The 4-week physical activity challenge
The 4-week physical activity challenge
All pupils receive a challenge pack with a booklet, certificate and two stickers.
The booklet contains a tracker to record and reflect on activity each week, as well as active ideas, stories and drawing activities.
Pupils will have fun getting active and learn about motivation, goal setting and health along the way.
The new and improved booklet has been co-designed with pupils around the country and is ideal for 2nd-6th class. Each pack includes a booklet, certificate and stickers for each pupil.
Please note we are now sold out of Let’s Get Active Challenge Packs.
To order, email schools@irishheart.ie with the following details:
Each week includes writing/drawing tasks for your pupils. These will help to guide discussions on different ways to be active and finding fun ways to move. You could do this as part of SPHE time.
Not all activity has to be done in school. Pupils can continue to add to their minutes when they go home.
We have provided guidance below on how to use the challenge pack, but choose what works best for your class and your timetable.
Fill out the Choice Board on page 5. Pupils can use ideas from the Ideas Bank at the back of the book, or come up with their own. Why not choose some activities to do as a class? You’ll also find lots of ideas for ways to be active in school and at home on the Active Classroom and Bizzy at Home pages.
Don’t forget to come back to your Choice Board and cross off the completed activities. Why not use these activities for active homework?
Shade or cross off a circle on the Tracker after every 10 minutes of being active. Try to do this as a class after active times such as breaks or PE. Pupils are far more likely to remember to fill out the tracker if you do it as a group little and often.
Allow some time each morning for pupils to recall how they were active the previous evening and to complete their tracker for the previous day.
For the My Weekend section, pupils can choose to draw, write about, or even list minutes for activities they did (or plan to do) at the weekend if they wish. Complete this on a Monday along with the reflection. Use the Rough Work section to add up total minutes each week.
Being active doesn’t end with the school day. Let’s Get Active is a great way to highlight the importance of being active for at least 60 minutes each day and building heart-healthy habits.
Encourage pupils to show off their booklet at home and talk about what activities they have done, their achievements and what they would like to do.
Pupils can design a badge or medal on page 20; ask parent(s)/guardians to sign the completed booklet and see the wonderful work their child has done over the four weeks.
Give pupils a red ‘Let’s Get Active’ sticker about halfway through the challenge (end of week two/beginning of week three). Celebrate that you have completed two weeks of the challenge and acknowledge the work that pupils have done so far.
At the end of the challenge, each pupil gets a yellow ‘Well Done’ sticker and a certificate with their name on it.
The Ideas Bank (page 21) has lots of different suggestions for ways to be active in and out of school. Encourage your pupils to look through the Ideas Bank for inspiration for different ways to get active. You can find lots more ideas for ways to be active in school and at home on our Active Classroom and Bizzy at Home pages.
Pupils can add their own ideas on page 21 and write or draw some of their favourite ideas on page 28.
The Choice Board (page 5) encourages pupils to find 9 different activities they would like to do during the challenge. They then colour in the box when they have done an activity. Some ideas for ways to use the Choice Board:
Why not use the board for active homework? Choosing their own tasks is great for pupils’ motivation and confidence.
Families can get involved and add to the board, or take part in activities at home. You could set choosing one or two activities to do with your family as part of homework.
Are there ideas you could do together as a class? As a class you could choose 3 ideas that you will do during class time as active breaks or part of transitions. See the Active Classroom and Bizzy at Home pages for lots more ideas.
Remember to come back to the choice Board throughout the challenge and see how pupils are progressing through their activities.
