Session Load Tracking with RPE

While doing light stretches, students rate the session's perceived exertion on a 0 to 10 scale and calculate training load by multiplying it by minutes worked, then log it in their weekly record. It builds independent training management.

How to play

1. Students walk two slow laps around the court while they catch their breath (1.5 min).
2. They sit in groups of four around a printed RPE scale and do an easy leg stretch while the teacher reviews what each number means (1.5 min).
3. Each student silently picks a 0 to 10 rating for the whole session and writes it in their journal (1 min).
4. The teacher announces how many minutes the main activity lasted, and each student calculates load: RPE times minutes, for example 7 x 25 = 175 units (1.5 min).
5. Students compare it with their other sessions that week and write one sentence: whether the week was easy, moderate, or hard, and what they'll do next class (1.5 min).
6. Finish with a 30-second seated back stretch while the teacher asks two or three students to share (1 min).

Rules

• Your RPE is personal and honest; don't copy a classmate's.
• Rate the whole session, not just the last drill.
• Stretches during the task are gentle with no bouncing.
• Keep journals in the same spot every class so no records get lost.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: log while seated and adapt the stretch to the trunk and arms.
• Reading difficulties or autism: the scale includes faces and colors in addition to numbers.
• Injured or modified-participation students: log the load of their adapted task so tracking stays meaningful.

Learning goals

• Rate the perceived exertion of a session honestly.
• Calculate training load from intensity and time.
• Use the log to adjust a personal fitness plan.

Equipment for a class of 25

• printed RPE scales: 7
• PE journals: 25
• pens: 25

Teacher tip

At first students tend to rate only the last drill; keep reminding them to think about the whole class. Laminate the scale so it lasts all year.

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