Teaching road safety through literacy

This page guides in the use of road safety at school.

Who is this information for?

This information is for Primary School teachers delivering literacy teaching. Additional support and resources are available free of charge.

How can it help?

Literacy unites the important skills of reading and writing, as well as involving speaking and listening. Many opportunities for developing literacy through both fiction and non fiction can involve the themes of road travel and the traffic environment.

Why should we include road safety in curriculum work?

For teachers this is an opportunity to meet two objectives at once: easily combining development of literacy skills with a broad awareness of road safety issues.

What do I need to do?

Listed below are some ideas related to road safety which can be used in the context of literacy teaching. Use the links on the right to explore the resources that are available to you free of charge. To order or request any item contact us in (01902) 551155, or e-mails us on road.safety@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Activities

Narrative:

Invent a road safety incident involving more than one person.  Ask different groups of children to relate the incident from the viewpoints of the different participants, and of an uninvolved observer.  Then discuss how and why peoples versions of events might differ.

Report:

Ask children to report on their route to school (or another journey they have made recently on foot).  They should identify any places in which they crossed roads, and factors which made this more or less dangerous.

Recount:

Find a newspaper article about a road accident.  Ask children to examine how it is described, and then write one of their own.

Explanation:

Examine a safety device such as a pelican crossing or high visibility clothing, and develop an explanation of how it works.

Instruction:

Ask your pupils to explain how to carry out a procedure relating to road safety, i.e. how to use a Zebra crossing, or prepare for a journey by bicycle.

Argument:

Find or invent a road safety issue which affects children at your school, such as a busy road which is difficult to cross safely.  Explore the issue with your pupils, then ask them to present their views on what should be done to address it.