Interactive Projects

Overview
In this activity, students working in groups will plan and conduct a clinic on safety procedures and equipment for three recreational activities involving wheels: bicycling, skate-boarding, and in-line skating. Students will prepare for the event by visiting several Web sites and downloading electronic booklets that describe in words and images the rules of safety in these three activities.

Objectives

• To learn rules of non-motor vehicular safety posted on the World Wide Web.
• To demonstrate health literacy by communicating this information to peers in the form of a clinic.

Getting Started
Point out to students that the invention of the wheel long ago was one of the greatest advancements in human civilization. Add that more recently this invention has turned out to be a mixed blessing, with non-motor "vehicles"--including bicycles, skateboards, and in-line skates--accounting for more than a million and a half injuries each year. Ask: What steps can users of these wheeled vehicles take to reduce the risk of bodily harm? Elicit that wearing protective gear, including helmets and knee pads, and observing rules of the road can be instrumental in reducing injuries. Note that in this activity, students are going to work in teams to become minor experts on aspects of safety on wheels.

Classroom Follow-up
If the classroom computer is equipped with presentation software, you may want to urge selected groups to conduct their clinics as slide shows. Other groups whose members possess artistic aptitude may be encouraged to create posters modeled on the line drawings in the electronic booklets, using the Copy and Paste commands in Adobe Acrobat reader and any graphics programs as may be available on the classroom computer.