Grade 8 Lesson 6

Lesson plan
Lesson theme Test your fitness Grade 8

Duration 40 minutes Date/week

Context

• Physical development and movement.

Linking with previous lesson Linking with next lesson

N/a. • Learners increase their physical activity and fitness levels.

Core knowledge

• Know how to do a fitness test

• Understand why it is important to keep fit.

Learning activities and assessment

• Warm-up
• Introduce learners to the worksheet for lesson 1
• Learners measure and record each other’s fitness after they have:
- Run for 12 minutes as quickly and as far as possible
- Done push-ups or sit-ups
- Stretched to test their flexibility
• Cool-down.

Forms of assessment Resources

• See “Learner assessment” in the “Checklist for evaluation” at • Large, flat area
the end of the lesson. • Whistle
• 2 basketballs
• 4 hula hoops
• Stop-watch
• Pen and record sheet
• Marked out area
• Class list
• Worksheets.

Expanded opportunities Teacher reflection

• Repeat the fitness test later in the year to see if each learner’s • The activities make learners more aware of their physical fitness
fitness status has improved. and ways to improve it.

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Grade 8 Lesson : Test your fitness (40 minutes)
1 Outcomes
By the end of lesson 1 the learners should be able to:
• Know and explain the various components of fitness and how each can
be assessed
• Discuss the different fitness requirements of various sports
• Discuss how fitness can influence health and wellbeing.
2 Teacher’s corner
Each of the outcomes is discussed in detail in the teacher’s information guide.
However, you need to encourage the learners to do their own research.
Feedback on the tasks and worksheets is crucial at a grade 8 level, but we have
not allocated specific time to do this in these lesson plans. You should, therefore,
try to have an extra lesson for feedback and planning the mass participation
task activity.
The main activity in lesson 1 is to conduct a fitness test. Emphasise that there
is no passing or failing or being better than their classmates. The assessment is
about knowing their current fitness level. Repeat this lesson in 12 weeks’ time so
the learners can determine whether their fitness levels have improved.
Explain how to measure the heart rate
To measure the heart rate or to determine how many beats per minute the heart
is doing, you need to find your pulse. Your pulse is the throbbing of your arteries
as the blood is pumped from the heart to the various parts of the body.
Finding the pulse:
• Turn the right hand so that the palm is facing upwards
• Place 2 fingers (left hand) on the thumb side of the wrist, on the inside of
the ‘wrist bone’
• Do not press too hard. Each time they feel a little bump, it’s their pulse and
they can count that as 1 heart beat.
3 Activities
For lesson 1 you’ll need the following equipment:
• Large, flat area
• Whistle
• 2 basketballs
• 4 hula hoops
• Stop-watch
• Pen and record sheet
• Marked out area: have 2 long lines, preferably 20 metres apart or you can use
a marked area like a soccer field, netball or volleyball court
• Class list
• Worksheets.

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Grade 8
Activity 1: Warm-up (5 minutes)
Plan a warm-up exercise based on the warm-up and dynamic stretching exercises
found on pages 3 to 7.
Activity 2: 12-minute walk or run (25 minutes – 2 groups)
Divide the class into 4 groups; 2 group As and 2 group Bs. Introduce the
worksheet for lesson 1.
Inform the learners that they can walk or run or do a combination of both for 12
minutes. Advise them to pace themselves and try to keep a steady pace for the
12 minutes.
• G roup A will walk or run first while group B counts the number of laps. You
will have 2 group As walking or running at a time and 2 group Bs counting laps
• Allocate each learner in group B a partner in group A
• The aim is to cover as much distance as possible in 12 minutes. Therefore, it
is important to know the distance of the course – perimeter of a soccer field,
rugby field, netball or basket ball court
• The counter in group B must count his or her partner’s laps and record this on
the sheet provided.
After 12 minutes, blow the whistle and yell ‘stop’. The learners must stop exactly
where they are and they will measure their heart rate for 10 seconds. You will
need to blow a whistle when they need to start and stop counting their heart
beats. Let the learners know why you are blowing the whistle.
The group B learner must record the total distance covered (including the
amount of the last lap completed).
Record the total number of laps (including the amount of the last lap) completed
on the class list.
Swap learners so that group B can walk or run and group A can count laps.
Tips for activity 2
• You can choose to end the lesson at this point, depending on how much
time is available. The rest of the tests can be completed in a separate lesson.
Follow the same format for that lesson, using the same warm-up and
cool-down exercises. After the warm-up, do the sit-ups, push-ups and
flexibility tests.
• It is important to mark out the distance for the 12-minute test before the
lesson. Place markers every 10 m so that when the learner stops after 12
minutes, you know how much distance the learner has covered.

