Fitness Activities

Fitness Activities

Fitness Hopscotch (3rd-7th)

Equipment: Beanbag (one per group), hopscotch boards (one per group), foam die (one per group)
Description: Students are separated into groups of about four.  Regular hopscotch rules apply. Students throw the bean bag onto a square of the board.  They then hop over onto that square and read the fitness component of the square.  The next student in line throws the die.  Whatever number is thrown is then multiplied by two and the whole group must then perform the fitness component that amount of times.

Fitness Autograph Seekers (2nd-5th)

Equipment: Task cards, cones, dittos, pens
Description: The teacher will set up stations around the room which will have task cards describing each fitness activity. The students will walk around the room from station to station with their fitness autograph seeker worksheet trying to complete each task.   With a different partner at each station, students will complete each task.  After the task is completed, they both sign off on one another’s worksheet, and move to the next station.  They can not use the same partner twice.

Body Buff (4th-8th)

Equipment: Music, water bottles filled with sand (varying amounts), laminated pictures of muscles
hung on the wall, jump ropes
Description: This lesson is designed to teach students about different exercises that they can use to target different muscle groups.  Start the students off divided among stations in the room that relate to specific muscles.  So for example, station one would be biceps, station two would be calves, station three would be triceps, and so on.  When the music starts, students must start doing an exercise in their personal space that would target their specific muscle.  The water bottles would serve as weights-they can have the option of using them.  When you change the music (after a minute or so), students must perform a different exercise for that muscle.  When the music stops, students will then switch to the next station. When the music starts again students will begin performing the next exercise for the muscle that is specific to their station.

Aerobic Dance (2nd –5th  )

Equipment: None
Description: Here are eleven dance steps that children can do in their own personal space. If you want, you can accompany these steps to music and even a routine after the students understand the steps:
A.  Bounce and Twist-Bounce up and down with feet together, twisting the
upper body opposite the lower body.
B.  Downhill skier-Jump side to side with both feet together.  Lift alternate arms to the side.
C.  Elbow to knee-Alternate lifting the knees, touching each with the opposite elbow.
D.  Hopscotch-With hands on the waist, hop in place, alternating feet.  Bend the lifted knee to the
back with each hop.
E.  Jumping Jacks-Stand erect with arms at sides.  Jump up, landing with feet apart and arms
extended overhead.  Return to starting position.
F.  Knee Slap-Alternate lifting the knees, touching each with both hands at the same time.
G.  Leg Kicks-Alternating between legs, hop on one foot while kicking the other out in front.
H.  Lunge-Stand with feet together.  Jump to the right, landing with the right foot extended forward and the left foot back.  Return to the starting position, and then jump immediately to the left, landing with the left foot extending forward and the right foot back.  Extend arms overhead with each lunge.
I.   Pendulum Swing-Swing legs side to side, hopping on one foot at a time.
J.   Run/March in Place-Alternating lifting the knees, swinging the arms in opposition.
K.  Stride Jump-Stand with one foot in front of the other.  Jump up and switch feet, landing with the other foot in front.

Cyclops Tag (4th-8th)

Equipment: None
Description: Students get a partner and stand in their own personal space.  When the students are 
told to start they close one eye.  Students will make a circle with one hand and put it over their open eye.  Now each partner looks through their hand and tries to tag their partner who is also only looking through one eye.  Make sure to limit the amount of space the students move in.  You can also change locomotor movements during the game.

Push-up Box Challenge (4th-7th)

Equipment: Short buckets, bean bags
Description: A small box approximately a foot tall is placed between two partners who are facing each other while assuming a push-up position.  An upside-down plastic bucket works and may be substituted for a box.  Though they will not be performing true push- ups, players must maintain a rigid push up position (back flat, hips down) throughout the entire challenge.  A beanbag is placed by the box on the floor in front of each partner.  This is a race to see who can move the beanbag on and off the box ten times in the least
amount of time.  On the teacher’s signal, partners use one hand to remove the beanbag from the box and place it on the floor.  Partners continue placing the beanbag on the box and removing it with alternate hands until they have done so ten times.  If it appears that the students are not performing the push-up correctly, eliminate the racing aspect and have them each move the beanbag off the box then times or exchange it with each other.

Triangle Tag (4th-7th)

Equipment: None
Description: This is a cooperative game where the students need to work together within their small groups. Have the students form groups of three and join hands. The fourth group member will be outside the circle of three that are holding hands. He/she will be the chaser. Designate one person in the circle as the person that the chaser will try and tag. On the teachers signal the chaser will try and tag the designated person in the group. The group holding hands will work together to try and protect the taggee. Play for a designated amount of time and if they tag the taggee then switch roles.

