1. Animals including Humans
Year 3
Lesson 6
LI: To understand the effects of exercise on the body

2. Recap
Why do we need muscles?
Recap the role of muscles and bones

3. How much exercise do you do?

4. Why do we need to exercise?
We will feel healthier.
Our heart will be stronger.
Our lungs will be more efficient as they will expand more when taking in air.
It will improve illnesses like asthma.
Our immune system will be stronger, therefore less illness.
We will maintain a desired weight.
We will be more alert and ready to work.
Our muscles will be stronger.
Discuss the importance of exercise - have the children ever noticed anything when they exercise? Through discussion, list short-term and long-term effects on the body.
Discuss what ‘fair test’ means and how this links to the experiment.

5. Seeing the effect of exercise
Today we are going to see the effects of exercise on ourselves.
Lets measure our heart-rate and breaths per minute before exercise.
We will see what happens to our heart-rate and breathing after vigorous exercise
Children to measure their resting pulse rate and record (model how and where to measure heart rate).
Children to then to count how many breaths they take in one minute and record.
Teacher to lead children through a series of vigorous exercises of choice.
Children to re-measure their pulse rate and their respiration rate and record. Discuss the immediate effects of exercise and record as a conclusion, e.g. heart rate and respiration rate as well as sweating.

6. How will we make this experiment fair?
Measuring our heart rate for the same period of time for both resting and post-exercise.
Exercising for the same period of time.
All carrying out the same form of exercise.

7. Plenary Have you ever had a stitch?
Discuss the effects of over-exertion whilst exercising. Ask the children if they have ever had cramp or a stitch while they have been exercising. Discuss why cramps occur (it is when waste products, i.e. lactic acid from the muscles, cannot be transported away quickly enough), compared to a stitch, which occurs when oxygen doesn’t get to the muscles quick enough.