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Get Moving!

Grades: 
3, 4, 5
Author(s): 
Subjects: 
Health and PE
Social-Emotional Learning
Keywords & Concepts: 
Problem Solving
Brainstorming
Healthy Community
Physical Fitness
wellness

Students design a plan to make themselves and their school community healthier. They brainstorm what it means to get moving and exercise, and they see that increasing physical fitness activity is good for everyone and brings a community together. Students will choose or design a service project to encourage schoolmates and the community to increase their daily fitness activity.

Duration 
PrintTwo 45-Minute Class Periods, Plus 45-Minute Reflection
Objectives 

Learners will:

  • collect data on their community health needs from within their classroom.
  • extrapolate from their activities the need for physical activity and to be actively involved in the community. 
Materials 
  • markers
  • brainstorming chart (used in Step 1 below) 
  • second chart paper titled: What can we do? 
  • chart labeled with the following three headings: Needs, Can Help, Tell (used in the second section of the lesson) 

Per Child

  • sticky/post-it note
  • pencil
  • writing journal (Reflection)
  • thank you notes or paper for writing (Reflection)

For Teacher

  • list of possible project ideas (see Get Moving! handout)
Home Connection 

Have students create Get Moving! pamphlets or flyers to share with friends and family. Assign students/groups to write and send thank you notes to anyone that donated time, money, or supplies to the service-learning project.

Reflection 
  • Gather pictures and data to share with students and/or community stakeholders.
  • Ask students to reflect in their writing journal: What went well? What would you change/improve? What did you learn? Have students share responses and discuss.
  • Assign students/groups to write and send thank you notes to anyone that donated time, money or supplies.
Related Resources 

Instructions

Print

  1. Anticipatory Set:

    Tell a story about a time you did something active in a group. Describe the feeling of good health and community support. Ask the students to tell their own stories. Reflect on the value to community if we are active together.

    Tell the students they're going to make a plan to get our school community active together. It may be one event that leads into a long-term practice. 

  2. PART I:

    Brainstorm with students on chart paper about these three things: Fun ways to Move, Things that Keep us from Moving, Places we can Move

  3. Ask students: 
    • What ways do you like to move?
    • What STOPS you from moving throughout your day? 
    • Where do you get most of your exercise?

  4. Allow a few minutes for students to reflect on their brainstorm overall. 

    Ask them: “What ideas are on our chart that will help us build good community health habits?”
  5. Use Think – Pair – Share to have students answer the question: What could WE do to get more kids moving and having fun together? 
    Record student Share responses on Chart by having students bring up a Post-it and stick it to the chart as they share.

  6. Use the Get Moving! handout, along with student ideas, to discuss as a whole class what students would like to do to get the school community active together and build active habits. Each idea should link back to one of the things that KEEPs kids from moving and should include a FUN way to move. 

    As a group, vote on which project to pursue.

  7. Watch the whiteboard video Connecting Skills to Community Needs. 

    Tell the students that next session they will come up with a PLAN for making their project a success.

  8. PART II: 

    Review WHAT project the students chose to pursue and WHY they chose it. Breifly talk about the Service-Learning process: Investigate, Prepare, Action, Reflection, Demonstration (Evaluation). The students are currently in the prepare part of the process! 

  9. Ask students to:

    • think about what we NEED to complete the project (for example, a teacher to supervise the after-school club, jars to collect coins, paper to write letters) and record these on a chart. 
    • discuss WHO can help your group complete the project (principal, teacher, community sponsors, etc.) and record on chart.
    • discuss WHICH groups you need to tell or advertise your project to (other students, parents, the community) and record on chart. *Think about how you will let them know (newsletter, posters, etc.)

    Assign tasks to student groups. 

  10. Allow work time and set deadline/due date for any remaining items.

    This project may last one day, one week, one month, or the whole school year. Research shows it takes on average 66 days to form a new habit. Help your students understand how repetition and longevity help to inform our views of being healthy and getting active for 60 minutes each day. 

  11. Part III - Service-Learning Project

    Remind students and discuss:

    • Why is this event so important?
    • What are our goals for this event?
    • How will we know that this event was a success?

  12. Collect Data: 

    • how many people signed up/participated
    • amount raised
    • number of classrooms taking Get Moving! breaks each day or total Get Moving! minutes
    • response from principal on writing petition
    • survey participants 
    • share on Social Media using #LTGGetMoving 
Assessment 

The handouts here are evaluations that may be completed by parents and families, community partners, students, and teachers. These evaluations may be used in conjunction with any Learning to Give lesson, toolkit, or resource. The goal is to help you collect information about the impact of your philanthropy and service-learning instruction. 

Philanthropy Framework

  1. Strand PHIL.IV Volunteering and Service
    1. Standard VS 01. Needs Assessment
      1. Benchmark E.1 Identify a need in the school, local community, state, nation, or world.
      2. Benchmark E.2 Research the need in the school, neighborhood, local community, state, nation, or world.
    2. Standard VS 02. Service and Learning
      1. Benchmark E.1 Select a service project based on interests, abilities, and research.
      2. Benchmark E.2 Identify specific learning objectives from the academic core curriculum that are being applied in the service-learning project.
    3. Standard VS 03. Providing Service
      1. Benchmark E.1 Provide a needed service.
      2. Benchmark E.2 Describe the goals of the project and their impact.
      3. Benchmark E.3 Describe the task and the student role.
    4. Standard VS 04. Raising Private Resources
      1. Benchmark E.1 Identify why private resources (volunteers and money) are needed.
      2. Benchmark E.2 Describe a project budget.
    5. Standard VS 05. Integrating the Service Experience into Learning
      1. Benchmark E.1 Describe the process of program evaluation.
      2. Benchmark E.2 Evaluate progress on the service-learning project before, during, and after the project.
      3. Benchmark E.3 Identify outcomes from the service.