| Subject:  Physical Education | Topic:   Health Related Activity (HRA)
 | No. of Pupils: 29 | Gender: Female
 | Average Age: 12-13 | Year: 1^st Years
| No. of Lessons: 6 | Duration of Lessons: 80 minutes
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 | Specific Pupil Needs: N/A |  

 

 

Prior Knowledge: Students have come from a wide variety of different primary schools meaning there is a mixed knowledge present within the group in terms of HRA. Students have completed a FMS and gymnastics module to date, meaning that all students have a proficient level of knowledge in terms of both areas and their corresponding components. 

Prior Skills: Students in 1A possess a wide variety of skill levels in terms of HRA as they are all coming from different primary schools. This is a mixed ability class with some students excelling in their chosen sports while others do not even exercise outside of school hours. Following the completion of both a FMS and gymnastics scheme, students are proficient in the various skills present in both schemes of work. 

Prior Attitudes: As a whole, this is a very sport-involved class. Therefore the majority of students possess a positive attitude towards sport and physical activity. In the previous schemes to date students appear enthusiastic towards physical activity. However, there is a minority of the class who approach physical activity with reluctance, therefore I decided to conduct this HRA scheme via the TPSR instructional model. 

 

‘Teachers should not separate content learning in physical education from the learning responsibility and decision making. Learning needs to be student centred. Learners must be expected and allowed to progress in uneven patterns. Success and failure provide opportunities for learners, if properly managed by the PSR teacher’ (Metzler, 2005). 

As this is the third scheme I am about to complete with this group I know I can trust the class to take responsibility for their own learning. At the beginning of the year, the classes tended to be more teacher-centred as I was still getting used to the group. As the year progresses, I can now give students more responsibility as I know they will respond well to this, thus creating a more student centred environment.  

As I mentioned previously, this is a mixed class in relation to cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. This contributed to my decision to utilize a Teaching for Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model as it delegates responsibility to students to explore their own personal fitness levels through a guided Health Related Scheme. The ultimate goal of this responsibility model is applying learned values outside of the gym/school hall to the application of responsibility goals to other areas of the participant’s life (Hellison, 2003). Responsibility will play a key role in this scheme of work as students will be given the opportunity to measure vigorous levels of fitness and will subsequently engage in activities targeted at improving each individual component of Health Related Fitness. This instructional model will also be appropriate in terms of the mixed ability level within the class as students can aid and motivate each other to perform to their full potential. This area in general will be of benefit to the students as it teaches students the importance of physical activity in daily life, methods that they can improve each are of fitness and will also deliver a brief overview of nutrition and healthy eating. This concept is vitally important in today’s society as Safe Food Ireland, 2017 highlight that one in four children are overweight or obese and four out of five children in the Republic of Ireland are not meeting the guideline of sixty minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity daily. This static highlights the importance of implementing such a scheme within schools.  Finally, this scheme of work will be enriched with resources which students will be able to take with them at the end of each class, creating a ‘HRA pack’ at the end of the six weeks. The aim is to create a positive relationship between students and physical activity so they will be encouraged to participate in more physical activity outside of school hours. 

 

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long term health benefits. Most importantly, regular physical activity can improve your quality of life. HRA is a strand that can develop physical fitness and can also develop the student’s understanding of the importance of physical activity. Students learn about the various components of Health Related Activity and the health benefits associated with this activity. After completing this scheme students will be confident to help themselves as well as their peers in this area. 

 

 

As this scheme will be conducted in January/ February and due to the large volume of equipment required, the majority of the lessons will take place indoors. Some activities may be conducted outdoors in order to ensure diversity but this will be heavily dependent on the weather. Each lesson will commence in a similar fashion; notes are taken from non-participants, uniforms will be checked and tasks will be given out to non-participants where appropriate. The roll will then be taken. This routine will be followed by the introduction to the learning outcomes for the class which will be aided by the learning wall. At times the learning wall will be displayed via the projector in the hall and different videos may be shown. Every learning wall will briefly recap on last week’ component of HRA in order to enforce student’s knowledge. The component for the current week’s lesson will be displayed in the centre of the learning wall, with key concepts, techniques, relevant sports and discussion sheets surrounding the main theme. As mentioned above, some learning walls may be delivered using PowerPoint presentations and useful videos. This will encourage discussion and engagement. The learning wall will also provide a reference point for students throughout the lesson, as they can refer back to the key ideas that have been addressed in the lesson. This section will be followed by a warm-up section which will feature a pulse raiser and the stretching of the major muscles of the body that will be used in the lesson. This warm-up section will be an important feature of the scheme as each week students will be nominated to take a section of the warm-up under the guidance of the teacher, emphasising that there has to be both a stretching and pulse raiser component. As this is their third scheme students should have plenty ideas for a warm-up. The main body of the lesson will contain tasks that are targeted to develop that particular key component. This will also feature assessment tools in order to allow students to measure each area of their own Health Related Fitness. An assessment will be present in week one in order to provide a bench mark for students and also an assessment in week six which will allow students to compare and acknowledge results in their own personal fitness levels. Each week will also feature fun ways of developing student’s skills and knowledge of each key component. A cool-down and stretching period will follow the main-body tasks as students begin to bring their heart rate back to normal and their muscles return to their original lengths in order to prevent injury- again an important element of HRA. The lesson will then conclude in front of the learning wall where key topics and points will be discussed. Students will then return to the dressing rooms to get changed. 

