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Teacher: Paula Summit who teaches at Winslow Elementary School in Henrietta, NY. Paula Summit can be contacted at Summit5@aol.com.
Name of Best Practice: Heart Rate Monitor Warm-up
Rationale/Purpose of Event: To allow each student to use the heart rate monitor and an exercise bike to help them better understand their target heart rate zone.
Suggested Grade Level: 4-5
Materials Needed: A heart rate monitor that can be programmed for the target heart rate zone, An exercise bike or similar piece of equipment.
Heart Rate Monitor Warm-up
Every class, a different student gets to wear the Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) and ride the AirDyne bike (that can also monitor the heart rate) or any of the other exercise bikes or air step machines on the side of our activity area while the rest of the class does our class warm up routine. Students are chosen to do this alphabetically from our class roster. During their time on the bike (which is only during our warm up activity which lasts about 7 minutes) the students task is to stay in their target heart rate zone (which is also written inside a heart on the AirDyne bike) while on the exercise equipment. They have both the visual and auditory signals to help them attain their goal. If they are on the AirDyne bike, they also get to track the distance traveled and the time spent on the machine. This information is recorded on a special slip of paper that the student takes home to show their parents. We discuss the results at the end of class when I remove the HRM from their wrist so they can explain the paper to their parents. (The HRM stays on them for the entire class period). This activity is a terrific method of ensuring that students understand staying in their heart rate zone during exercise.
(Any Practice receiving 5 Votes earns Blue Ribbon Status on PEC)
Posted on PEC: 10/9/2001 and has received 59 votes.

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