Exercise time?

 

Should your school / class have an exercise time? Is it an important part of the school day or week? My first school had exercise time every morning. It was sold to the teachers as important to get the students moving to help them wake up for the school day. However, it was also held outside in the heat of summer. Afterwards students and teachers would be hot and sweaty and need to spend the next 20 minutes cooling off. Any suggestion that we should have exercise time inside with the A.C was laughed at as a silly idea.

My next school didn't have exercise time and I can say for a fact there was no difference between the students energy levels. So a morning exercise time to wake up the students isn't needed. However, in my own class while I don't have an exercise time I have 5 minutes where we sing and dance. Exercise time has no learning benefits. Singing and dancing to English songs does. And provides the same amount of exercise as doing a bunch of star jumps and running on the spot provides. But to emphasize I don't do this to wake students up. It's part of the routine. It lets children know that class has started and to start with a fun activity.

There is a difference. A big difference between exercise time and P.E. Schools should absolutely include P.E time. While exercise time is getting bodies moving with little education value P.E time is getting bodies moving with educational value. Every week, we have P.E time. This is when I work on their big movements and co-ordination. It allows them to learn and practice ball skills, body movement skills, following rules. A well planned P.E class spoken in English can be just as valuable as a traditional class.

If your school is doing an exercise time. Drop it and put in an English song and dance time and have a special P.E lesson to help the students. Don't waste your precious teaching time with pointless busy work on the false presumption that kids need to wake up.