Lesson Plan

Warm up: Tabata

  • Select a suitable tabata song (loads to choose from on all Music streaming services)
  • Two exercises, Jumping Jacks and Mountain Climbers
  • For Jumping Jacks stress the importance of getting legs out wide and keeping hands/arms long and straight(clapping at the top)
  • For mountain climbers emphasise knees coming up close to the arms during each movement
  • Complete 8 rounds of 20 seconds work followed by ten seconds rest, alternating between exercise every round
  • For example;
    Round 1: Jumping Jacks (20 secs)
    10 second rest
    Round 2: Mountain Climbers (20 secs)
    10 second rest
    Round 3:  Jumping Jacks
    10 second rest
    Round 4: Mountain Climbers (20 secs)
    10 second rest, etc.
  • Remember to keep encouraging children to keep going, using countdown each time so they realise there is never that long to go.
  • Stress how well they have done at halfway mark
  • Use final rounds to motivate to the end… i.e. “only three rounds to go! Second last round, Final round”

Squat: Key points

  • Big chest, superhero chest, gorilla chest, whatever comparison you can come up with (Swimmers chest, National Anthem at Croke Park are a couple of others)
  • Feet in the Goldilocks position shoulder width apart (Not too wide, not too narrow, just right)
  • Maintain natural curve in the spine
  • Feet stuck to the floor, heels down all the time
  • Drop below parallel
  • Keep those knees over the toes, no knobbly knees!
  • Complete 3 rounds of 10 reps
  • Music is always good for this too!

Classic Games 2: Duck Duck Goose

An old one but a good one. This game is especially popular with younger classes.

  1. Organise the class in a large circle sitting down and facing each other
  2. Nominate one player as “it”
  3. This player walks around the circle tapping the other players on the head and saying out loud whether they are “duck” or a “goose”
  4. When a player is called “goose” they must get up and run around the circle, chasing the “it” player and trying to tag them before they can occupy the space left vacant in the circle.
  5. If the “goose” is unable to catch the “it” player, then they become it for the next round.
  6. Make as many circles as your class size allows to keep as many people as active as possible.
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLAN (PDF)