 

 

Feelings of wellbeing are fundamental to the overall health of an individual, enabling them to successfully overcome difficulties and achieve what they want out of life. The Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) provides a new area for learning at junior cycle called wellbeing. This area of learning will make the schools culture and ethos and commitment to wellbeing visible to students. ‘Young minds’ are a charity organization for mental health, carried out research that found that over 5000 young people found school stress to be one of the top five factors that contribute to their mental health problems (Young Minds, 2014). As students spend almost one third of their day in school it is of utmost importance that we place an emphasis on their wellbeing. Wellbeing builds student’s knowledge, skills and positive attitudes about health. Wellbeing in education recognises that school is not just about academic result but is about developing the student as a ‘whole’ and preparing them to be resilient. 

 

The inclusion and emphasis of multiple FMS in each scheme is of critical importance in order to ‘provide all students with enjoyable and worthwhile learning opportunities where they develop the movement skills and competencies to participate and perform in a variety of physical activities competently, confidently and safely (NCCA, 2016, P.4). Multiple FMS will feature in this scheme including; running, jumping, throwing, catching, skipping, chasing, balancing and turning. 

 

Both formative and summative assessment techniques will be used throughout the HRA lessons meaning that students will be assessed both on once off basis and on a continuous basis. Formal assessment such as filling in the blanks on a diagram of the human body (fill in the missing muscles) or creating a picture based on a jigsaw of definitions will be used in this scheme. On the first week of this scheme students will complete a bleep test. They will compete this same test on week six of the scheme with the aim being that they will have improved over the six weeks. Regardless of how small the improvement is, it can help motivate students for further learning. Students can also take part in assessment by means of peer assessment. Peer assessment is a type of assessment that allows students to assess each other’s performance. This form of assessment can be extremely valuable in helping students learn from each other by listening, analysing and problem solving. Results and feedback will give both students and teachers a clear indication on what students are finding difficult and what should be done next. 

Consciously or unconsciously everyone who takes part in sport at whatever level will use both numeracy and literacy skills. For this scheme of work, literacy skills will be targeted in the following ways;

Visual Literacy: Via the inclusion of the learning wall featuring the predominant ideas associated with each lesson e.g. muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility etc. 

Oral Literacy: As students communicate with their peers in relation to the key concepts of each week. This element of literacy will also feature as students communicate with each other in team based and paired activities. Students will also communicate with each other when providing each other with feedback. Finally, students will discuss differences between each component of Health Related Activity both in pairs and also with the class.

Written Assessment: Students will complete written assessments such as exit cards at the end of each lesson, task cards, scoring cards etc. 

Students will rate their satisfaction levels based on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being very unhappy and 5 being highly satisfied.

Students will count from 3-10 seconds for the duration of stretches in both the warm-up and the cool down

Students will time various activities 

Students will record scores, compare scores, and discuss levels in various fitness tests

Students will also be required to perform different number of repetitions for different number of sets for exercises in the circuit classes. 

When calculating their heart rate students will also be improving their numeracy skills.

 

Digital Literacy: Tablets will be placed at each station to act as a visual and instructional cue for students

Digital literacy will also feature via a whole class introduction to the lesson featuring videos on key components of the lesson 

Instructional videos will demonstrate routines and tasks to students who can mimic such exercises

 

The use of tablets at each station will also allow students to record their techniques so they will be able to visually analyse their progress

Apps such as Sworkit will feature as instructional apps for students in order to complete particular tasks 

 

Staying Well: Students are expected to participate fully and to be physically active for as much of the lesson as possible. A particular emphasis will be placed on participation as students are delegated the responsibility of identifying their position on the totem pole and picking tasks accordingly which will develop them personally. Students will also come to understand the benefits of being active and this will incorporate physical activity into their daily lives as they discuss how such skills can be incorporated into daily life and physical activity. This scheme will also include basic guidelines for healthy eating. 

Communication: Students will be given the opportunity to discuss the different concepts of HRA with the teacher and their peers. They will develop their team work skills as they work both individually and as part of different teams to develop each area accordingly. They will also become familiar with giving and receiving praise to and from their peers as a positive atmosphere is encouraged. 

Managing myself: At the start of this scheme students will assess their level in relation to the totem pole and can assess their various fitness levels and can compare both levels on conclusion of this scheme in week six. Students will also focus on managing themselves as they develop through each area of Health Related Fitness. 

Being literate and numerate: Students will also focus on numeracy and literacy in this scheme as they discuss and understand the predominant concepts of each component of HRA. Students will develop digital literacy as they research resources, cues, videos etc. based on their own individual development. 

There will be a wide range of resources used throughout this scheme to provide students with the information that is needed. Resources for this scheme will include mats, benches, learning wall, USB, projector, task cards, music player, beep test CD, benches, scoring cards etc.

 

  

 

 

                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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