health problems that can threaten life, it can overshadow everything else that is going on in your life. This suggests that our health impacts on our happiness and stress levels. Making the commitment and taking on healthier habits can help prevent ill health.
Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:
explain the different parts of the body and the healthy habit that contributes to making a person healthy;
demonstrate how lots of different things contribute to a healthy body;
describe at least two healthy things to promote lifelong wellness and athletic ability; identify the most important habit to promote good health in a sport person.
Below are suggested activities for healthy body for life and healthy body for sport which are also geared towards the overall development needs of every individual.
Activity 1: My head, my shoulder, my knees, my toes
Songs are useful tools in teaching various parts of the body in Ghanaian schools. It is performed by both boys and girls. It can be played both indoor and outdoor. The activity helps pupils to identify the various parts of the body and how useful they are to the human body.
Objective
identify the different parts of the body;
describe at least one habit that contributes to making a person healthy. Materials/Equipment: Working area for the activity.
Description of Activities:
The activity is about identifying the various parts of the body.
Pupil/students sing the song and perform actions relating to the different part of the body and the healthy habit that contribute to making a person healthy.
For this activity, we have two songs i.e. “My head, my shoulders, my knees, my toes” which is usually sang at the Kindergarten level and “Brown Girl in the rain” which is a general song for all classes and ages
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Rules:
Body parts must be touched as children sing.
Failure to touch body part relating the mentioned part of the body sends you out of the activity.
Psychomotor Skills
Psychomotor skills such as coordination, agility, coordination and flexibility are developed as children sing and touch the various part of the body.
Psychosocial Skills
Students appreciate their body parts and the usefulness of the parts.
What are some of the body parts you heard in the song? (Head, shoulder, knees, toes, etc.)
How can we take care of the body part mentioned? Song 1
My head, my shoulders, my knees, my toes -3x They all belong to Jesus
============================================================= Song 2
Brown girl in the ring} 3x Laa la la la la} 3x
She looks like a sugar in a pan laa la la la la! Show me your head laa la la la la Show me your eyes laa la la la la Show me your ears laa la la la la She looks like a sugar in a pan laa la la la la! 2ND VERSE 3RD VERSE Show me your show me your Nose hands
Mouth legs Neck toes
She looks like a sugar in a pan She looks like a sugar in a pan NB: verses 2 and 3 to follow same chorus pattern.
Personal hygiene, by cutting down our hair when they grow bushy, bathing regularly, cutting of nails short, washing of hands after visiting the toilet and before eating, washing of clothing when dirty etc.
49 Application of the skills in real life situation
Pupil/students should be aware of their different body parts and how to take care of them to be healthy.
Activity 2: Yenni Ahooden A Yenko Ntokwa
The activity “Yenni ahooden a yenko ntokwa” as played by the Akans in Ghana literally means “you don’t fight if you are not strong”. Among the Ga’s it is called “ke obe hewale le anoo, in Dangme it is called “ke obe he wamio a nue kuno” while in the Volta region it is called “ne wo lame mese Ola, matenu awo kale wo”.The activity originated from the Ashanti region and spread throughout the Central, Western, Eastern, Brong Ahafo and Northern regions. It is usually played in moon-lit nights after children have finished their house chores. The activity is used to develop muscular strength and ability to endure. Objectives:
identify at least two health reasons some people cannot take part in games; describe your personal action(s) to prevent illness.
Equipment: The activity requires a large space for performance. Description of Activity:
The activity is about challenging one another to show strength. It can be played by both boys and girls. Pupil/students normally sit in a semi-circular formation. They clap their hands and sing a song. As the song goes on the children form two lines. Students and give
themselves numbers. Students mention numbers and stand in two pairs or four. Pairs raise one leg each facing each other and fold their arms. They stand in a challenge till one gets tired and drops the leg. The one who drops the leg losses and the child who is able to stand for a long time wins.
50 Song:
Yenni ahooden a yenko ntokwa. Yenko ntokwa ee!
Yenko ntokwa ee!
Yenko ntokwa ntokwa nwanwaa. Yenni ahooden a yemmo atwedee Yemmo atwedee ee!
Yemmo atwedee ee!
Yemmo atwedee nwanwaa. Rules
All arms should be folded One leg should be raised
The competitors are to stand still
Whoever drops the leg, or hops around looses
The one who stands whiles all others have dropped their legs wins. Psychomotor Skills
The activity develops in children muscular strength and muscular endurance due to their ability to stand on their one leg and for a longer period of time.
Psychosocial Skills Developed: obedience discipline tolerance endurance
Application of the skills in real life situation
Students will be able to perform activities both in school and at home with persistence to achieve their desired objectives.
