Walking on the Wild Side - Outcome B (K-3)-6

Here's another activity to get your class moving and experiencing how it feels (good!) to be active.

Have your class help you mark out a walking course that is 1000 to 1500 meters long. Let them choose where they would like to walk (on the track, in a nearby neighbourhood).

The class should walk the course at least three times a week.

After the walk and while you are stretching, you could talk about how the students felt during the walk. Was it fun? Was it hard to go the distance? Were they glad to finish? How do they feel now that it's done?

After completing the course a few times over a period of weeks, ask the students how they feel? Is it getting easier? Get them to suggest ways to make the walk more interesting, and see if that makes a difference in how they feel. Let them try adding activities to the walk to keep them motivated.

Motivation Means Fun, Fun Means Fitness: if your students are motivated to participate in activities and find them fun, they are more likely to continue the activity and that means health benefits!

while walking:

- sing a song
- run instead of walk
- play I spy
- Alphabet walk: ask students to identify objects within sight that start with each letter of the alphabet. Then walk to that object and find something that starts with the next letter in the alphabet to walk toward. E.g. A - apple tree. Everyone walks to the apple tree, then looks for an object that starts with the letter B. Bench: everyone walks to the bench. Keep walking your way through the alphabet!
(Adapted with permission from "Creative Walking" by Rob Sweetgal.)

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