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Five elements
– what a PE lesson can include
It is good for you to exercise for 60 minutes a day or more. It
is important for your body and for your development.
Exercise does not have to be hard work and boring. Exercise
implies movement, such as when you cycle to school, walk
your dog or play ball games with your friends.
So you can exercise in many ways, which means that a PE
lesson can comprise many different individual exercises and
activities. A PE lesson is also a good opportunity for more
targeted exercises for the different parts of your body.
As a coach, you must therefore consider which exercises and
activities benefit which parts of the body, and in what
sequence they should be carried out. It is important, for
example, to do a warm-up before you begin using your body
and muscles.
A PE lesson can include:
1.
Warm-up
2.
Condition training
3.
Strength training
4.
Team activities
5.
Stretching/relaxation
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1. Warm-up
Being coach
It is important to warm up before you begin exercising.
Warming up prepares your muscles to be subjected to strain,
thus preventing damage to joints and tendons. If you warm
up, you can also run better and further afterwards. A
warm-up gets your blood circulating so that your muscles
can do more and react faster. The content, intensity and
duration of the warm-up can be matched to the exercises and
activities that the PE lesson will include.
The warm-up can involve all possible forms of movement such
as running, jumping and gymnastic exercises, either with or
without music. Think of the warm-up as light exercise to
warm up your muscles before the more demanding activities
begin – it might be a game or a series of gymnastic exercises.
Examples:
Warm up by first walking around among yourselves within
the PE area for 3 minutes, then running for 1 minute.
Afterwards, do various exercises to stretch and loosen
your muscles.
Back of the thigh:
Standing up, raise one leg onto a support, eg a wall bar, so that the back of your heel is
supported. Keep your standing leg straight. Lean forward over the raised leg with your back
straight. You will feel the back of your thigh stretching. Maintain this position for 20
seconds, then change legs.
Front of the thigh:
Stand on one leg and bend the other leg backwards. Take hold of your foot and pull it
slowly towards your bottom. You will feel the front of your thigh stretching. Maintain this
position for 20 seconds, then change legs.
Calf and ankle:
Stand with your hands against a wall and with one leg approximately half a metre in front
of the other. Bend your front knee and lean towards the wall, keeping your back leg straight
with the foot flat on the floor. Lean towards the wall until you feel your calf stretching.
Maintain this position for 20 seconds, then change legs.
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Bottom, lower back and back of thigh:
Lie on your back and raise one knee up in front of your body. Now take hold of your knee
and pull your bent leg as far up towards your head as possible. Keep your body fully
extended and your head on the floor. Maintain this position for 20 seconds, then change legs.
Back of the upper arm, shoulder and upper back:
Raise one arm above your head. Now bend your elbow so that your forearm hangs down
behind your head. Take hold of your elbow with the other hand and pull it down behind
your head until you feel a stretch. Maintain this position for 20 seconds, then change arms.
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2. Condition training
Being coach
Good condition means that your body is good at taking in,
transporting and using oxygen. The food that you eat is stored
as fat, sugar and protein in your body. In order to be able to
convert food to energy, you need oxygen. You therefore need
to transport a lot of oxygen around your body and to your
muscles.
Your lungs, heart and veins make sure that oxygen gets
around your body and to your muscles. If you move around a
lot, your lungs and heart have to work harder because you
need to get more blood to your muscles. This is why you feel
your heart beating and why you get puffed out when you
exercise. However, if you exercise regularly, your lungs will
function more efficiently and your heart will get stronger.
You will then get better at taking in oxygen, transporting it
around your body and using it in your muscles.
Examples of good ways of improving your condition are
running, cycling and skipping. These are types of exercise
that make your heart beat faster and make you gasp for
breath. Catching games are also a good way of raising
your pulse.
Think of some activities that make you sweat and get puffed
out. These might include catching games, obstacle courses or
running races.
Relay race
Split up into teams of four. More than two teams is ideal.
Mark out a track of a suitable length with starting and finishing lines (eg from one end of
the gymnasium to the other).
The first member of the team runs to the finishing line and back, where the next member
takes over and does the same. You could use a baton, which has to be handed on from one
runner to the next.
