Subjects
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
Physical Education
--Exercise/Movement
--Team Sports
Health
--Our Bodies
Science
--Life Sciences
----Biology
Social Studies
--Current Events
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
New research indicates that exercise can improve students academic performance.
Anticipation Guide
Before reading, ask students to agree or disagree with each of the statements below. This will set a purpose for reading; as they read, they will confirm their assumptions or learn something new.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: oxygen, nutrients, cells, attention, divide, and concentrate. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
Read the News
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
Comprehension Check
Revisit the Anticipation Guide at the top of this lesson; ask students to respond again to the statements in it.
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students news page.
In addition, you might ask students, Why, do you think, are more kids overweight today than they were in the past? Encourage students to think about human history back to prehistoric times and as recent as 100 years ago. Students might conclude that weight problems are caused, at least in part, by the fact we spend more time in sedentary activity than our ancestors did. For our ancestors, exercise was a natural part of life; they probably didnt have to consciously make it a part of their day. For example, early humans got plenty of exercise by hunting for food or raising livestock and growing food. More recently, walking -- which we consider exercise -- was our grandparents form of transportation.
Follow-Up Activities
Physical Education. On the first day of May each year since 1989, students all over the world have participated in Project ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously). Visit the Project ACES Web site to learn how you and your students can participate. The Web site also includes free classroom education materials and an email newsletter. Another source of good information regarding kids and fitness is The Presidents Challenge.
Math. Have students create a graph to illustrate the number of calories burned by different forms of exercise. While the number of calories listed below differs due to many factors (including age, weight, gender, and ethnicity), the resulting graph should offer a good visual comparison of the potential benefits of different types of exercise. Most forms of exercise listed below refer to moderate (not vigorous) levels of activity. Students might use the free online Create a Graph tool to create their graphs. They might choose five forms of exercise from the chart to illustrate.
Watching TV - 75 calories per hourSource: Tooele County (Utah) Health Department
House cleaning - 95 calories per hour
Playing with the dog - 115 calories per hour
Walking slowly - 130 calories per hour
Horseback riding - 130 calories per hour
Bicycling (easy) - 135 calories per hour
Bowling - 145 calories per hour
Scrubbing floors - 225 calories per hour
Weeding a garden - 230 calories per hour
Walking (slight sweat) - 250 calories per hour
Playing soccer - 260 calories per hour
Swimming for pleasure - 260 calories per hour
Skateboarding - 275 calories per hour
Mowing lawn (push mower) - 295 calories per hour
Volleyball - 340 calories per hour
Karate (no rest breaks) - 345 calories per hour
Bicycling (12 mph) - 385 calories per hour
Hiking - 390 calories per hour
Dancing to rock-and-roll music - 400 calories per hour
Playing basketball - 460 calories per hour
Jumping rope - 480 calories per hour
Tennis (singles) - 510 calories per hour
Jogging (5 miles per hour) - 600 calories per hour
More fitness fun. See Education Worlds Resources, Lessons, and Activities For Physical Education for fun activities, field day themes, Family Fitness Night ideas, and much more.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News question on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.1 Create and Use Representations to Organize, Record, and Communicate Mathematical Ideas
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Physical Education
GRADES K - 12
NPH.K-12.3 Physical Activity
NPH.K-12.4 Physical Fitness
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Health
GRADES K - 4
NPH-H.K-4.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.K-4.4 Health Influences
GRADES 5 - 8
NPH-H.5-8.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.5-8.4 Health Influences
GRADES 9 - 12
NPH-H.9-12.1 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
NPH-H.9-12.4 Health Influences
TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.3 Technology Productivity Tools
NT.K-12.4 Technology Communications Tools
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Ellen Delisio and Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
03/28/2007