Grade 1 Health Related Fitness Unit: What is worth knowing?

As we are currently in the second last week of our grade 1 Health Related Fitness unit at the Nanjing International School in China, I am preparing the students for their summative assessment task that will take place next week. It is essential that I have been very clear about what the students must know and understand during this unit.  The fact is that they are only 6 or 7 years old and what is worth knowing at this age is an essential consideration when deciding upon the summative assessment task. 

When referring to our school’s adapted Personal, Social, and Physical Education scope and sequence, one of the strands for kids in grades one and two is to reflect on the interaction of body systems during exercise. This strand fits perfectly within this unit and to me highlights what is worth knowing. 

We just returned from a week off, so it was important to review what the students remembered before embarking on the planned activities for today’s PE lesson. The lesson was broken down into the distinct parts each of which is described below:

A) Through a whole class review, the students had to identify the 3 body systems we have been learning about in PE during the last several weeks. Once each system was identified, a student would come up to the chart paper and do an illustration of that system in the space provided. All 3 systems were identified and drawn before moving on to part B of lesson.

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B) In part B, we reviewed and discussed the central idea of this PE unit (Our heart, lungs and muscles become stronger when we exercise regularly). In particular we discussed how exercise affects these body systems. 

C) Three levels of exercise were discussed with the class; 1-light, 2-moderate, and 3-hard exercise. Knowing the difference between these levels was important to understand. 

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D) A class rubric was created. The three systems; Circulatory, Respiratory, and Muscular were added to this rubric along with the different levels of intensity. 

E) The students then had to try and exercise at each of the levels of intensity using any of the following equipment; hula hoops, bean bags, skipping ropes, basketballs, soccer balls, or just their own bodies. When I started the music, the students went off and began creating exercises. When the music stopped, we would gather in front of the class rubric and check off which level of intensity they exercised at. We then repeated the process, but they had to create a new exercise as well as exercise at a different level of intensity. See semi-completed class rubric below.

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My aims by the end of the class were to:

1. Ensure the students knew the three systems we were working on; Circulatory, Respiratory, and Muscular
2. Know the difference between light, medium, and hard exercise
3. Be able to describe how the systems felt at each level of exercise
4. Understand that all three systems work together in unison (for example, if the students chose to do a high intensity exercise, they had to know that all three systems would be working hard, not just one system or two systems). It was easy to see those students that did not understand this concept (Connection) thus allowing me to work with them individually or in small groups to ensure that they understood.