Resources
IWALK Month Activity Ideas
These IWALK activities are listed by appropriate audience. If you have a great IWALK idea, please send it to us and we'll include it in this list.
Note that all activities have been linked to the Ontario curriculum.
Parent Councils
IWALK and the Terry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run has been taking place for almost 30 years now. If your school usually participates in this annual event why not team up the run with IWALK? Your school can incorporate the Terry Fox theme into physical activity, geography, biology, history and more. Challenge the students to walk to school by ‘walking’ the same route that Terry Fox took across Canada. Call us for a Cross Canada Walking Map.
Ontario Curriculum: 1p31, 1z5, 2z6, 2z11, 3p36, 4p33, 4z45, 4z54, 5p39, 5s26, 7p41.
Bicycle Rodeos
Teach safety skills to students and provide some fun exercise. Create an obstacle course in the school yard with chalk, traffic cones, stop signs and sponges (to indicate obstacles). Contact your local Police division or Public Health Department for information on setting up a Bike Rodeo. See Marin County's (California) lesson plan ideas for further details.
Ontario Curriculum: 4p10, 5p21, 5p29, 6p18, 7p22, 8p14, 8p22.
Passports
Use passports that can be stamped with every walking trip a student makes. This method helps to keep track of which students walked to school and how often. Also, join the IWALK Club where students receive their own IWALK Club member card to keep track of their trips to school.
Ontario Curriculum: 1p32, 2p31, 3p31, 4z24, 4z45, 6p30.
Steps Across Canada
Contact local sports equipment stores and ask if they will donate pedometers for students to keep track of their daily steps. Some schools have incorporated a theme of "Steps Across Canada" and, using Green Communities Cross Canada Walking Poster Map, are stepping out across the country. To receive a Cross Canada poster and associated resources, please register here and select "Cross Canada Walking Poster".
Ontario Curriculum: 3p31, 5p34, 7p37, 8p36.
Community Mascots Walk to School
Many communities and schools have mascots that can 'walk to school' with the students on IWALK Day. If your community doesn't have a mascot, why not create your own!
Ontario Curriculum: 5p35.
Family First
Ask the families that live furthest from the school to start a Walking School Bus for IWALK Day and have them walk with a banner collecting other families along the way. Along the routes search for 'Freddie the Foot' Adobe (PDF - 106 KB). Here is an image of just 'Freddie'. Image (JPG - 54 KB)
Ontario Curriculum: 1p37, 2p40, 3p39, 4p36.
Funky Dress for IWALK Week
Encourage students to have fun with their clothing during IWALK Week. Some ideas include:
- Dress in one primary colour
- Wear clothes backwards
- Decorate sneakers
- Make and wear fun hats
- Wear bright and reflective clothing
Students can then have a school yard fashion show Adobe (PDF - 142 KB) at recess.
Ontario Curriculum: 5a54, 5a6, 6a6, 6a63, 7a5, 7a59, 7a64, 7a65, 8a43, 8a47.
School Challenges
Have an IWALK challenge with another local school, even if they are part of a different school district. This can help to create community-wide action for safer walking routes as well as providing some friendly competition.
Ontario Curriculum: 3p38, 4p35, 5p40, 6p34, 7p42, 8p41.
Combine IWALK with local fundraising initiatives
Schools can encourage students who walked to school on IWALK Day to bring a non-perishable food item for their local food bank. Invite the local media to promote this.
Ontario Curriculum: 2z3, 5p35, 6p29.
Success Story
Read a case study of Morton Way Public School, which has successfully implemented an active transportation program.
Ontario Curriculum: 7m81, 7m83, 7m86, 7m95, 7m103, 7s18, 8m91, 8m93, 8m94, 8m97, 8m98, 8m104.
Teachers
Clean Air Achievers Program
The guide has excellent ideas for encouraging daily physical activity. Contact your local health unit for copies of the guide, or access it online.
Ontario Curriculum: 2p32, 3p31, 3p32, 4p29, 5p35, 6p30, 7p37, 8p36.
IWALK and the Terry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run has been taking place for almost 30 years now. If your school usually participates in this annual event why not team up the run with IWALK? Your school can incorporate the Terry Fox theme into physical activity, geography, biology, history and more. Challenge the students to walk to school by ‘walking’ the same route that Terry Fox took across Canada. Call us for a Cross Canada Walking Map.