Frogs and Ants (3rd-5th)

Equipment: None
Description: A few "frogs" will be chosen. At the signal, the frogs move around and try to tag the ants. When tagged, the ant must lay on their back with their feet and hands extended in the air. At this point, the ants that have not been tagged can try to "save" their fellow ants by doing 5 jumping jacks and then tag them. Once an ant has been saved he/she may jump back into the game. When there are no more ants free the game is over.

Excuse Me Tag (2nd-4th) body control

Equipment: None
Description: Students walk around classroom and try to gently brush up against/tag other students using their shoulders.  Every time they tag each other they say excuse me.  Works on student's body awareness and body control.  Good to use in classroom setting because students are not trying to dodge on another as in other tag games.

Anatomy Tag (9th-12th)

Equipment: Dry erase board and pens, 3X5 cards with names of muscles on cards, laminated poster of
anterior and posterior anatomical views of human body for each group in class, scotch tape
Description: Split class into groups of about four.  Designate one “anatomist” for each team whose job it is to tag others from the opposing team.  When a person is tagged by the anatomist they have to a) stand at the dry erase board and write the name of a major muscle group (they can refer to the laminated posters) and what machine in the weight room works it.  The game continues until every team but one has four things written on their board.  After a student is tagged, he goes back into the tag game.

Pac Man (2nd-5th)

Equipment: Bean bags, one per person, four foam donut shaped objects, one medium sized foam ball
(yellow preferably)
Description: Everyone in the class gets a beanbag.  Place the four donut shaped objects in the corners of the room (these are power pellets).  Select a child to be Pac-Man (give them the foam ball) and three or four children to be the ghosts.  Pac-Man stays at the front of the class and all of the ghosts go to the back of the room.  Students with beanbags place them on their heads and spread out around the room.  On the teacher’s signal, Pac-man doing a shuffle step starts brushing off the beanbags off the other student’s heads who are remaining stationary.  The ghosts doing the same shuffle steps are trying to catch the Pac-Man.Object of the game is to brush all the beanbags off before getting tagged three times by the ghosts.

Musical Hoops (K-3rd)

Equipment: Hula Hoops (one per student), fitness cards
Description: This is a fitness type activity for the students.  They will be moving around in open area doing a locomotor skill.  They will then be asked to freeze and get to an open hula-hoop.  Once they get there they are to do the activity that is on the card.  The students must perform whatever exercise is on the card.

Fitness Monopoly (3rd-5th)

Equipment: Cones, Dice, Poly Spots, laminated cards with fitness activities
Description:This game turns the gymnasium into the game board of monopoly.  Use the cones to mark off the 4 corners of the playing board.  The poly spots will become the game board for this fitness game.  Every student will start on a poly spot and the teacher will role the dice. Whatever number it is the students will have to move clockwise in that direction.  For example, if the teacher roles a three the students will move three spaces clockwise.  Once they stand on the poly spot there will be a set of directions underneath the poly spot, with fitness activities written.  The students will have to perform the fitness activity before the dice is rolled again.  Some spots can have free parking written underneath them.  If this is written, the students will go to the center of the square and perform a chosen fitness activity the teacher has already decided on. There can be options for the students to choose from when entering free parking, for example push ups, sit ups etc.  The rest of the students perform the fitness activity right next to their poly spot.

Circulation (3rd-6th)

Equipment: Rubber Chicken/Pig or bowling Pin
Description: Students will split up into two teams.  Once the students are in two teams, they will form
a circle in the center of the basketball court.  The students will all be assigned a number.  If there are 24 people in the class then each team will be given numbers 1-12.  The students then will be instructed to do different locomotor skills while moving in a clockwise direction around the circle.  The rubber pig or chicken will be in the center of the circle.  If the number 7 is called, two students will be racing to the center of the circle to grab the chicken or pig.  Whoever picks it up has to run back to the outside of the circle.  If they are
successful then they scored a point for their team.  The person that missed the object can chase the person with the chicken and tag them.  Then they would score a point for their team.

Plate Row (1st-3rd)

Equipment: Paper plates (should be designed according to grade level), CD player with music
Description: Write descriptions of activities on the backs of the paper plates.  Scatter them around the gym floor so that their design is showing and their fitness activities are not.  Start the music and have the students perform a locomotor activity around the room.  When the music stops, the students must stop and find the nearest paper plate, turn it over, and perform the fitness activity on the back of the plate.  When the music starts again, they begin performing the designated locomotor movement around the room until the music stops again.

Yoga Tag (K-5) 

Equipment: foam noodle
Description: The students will spread out into their own personal space.  You can have up to three students volunteer to be the one who tags.  The taggers will then get a small soft foam noodle which they can only use to tag with not throw.  Once the students get tagged than they are to freeze and perform the yoga move that the teacher decides to have them do. For example Jogging through the Jungle, or they can sit on the floor and do the birthday candles or the train. In order for a frozen student to get unfrozen another student who is
not frozen must tag them. Change taggers after a minute or so.

GAMES & ACTIVITIES

HOME