Your Health is Your Wealth!

Physical Education Unit
Planning to be Active!

In this unit young people will have the opportunities to experience and evaluate the positive effects of regular exercise on their physical and emotional wellbeing, including a positive self-image and feelings of enjoyment.

Key Questions:

Developing Pupils’ Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities

Developing Pupils’ Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
  • Learning ways to manage own time through planning physical activity.
  • Justifying opinions about information.
  • Setting personal targets.
    (Self Management)
  • Researching information from websites and CD-Roms.
    (Managing Information)

Young people should have opportunities to:

  • experience, monitor and understand a range of short-term effects of exercise on the body systems including cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal systems;
  • monitor and evaluate their own activity levels over a period of time and plan how they can fulfil the activity recommendations for health.

 

Why is regular exercise important?

Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

 

 

 

…to research information from websites/CD-ROMs.

Managing Information

Why is regular exercise important?

Pupils come up with answers by brainstorming or through a Consider All Factors* activity. Use a Carousel* activity to explore further the issues raised.

Pupils find out about cardiovascular health using search engines.
Opportunity to assess ICT

 

What are the recommendations about physical activity for cardiovascular health?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

…about the health recommendations for physical activity.

... to compare and evaluate information.

Managing Information

 

 

In groups, pupils discuss what types of activities or exercise they do, recording how often they do it and for how long. They consider if this is enough to stay healthy.

Pupils compare their list with information from the following websites:

They check the information they have collected by completing a quiz in the ‘LifeBytes’ or ‘Mind, Body, Soul’ website.

Pupils share the information they have collected to check for similarities and differences.

Young people should take part in sixty minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity every day. At least twice a week they should be involved in activities to enhance muscular strength, flexibility and bone health.

 

 

What is moderate intensity physical activity?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

… to explain what is meant by exercise intensity, (i.e. how the exercise feels to the person performing it).

Lead pupils through several activities of differing intensity (light, moderate, vigorous).

Pupils perform each activity for about two minutes after which they record how the exercise feels, for example, easy, comfortable, energetic, very energetic, exhausting. Pupils also record what happened to their breathing, temperature and heart rate during each activity.

 

 

What does moderate intensity physical activity feel like to you?

Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

…how to select a range of appropriate moderate intensity physical activities.

 

Emphasise that intensity refers to how the activity feels to the person performing it. For example, skipping can feel exhausting for a beginner and comfortable for someone with excellent technique.

Pupils identify what was happening to their heart rate, breathing and temperature during moderate intensity physical activities.

Pupils use the website www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk to clarify and find examples of moderate intensity activity.

Opportunity to assess Using ICT

Ask pupils to select or design one moderate intensity physical activity. Pupils perform each other’s activities for a short time (one or two minutes) and monitor their heart rate, breathing and temperature. Pupils evaluate whether the activities selected were moderate in terms of intensity for them.

 

 

Are high intensity physical activities good for your health?

Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

…that vigorous intensity physical activity can:

  • benefit their physical and emotional health;
  • only be performed for short periods of time.

Lead pupils through a range of activities which are high intensity (possession games in a small area, tuck jumps, 2 v 2, sprinting). Pupils perform each activity for about one minute after which they record how the exercise feels, for example, easy, comfortable, energetic, very energetic, exhausting. Pupils describe and record what happened to their breathing, temperature and heart rate during each activity and whether they enjoyed the experience. They compare how they classified the exercises.

Use the information collected by the pupils to highlight that vigorous intensity physical activity feels exhausting. An activity which is vigorous for one person may be moderate for another.

Why do this to yourself?

Class are given the statement: ‘High intensity physical activity is good for your health because…’ and are asked to make statements that support this from a physical, emotional and social perspective.

 

 

How do I get my 60 minutes of physical activity every day?

Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

…that 60 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity can be accumulated at different times during the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

... ways to manage own time through planning physical activity.

Self Management

Pupils recap on possible physical activities which promote cardiovascular (heart and lung) health using the following websites: www.lifebytes.gov.uk and www.mindbodysoul.gov.uk

In pairs they design a circuit card to represent one health promoting physical activity, for example, walking the dog, climbing stairs, walking to school, cycling, skateboarding.

The circuit cards are placed around the working area. Pupils are told that they must score 60 points (representing 60 minutes of physical activity to be completed in one day). To score a point, pupils must do an action such as a jumping jack/bicep curl/press up/sit up/bench press, etc. beside the card.

Pupils visit each station to plan how they are going to accumulate their 60 points, for example, 20 points walking to school, 15 points swimming, 10 points walking the dog, 15 points cycling. They plan their route and the teacher challenges them to score their points as quickly as possible. Another pair should time them and check if they have stuck to their route.

The teacher uses the game to help pupils understand that 60 minutes of physical activity can be accumulated throughout the day and can include any activities which are at least moderate in intensity.

 

 

What motivates people to be active?

What prevents people from being active?

How do we overcome barriers?

Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

…to identify and manage factors influencing their participation in physical activity.

The teacher asks pupils to list factors that motivate them to be active.

Pupils compare their own reasons with those of other people

 

Excuse Buster:

Divide the class in two. Half of the class generate excuses that people use for not being active. The other half rehearses statements why they should be involved in physical activity. Pupils come together in pairs and improvise debates for 30 seconds. After this time, they could swap partners.

The teacher asks pupils to discuss some or all of the following issues:

  • Cultural pressure is a strong barrier to exercise for many girls and women. What does this mean? How can this barrier be tackled?
  • For some individuals a disability or health condition might be seen as a barrier. Is this really the case? Is there a solution?
  • What types of physical activity could you easily do around your home?
  • Can you think of any activities that require little or no special clothing or equipment?

 

How can I plan to be physically active every day?

Learning Intentions Pupils are learning …

Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities

…plan how they can be involved in 60 minutes of at least moderate physical activity every day.

... to set personal targets.
Self-Management

Help pupils design their own electronic physical activity log on the computer. Pupils enter information on the log over a period of one or more weeks.
Opportunity to assess ICT

Help the pupils to set realistic targets for their physical activity plan and to decide action points for ensuring that the plan is successful and strategies for overcoming barriers to its success.

Discuss whether they have reached their targets. Pupils should provide evidence of their achievements.

 

Development of Learning Outcomes

  • Take responsibility for their own safety in relation to warming-up and cooling-down, injury prevention and clothing and equipment .
  • Work independently to plan, undertake and evaluate a personal physical activity programme to meet current health recommendations.
  • Research and manage information effectively, using Mathematics and ICT where appropriate.
  • Show deeper understanding by thinking critically and flexibly, solving problems and making informed decisions, using Mathematics and ICT where appropriate.
  • Demonstrate creativity and initiative when developing ideas and following them through.
  • Work effectively with others.
  • Demonstrate self-management by working systematically, persisting with tasks, evaluating and improving own performance.
  • Communicate effectively in oral, visual, written and ICT formats, showing clear awareness of audience and purpose.

Links with Key Element:

Links with Learning for Life and Work

Personal Health

Personal Understanding

Moral Character

Personal Development
Key Concept: Self Awareness
Investigate the influences on a young person