Teachers section Contents: Specific teaching points about conspicuity 2 The Interactive Activities for 4 to 11 year olds 3 Fact and Fun sheets 5 Downloadable quiz for 7 to 11 year olds 7 Cross-curricular extension suggestions for 4 to 7 year old 8 Cross-curricular extension suggestions for 7 to 11 year olds 9 Curriculum Links for 4 to 7 and 7 to 11 year olds 10 Road Safety
Specific teaching points about conspicuity. When walking at night Always choose well lit routes. Always cross using safer crossing places like Zebras, Pelicans, Toucans, Traffic Islands, Bridges and Subways. These are usually well lit. Don t cross between parked cars, as pedestrians are more likely to be hidden in shadows, or blocked from the drivers view by parked vehicles. Wear or carry something white or reflective (stick on strips, arm bands or fun reflectors like Nationwide s Cats Eyes for Kids Reflectors). Carry a torch if possible. When cycling Make sure front lights, rear lights and rear red reflector are clean and working correctly. Have spoke reflectors fitted to the wheels of the bicycle. Wear something white or reflective (stick on strips, arm bands or fun reflectors like Nationwide s Cats Eyes for Kids Reflectors). Cycle on well lit roads and look carefully all around for other road users. Reflective: Something that reflects or shines back light beams, so it stands out brightly and can be seen. In the day reflective material looks dull and grey, but it sparkles brightly in the dark when light is shone on it. Fluorescent: Something that shows up brightly and clearly in the daylight usually vivid pinks, yellows, lime greens and oranges. Fluorescent colours are good in bad weather conditions, but they don t show up any better than other colours in the dark. Road Safety 2
The Interactive Activities for 4 to 11 year olds The Interactive Games: For 4 7 year olds Alley Cats: It s night time and the alley cats keep hiding. The bins shake, cats peer out and sometimes pop up. Try to catch them. Aim: To get as many cats as possible tagged with a reflector on their collar. Methodology: You can only catch a cat when it s popped right up. As each cat is clicked on in time, a reflector will attach to its collar. The cat then stays up and a reflective disc is added to the pile at the side. Purrfect Pairs: It s night time and the alley cats are still hiding. Can you find the twin cats? Aim: To find matching pairs of cats. Methodology: Click on a bin and a cat pops up, click on another and then another cat pops up. If the cats don t match they go back in their bins, if they do match, the reflectors on their collars shine, and reflective discs start to pile up at the side in a tower. Missing Words: The two paragraphs in this activity highlight the message of being seen and being safe. Aim: To click on the correct word at the bottom and fill the blanks in the sentences. Methodology: The blanks in the sentences will highlight sequentially and you click on the chosen word from the bottom. The word will not move unless it is correct. Once the correct word is chosen, it fills the blank space and disappears from the bottom. You can click on individual blanks out of sequence if the word is known. Road Safety 3
The Interactive Games: For 7 11 year olds Aim: To find as many reflectors as possible without losing a life. Moggy Maze: It s night time and the alley cat needs to find as many reflectors as possible. He has a lamp on his helmet to help him see, but it s still difficult finding his way round the maze in the dark. Catseyes in the road help guide him when he gets near to the reflectors, but he has to watch out for dangers on the way. Alley dog is chasing him and sometimes there are bins blocking some of the alleyways. It s a race against the clock to avoid the dangers and find all the reflectors. Methodology: There are 3 levels, and 4 reflectors to collect on each level which vary in position each time the game is played. Each level has 1 battery to collect, which lights up the entire maze for a couple of seconds, allowing the player to see where all of the dangers and reflectors are in the maze. Each level is more difficult than the last: there are more dangers and the cat and dog both move more quickly. Knocking into a bin loses one life and if the dog catches you, you lose three lives. Crosswords : This is an online interactive crossword. All the words relate to keeping safe out near traffic at night. Aim: To answer each question by spelling out the words on the crossword. Methodology: Read the question and once you know the answer to the question shown, click on individual letters to spell out the word in the highlighted column or row. Road Safety 4
Fun and Fact sheets for 4 to 11 year olds Fun Sheets for 4 7 year olds Colour Me A colour by numbers sheet to illustrate how white or reflective colours show up best. Fact Sheets for 4 7 year olds Being Seen and Keeping Safe All the important things they need to remember to keep safe if out near traffic at night. Wordsearch A simple wordsearch game using key words about being safe being seen when out near traffic at night. Cat Facts Lots of unusual and different Facts about cats! Create a Poster Two activities in one, to either make a poster for the classroom to remind children to wear something reflective at night, or to make a classroom mural of a dark, street lit, street scene. How We See Facts about light sources and how we use our eyes to see. Be Seen Colouring in two pictures - one in daylight and one in the dark. Road Safety 5