Ontario Curriculum: 1p31, 1z5, 2z6, 2z11, 3p36, 4p33, 4z45, 4z54, 5p39, 5s26, 7p41.
Theme Days
Select themes for every day during IWALK Week. Here are some suggestions: Give each day a name. Here are some examples: Marching Monday, Trekking Tuesday, Walking/Wheeling Wednesdays, Hike and Bike Thursday, Thundering Thursday, Footloose Friday. Use holidays as themes as well: Turkey Trot, Winter Walkin' Day, Halloween Monster March.
Ontario Curriculum: 1p32, 2p33, 5p35.
Other Crazy Ideas
Crazy Hair Day: Students colour or spike their hair to create awareness of walkers. Crazy Sneaker Parade: Students can decorate their sneakers for IWALK Day. These can be shown off in an IWALK fashion show. Parent Council can arrange for a 'best dressed sneaker' contest with prizes.
Download the activity sheet Adobe (PDF - 142 KB).
Ontario Curriculum: 1p33, 2p33, 2a29, 2a41, 3a35, 6a38, 7a46, 8a35.
Globe Trotting
Calculate the cumulative distance that one class or school walks and compare it to distances between major cities all around the world. Another idea is to follow the equator. Join the IWALK Club and receive our Walk Around the World Poster and resources.
Choose five continents (one for each day of IWALK Week) and learn about their cultures, dress, wildlife, food, etc. This idea can incorporated with themed ideas for each day. For example, students create artwork from each continent to carry with them on their walks (i.e. flags). Click here for resources. Request one of our Walk Around the World posters for your classroom.
Ontario Curriculum: 2z25, 2z29, 2z35, 7g27, 7g36, 7q44.
Eye Spy
Ask students to pick an "eye spy" theme for each day of IWALK Week, for example, eye spy safe things, unsafe things, things that pollute, etc.
Ontario Curriculum: 1z49, 3p10, 4p11.
Bicycle Rodeos
Teach safety skills to students and provide some fun exercise. Create an obstacle course in the school yard with chalk, traffic cones, stop signs and sponges (to indicate obstacles). Contact your local Police division or Public Health Department for information on setting up a Bike Rodeo. See Marin County's (California) lesson plan ideas for further details.
Ontario Curriculum: 4p10, 5p21, 5p29, 6p18, 7p22, 8p14, 8p22.
Calculate Your Walking Pace
Using string and sticks, this activity helps students calculate their walking pace in KM/H to determine what kind of walker (i.e. stroller or brisk walker) they are. Download the activity sheet here Adobe (PDF - 29 KB).
Ontario Curriculum: 3m36, 4m36, 6m42, 6m53, 6m55.
Thanksgiving Turkey Trot
Hold a Turkey Trot during IWALK Week; make a featherless turkey and every time a student walks, add a feather.
Ontario Curriculum: 2p33, 2z6, 2z17, 3z2, 6z5, 6p29.
Passports
Use passports that can be stamped with every walking trip a student makes. This method helps to keep track of which students walked to school and how often. Also, join the IWALK Club where students receive their own IWALK Club member card to keep track of their trips to school.
Ontario Curriculum: 1p32, 2p31, 3p31, 4z24, 4z45, 6p30.
Wild Walking
Use wild animals to represent the Four Fitness S's: a) strength - elephant, b) speed - tiger, c) stamina - giraffe, d) suppleness - chimpanzee. Younger children are given masks in the form of these animals to wear while walking to school. Handy image resources available from Arkive.
Ontario Curriculum: 2s5, 2s11, 2s13, 2s14, 2s22, 4s16, 4s18, 6s21.
Greening the Trees
Each student draws a tree without branches. They also draw and cut out leaves. Every time the student walks to or from school, they add a leaf to their tree. This shows that walking to school can contribute to a greener world. Full details and the needed resources.
Ontario Curriculum: 1a31, 1a35, 2a38, 2a45, 3a29, 3a21, 4a37.
Take the Nature Challenge
Visit the David Suzuki Foundation web site and have your class take the Nature Challenge.
