How I Used “Common Sports Injuries Station Activity” in My Classroom!
This activity came about when I was looking for a way to teach my high school students about common sports injuries and prevention. I couldn’t find anything I thought would work, so I created my own activity. Using it has gone so well, and the excitement was high so I decided to dedicate a whole blog post to the activity and how I used it.
First things first, I teach 90 minute classes so this activity took us the entire 90 minutes. If you teach shorter classes I would break the stations up over multiple days.
Set Up: I printed the station cards, and the scenario cards, and laminated them so I wouldn’t ever have to do it again. I also printed the worksheets that they would take with them to each station. I also realized I needed ACE bandages for one of the stations so I purchased 3 at the dollar store to use.
Day of: I taped the station cards around the gym and our athletic training room.
Introduction to the activity: I have a large portion of students who are not athletes, so I knew that if I didn’t capture their attention they wouldn’t care about the activity due to the title. So my question to them was “If you are not an athlete, why is learning about sports injuries important to you?”. Mostly they answered: “so that they could help someone if they were injured”, which is awesome but not what I was looking for. So I had them raise a hand if they had ever had a muscle cramp, most raised their hand. I told them that’s an example of a “sports injury” but it can happen to anyone and that most of what they will learn today could happen whether they are an athlete or not. We also are doing this activity right after learning about bones and muscles and resistance exercise.
Grouping: I chose my student groups based on high flyers and those that usually need a little help so that all students are involved. I had one student get their technology (phone, ipad, chromebook etc) and one group member get the worksheet. Some stations tended to take more time, so I had students star stations 1, 2, 8, 10, 11 so they will stay there double time before rotating.
Then it was time to get started! I let students choose any station they wanted to begin and set a timer for 4 minutes per station. Most stations the allotted time was more than enough time, except for those that needed double time. Each station that needed the double time is highlighted below.
Station Breakdown:
Station 1: Sprains
Includes a video of how to wrap an ankle as well as defining muscle sprain and other questions related. Here they answer questions then practice wrapping an ankle. This is the station you need a few ace bandages for and double time.
Station 2: Types of Bone Fractures
This station is a crossword puzzle of common fractures and their names. Students use their technology to research the different fractures and complete the crossword. This station needs double time.
Station 3: Tendonitis
Here they answer questions related to tendonitis and it’s treatment.
Station 4: Tendon and Ligament Injuries
This station has a short video of an injury (ACL) that students will watch. They answer questions about common tendon/ligament injuries and questions about the video and what happened. The video is not gruesome and no students complained it was too much (just in case you have any weak stomachs).
Station 5: Muscle Cramps
Here they answer questions about cramps, causes, and stretches to relieve them.
Station 6: What is RICE?
Station 7: Scenarios
At this station you have 7 scenario cards that all describe a common injury. I had this station at my “desk” so I could help them with this one. I had them choose one of the scenario cards then write down the causes, symptoms, and treatment. That usually helped them narrow down the injury to 2 or 3. They then used tech to look up the injuries and usually came up with the correct injury! *I also laminated these scenario cards to use over and over*
Station 8: Sports Hernia
This is a double time station. Students have questions about sports hernia and their causes as well as what sports are more likely to have them. There is also a video of stretches they can do to help with sports hernias. Students should also try a few of them at this station.
Station 9: Muscle Strain
Here they answer questions about common places strains occur and how to avoid them.
Station 10: Preventing “Sports” Injuries
This station has a video about preventing injuries for students to watch. They will then answer questions on how they can prevent injury actively and inactively. This also taps into the importance of cross training. You will want double time at this station.
Station 11: Nutrition and Injuries
This station gives and introduction into sports nutrition talking about carbs, proteins, electrolytes and the role each plays in exercise. You will need double time at this station.
Post Activity Discussion
I only have about 7 minutes dedicated to this since I fit this in all in one day, so our discussion is brief but thought provoking. I asked a blanket “What did you learn today?” to some students and then dove deeper into what they wrote for importance of cross training, and prevention of injuries.
All in all this was fun and a different change of pace for the PE classroom! I had great feedback from the students about the activity.
If you are interested in adding this to your classroom, you can click the photo below. I would love to hear how it goes! Feel free to tag me on Instagram @elliottsactiveacademy
Elliott's Active Academy 