Warming Up and Cooling Down Teacher Resources

What fun! Try out some of these PE warm-up and cool-down activities with your youngsters. Find several ideas written out along with tips to designing an effective warm-up or cool-down with elementary schoolers. 

What makes an effective warm-up and cool-down activity? as well as tips for leading stretches. Find detailed activity plans, as well as tips for leading stretches, for elementary school, tag-based games (including one game called "Toilet...

British warm-up tag is a team dodgeball game. One ball, two teams. Run away from the person who has the ball in his hand to avoid being hit by the ball and eliminated from the game.  If you have the ball in your hands, you may not move...

Here is a basic PE lesson that outlines ten different warm up games that you can utilize with your class to get them stretched out and ready for the primary activity. Some of these warm-ups could actually be used as a primary PE game for...

To improve mobility, social skill development, and the concept of position, learners with physical disabilities work together to raise and lower a hula hoop over their heads. The activity is short and intended to be used as a warm-up.

Middle schoolers in P.E. class organize into squads. Displayed on a computer screen are a given set of warm-up exercises. Each squad runs up, reads the directions, completes the warm-up and then runs back up to read another set of...

Students participate in computer generated warm up activities. Working in small groups, they read the activity on the computer screen located at their station. Each group completes the activity in the allotted amount of time and moves on...

Young scholars in a middle elementary physical education class participate in a warm-up activity in which they perform several hip-hop dance moves. They do the mountain climber, the coffee grinder, the seat spin, and others. They even...

Young scholars participate in a variety of warm ups. In groups, they form a circle and only perform their dance when their number is called. While completing their dance, they give each other high fives. To end the lesson, they perform a...

Students cool down from physical activity and to reinforce the location of bones.

Students participate in a variety of warm-up activities in their physical education class. They shake, bend and stretch.

Students are divided into six groups which be your six stations for this activity. On the teachers signal, students work together to assemble a heart puzzle that is scattered on the floor.

Don't let the rain and snow put a damper on your PE lessons. This collection of indoor activities is a perfect way to keep students active regardless of the weather outside.

Use this activity as an anticipatory set to warm up for a lesson on predator/prey relationships. Pupils will play a round of "Duck, Duck, Goose," substituting the ducks and geese for two animals that have a predator/prey relationship....

Students are given an index card with a warm-up on it for them to complete when they enter the classroom. Individually, they are placed around the room in which they complete the warm-up and assigned a total point value. To end the...

Students cool down from physical activity and practice an activity to reinforce the locations of our bones. At the end of PE class students stand or sit in small group and sing and touch bones to the song "Macarena". The teacher can...

Hats off to Barry for a great idea. He teaches Adapted PE to elementary school children, and when he is absent they often don't get to have PE. So he came up with this great plan to videotape short lessons that his pupils could follow,...

A great idea to showcase the elementary school PE programs! A demonstration in front of the PTO and a way to get parents to come to the meeting because their child is performing. Highlight what your school is doing to promote healthy...

Youngsters follow commands in a warm-up game. When Army is shouted out, players run to one side of the gym. When they hear Navy, players run to the other side of the gym. If hit the deck is called out, the class lays on the floor, and...

Before coaching or beginning your next PE unit on volleyball, take a look at this 30-lesson unit that offers instructional techniques for each lesson, as well as warm-up activities, set inductions, and suggested coaching refinements.

Are you faced with rainy day recess or in need of an end-of-the-day activity? This game is easy to explain and will give your youngsters the opportunity to get some activity in by calmly moving around the classroom. It will also help...

What a great way to practice the art of throwing a Frisbee! This Frisbee Horseshoes lesson plan could be used as a warm-up or it could be made into an entire lesson plan.  If the cones were placed different distances apart, the class...

Pupils can practice this activity as a warm-up during the month of December. It's a great way to teach students about different types of exercises and how they relate to the different components of fitness.

Students, in order to participate in the carnival, dress out and participate in a Fitness Activity for the day, e.g., 2 minute jog, warm-up by stretching, etc.