Activity 3: Antoakyeri
Antoakyeri or anhwewakyiri (don’t look back) is an activity played by most ethnic groups and regions in Ghana. Literally, it means that “don’t look back”. It originated from the Central part of Ghana from the Fantes and later became a nationwide activity enjoyed by all children. The Ashantis call it “Antoakyire”, the Gas calls it “ka kwe ose”, and the Ewes of the Volta region call it “Mega kpo megbe o”. The activity can be played both indoor and outdoor.
Objectives: The student will be able to:
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describe what must be done to prevent children from dropping out of school. Equipment: A stone or any other material and an open space to perform the activities. Description of Activity:
Ask between 8 and 20 students to form a circle. (You can form as many circle groups as possible). Ask them to squat while maintaining the circle. Ask the children to select one of them to start the game. The person selected will be responsible for placing an object behind the squatting playmates. The student stands behind the squatting circle with a piece of stone/rag. They begin singing and as they sing the person runs round the circle and searches to put the stone/rag behind one of the squatting playmates. All the children must be alert to recognise if the stone has been left behind them. Whoever has the stone/rag behind him/her must pick the object and run after the one who dropped it. If the one squatting does not find out until the one running meets him/her at the squatting position he/she receives a gentle tap on the shoulders. If he does not reach the student squatting, the one squatting picks up the task and continues the activity. It continues to allow as many of the children the opportunity to go round the circle.
The activity can be performed for five (5) to ten (10) minutes.
Song:
Antoakyire, antoakyire, Yee! Obi ba oo!, O bewu oo! Se wohwe w’akyire a Wabaa ko
Obi ba bewu oo Odaso
52 Obi ba bewu
Odaso. Rules:
All children must squat leaving only the one running round the circle.
None of the children squatting is expected to look back to see whether the stone/rag has been placed behind them.
If the stone/rag is put behind you and you don’t realize it for the runner to meet you at your squatting position, you are out of the game
The one who drops the stone behind the other is to run and come to squat at that position.
Psychomotor skills developed
Stamina, Speed, Agility and Strength. Psychosocial skills:
Friendliness, awareness and togetherness. Application of the skills in real life situation:
It tells children to be focused in what they do, especially as they study at school to achieve laurels.
Activity 4: Ehene Kwan Nie?
“Ehene kwan nie?” is an activity which literally means “which way is this?” It originated from the Ashanti region of Ghana and can be used to strengthen togetherness, unity and peace in society. The activity also stresses the need to strive for a common goal as well as support for each other. It is mostly played in the moon-lit nights after people have finished their house chores. Today, the activity is played nationwide and at any time. It is called in the Ga language “Neegbe gbe ne”. The Ewes call it “Emo kae nye siaa” while in the northern Ghana, in Kussal language it is called “Bobon surla”.
Objective:
identify behaviours that can lead to quarrels among friends describe some of the causes of conflicts among societies
explain at least, one action that will promote peaceful co-existence among people irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity or political grouping
Equipment: An open space where children can form a circle Description of Activity
The activity is about an individual forcing to go through a circle formed by other individuals. This is played among students between ten and twenty. The Students form a
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circle and hold their arms to prevent anyone going out of the circle. Five children stand in the middle of the circle. They begin to sing a song. After the song, those in the circle try to push their way out of it. Meanwhile, the other children who are holding their hands hold them tightly to prevent those in the circle from moving out of the circle. Those in the circle persist many times to go out of it by throwing their body on the tightly held arms. This they do by asking them “Ehene Kwan nie?” which means which way is this? They respond by mentioning any town they know.
Song:
Nana Aberewa, mame tawa kakra ma mennom Menni bi
Titi me nan ase Ehene kwan nie? Kumasi kwan Ehene kwan nie? Nkran kwan Ehene kwan nie? Obuasi kwan
Merepe kwan ma sene Woowa!
Mennya kwan mensene Woowa.
54 Rules:
1. The children in the circle are to hold their hands tightly to prevent the ones in the circle from going out
2. A person in the circle must persist till he/she finally gets out of the circle 3. Anyone who gets out of the circle is a winner
4. After 5 minutes, anyone in the circle is declared a loser and drops out of the game
5. Those who successfully break out of the circle can also join the circle while those forming the circle can volunteer to go into the circle
Psychomotor Skills
By holding their hands tightly to prevent the other playmates from coming out of the circle, children develop strength and endurance
Psychosocial Skills
Skills to be developed include diligence, togetherness, unity, trust, integrity, perseverance, collective responsibility.
Application of the skills in real life situation
The circle formed by students holding their hands tightly together can represent the challenges that we may confront in our lives. The person in the circle may represent one who is surrounded by challenges and is striving to come out. Though the challenges may look daunting, with diligence, perseverance, integrity etc. we will be able to come out of any difficult situation and be successful.
Activity 5: Pempenaa
Pempenaa is an activity in Ghana played by both boys and girls. The activity can be played both indoor and outdoor. It is played at moonlit night.