Ontario Curriculum: 4s16, 4s18, 4s19, 7g63, 7g64, 7s18, 7s23, 7s24.
Traffic Pollution Survey
This is an interesting experiment to test local air pollution. Two locations are chosen: one by a busy street and the other far from a busy street. Students find a tree or a leafy bush (same species throughout the experiment) and lightly apply a piece of tape to each leaf, one from the busy street and the other from the non-busy street. These pieces of tape are placed in a notebook and labelled. The piece of tape from the busier street will be darker than the one from the non-busy street.
Ontario Curriculum: 7s10, 7s18, 7s20.
Decorate the School Fence with IWALK Posters
Have classes of students create colourful banners and poster with IWALK related themes for the school fence. This promotes the event to the entire community.
Ontario Curriculum: 5p35, 5a31, 6a30, 7p32, 7a44, 7a45, 8p36, 8a26.
Puppet Show
Students can make puppets from various materials and then write a puppet skit about walking to school that can be presented to the school.
Ontario Curriculum: 1a49, 1a58, 1a59, 2a53, 2a59, 2a65, 3a54, 3a59, 4a62, 5a59, 6a65, 7a62, 7a70, 7a78, 8a47, 8a58, 8a60, 8a61.
Students - JK to Grade 8
Be sure to have adult permission and supervision for these activities. Ideas for Drama Students
Create short skits about the benefits of walking to school. Take the skit from class to class.
Ontario Curriculum: 1a49, 1a58, 1a59, 2a53, 2a59, 2a65, 3a54, 3a59, 4a62, 5a59, 6a65, 7a62, 7a70, 7a78, 8a47, 8a58, 8a60, 8a61.
Walk to School Fashion Show
Students organize a 'walk to school' fashion show to a medley of 'walking tunes'. Download the activity package.
Ontario Curriculum: 5a54, 5a6, 6a63, 6a6, 7a59, 7a63, 7a65, 7a5, 8a43, 8a47.
Promotional Assembly
The week before IWALK, hold a school-wide promotional assembly. This will boost school spirit, get students excited about the event, and review pedestrian safety. A great way to incorporate a 'Walk to School' fashion show or skit.
Ontario Curriculum: 4p24, 6p27, 7p32.
Sidewalk Chalk the School Yard
Use sidewalk chalk to trace your footsteps on the sidewalk around the school. Create a 'walk of fame' and have walking students sign their names in the shoes around the school.
Ontario Curriculum: 4a41, 5a31, 5a32, 5a37.
High Schools
Coordinate an Anti-idling Campaign
Idling is a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, but most people don’t realize how bad it is. Combined with misinformation over whether idling is good for your engine (it’s not!), a targeted anti-idling campaign is a great way to raise awareness about this issue. Some proven strategies that schools have implemented include handing out “I don’t idle” buttons, “Turn off the engine” stickers for cars, informational pamphlets on the effects of idling, or fake traffic tickets to remind drivers of the damage they are doing. Visit Natural Resources Canada website.
Ontario Curriculum: HIF 2O-Individual and Family Living-Personal and Social Responsibilities; CHV 2O-Civics, Active Citizenship; SNC 2D-Science, Biology: The Sustainability of Ecosystems, Earth and Space Science: Weather Dynamics; SNC 2P-Science, Ecosystems and Human Activity, Earth and Space Science: Weather Systems.
Host a Bike Mechanics Workshop at School
Many students ride their bikes on a regular basis, but could use a refresher on how those fabulous machines work. Here’s a great chance to empower your friends and classmates to identify what kind of work their bikes need, and to make their own simple repairs. Contact your local cycling organization or store to find a mechanic who may be able to help out.
Ontario Curriculum: TTJ 2O-Transportation Technology, Impact and Consequences; TTJ 3C-Transporation Technology, Skills and Processes.
Attach Gift Packages to Bikes in the Schoolyard
Attach a gift package to bikes in the schoolyard as a thank you for cycling. Help spread the word that cyclists (and walkers) deserve thanks! Not only are they improving traffic congestion, air quality, and the safety of local streets, but they are getting fit and having fun in the process. These modern-day heroes deserve to be recognized for all that work!
