Talk and Sing

Introduction

Q: What do you do to be active during the day?
A: Listen for responses that describe many ways to be active.

Did you know that whether you move fast, medium, or even at a slow pace you are doing great things for your body? Different intensity levels do different things for your body:

• Low intensity activities are important for flexibility and balance.
• If your intensity level is moderate (medium) your heart rate increases and sends blood and oxygen to your brain.
• When your intensity is vigorous (fast) your heart beats faster and you are working up a sweat. You are building muscle strength.

The best way to know your intensity level is to count your heartbeats, however you can try to talk and sing as a quick and easy way to judge your movement:

• If you can talk and sing easily, your intensity level is low.
• If you can talk but find it difficult to sing, your intensity level is moderate.
• If it is difficult for you to talk or sing, your intensity level is vigorous.

We are going to practice the "Talk and Sing Test" to see if we can tell if our movements are at the low, moderate, or vigorous intensity level.

Activity Instructions

1. Place the Arm Circle, Overhead Reaches, Lunges, Squats, High Knees, and Jump High cards from the Move Activity Cards next to a cone to designate the 6 movement stations.
2. Divide the kids into 6 groups.
3. Each group goes to one of the movement stations and does the movement on the card for 60 seconds.
4. While the kids are doing the movement on the card, they try to talk and sing to determine their exercise intensity level.

• Low: It is easy to talk and sing. (Arm Circles and Overhead Reach cards)
• Moderate: It is easy to talk, but difficult to sing. (Lunges and Squat cards)
• Vigorous: It is difficult to talk and sing. (High Knees and Jump High cards)

6. Kids rotate through all the movement stations then form a circle and march in place (or other leader-selected movement) for the Wrap Up.

Reflections

Q: Turn and talk with a friend and tell each other a low, moderate, and vigorous intensity level movement they can do each day.
A: A correct answer is a response describing movement activities that do not include a screen.

Make time to move your body in your day. Any physical activity throughout your day is great and contributes to the 60 minutes of movement you need daily.

Challenge

Move your body! Upgrade your moves—walk, then jog, then run!