Objectives: Children will be able to:
bend and touch the legs of playmates Equipment: An open place
Description of Activity:
The activity is about one who goes out first in the sitting while performing the activity amidst singing. People form groups of about fifteen each. Fourteen members of the group sit and stretch their legs. The fifteenth person squats in front of them and stretches to touch their laps as they sing along. The last person on whose lap the song ends becomes the winner and thus, moves out of the activity. The activity continues for as long as it takes for all the children to take part.
55 Pempenaa song:
Siee, si siee, Siee nana koo Krataa abongo
Bo me koti bo me koti bo me koti o, aprada Ei maame ee, ei paapa ee,
Ei bom, bom faya
Agyaa ananse yi wo nan baako, Na enka baako,
Meda wo ase,
Ei maame ee, ei paapa ee, Ei bom, bom faya.
Rules
The rules in this activity are:
The child whose lap is tapped at the end of the song, will put the leg aside and wait till the other leg is tapped then he/she wins.
Psychomotor Skills
The bending up and down of the legs develops in student’s flexibility. The stretching out of legs in sitting position builds strong muscles. The activity can also develop co-ordination and flexibility in the children.
56 Psychosocial Skills
Socially, children learn to be respectful, obedient, loyal, and they further develop friendly relationships among themselves. The activity ensures respect, peaceful co-existence and togetherness among children.
Application of the skills in real life situation
In real life situations, students must learn to portray peace and respect to authority and are able to obey rules in the society.
Summary
The activities carried out have demonstrated the importance of sports in maintaining good health. We have also learnt that when we are unwell we cannot play and as children, this makes us unhappy. This explains why it is important that we prevent illnesses so that we can be healthy to play games.
57 UNIT 2: COMMON ILLNESS
In this unit we will discuss general behaviours in preventing illnesses. The human body suffers from various types of health disorders that are different from each other. In this unit, we shall examine three factors that can lead to common illnesses. Some of the common illnesses are:
- food and water-borne illness; - air-borne illness;
- Insect-causing illness.
Objectives: After going through activities in this unit, you will be able to: (i) outline basic signs and symptoms of common illnesses;
(ii) explain the preventive and management measures of common illness. Activity 1: Kwaakwaa
This is a traditional activity played in Ghana. The Ewes call it “Bebekuwe” and the Akans “Kwaakwaa”. The activity is used to keep people together and entertain young ones in the various communities to promote cooperation.
Objective: To identify the preventive measures of common illness. Description of Activity:
One of the performers is designated as the searcher and the rest look for a place to hide. The searcher is blindfolded with cloth while those to hide run and hide. When the teacher is satisfied with the hiding, he/she removes the fold to enable the searcher to look for those who have hidden. Anyone the searcher happens to discover first becomes the next searcher. This continues to see how many children can hide well, without being caught.
Psychomotor skills developed
Speed, stamina, and agility are physical qualities that are developed in pupil/students. Psychosocial Skill Developed
Values such as, cooperation, honesty and perseverance are also developed Application of the skills in real life situation
The searcher is the illness which is looking for someone to make ill. Those who hide are trying to avoid illness. How efficient they are able to hide from being ‘caught indicates their competence against becoming ill.
Activity 2: “Kwaa Kwaa lobite”
This is a traditional activity among the Ga community in Ghana. It is also played in the Ewe community and among them it is called ‘Awako kple kokloviwo”.
58 Description of Activity:
Children stand in a free standing position. One acts as the leader who will be the hawk and the rest of the pupil/students as chicken. On command, “the hawk”, the leader (hawk) chases the pupil/students and any child the hawk will ‘catch’ becomes a hawk.
Roles:
Students (chicken) will run to cross a line 20 metres away from the starting position. Any child that will be touched by the leader (hawk) before crossing the line becomes a hawk and those who will be able to run across the line will be saved.
Psychomotor skills developed - Speed, stamina, and agility are physical qualities that are developed in pupil/students.
Psychosocial Skill Developed - Cooperation, honesty and perseverance. Application of the skills in real life situation:
If you are able to cross the line, it means you have been following the preventive measures. However, if you are caught, it means you have been infected with an illness.
Activity 3: Frog in the sea.
In Ewe it is call “akpokplor le tsi me” Objective: Studentwill be able to:
identify the preventive measures of common illness Description of Activity:
One child acts as the frog and sits in the centre of a circle. Other children dare the frog by running in close to him and saying “frog in the sea cannot catch me”. If a child is tugged by the frog, he or she also becomes a frog and sits in the circle beside the first frog. A frog must tug from a squatting position. The activity continues until four players are tugged. Then the first frog chooses a new frog from the players who were not tugged. Jumping like a frog can be performed rather than running.
Rules: