Competitive, full of energy and inquiry are the first descriptions that come to mind when describing my 8th-grade students. My students are eager to incorporate wellness into their everyday life and they are eager to learn and use wellness as an outlet for their built-up energy.
Kind, passionate, creative and full of love for activity is how I describe my students.
They would love to get more minutes of activity in my class, but with a limited amount of equipment our games are large and students are not maximizing their time in class.
My Project
It is not a secret that this generation of adolescents is facing an obesity epidemic. When asked what one of the leading causes of the increase in adolescent obesity many will be quick to blame technology. Many of my students will admit that they spend more than 4 hours a day using technology for school work in addition to the time the spend on their phones!!
Middle school students love anything that utilizes technology.
My hope is that by incorporating heart rate monitors into my physical education class I will piggy bank off of my students love of anything technology based and spark their interest in achieving high levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily during Wellness. Using heart rate monitors during Wellness will also help develop student self-knowledge, personal goal setting and fitness planning skills for lifetime physical activity. My students are in "PE" one day each week for 45 minutes. All activities are distanced and it is difficult to tell if students are truly engaging in their target heart rate zone. These heart rate monitors will allow students to truly maximize their time in PE regardless of our activity.
When connected to an IPad I can see in real time heart rate zones for all students. We are a fitness based curriculum. Using heart rate monitors will allow me to provide my administrator with a real time data piece. The use of heart rate monitors will also allow for differential grading or scaffolding among my students. I will now be able to effectively grade students based on their true target heart rate zone. I hope that by showing students the level they need to be in during class they will be more familiar with how they should "feel" while exercising at home.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Battle and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
