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Stop Obesity! Get Fit With a Friend

Exercises are ever so much more fun when you do them with a friend! Together, create a fitness course that’s fun AND healthy.

  • Grade 2
    Grade 3
    Grade 4
  • Multiple Lesson Periods
  • Directions

    1. Childhood obesity is an epidemic. Eating too much non-nutritious food and doing too little physical activity can lead to obesity. Being overweight is uncomfortable and unhealthy for youth and adults. Exercise is a great way to stay healthy. Discuss with the class what types of exercising they can do to lead healthier lives.
    2. Organize students into small groups. Challenge each group to design a workout that promotes physical health. What can you do to keep fit? Students determine what exercises will be in their routines. Include warm-ups, stretches, some yoga, and aerobic (heart-pounding) activities. With Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils, students list their favorites. Encourage them to mix and match for a varied, well-balanced program.
    3. S-t-r-e-t-c-h! Students cut cards from posterboard with Crayola Scissors. Using Crayola Washable Markers, students draw simple figures doing stretches. Use arrows and words to show what to do.
    4. Design activity boards. On recycled foam produce trays, students draw simple figures doing each activity, such as jumping jacks or running in place. Write the number of times you want to do each exercise. Decorate the edges to make a set. With Crayola School Glue, attach two craft sticks to the back of each board. Air-dry the glue. To create sign stands, students roll Crayola Model Magic into balls. Press craft sticks into the balls so boards will stand up. Air-dry overnight.
    5. Set up a course! Stand activity boards and place stretch cards around the course. Provide time in the school day's schedule for members of the class to participate in all or some of the students-created routines. After performing in each, have contestants evaluate the routine in terms of exersion and age-level appropriatelness. It’s time to stay in shape!
  • Standards









    VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

  • Adaptations

    Working in small groups, students generate a list of goals to improve the overall physical fitness of the class. Display the final list of goals in the classroom for quick reference.

    Invite the school's physical education teacher to work with the class in designing fitness programs for their peers. Each group of students might focus on a particular human system such as the cardiovascular system. Classmates practice each system's fitness plan and evaluate its effectiveness.

    Students research the fitness practices throughout history in various areas of the world. Create a world map and identify each area of focus. Compare and contrast fitness practices from different eras to contemporary times.

    Each student in the class can keep a fitness journal, documenting the number of times they exercise in a week, length of time spent during each exercise session, type of exercises performed, etc. Comment, as well, on how much focus has been given to personal goals.

    Students campaign for the school to participate in a national fitness program such as Jump for Heart. Organize a small group of students to represent the class in an appointment with the school's administration for approval. If approval is granted, students create original posters advertising the event. Post in public areas of the school.

    Students organize a Fitness Day for their school. Ask parents to volunteer to assist with setting up and running activities. After the Fitness Day, students review their fitness journals to identify where they are with personal goals. Where do they need to continue focus for improved fitness?

    Students work in small groups to identify foods that contribute to a healthy body and assist with maintaining a healthy weight. Organize this research into a bulletin board for display in the classroom or school hallway.


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