those grades in which the lesson plan
objective is most likely to be addressed are indicated in bold and
underlined type.
Subject Area – A list of subject areas touched upon briefly or
in depth by the lesson plan and corresponding to Portland Public Schools’
Curriculum Frameworks is included under this heading.
Objective – Objectives describe what students will be able to do
after completing the lesson.
Time – The time needed to complete each lesson is estimated. The
time will vary considerably depending on the ability level of the students,
the number of students, the individual style of the instructor, and the
teaching environment.
Materials – All materials and equipment necessary to teach the
lesson are listed, and many of them are provided in the lesson plan.
Suggested Activities – Clear, step-by-step procedures and
factual information are included for all suggested activities.
Assessment – Most lesson plans suggest one or more ways to
enhance or expand the lesson concepts.
Additional Resources – Teachers are referred at the end of each
lesson plan to specific sections in the Additional Resources list in
Appendix Three that describe relevant print, audiovisual, and organizational
and agency resources.
Most lessons contain supplemental "Figures," which consist of
materials for students to use in classroom activities and/or to deliver to
parent(s)/guardian(s) and for teachers to use as overhead transparencies.
Permission forms are included for the convenience of teachers, although in
some instances the "Day Field Trip Notice and Student Permission
Form" (an internal form of the Portland School District) may suffice.
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Tri-Met was extremely cooperative and helpful in developing this program.
Because young people are a primary focus for Tri-Met, the agency employs a
public-relations staff member to work exclusively with schools and programs
for youth. In addition, Tri-Met has a number of programs to encourage youth
ridership, including a bus-driver presentation targeted at third grade.
Tri-Met educational materials and information are readily available.
If you enlist the aid of other organizations in your efforts, you will
find most people interested in promoting traffic safety for children. Of
course, those people most interested in children’s safety are the parents
of those children. Organize parent groups, and involve them in teaching by
providing information, materials, and opportunities to help in class
activities.
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PORTLAND KIDS ON THE MOVE lessons give teachers and students an
opportunity to get to know each other outside the classroom. Away from the
traditional setting, walking and biking in the fresh air, formal
teacher-student barriers break down, and communication is more likely to be
authentic and meaningful.
Some schools in the Portland area do not allow students to ride bicycles
to school at this time due to safety, crime, or security considerations.
This is unfortunate, but understandable. We hope that improvements in
traffic conditions and bicycle accommodations will change this policy soon.
In any case, frightening descriptions of fatal accidents and injuries will
discourage children from walking or riding bicycles on city streets and from
using the mass-transit system. If you stress, instead, the pleasure of using
one’s own energy to get someplace and the knowledge that one is doing
his/her part to preserve the natural environment, students will break more
ground as we change our traffic and transportation habits for a safer,
cleaner future.
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