Fun Sheets for 7 11 year olds Reflective Material A word game to see how many smaller words can be made out of the letters in reflective material. Fact Sheets for 7 11 year olds Percy Shaw Information on Percy Shaw the inventor of the reflective studs in the roads that we call Catseyes. Look Twice: What do you see? Optical illusions, to show children things are not always what they seem at first. They will have to look very carefully to see these. Cat Sayings A range of phrases that refer or link to the cat and what they mean. Spiral A word game in a spiral grid. How Cat s Eyes Work Facts about how real cat s eyes reflect and how the reflective studs in the road actually work. Now You See Optical illusion. An experiment to see that something can disappear when light refracts not reflects. Reflection / Reflective Looking at how light travels and how different surfaces reflect light rays. Be Safe Be Seen All the important things they need to remember to keep safe if out near traffic at night. Road Safety 6
Downloadable quiz for 7 11 year olds Q1 What does reflection mean? Q2 What does fluorescent mean? Q3 Explain what it means when we say the clocks are going back? Q4 Why is it more dangerous to be out in the dark? Q5 Who invented the Catseyes? Q6 What does cat burglar mean? Q7 Explain letting the cat out of the bag? Q8 What colour does the mirror layer at the back of a real cat s eye glow? Q9 How do Catseyes, set in the middle of the road, help us to see the way ahead? Q10 Which reflects light better white or dark colours? Q11 Which main groups make up road users? Q12 Where is it safer to cross the road, particularly at night? Q13 What is thought to have saved countless lives on our roads over the last 70 years? Q14 Can cats really see better than us? Q15 What material is used on road signs to make sure they are seen at night as well as in the day? Q16 Name two uniformed people who can use reflective and fluorescent colours in the clothing? Downloadable quiz answers A1 Reflective means something that reflects, or sends back light. A2 Fluorescent means something showing up very brightly and clearly in the daytime usually vivid colours like pinks, yellows, greens or blues. A3 Clocks don t really go back or reverse, it means that we physically put back the clocks by one hour, so we can try to make the shorter daylight hours of Autumn start earlier in the morning. In the spring, when daylight hours are longer, we put the clocks forward by an hour. A4 Other road users find it more difficult to see pedestrians in the dark even in well lit streets, as most people tend to wear darker clothes. Car lights only show up what s directly in front of them, so often if a pedestrian steps out drivers only see them when in front of a car. It s often too late to stop. There are many shadows and parked vehicles that can often hide people standing, waiting to cross. A5 A British man named Percy Shaw invented the first Catseyes. A6 A cat burglar means someone who sneaks up quietly and nimbly, like a cat, to steal something. A7 Letting a cat out of the bag means to tell or pass on a secret. (It goes back to when piglets were sold in a bag. Dishonest sellers would often trick buyers, by putting a large cat in the bag instead!) A8 The mirror layer at the back of a real cat s eye glows a silvery green colour (but ruby red in Siamese cats!). Get a point if you named the colour of Siamese cats! A9 Catseyes set in the middle of the road are angled to reflect the light back from car headlights, so the driver can see a row of them showing the road ahead. A10 White or light colours reflect light much better than dark colours. A11 Road user groups are mainly pedestrians, cyclists, riders and drivers. A12 It is safer to cross the road using specific safer crossings like Zebras, Pelicans, Toucans, footbridges and subways and traffic islands - particularly at night, because they are all well lit. A13 The invention and mass use all around the world of Catseyes in the roads. A14 Cats can t really see better than us in complete darkness, but they can see better in low levels of light, because their eyes let in several times more light than a human eye. A15 Reflective, so it shines back in headlights. A16 All the emergency services fire, police, ambulance, plus many road workers, wardens and school crossing patrols. Road Safety 7
Cross-curricular extension activities for 4-7 year olds Science Name their 5 senses and write an explanation of how each one helps keep them safe out and about. List different light sources inside the house. Then list different light sources out in the streets. Illustrate by drawings or cutting pictures from magazines. Cut up squares of different coloured paper and carry out experiments in a darkened room, to see which colours show up more clearly. Make charts of which colours are best. ICT Research how a reflector works. Create their own letter (as a word document) thanking Nationwide for the reflective Cats Eyes that helps them to be seen and safe. They should choose a font that they like and spell check the letter at the end. Then save it in a file named Be Safe, Be Seen. Make a document about seeing and being seen. Make word lists and use the online dictionary to type out all the meanings. PSHE/PSE/Health & Wellbeing/PD & MU & Citizenship Write a story about visiting their grandparents and going to a Bonfire Night firework display. Include how they would help keep their grandparents safe by being seen. List all the hazards that they might face if out near traffic at dusk, in the dark, in bright sunlight. Design a leaflet for their parents telling them about the importance of wearing something reflective at night. Have them put all the facts about drivers, the dangers and how they can help keep safe. English Look up the following words to find the exact meaning danger/risk/pedestrian/driver/reflective. Write their own rhyme or jingle to help them remember to wear something white or reflective to be seen by drivers at night. See how many smaller words they can make out of reflectors. Geography Take a sheet divided into four quarters. Draw their local streets in one section on a bright sunny day, on another at night, on another on a dull rainy day and in the other a snowy, icy day. Describe how best it is to make sure they are seen by other road users in each picture. List all the reflective items that are out in the street think about road signs, workers clothing, Catseyes etc. Make a safer route to school plan. If possible mark on it all the well lit places. History Find out who invented the Catseyes. Research the invention of the motor car. Write a description of roads in Great Britain when driving was still new and not many cars were on the roads. Maths Carry out a class survey to see how many wear, or carry, something white or light at night or carry torches, and how many wear something reflective. Make block graphs to show findings. Keep a daily diary of what time it gets dark. What is the difference after the clocks go back? Draw a variety of shapes and the shadows that would be made if a strong light came from the side. Road Safety 8
