Facilitator Lesson #1- Introduction to Best Foot Forward
The outline below is a guide--please address the key objectives and the content areas below.
Overall Objectives:
 Introduce students to Best Foot Forward (BFF).
 Discuss the important role of nutrition & physical activity/exercise in establishing healthy habits.
 Introduce students to Good Form Running (GFR).
Facilitator Preparation - Review the student and parent lesson 1 handouts and the supplementary lesson
information on the Best Foot Forward website. Go to www.gfrplaymakers.com to review Good Form Running
techniques.
Materials- Internet access for handouts (K-3rd, 4th-6th, Parent Guide and MyPlate coloring sheets), crayons, 1 foam
ball, 2 large sheets of paper or white board, 4 cones, GFR posters, metronome or music for a beat.
Suggested time: 10 minutes
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Welcome to the Best Foot Forward program! Best Foot Forward, or BFF, is designed to help you achieve a
nutrition and physical activity pattern that supports overall health. In other words, your BFF will show you
how to be healthy and happy!
We are going to go through 12 different lessons that will teach you how to eat healthy, be more active, have
more energy, and more importantly, have more fun! Each lesson will have a handout and a parent take
home. Please read your handout and talk with your parent about what you learned!
All lessons and handouts will also be paired with modules you will work on the BFF website. You will be
encouraged to check the BFF website (can be at home or at a public library) so you can see what goals you
are working towards.
During the program, you will learn how to have fun eating healthy foods and how important exercise and
physical activity are for your heart and overall health. You will also learn how both nutrition and physical
activity can help you with your studies and playing sports. We will use the USDA “MyPlate” to help you
understand how much of each food group you should have every day! Throughout the program, you will
learn about the benefits and serving sizes for each food group. You will discover fun ways to reach your
serving goals as a part of a healthy eating plan!
The Best Foot Forward program will focus on running as a healthy exercise option. You will learn “GFR”
which will teach you how to run healthier, faster, and easier. At the conclusion of the 12 week BFF
program, you will be involved in an exciting 5K run/walk extravaganza.
Nutrition - Overview
Ask:
Suggested time: 10-15 minutes
How do you think eating nutritious foods and being active help our bodies? (Allow time for student
response)
Answer: There are SO many different benefits!
 You will have more energy to do the things you like to do, like play sports or play games with your
friends.
 It helps you to think! You’ll do better in school.
 It helps keep us healthy and fight off things like a cold and the flu.
 It makes your bones, teeth and your muscles stronger.
 Your heart and lungs get stronger.
 It makes you happier! (It’s true. Your body releases chemicals when you exercise and eat healthy)
 It reduces the chance of having health problems when you get older, like heart disease, high blood
pressure or high cholesterol.
And so much more!
Say:
MyPlate shows us how much of each food group you
should have – at every meal and every day!
(Discuss portion sizes)
Quick Reference Guide for Serving Sizes!
1 cup of milk- 1 serving
1/2 cup fruits- 1 serving
1 oz. grain- 1 serving
1 oz. of protein- 1 serving
1/2 cup veggies – 1 serving
Discussion Question:
What are some of your favorite healthy foods?
Physical Activity - Overview
Suggested Time: 5-10 minutes
Say:
During the program we will ask
you to try and get 60 or more
minutes of physical activity every
day! We call this the Power Hour!
Say:
You will also learn fun facts and
tips about the differences of
moderate to vigorous physical
activity, the impact of screen time,
and the importance of everyday
exercise.
Discussion Question:
What are some of your favorite ways
to be active?
.
Supplemental Classroom Activities
Suggested time: 20 minutes each
1. Toss and Share: To get the students thinking about healthy food choices and physical activities, toss a
small ball to various students and ask them to share their favorite healthy food or favorite form of exercise.
Modify this game by asking the students specific questions. Example, what is your favorite food that is red?
What is your favorite protein? What is your favorite activity that includes a ball?
2. MyPlate and MyActivity Pyramid Creation: Using a white board or a big piece of paper, create an empty
MyPlate and/or MyActivity Pyramid to have students fill in with their responses.
3. MyPlate Coloring: Use the choosemyplate.gov website or link provided on the BFF website to print copies
of empty MyPlates. Have the students color in their favorite fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy
choices into the appropriate categories on the plate.
Good Form Running - Introduction
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Suggested time: 20 minutes
What sports have you been involved with and what type of instruction have you received in sports such as
basketball, soccer, softball, swimming?
In basketball, did you learn how to dribble, pass, shoot? In Soccer did you learn to how to pass, dribble,
throw? In swimming did you learn how to kick your legs and move your arms through the water?
How about in the sport of running? Has anyone received instruction on how to run in the proper manner?
Did you know that running is done in the Olympics, in colleges on track and field teams, recreational
marathons, 5K’s and many people just run for pleasure and exercise.
Did you know that people used to think that we did not need to be taught how to run, it was just considered a
natural event.
Did you know that the running professionals now believe that we should be taught how to run just as we are
taught the skills of other sports.
Did you know people that have learned how to run with proper form run easier, faster and healthier?
Good Form Running is the name given to the instruction on how to run.
GFR Physical Activity
Happy Laps
Objective: This exercise can be used as a warm-up activity before the GFR instruction. The purpose is to define
the running area as well as provide an icebreaker activity to GFR.
Game Preparation: Set 4 cones around the gym or outside running area to form a “running track”.
Game Play: On a signal, the students run 3 to 4 laps around the cones
Teaching Tips:
 Ask students to share their biggest smile as they pass the teacher.
 Have students run in the same direction, outside the cones.
 Emphasize the joy of running.
 Observe the students running form. Are they running with a nice posture? Are they landing on their midfoot? Do they have a slight forward lean?
 The next lesson will emphasize these points further as students learn the four steps to Good Form Running.