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Grade 8
Activity 3: Sit-ups and push-ups (5 to 8 minutes)
Divide the class into pairs and instruct them to do sit-ups and push-ups.
Sit-ups
• Have the learners lie on their backs with their knees bent and hands behind
their ears
• Then they need to move up so that the elbows touch the knees – this counts
as 1 sit-up
• They need to keep their necks straight as they move up, rather than curling
them in towards their chests
• Partner A will count the number of sit-ups partner B can complete in 1 minute
• Let the partners swap.

Push-ups
• Get the learners into the push-up position. They must hold themselves up
facing the ground, with their arms straight, but elbows not locked and their
hands shoulder-width apart. Their torsos should be in the air
• Their legs should be straight (girls can have their knees bent and resting on
the ground, with their feet crossed over each other)
• Partner A will place his or her fist midway between partner B’s hands on
the ground
• Partner B will bend his or her arms until the chin is touching his or her
partner’s fist and move back up to the starting position. This counts as 1
push-up
• Partner B will count the number of push-ups completed in 1 minute
• Let the partners swap roles.

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Tip for activity 3

Tell the learners when the minute of testing begins and ends. You
can give them a breakdown as time is running – 30 seconds, 15
seconds, 10, 9, 8, 7 etc.
Activity 4: Improve flexibility
Get the learners to do certain stretches that test their flexibility.
Touching their toes:
• Seated on the ground, the learners must stretch out their legs in
front of them, and put their feet together, toes facing up
• They must bend forward slowly, reach forward with their arms
and try to touch their toes with their fingertips
• When feeling a slight pull in the back of the legs (hamstrings), the
learners should try to hold the position for 20 seconds, but must
not bounce when they are bent over.
Touching their toes:
Hip flexor stretch • Seated on the ground, the learners must stretch out their legs in
front of them, and put their feet together, toes facing up
• They must bend forward slowly, reach forward with their arms
and try to touch their toes with their fingertips
• When feeling a slight pull in the back of the legs (hamstrings), the
learners should try to hold the position for 20 seconds, but must
not bounce when they are bent over
• The learners should start in standing position with both feet
together. Then, take a big stride forward with their right leg,
keeping the left foot on the ground. The right leg should be bent
at the knee at a 90° angle
• The learners should lean slightly backwards, pushing their hips
out so that a slight pull is felt in the left hip flexor
• The learners should maintain good posture and keep their torso
straight. They should also try to keep their left leg as straight as
possible
• They should hold the position for 20 seconds, then swap legs to
stretch the other side.

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Grade 8
Activity 5: Cool-down (3 minutes)
Plan a cool-down exercise based on the cool-down and stretching
exercises found on page 8.
6 Wrap up (2 minutes)
Ensure that all the fitness tests results have been recorded and
handed in.

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Grade 8 Name: _______________________________
Worksheet: Grade 8, lesson 6
Task 1: How much air can I breath?
Record all your fitness test results in the table below

Test First test Re-test

12-minute walk or run: number of laps
completed + distance last lap.
12-minute walk / run:
Pulse rate in 10 seconds X 6.
Number of sit-ups:

Number of push-ups:

Sit and reach count:

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Grade 8
Lesson : Checklist for evaluation

Activity Question Yes No

Completing a fitness • Did learners complete the 12-minute walk / run test?
assessment • Did learners complete the sit-up test?
• Did learners complete the push-up test?
• Did learners complete the sit and reach test?
Teacher reflection • Do you think this activity has made learners more aware of their
physical fitness and ways to improve it?
If you had to repeat the lesson, what improvements would you make to it?

Learner assessment • Learner completed the entire worksheet with no mistakes and no elements missing
(8 to 10 marks)
• Learner completed the worksheet with few elements missing (5 to 7 marks)
• Learner completed the worksheet with a lot of elements missing (2 to 4 marks)
• Learner did not complete worksheet (0 marks).

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