Playing games to make our heartbeat and breathing faster (warming up)
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can warm up before exercising and know why this is important.
Key learning points
- Move: warming up gradually increases our breathing rate and heartbeat.
- Think: warming up prepares the body for exercising and helps to prevent injury.
- Feel: consistently trying our hardest shows courage, which helps us to improve.
- Connect: listening to others when they answer questions shows gratitude and helps us to understand.
Keywords
Warm up - prepares the body and mind for movement and exercise
Heartbeat - the regular movement or sound that our heart makes as it sends blood around our body
Breathing - the process of moving air into and out of the lungs to bring in oxygen
Common misconception
Warming up is only needed for outdoor lessons and in the cold weather.
Warming up is a gentle and gradual way of getting the body and mind ready for exercise. Our bodies might not be ready for sudden, energetic movements even in warm weather or when we are indoors.
Teacher tip
Mindful breathing in the cool down is a good way to introduce calming breathing activities which can also be useful in other curriculum lessons and times when pupils need to manage their emotions.
Equipment
30+ cones, 20+ hoops, 20+ beanbags
Content guidance
Risk assessment required - physical activity
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which of these activities is a good way to get your mind and body ready for exercise?
Q2.Which of these types of movements is best to slowly increase your heartbeat?
Q3.How would you expect your breathing to change during a warm up?
Q4.Which of these qualities will help you most when you are trying something new?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What should we always do before starting vigorous games and exercise?
Q2.Why is a warm up good for our muscles?
Q3.What is the best way to increase our breathing and heartbeat?
Q4.How often should we warm up before exercise?
To help you plan your 1 physical education lesson on: Playing games to make our heartbeat and breathing faster (warming up), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 1 physical education lesson on: Playing games to make our heartbeat and breathing faster (warming up), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 1 physical education lessons from the Health and wellbeing: the effects of exercise unit, dive into the full primary physical education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.