Exercise & Children Hyperdoc

With growing concerns about the overall wellness of children, I often include special topics in my child development class that address specific issues and/or concerns. This Exercise & Children Hyperdoc is one of them! Exercise and being healthy is one of my personal passions and, in my opinion, begins in childhood! So, I hope you find this Exercise & Children Hyperdoc lesson useful in your classroom, regardless of how you are teaching this year.

Set

  • Because of digital learning this year, I find that my students need a break from their screens. They need to get up and get moving more than ever, even if only for a short period of time. With that being said, I engaged my students in some physical activities to kick off this lesson. I used the Wheel of Names and added a few exercises such as jumping jacks/jills, squats, table push ups, large/small arm circles and joggin in place. Even though it only took less than 8 minutes to do and some students groaned a bit (it was first period), they ultimately decided they liked doing something active and different. And because of the topic, it was a perfect lead in! This is certainly an optional component of this lesson, but I hope if you give it a try, it breaks up the monotony of digital learning!
  • The hyperdoc introduction section kicks off with a little cartoon students must read through and decide if the parents are being realistic with their expectations and then discuss their responses.
  • Students then explore the concept of “couch potatoes” and make connections to their own childhood.
  • Conversations about whether they were couch potatoes or not and how their parents handled it are interesting. I share stories of my childhood and how my parents would make my sisters and I go outside to play everyday. Unless it was super cold outside, we didn’t push back as we loved being outside playing tag, kickball, basketball, biking, exploring the woods, swimming, ice skating, etc. and would have to be called back in for meals. Couch potato was a foreign word in our house!

Activities

  • As students move to the engage section of the hyperdoc, they view the Ted Talk, “Active Kids, Active Minds” and complete a few prompts focusing on what parents can do. Students then view the YouTube video, “Childhood Inactivity & Obesity” which focuses on the number of children who are not getting enough exercise and how much is recommended.
  • In the explore section, students learn the benefits of exercise for young children via this article titled, “4 Ways Exercise Benefits Preschooler”. Students also explore the 3 elements of fitness article and complete the little wordwall activity to show they understand.
  • In the final section of the hyperdoc, apply, students create an ABC Escaping Childhood Activity Book (see guidelines within the hyperdoc). This booklet can be done individually or as a class, dividing up the letters of the alphabet depending on your class size.
  • Another idea that would be fun to have your students write and implement, in class with their peers or with little ones, if you have access to a child care center or preschool, is to have them create movement poems, such as this TPT freebie.

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Photo by Margaret Weir on Unsplash

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