Have you ever seen jump bands? They are a new piece of equipment I have been trying out. They are long, stretchy bands with a handle on each end. Two players stand across from each other and hook the handles of 2 bands over their feet (kind-of like chinese jump rope). Those two players then jump in rhythm — in, in, out, out, in , in, out, out (feet together, feet apart). The jumper(s) jump opposite the band holders — feet apart for 2 beats then together for 2 beats. It is a very active activity for both jumpers and holders. After my students got the basic rhythm down, I let them get creative. Some did cartwheels or break dancing moves through the moving bands. Other crossed four bands into an “x” and got a group going around in a circular motion. We ended by lining up 8-10 sets of bands on the gym floor. All holders jumped the rhythm together. The rest of the class lined up and went down the row with this rhythm — one foot in, 2nd foot in, 1st foot out, 2nd foot out. It was a lot of fun and great exercise.
Category Archives: Fitness Tests
Just A Minute
This week we did a fun fitness-themed lesson in first and second grade. We started out reading the book, Just A Minute. Then we had a discussion about how long a minute was. I had all the kids close their eyes and put their heads down, then raise their hand when they thought it had been a minute. Some lasted 4 seconds! Then I told them that to have a healthy body they should be able to do some activities for 1 minute without stopping. We discussed that our bodies would have to work hard to do this and the students suggested some ways we could tell if our bodies were working hard (sweating, heart beating faster, breathing hard, etc.) We then tried several activities which I timed for 1 minute on my watch. These included: jumping jacks, holding a stretch, and running in place. Then I passed out hula hoops and had them play with the hoops for one minute. We discussed how that minute went fast and finding an activity they liked for exercise was important. I then set up an obstacle course and encouraged them to work their body hard for the minutes it took to complete the obstacle course.
The lesson went especially well with 2nd graders. We had some good discussions about working our bodies hard and it led to some other teaching such as breathing deeply to increase a stretch, how to breathe to recover from a side ache, and how to have fun exercising. I felt like the children learned something about fitness from this lesson.
circuit training
I have been working on ideas for an indoor fitness program for my 5th and 6th graders. During the outside months we could run laps, lunges up and down the field, etc. Winter brings a challenge because our gym is so small and my classes so big that running activities are just not going to work. I decided to do some circuit training and I think it is going to be a good thing. Circuit training provides a lot of variety and can compact a lot of fitness into just a few minutes. I’m also hoping my kids will see it as something they can work on at home to improve their fitness level and establish good habits.
I introduced the program by spending a class period just teaching exercises. I emphasized doing the exercise correctly and pushing themselves, not comparing to others. Here is the list we are working off of:
jump rope in place
run in place
jumping jacks
mountain climbers
lunges
slides
lunge/hop
push ups
crunches
superman
tricep dips
wall squats
squats (prisoner & wide leg)
backwards lunge
v sit
toe touch
planks
planks with leg lifts (bent & straight)
one leg hip up
side-up
push-up toe walk
back hyper
yoga tree
iso push up
Spending a day going thru the exercises was a little boring (or as one fifth grader told me: Extremely boring with a capital E), but I feel like it has paid off as we started the real thing this week. The fitness section of our class lasted 10 minutes (plus stretch time) and looked liked this:
After stretching, the kids chose a fitness station to start at. I let them choose their own groups, but no more than 5-6 in a group. I timed them at the first station for 1 minute (ex. push-ups for one minute, jumping jacks for one minute). Then gave them 30 seconds to rest/rotate. They moved clock-wise to the next station. I alternated the exercises with a cardio-strength-cardio-strength. In ten minutes they had completed 7 stations and worked hard. Most of the kids stayed on task and put in a great effort. Grouping themselves, they tended to be with kids of their own ability and felt comfortable. Set-up was setting out some mats (for crunches and superman) and labeling the stations with laminated 3×5 cards.