Cross-curricular extension activities for 7-11 year olds Science Research different materials that reflect. Make charts to show which are more effective. Draw the tiny prisms that reflectors are made of and show on a diagram how light rays are deflected and reflected. Research different animals that utilise and produce light - fireflies, luminous fish etc. and those that reflect light back (e.g. cat s eyes). ICT Research online and find out more about Catseyes and their development from Percy Shaw to today. Create their own document that they would send to an editor. They can cut and paste, edit, highlight, enter new text and save document in different layouts, fonts and font sizes. Research data to find out how many children are hurt or injured in poor weather / or at night each year in this country. PSHE/PSE/Health & Wellbeing/PD & MU & Citizenship Search for newspaper articles, or radio or television reports on the clocks going back. Make their own file about how different media report it. Imagine a world where no one cared about others. What might happen out on the roads at night? Write a creative story about the consequences. Create a campaign to help all your neighbours to realise how important it is to be seen, to be safe. Where would you start, what would you do, how would you advertise it? English Look up the following words in a dictionary, then write an explanation in own words: Reflective/reflection/refraction/ fluorescent/luminous. Have them imagine they are Percy Shaw. Write in the style of a diary - how he had the idea and developed it into the Catseyes we know. Create their own crossword with clues to each word answer, using words to do with being safe being seen. Geography Research countries that have little daylight hours. Find out how they make sure they are seen clearly when they travel about. Street lights are important to help road users see clearly at night. Research how high these are placed in different places and how far they are set apart on different roads. Make a plan of their local area and which places are well lit, which are more dangerous in shadow, etc. History Research who invented the light bulb, an invention we take for granted today. Write how the invention changed our lives. How were street lights originally lit, before electric lights replaced them? Write a report on how the early road system worked at night. Research the history of military uniforms with bright colours, and how they use camouflage in dangerous situations to merge into the background. Relate this to being on the road, and how the opposite is necessary the need to stand out! Maths Carry out a school survey to see how many pupils ride their bike at dusk or dark, needing their lights on (extend this to how many wear or carry something reflective, besides the reflectors on the bike). Draw as many 3D shapes as possible, including a prism. The faces of the shapes in a prism reflector, tessellate. Draw a range of patterns with tessellating shapes. Road Safety 9
England and Wales: 4 to 7 Interactives Alley Cats Purrfect Pairs Missing words Fun sheets Colour Me Wordsearch Create a Poster Be Seen Fact sheets Being Seen and Keeping Safe Cat Facts How We See Extension Sheets English Maths Science Geography History ICT PSHE(PSE) Citizenship Art/Design Physical coordination Road Safety 10
Scotland: 4 to 7 Interactives Alley Cats Purrfect Pairs Missing words Fun sheets Colour Me Wordsearch Create a Poster Be Seen Fact sheets Being Seen and Keeping Safe Cat Facts How We See Extension Sheets Language Maths Environment/Science Environment/Social Environment/Technology Health Education Information Technology Expressive Arts PSD & Citizenship Road Safety 11
Northern Ireland: 4 to 7 Interactives Alley Cats Purrfect Pairs Missing words Fun sheets Colour Me Wordsearch Create a Poster Be Seen Fact sheets Being Seen and Keeping Safe Cat Facts How We See Extension Sheets English Maths Science and technology History Geography Art and Design Citizenship Road Safety 12
England and Wales: 7 to 11 Interactives Moggy Maze Crossword Fun sheets Reflective Materials Look Twice Spiral Now You See Be Seen Fact sheets Percy Shaw Cat Sayings How Cat s Eyes Work Reflective Be Safe Be Seen Extensions English Maths Science Geography History ICT PSHE(PSE) Citizenship Art/Design Physical coordination Road Safety 13
Scotland: 7 to 11 Interactives Moggy Maze Crossword Fun sheets Reflective Materials Look Twice Spiral Now You See Be Seen Fact sheets Percy Shaw Cat Sayings How Cat s Eyes Work Reflective Be Safe Be Seen Extensions Language Maths Environment/Science Environment/Social Environment/Technology Health Education Expressive Arts PSD & Citizenship Road Safety 14
Northern Ireland: 7 to 11 Interactives Moggy Maze Crossword Fun sheets Reflective Materials Look Twice Spiral Now You See Be Seen Fact sheets Percy Shaw Cat Sayings How Cat s Eyes Work Reflective Be Safe Be Seen Extensions English Maths Science and technology History Geography Art and Design Citizenship Road Safety 15