Physical Education Lesson Plans & Ideas

Below we outline some ideas for teaching Physical Education and Sports Science. If you have some ideas you wish to share please get in touch!

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Anatomy & Physiology

Energy systems

Phosphagen recovery

  • Looking at Phosphogen recovery and its implications for training. Scenario three groups of students. One student in each group completes 10 x 10-second sprints, depending on which group they are they get between 10 and 180 seconds recovery. The best way I have found is to draw out of a hat recovery periods 10 seconds 30 seconds 180 seconds. You can look at heart rate to get data, distance run each rep etc

The respiratory system

  • Pupils will draw an upside-down Y on their sheet. They will add a few extra branches at the end of their Y and try to label the respiratory system

Diffusion

  • High – Low Pressure – to get the concept over – get students to imagine what happens on the tube during rush hour (people crammed into the carriages (High Pressure) when the doors open.
  • If there is a smallish cupboard see how many students you can get into the cupboard then shut the door! (High Pressure) open the door!
  • Relate to the Weather and movement of weather fronts from areas of high to low pressure
  • Pupils can then attempt to draw a diagram showing alveoli and blood capillaries to show movement of gases. Use red for oxygen and blue for CO2.

Key Points for diffusion

  • Gaseous exchange in the lungs takes place by diffusion
  • Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide move down a concentration gradient from a high concentration to a low concentration
  • Oxygen moves into the blood capillaries from alveoli to oxygenate the working muscles
  • Carbon Dioxide moves from blood capillaries to alveoli to be removed from the body
  • Fresh oxygen is then inhaled back into the alveoli to continue the process

Skeletal muscles

The Muscles

  • Put students into groups (minimum pairs maximum four or five) and give them sticky labels on which they can write various muscles. They then attach the label to one of their group.

Muscles and movement

  • Students create a video/pictures to show the types of movement that occur e.g. isotonic eccentric and concentric either in isolation or in a sporting context e.g. sitting down are eccentric contraction of the quadriceps.

Circuit / Gym session

  • Students are given a variety of exercise to complete but in addition to completing the exercises they must also do a movement analysis of the exercises they complete E.g. in press ups they must state the Prime mover antagonist fixator and synergist muscles as well as state the type of movement being performed and type of contraction (depending on age and ability of students).

Cardiorespiratory Lesson Ideas

Heart rate

This can be used for A level or GCSE level.

  • The idea is to explain that unlike skeletal muscle which contracts together the heart contracts with a wave effect SA node to AV node etc so students max possibly 15 (2 groups if larger group and it can be competitive!) act out the heartbeat (try for 60bpm!) Stand in a circle or line SA node initiates contraction along line (round circle) students completing a Mexican wave.
  • This can also be videoed (ICT opportunity!) and used as a revision aid at a later date

Heart Dissection

Main problem with this is due to EEC regs hearts now are cut but a good butcher or abattoir may help. Depending on competence (staff/students) dissect a heart or hearts to look at the structure of the heart Biology departments can be helpful especially if you have biologists who are good at dissection.
(Warning some children can be affected by this and faint (usually boys!)



Heart Circuit

  • Circuit to link blood flow around the body to a circuit.
  • Four stations = the two atria and ventricles
    • One station the lungs
    • One station the body
    • Jogging between stations

Response to exercise

  • Students take a resting pulse. Students do a slow walk for 3 minutes. They take their pulse at the end. They then work out the percentage of their maximum using formula. Students look at the graph and mark where they are after a slow 3-minute walk.
  • Next, they do a 10-minute aerobic run. At the end of run students take a pulse. They then work out the percentage of their maximum using formula. Students look at the graph and mark where they are after a 5/10minute run.
  • Finally, they complete 10 reps of back to back 50-metre sprints with a 10-second recovery. Students then take their pulse then work out the percentage of their maximum using formula. Students look at the graph and mark where they are after anaerobic exercise
  • This can also be done with heart rate monitors and the graph can be plotted on a simple time/ heart rate graph


Immediate effects of exercise

Students are given Heart rate monitors and work in pairs as a minimum. One student exercises first then the other. The second student records data,

  • Resting heart rate and breathing rate.
  • Heart rate at the start of the exercise period
  • Heart rate at regular intervals during exercise period (e.g. every minute for a maximum of ten minutes)
  • Breathing rate at the end of the exercise period
  • Recovery rate at regular intervals until pre-exercise heart rate is achieved (and breathing)

The second student does the same possibly at a higher intensity. Data can be used for graphs discussion etc


Bones & Joints Lesson Ideas

Three ideas that might help with teaching the skeleton, joints, and movements.

The skeleton

  • Put students into groups (minimum pairs maximum four or five) and give them sticky labels on which they can write various bones and/or joints They then attach the label to one of their group.

Make a Skeleton

  • Get students to make their own skeleton using card etc A variation of the above is give them a skeleton diagram (A3 minimum) cut out and get them to put it together

Joints and movement

  • Students create a video/pictures to show the types of movement that occur. e.g. flexion-extension abduction etc (Give students free rein to see what they come up with Weaker students may need help so pictures/video could be of movements in isolation or in a sporting context. E.g. a bicep curl shows flexion of the elbow joint.

Xray photos

  • If possible, show pupils X-ray photos of different bones and joints to see if they can identify and label them.

Practical examples

  • Pupils will try to list the bones and joint required to carry out sport specific movements such as a rugby tackle, passing a football or a shot in netball. They can link this into the types of movement to explain the role of the bones and joints in the movements.
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