Our goal was to foster positive attitude towards physical activity and the choices students make related to active living. Activities were centered on students having connections within their own classroom, their buddies’ classroom and their school. Students were engaged in setting attainable goals for being physically active. Teachers modeled encouragement and peer mentoring so expectations were clear for each student on what active participation looked and sounded like during Fitness Friday. Teachers provided opportunities to connect students through team building activities. Students were timed on their runs as a check in to see if they had met and/or improved on their fitness goals. The older buddies (grade 4/5’s) used Fitbits to measure their heart rate to ensure they were achieving their target heart rate. Additionally, students kept track of the numbers of steps taken during the school day.
We feel that this inquiry project was a great success. Each one of our students became more aware of their physical ability and were able to achieve their personal best in terms of their running time. Students reported that setting attainable goals and connecting with their older buddies made a significant difference in reaching those goals.