In a recent survey of elementary teachers, it was found that most start off the school year with some form of rules/procedures coupled with games of low organization (fun, teamwork, cooperation). As the year progresses, most continue with units focusing on fundamental movement skill development (FMS). FMS, coupled with fitness are foundational to active participation. If I am fit, I participate and improve my FMS. If I have solid FMS, I participate and improve my fitness.
Walking Needs Attention
While FMS should be developed, maintained, or enhanced at all ages (K-12), they are particularly key to physical literacy in young students. As we engage our students in locomotive, manipulative, and stability activities, one crucial locomotion skill that requires more attention is walking.
Walking is the most common form of transportation. It is used to transport the body (to school and back, to the store and back, to the bus and back, or to the car and back). Walking can also impact our physical, mental, social, and emotional wellness. Walks around the neighbourhood, to the park and back, alone or with friends and family are low impact. Walking can also elevate our heartrates and improve our cardiovascular fitness with lower impact than running or other activities. Walking contributes to the goal of “lifelong, active, living”. Time should be set aside at the start of the year to teach students movement competence concepts related to walking.
This was developed for middle school students (grades 6-8), it is easily adapted and would be encouraged for all ages, especially secondary schools. It is never too late to make walking a part of one’s life.
Types of Walking
Teaching students the skill of walking starts with identifying types of walking. I have 3 categories. Mall walking. This is slow walking, shuffling one’s feet, possibly walking backwards or sideways while talking to a friend or looking at one’s phone. Wild Walking. This is an extreme version of walking. When students are challenged to walk fast, they often wild walk. It can be a half walk/half run, awkward looking, form of walking. It is fast, but it is not biomechanically sound. Purposeful Walking. This is intentional walking. How you might walk if late. This includes quick, purposeful steps, arm movement, leaning forward. Proper Speed Walking is ideal, but unnecessary and harder to teach or enforce.
How Fast is Enough?
The minimum pace for Purposeful Walking, is 10 minutes per Kilometre (km) (16 minutes per mile). This equates to 1 minute per 100 m (1 min per 328 yards). This pace is 6 km per hour (3.73 mph). This is a pace that students can do over 2 km or more. Most students can walk much faster when encouraged. With this pace (or faster), students can elevate their heartrates above minimum thresholds, which makes walking an excellent form of activity impacting cardiovascular fitness levels.
What to Teach?
Students need to learn how to walk with purpose and to understand pacing. The following are steps I have used to develop walking with purpose.
- All distances are found using an app such as https://gmap-pedometer.com/ .
- Discuss, demonstrate the various forms of walking and teach purposeful walking.
- Challenge students to walk a 100 m route (soccer post to soccer post). This is a great way to see their walking styles and help discourage wild walking. Every student can do this in 50 seconds or less. Already ahead of the minimum pace (1 min per 100 m).
- Challenge students to walk a 300 m route (once around our school). While losing sight for a bit, if students come around too fast, they are likely running at times.
- Encourage students not to run.
- Challenge students to walk the 300 m route to be under 3 min but NOT faster than 2 min. This helps slow down runners and a start to controlling pace.
- Challenge students to walk the 300 m route 2-times in a row (6 min or less). Call out the split times. Challenge students to have the second lap be the same as the first lap.
- Challenge students to walk the 300 m routes 2-times in a row again (6 min or less). Call out the split times. Challenge students to have the second lap be faster than the first lap.
- Ask students to walk a cool down 300 m route (still 3 min or less).
- By the end of the class, they have walked 2.2 km.
- Next class, the students walk a 2 km timed challenge (20 min or less). Record times. 99% of students far exceed the minimum. The few who are less than 20 min minimum, miss due to attitude rather than ability.
Connections
A walking mini unit helps students understand the value of walking for wellness and for fitness. The pacing concepts continue as we move into a running unit. The main reason students dislike running for distance is that they cannot run at a sustainable pace. This needs to be learned and trained. A walking unit, then a walk/run unit, and then a running unit (which allows for walking moments), leads to meeting the goal of “lifelong, active, living.”
When students learn how to walk with purpose, they are now set for life. When you walk to school, during active breaks, school fun walks, with your friends and family, walk with purpose. It becomes an expectation and hopefully habitual. Connecting with home about the value of walking with purpose can lead to family walks, or possibly, family walk nights hosted by the school.
Many teachers focus on the development of FMS and movement competence to support participation in sports. Sports requires peers, cost money, and time (parents driving). Individual pursuits like walking can be done anywhere, anytime, alone or with others.
Walking is ideal for all ages. This can be utilized and developed for any grade. There is a cardiovascular walking fitness test (the Rockport Walking Test). Students can walk a certain distance, document the time, set a SMART goal, develop a FITT plan, train and track sessions, retest, and reflect.
Whatever the age or grade, walking is crucial to personal wellness. You may want to intentionally teach movement competence concepts and skills to support walking as a lifelong activity.