The first team in which all the members have completed the run is the winner.
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3: Strength training
Being coach
Your muscles use energy – even when you are sleeping. And
the bigger your muscles, the more energy they use. Muscles
get their energy mainly from fat, so if you want to stay slim,
it is a good idea to train your muscles. Strong muscles
strengthen your body so that you have greater endurance
and avoid problems with eg your back when you get older.
However, be aware that you should train your muscles with
care! You should always train in accordance with your age
and strength. Children and young people should not train
with heavy weights because their bodies are still growing and
developing.
You can train your muscles using your own body weight, or
you can use hand weights or machines. Think of some
activities in which you use your strength. These might be in
games such as tug-of-war and wheelbarrow racing – or using
gymnastic bars and rings.
Examples:
Here are some exercises that train the muscles in your
arms, back and stomach:
Sit-ups:
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold your hands
behind your neck. Roll your body up and down slowly. As you roll your body upwards,
you can also twist your elbow so that it touches the opposite knee, alternating elbows
with each roll. Repeat the exercise 15 times.
Press-ups:
Lie on your stomach and keep your body extended. Place your hands under your shoulders
and push your body up with your arms. Alternatively, you could start by doing exercise from
a kneeling position – this is a lot easier. Repeat the exercise 15 times
Back bends, whole back:
Lie on your stomach with your legs extended and your arms stretching forward. Keep your
nose touching the floor. Now raise your right leg and your left arm a short distance from the
floor at the same time and lower them again. Repeat with the other leg and arm. Repeat the
exercise slowly 2x10 times with a short rest in between.
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Back bends, lower back:
Lie on your stomach with your body stretched out. Place your hands on the floor on each
side of your chest. Keeping your legs together and extended, lift them carefully a short
distance from the floor. Lower them again. Repeat the exercise 2x10 times with a short
break in between.
Back bends, upper body:
Lie on your stomach with your body stretched out. Fold your hands and rest your forehead
on them. Now carefully raise your upper body as far from the floor as you can. Keep your
neck straight and keep looking down at the floor. Lower your upper body slowly. Repeat
the exercise 2x10 times with a short break in between.
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4: Team activities
Being coach
Exercising is a good opportunity to have fun with other
people. When you exercise with others, it becomes
entertaining rather than a laborious duty.
Ball games such as handball, football and volleyball are very
sociable and involve playing well in a team. Many types of ball
game exercise your whole body because you use your arms and
your legs, you run and throw, you bend and stretch. You become
good at coordinating, at throwing, kicking and catching the ball.
Ball games often also require speed and acceleration. So there
are lots of good reasons to play ball games.
Think of different ball games. Examples are sports such as
football, handball, volleyball or basketball, but there are also
non-sport games such as rounders, chiefball or dead ball.
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Chiefball:
You will need two equal teams.
Divide the court into two halves with a ‘chief zone’ at each end.
Each team chooses a chief, who takes his/her position at the end (‘chief zone’) opposite
his/her team. The ball is thrown up in the middle of the playing area. The team that
catches the ball now tries to hit an opponent with the ball. When a player is hit, he/she is
‘dead’ and goes down to the other end of the court to help his/her chief. Both fielders and
chiefs can hit opponents. If an opponent catches the ball, either the player that threw the
ball ‘dies’ or the catcher’s team can have a 'dead' player made alive again.
When everyone in a team is 'dead', the game is over.
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5: Stretching/relaxing
Being coach
When you start exercising, it is important to do a good
warm-up. And it is also important that you do stretches when
you have finished exercising. If you forget to do this, you can
easily get sore, stiff and short muscles. Stretching helps to make
your muscles bigger and more supple.
When you do stretches, it is important to make gentle
movements. For example, you can use the exercises described
under ‘Warm-up’ because they will also stretch your muscles.
You should relax your body and breathe gently when you do
stretches. It should not hurt; you simply need to feel the stretch.
Stretching helps to ensure that the muscle gets oxygen and
nutrition, which it needs after training.
Massage is also a good way of supplying your muscles with
fresh blood containing new oxygen and nutrients after exercise.
