FREEDOM TO RIDE
Bicycle Skills Curriculum
Bicycles foster confidence and promote
a healthy, active lifestyle.
They give kids the freedom to explore
their world and have fun while doing so!
Learning to ride a bicycle
is a milestone of childood.
We designed this curriculum to give kids the skills that they need to pedal the streets in their community safely. We hope that by learning these skills, students and families will be more likely to consider the bicycle as a way to get to school, run errands, and get anywhere they need to go.
Historically, bicycle education has focused on a rules-first approach, teaching kids skills because it is the law. Our goal with this curriculum is to reframe the teaching process. You should learn how to ride safely because it gives you freedom and independence. Riding safely means having more fun. Teaching your students these skills with this positive philosophy in mind will not only help them see the benefits of safe riding, but will also make them more conscious and active members of the community.
Lessons
We have built the following sequence of lessons to teach students these comprehensive riding skills. These lessons will help them not only be more confident bike handlers, but allow them to safely navigate and explore the world around them.
For second and third grade students, or novice riders, we recommend using Lessons 1-4. They focus on basic bike handling skills.
For fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, or students who have mastered the basics, we recommend using Lessons 1 and 5-8. These lessons teach them how to implement basic bike handling skills in more complex, real-world environments.
Each lesson is downloadable as a single pdf below. We also offer the entire curriculum as a single complete pdf here.
How to start and stop safely, signal, and scan an intersection.
How to safely control your bicycle on a course with more complex turns.
How to properly enter and exit a driveway, while yielding to traffic.
How to ride on the right side of the road through a series of traffic scenarios.
How to navigate 4-way and 2-way intersections, observing proper right of way.
How to cross railroad tracks, ride with one hand, and ride while standing up.
How to avoid small and large obstacles, as well as stop quickly and safely.
How to make a left turn across multiple lanes with oncoming traffic.
FAQs
We know it takes work to get a new program adopted at any school. To help get administrators, teachers, and parents on board we created this Campus Support Guide.
Each student will need a functioning bicycle and helmet to complete these lessons. You will also need a set of cones, traffic signs, sidewalk chalk, and simulated hazards. See our Materials Guide for a detailed breakdown of these resources.
You will need a space such as an empty parking lot or a school blacktop so students have a safe, car-free area in which to learn these skills. If your school has outdoor basketball courts, those are an ideal space to stage each lesson.
You will also need a secure location to keep the bicycles. If your students are bringing their own bicycles, make sure there are secure racks where they can park them. If bicycles and equipment are being provided by a school or a local partner, find a secure location near your teaching site to keep the bikes.
We designed each lesson in this curriculum around a 60 minute class period. If you have more or less time, we have included suggestions in each lesson plan on how to modify accordingly.
You will need approximately 30-40 minutes to set up each lesson. We strongly recommend having any volunteers who are assisting you arrive early to help with this.
To successfully teach the lessons in this curriculum, we stronly suggest a minimum of three assistants. These assistants can be grade level teachers, school staff, or community volunteers. If you cannot secure three assistants, we have included suggestions in the lesson plans on how to adapt.
See our Campus Support Guide for tips on how to work with your school to recruit assistants. Our Volunteer Guide provides detailed instruction for each of these assistants. For parents this presents a great opportunity to help teach their child how to ride a bicycle safely, a milestone for many!
Each lesson has a Learner’s Course for those that are still not able to ride a bicycle. As other students are practicing more advanced skills, new riders have a space to get a hang for the basics. Check out the lesson plans above for more details.
For the simplest explanation of how to teach a student to ride check out this pdf.
If you are keeping your own fleet of bicycles, check out the Maintenance Guide for more on keeping your bicycles running smoothly. This document also goes over how to pack a trailer for storing bikes between lessons.
Each lesson includes ways to extend the lesson activities if students have mastered the basics. We also have this Additional Activities document that gives you more ideas for teaching bike skills.
Proper helmet fit is key, but also just part of the equation when it comes to encouraging students to safely explore their world by bike. We have created a series of safety checks that you will have the students complete before each lesson.
These include proper helmet fitting, a bike safety check, and a head-to-toe clothing check to make sure that they are ready to ride. These are outlined in the Pre-Lesson Instruction section of each lesson plan. We have also created this Pre-Ride Instruction poster (printable up to 24×36”) for you to post in the lesson area to help walk students through these checks.
