Fruits, Veggies, and Exercise. Do you know the difference?

Here are two new games that can get children acquainted with what is good and not good for them.

http://www.playnormous.com/game_braingain.cfm

http://www.playnormous.com/game_bubbletrouble.cfm

The first game Brain Gain is an easy interactive game done online to test the knowledge on what is considered a fruit, vegetable, or a certain type of exercise which would either be strength or aerobic. The strength type could be a exercise such as Door Frame Isometrics shown in the picture below.



A few different options pop up on the screen and you must click the correct answer that goes along with the picture. There are different levels that you go through which ask similar questions about different fruits and vegetables. They will also ask you to decipher between what is a healthy food and what is not shown in the picture below.



I think this game would be beneficial for maybe an elementary school level phys ed class. It is a very basic game which most older student's would find boring and pointless. As I was going through this I was not very intrigued to play this game for a long time probably because of my age and the type of basic knowledge it incorporated. But as for a youger student I can definately see them getting into this game and having fun with it while it would also be teaching them different things about a healthy lifestyle.

The next game I played was called Bubble Rubble. This was a different game which mainly dealt with the physical type of exercise that goes alopng with being healthy. You are playing as a little creature that you move around the screen and try to catch different activities that add onto aerobic fitness. This would include running, swimming, walking, gymnastics, and anything else that would increase your aerobic fitness. There are also activities such as watching tv, talking on the phone, and things of that nature that do not help out your fitness levels. Here is a picture of what it would look like.



This is a good game that would give kids ideas of what they could do to stay in shape. Staying in shape does not always mean lifting weights or going for a run. This will help children realize that there are so many things they can do to stay fit. By looking at all the different activities, they will have a good sense of what to do to stay in shape. This would also be a good game to have student's do at home or as a little intro during class.

Here is a slideshow of the different parts of each game to see what it looks like to play the game. You can also see the different types of questions being asked.



Here is a sample lesson plan, task progression sheet, and an activity sheet that could go along with these type of games and unit.