Ideally, you should massage the muscles before they get too
cold and stiff. But remember that massage should not hurt
because then the muscle will tighten and you will not achieve
the desired effect.
You can use a small amount of cooking oil, eg sunflower oil
or grapeseed oil, when you massage. This is gentle on the
hands and ensures that the skin does not become
uncomfortably hot.
Thumb massage:
This form of massage is the most common. Apply a little oil to the skin. Now use your thumbs
to massage with. Push the thumbs gently in the direction of the muscle fibres (use the other
fingers for support). On the way back, relax your thumbs and do not push. This form of
massage is good for local points such as the calf muscle. It is a good idea to end the massage
with some gentle exercises to get the muscles to fully relax.
Kneading:
This form of massage is similar to kneading dough. It should be carried out on dry skin and
is a good way of loosening the muscles as well as warming them. Place your hand – slightly
rounded – on the point that you want to massage. Now knead with the heel of the hand in
large circular movements without letting your hand slip. When the area has been massaged,
move your hand to a new point. Kneading is especially good for the long back muscles.
Patting:
This form of massage also requires the skin to be dry. With slightly rounded palms and
relaxed wrists, gently pat the desired area. This stimulates both the muscles and the nerves.
You should only use this form of massage directly on muscles and never on protruding bones.
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Stroking:
Apply a little oil to the skin. Now gently and rhythmically stroke the skin upwards in the
direction of the muscle fibres. Stroking works really well on large areas such as the back and
thighs. It is especially good for getting blood to tired muscles.
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01
Guide for children
Being coach
When your body is active, you use energy. Your body gets
energy from, among other things, fat. This means that exercise
helps to prevent obesity. Also, your bones are strengthened
when you exercise by being subjected to strain. Exercise has
both these benefits, especially if you carry out a form of
exercise in which you support your own weight. This might
be gymnastics, handball or football. Furthermore, exercise
helps to improve your fitness, makes your heart stronger, and
prevents a large number of diseases such as cardiovascular
disorders (affecting the heart and blood vessels), pulmonary
disorders (affecting the lungs) and diabetes. For example, by
exercising you get much less puffed out when you run up stairs.
Planning and organisation
So there are lots of good reasons to exercise and be active.
But the best reason of all is that you will feel well and
improve your mood. It is also a good way of spending time
with your classmates – and possibly making new friends.
The text ‘Five elements’ looks at five elements that a PE
lesson should include. Discuss and evaluate which of the
elements you want to emphasise given the time and
equipment that you have available and the aim of your
You must now plan and organise a PE lesson for your class.
There are a number of things that you need to consider. For
example: how much time do you have available? What is the
aim of the lesson? And what equipment and facilities do you
have access to?
You must also be coach for a day and explain the various
exercises and activities to your classmates. It can be difficult
describing exercises, activities and rules to others, so it is a
good idea to practise this among yourselves.
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Guide for children
Being coach
lesson. The aim might be to practise a certain ball skill, to
build up muscles, to strengthen your metabolism, or to
improve camaraderie in the class.
Check!
Below is a checklist that can help you in planning your PE
lesson. The left-hand column contains the things that you
need to consider. The right-hand column can be used for
ticking-off items or for your notes.
Consider:
Will you be outdoors or
indoors?
How many children will be
taking part?
How much time will you have?
Consider:
What is the aim of the lesson?
Notes:
What equipment will you need
(balls, wall bars, mats, skittles,
music etc)?
Notes:
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Guide for children
Being coach
Consider:
What activities will the lesson
include?
Who will be responsible for
what (music, equipment,
timekeeping etc)?
How much time will you spend
on each activity? (You could
time the various exercises and
activities.)
Who will say what? Who will
introduce the various exercises
and activities?
Notes:
Tip: Do not include too many activities – the time will go
quicker than you think!
Good luck with the planning. Remember that it should be
fun to exercise!
Tip: If you are lacking inspiration for exercises and activities,
you could go to the library or search the Internet to find out
about different sports, exercises and other physical activities.
You could also ask your PE teacher or another adult.