Active Vacations: A Session for Beach, Village or City

Before a school break, each group designs a 20-minute session for a specific setting (beach, village or city) using only what is available there. In class, the setting is simulated with similar equipment and students try another group's session.

How to play

1. Present the three settings with their resources and limits: beach (sand, water, heat, towel), village (hills, paths, a bench in the square) and city (apartment stairs, sidewalks, a small park, little time) (3 min).
2. Groups of four pick a setting and design a session with a warm-up, four exercises with sets and reps, and a cool-down, including the best time of day and hydration (8 min).
3. Set up the simulated setting outdoors with cones and mats: an imaginary sand area, the schoolyard slope, a bench (3 min).
4. Each group leads a shortened 4-minute version of its session for another group, which does it (12 min).
5. Peer review with three questions: can it be done without equipment, is it safe in that setting, would you actually want to do it? Each student takes a photo of the session they'll use on vacation (4 min).

Rules

• Every session includes a safety note for its setting: heat and sun at the beach, traffic in the village, neighbors and stairs in the city.
• No exercise requires equipment that has to be bought.
• The leading group corrects form respectfully and specifically.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the group includes an accessible setting (boardwalk, flat square) and wheelchair exercises.
• Deaf or hard of hearing: session instructions are also given in writing or by demonstration.
• Students not going away: the city setting works just as well for their own neighborhood.

Learning goals

• Design a training session suited to a setting and its resources.
• Anticipate the specific risks of training at the beach, in a village or in the city.
• Encourage students to stay active over school breaks.

Equipment for a class of 25

• worksheets: 8
• cones: 12
• timer: 1
• mats: 15

Teacher tip

Run it the week before winter break, spring break or summer and ask for a photo or log of one session when students return. It works well if the whole session fits in a single phone photo.

More main activities for High School