The purpose of this resource is to encourage students to walk all or partway to school and to encourage physical activity throughout the day.

Description

A Steps Challenge can take many different forms, depending on what works best at your school. Students (and staff) are invited to track the number of steps they take on the journey to/from school, and track their progress either as a class or a school. You may wish to create a shared goal or make it a competition to see who can take the most steps. 

Some examples include:

Golden Shoe Award: Spray paint an old shoe and mount it on a base to make a trophy. Award the ‘Golden Shoe’ to:

1) The class that records the most steps each week/month, for example, as part of a Weekly Walking event;

2) Individual students who consistently record a high number of steps; or

3) Those who significantly increase their step counts over the course of the challenge.

Walk Across Canada: Calculate the distance/number of steps it takes to walk across your province or Canada, with stops along the way at specific cities and towns or landmarks. Then map your progress either as a class or as a whole school. (Bonus: This activity can be easily integrated into Classroom Lessons focused on math, geography, and physical education.)

Steps Challenge Fundraiser: Partner with a local business or service club that is willing to make a donation to a charity of the school’s choice when you reach a predetermined goal (e.g., 10 million steps). You can celebrate your achievement with a big event.

To make a Steps Challenge inclusive at schools where many students aren’t able to walk to school, you can allow students to track steps taken to/from their bus stop or while they are at school.

What you will need

• Pedometers or step-counting app on smart devices
• Charts or maps to track steps and/or distance; prizes/awards
• Other materials, as needed, specific to the challenge you choose

Who can help

Teachers, student leaders, parent volunteers, public health nurses, and local businesses or service clubs (to donate prizes).

Key words

Step, count, golden shoe, golden boot, award, pedometer, walk, map, curriculum, extracurricular, incentive, prize, competition, goal.