Physically Fit, Healthy Kids
Objective: To develop an understanding of what fit versus unfit is. How being fit impacts life and how being unfit impacts life. Develop an understanding of exercise basics, create 3 basic exercise routines and engage in exercise daily.
Timeline: Several days to a week, depending on student involvement and interest.
If you’re a teacher you already know that today’s teacher is responsible for developing much more than the student’s academic mind. We many times are the adult that they see and interact with the most in the course of a day and week.
Utilizing this important time is what teachers do. Today’s society is unhealthy and unfit and the problem is growing. So we have unfit, unhealthy adults teaching today’s generation bad habits that continue and even worsen the problem.
A lesson for life is teaching kids about health and fitness. Start with the basics, keep it simple but do it. Develop an understanding of fitness, rewards of a fit life and the devastating consequences of an unfit life. Then give them the tools to know how to get and stay fit. Don’t assume they already know. Encourage it in the classroom for the remainder of the year. You’ll be creating students who will make the choice to be fit with the information you’ve given them.
Start with the basics. Talk about what fit and healthy is and what unfit and unhealthy is. Use words to describe both. Use pictures showing both. Talk about things that a fit person can do that an unfit person finds challenging to do. There are a lot of ideas here. Most everything is easier and more enjoyable when you’re healthy and fit.
Take it a step further and talk about the long term impact of poor health. Talk about and look at lifestyles of the fit and the unfit. Talk about the manifestation of disease from unfit, unhealthy lifestyles. Ask your students to think that night about someone they admire who is physically fit and healthy.
Talk with the class about the ‘fit’ list. Discuss how they think people get fit. (Exercise, eating, low stress, no drugs, minimum alcohol, etc.) This lesson is going to focus on the exercise aspect of being fit and healthy. Zero in on specifics about exercise. Discuss the people that your students chose as fitness role models. Discuss what they do to stay fit and healthy. Talk about why your students admire that person.
Open up the discussion to the different types of exercise. Include everything you can think of here. Then talk about what the different exercises do for the body. For instance weight lifting strengthens the muscles, builds endurance. Yoga, lengthens the muscles, reduces stress and strengthens too.
Discuss with the class what types of exercises can be done at home in a small space, outside, etc. Create a list of exercises that can be safely and effectively done in small, confined spaces like school. Together with the class, using this list create 3 exercise sets; 5 minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes.
Actively do these exercise routines as a class. Make adjustments as needed. If certain parts don’t work, change them and do something different. The goal here is to create the 3 exercise routines that can be done virtually anywhere.
Once the routines are perfected and completed by the class several times, decide upon times during the day when you can take a break from class work and do the routines. Make a plan of what routine is best at what time, etc. Morning and end of the day are great times. Discover together other good times during the day. Try to do 3 times a day, more is better.
Then make it a part of everyday for your class. You’ll be surprised how they look forward to these routines everyday. The best part is that not only are they getting fit and learning that they can incorporate fitness into their lives, they will be able to focus on the academics better too.
When you can get outside with the class and do a routine. If you can create an outdoor exercise routine to do also.
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