There are so many ways to say it:
- "I love my bike" buttons
- fortune cookies – with cycling-themed fortunes
- reflective ankle bands
- small bag of candies
It is best to distribute these prizes right before the end of the school day to avoid the effects of weather and vandalism, or to hand them out in the morning as your school heroes come in.
Ontario Curriculum: CHV 2O-Civics, Active Citizenship; HIF 2O-Individual and Family Living-Self and Others; PLF 4C-Recreation and Fitness Leadership, Facilitation of Recreation and Leisure; HFA 4M-Food and Nutrition Sciences, Personal and Social Responsibilities; PPL 1O, PPL 2O, PPL 3O, PPL 4O-Healthy Active Living Education, Active Living.
Ontario Curriculum: PPL 1O, PPL 2O, PPL 3O, PPL 4O-Healthy Active Living Education, Active Living; TTJ 2O-Transportation Technology, Impact and Consequences; TTJ 3C-Transporation Technology, Skills and Processes; TDJ 2O Technological Design, Sills and Processes, Impact and Consequences; PLF 4C-Recreation and Fitness Leadership, Facilitation of Recreation and Leisure.
Invite a Guest to Speak on Physical Activity and Climate Change
Invite a guest speaker to inspire the student body on what they can do about physical activity and climate change. Clean Air Champions offers opportunities to host one of their dynamic Clean Air Champions. Clean Air Champions are Canada's top national team, Olympic or Paralympic athletes, and they speak with students on issues of climate change, air quality and health. Visit their website for more details on this organization.
Ontario Curriculum: PPL 1O, PPL 2O, PPL 3O, PPL 4O-Healthy Active Living Education, Active Living; CHV 2O-Civics, Purposeful Citizenship.
Post Maps Showing Safe Routes to School
Display transit, local cycling and walking route maps in the cafeteria, so students can see what their options are and pick a safe route to school. Many students may not be aware of how many transportation options exist for them beyond borrowing the family car. Why not make it easier for everyone to see what’s out there by posting information in a high traffic area at school? Many city councils produce cycling maps showing where safer routes exist for cyclists. Some city groups also produce walking maps, detailing pleasant walks in different neighbourhoods. You can make this area even more useful by adding transit maps, and a ride board to help students who could carpool connect. You can also encourage students to sign up and look for carpooling partners online.
CGC 1D, CGC 1P-Geography of Canada, Human-Environment Interactions; GLE 10, GLS 10-Learning Strategies 1: Skills for Success, Learning Skills; PPZ 3O-Health for Life, Determinates of Health; HIR 3C-Managing Personal and Family Resources, Social Structures, Self and Others, Personal and Social Responsibilities; CGT 3E-Geographics: The Geographer's Toolkit, Methods of Geographic Inquiry.
Organize an Active Transportation Challenge
Organize an active transportation challenge between schools or grades for a week at school; finish it off with a celebration breakfast for everyone who participates.
International Walk to School Week is a great time for a bit of friendly competition – challenge your rival high school to get the greatest percentage of walkers throughout the week, or design an in-school competition between grades or houses. Contact local businesses to get their support and some prizes for the winning groups. Plan a party or celebration pancake breakfast for the last day, when you have a chance to recognize the winning group, and congratulate everyone on their participation.
Ontario Curriculum: ENG 3U-English, Literature Studies and Reading; PLF 4C-Recreation and Fitness Leadership, Physical Fitness and Well-Being; PPL 1O, PPL 2O, PPL 3O, PPL 4O-Healthy Active Living Education, Active Living; AVI 10-Visual Arts, Creation; HRN 1O, HFN 2O, HFA 4M-Food and Nutrition, Personal and Social Responsibilities.
Write a Skit or Play on Walking to School
Spread the word about the benefits of choosing active, sustainable transportation to get to school! Write a skit or play on walking to school to perform at a local elementary school. Your schools’ drama club is a great place to develop some creative games and plays to perform for your peers or a younger age group.
Ontario Curriculum: ADA 1O, ADA 2O, ADA 3M, ADA 3O, ADA 4O, ADA 4M-Dramatic Arts, Creation.
Curriculum Links
Ontario Curriculum Links
We have created a document outlining links between the activity ideas listed on this page and the Ontario curriculum, to make it easier to integrate these teaching tools.
