Staying Fit Daily

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Year Group

Year 7 (Ages 11-12)

Duration

45 minutes

Class Size

11 students

Subject Area

Life Skills – Personal Health and Wellbeing

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National Curriculum Links

Health and Wellbeing Strand (PSHE Education framework, England)

• Understand how to make informed choices about health and wellbeing, including mental and physical health.
• Develop skills to prepare for growing and changing, with emphasis on personal wellbeing.

Physical Education (Personal Development aspect)

• Recognise the importance of a balanced approach to physical fitness and wellbeing.
• Understanding how physical activity contributes to the quality of life.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Describe key methods and daily habits to maintain physical fitness.
2. Understand the relationship between balanced lifestyle choices and fitness.
3. Reflect on their own routines and identify small changes to improve fitness.
4. Begin to appreciate the complexity of fitness beyond simple exercise regimes.

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Key Vocabulary

• Cardiovascular health
• Physical activity
• Balanced diet
• Muscle strength
• Flexibility
• Hydration
• Mental wellbeing

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Lesson Outline

Starter (5 minutes)

• Activity: Quick whole-class brainstorm: “What activities or habits help us keep fit?”
• List ideas on the board categorised as: Exercise, Diet, Sleep, Mental Health.

Introduction (8 minutes)

• Present a brief interactive talk on what “fitness” means: physical, mental, emotional, and social fitness.
• Emphasise that fitness is holistic, incorporating daily routines, diet, sleep, and stress management.
• Use a simple infographic or cartoon visual showing these elements.

Main Activity (25 minutes)

Part 1 – Group Activity (15 minutes)

• Divide class into small groups of three or four.
• Each group gets one ‘fitness component’ card (e.g., cardiovascular health, muscle strength, flexibility, hydration, mental wellbeing).
• Task: create a 2-minute presentation explaining how that component helps keep us fit and suggest 2 practical ways for Year 7 students to improve it in their daily lives.
• Encourage creativity: posters, role play, or short mime.

Part 2 – Class Discussion (10 minutes)

• Groups present their findings.
• Discuss how these components overlap and contribute to overall health.
• Teacher highlights how government advice often focuses on exercise guidelines but fitness is fuller than that, connecting to the next lesson.

Plenary (7 minutes)

• Each student writes down one personal fitness habit they will start or improve this week and one question they want answered about fitness.
• Some volunteers share their responses.
• Summarise key points – fitness is about daily balanced choices and wellbeing.

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Resources Needed

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed ‘fitness component’ cards
• Paper and coloured pens for poster/task presentations
• Infographic/slide on fitness components (prepared by teacher)

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Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation of group work and presentations.
• Evaluate student understanding via plenary reflections and questions.
• Teacher notes any misconceptions or topics that require revisiting.

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Differentiation and Inclusion

• Provide sentence starters or vocabulary prompts for lower literacy students.
• Allow creative expression in group presentations to engage different learning styles.
• Support can be provided for students who may have physical or health limitations by adapting examples and activities to be inclusive.

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Extension Activity (for homework or next lesson connection)

• Ask students to keep a simple fitness diary for three days, noting physical activities, sleep hours, water intake, and mood.
• Prepare a short reflection for next lesson about how these habits affected how they felt.

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Teacher’s Notes

• Emphasise a balanced view of fitness to counter simplistic “exercise-only” messages; this prepares students for later in-depth discussions on fitness programmes and personalized approaches.
• Incorporate language that normalises gradual habit change, fostering positive lifelong attitudes.
• Use real-life relatable examples: walking/cycling to school, choosing water over sugary drinks, importance of sleep routines.

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This lesson anchors students’ understanding of fitness within a comprehensive health context, adhering to the PSHE Education objectives for developing personally informed, healthy individuals ready for adolescence and beyond.