Are You Fitter Than a Fifth Grader?

Project Description A key part of 5th grade science is to study how the body works. Students are interested in this content, but often it is taught without a purpose beyond delivery of knowledge. For this project, students will learn about the body and take it a step further: studying how different choices affect kids’ health. They will be aiming to promote the health of other children in VERY SPECIFIC ways (rather than simply get exercise – define how much is enough? What types of exercise should children be doing? How can they promote healthy growth?). Essential Question What is healthy for kids and how can we motivate kids to make healthy choices? Project Work

• Got in shape! • Took a fitness test before and after the project (11 weeks). • We learned about dynamic stretching and other types of

exercise necessary for keeping the body healthy. • Ran every morning (1/4 mile) and participated in other

physical fitness activities during the week. • Met with experts to learn how best to exercise our bodies.

• Taught each other about the body (delivering interactive presentations to learn about the body systems).

• Investigated children's fitness and nutrition. • Designed a parcourse to encourage other students at HTe to exercise

properly. This was the most challenging part of the project. Making decisions all by ourselves took a lot of time and a lot of discussion and compromise.

• Determined the exercises to include (involving debating in the class for certain exercises and identifying which ones were most beneficial for the body while ensuring that all muscles would be worked throughout the course).

• Named the exercises in fun ways to entice young children to do them.

• Designed signs by discussing everything from what information to include on the signs to the color of the signs to the layout.

• Built the parcourse. • Measured, cut, and stained and varnished wood for parcourse

station signs. • Dug holes for balance beam. • Created structure for climbing traverse. • Painted climbing traverse in the style of Jackson Pollock.

Timeline 10-weeks Collaborators Fitness professionals Children’s health professionals HTe’s Engineering Teacher, Bryan Barry City of Chula Vista (financial supporter through a city grant) Exhibition

• 5th graders will present a preview exhibition describing the process of working on this project. This exhibit will give people a chance to walk through the project: learning about the body, tasting healthy food, trying exercises, learning about the parcourse, practicing some of the skills required to build the parcourse structures, and being invited back for the opening of the actual parcourse.

• All students in the school will be scheduled to visit the parcourse on its Opening Day with their class. 5th graders will introduce students to the exercises and benefits of doing these at each station.

Assessment

• Student critique to improve work throughout the project • Teacher feedback in student journals • Student self-assessments midway through the project and at the end

of the project Products

• Parcourse signs and structures (collaborative work of all students) • Letters explaining the project and inviting someone to come to the

parcourse • Parcourse proposals (individual work) students create full

descriptions of an exercise (title, how it’s done, benefits, materials needed, etc.) to propose for inclusion in the parcourse

Post-Project Commentary Are  You  Fitter  Than  A  5th  Grader?    Over  the  course  of  11  weeks,  5th  grade  students  studied  the  human  body,  learned  about  types  of  exercise  that  support  healthy  growth  in  kids,  and  worked  diligently  to  improve  their  own  fitness  levels.  Most  importantly,  the  class  developed  a  solution  for  motivating  their  schoolmates  to  exercise  more  frequently.  They  designed  and  built  a  parcourse  for  the  school  –  a  permanent  fitness  circuit  consisting  of  13  exercise  stations  including  a  climbing  traverse,  tire  run,  balance  beam  and  log  jump.    Teacher  Reflection  In  addition  to  giving  students  a  chance  to  study  the  body  and  explore  children’s  health,  this  project  provided  opportunities  for  students  to  develop  their  decision-­‐making  capabilities  as  they  made  the  many  choices  required  in  designing  and  constructing  the  parcourse.  The  class  also  learned  to  manage  hurdles  that  arose  at  various  times  related  to  the  installation  of  their  work  and  additionally,  challenged  themselves  to  pursue  and  surpass  their  own  fitness  goals  throughout  the  project.    Student  Reflection  It  was  challenging  deciding  among  a  lot  of  ideas  from  the  class.  It  was  hard  to  come  up  with  one  thing  for  how  the  signs  should  be  designed  to  how  the  climbing  traverse  should  be  painted.  But  after  making  all  those  choices  we  ended  up  with  a  parcourse  we’re  really  proud  of.  –  Raymond  Bezzo,  5th  Grade    In  this  project  I  learned  that  if  you  make  a  mistake  then  learn  from  it  because  when  I  painted  the  signs  for  the  parcourse  I  made  some  mistakes  and  figured  out  how  to  fix  them.  It  was  challenging  to  make  them  look  just  right!  –Alex  Vazquez,  5th  Grade    The  measurements  for  the  frames  was  challenging  because  you  have  to  be  exact.  If  you’re  not,  then  pieces  won’t  fit  together!  –Jaddin  Thomas,  5th  Grade    Kids  need  to  get  fit  and  if  they’re  not  it  might  not  seem  bad  now,  but  it  can  lead  to  diseases  in  the  future.  I  learned  to  not  only  stay  healthy,  but  help  others  stay  healthy.  –Jessica  Chou,  5th  Grade    I  think  this  project  was  important  because  it  will  leave  a  lasting  impact  on  this  school.  –  Aiden  Ramirez,  5th  Grade  

Climbing Traverse Parcourse Signs

Building the Climbing Traverse

Staining the Signs