5 Best Ways for PE Teachers to Record Laps
There are many forms of student lap trackers and kids running trackers available for PE teachers but which one is right for you? It ultimately depends on what’s best for your students! Older kids may appreciate the use of technology in their class or running program through the use of PE apps such as a running tracker app or a running distance app. However, younger students may prefer simpler and more tangible ways to view their progress.
Check out our list of the 5 best options for student lap trackers down below!
1. Marathon Kids – A FREE digital tracking tool
The most innovative fitness tracking options nowadays utilize technology to record laps and physical activity. With the use of scannable cards for your students, you can easily record your students’ laps at the end of any session from a tablet or smartphone. However, this simplification of logging laps is only the tip of the iceberg. After each running session’s data is collected, the Marathon Kids platform will store that data inside a dashboard where you can easily analyze and share your students’ progress across days, weeks, months, and even years. This way you can spend less time on recording your students’ laps and more time on educating and motivating your students to create healthy habits through physical activity.
2. Popsicle Sticks
A classic go-to for tracking laps in physical education: the popsicle stick. Cheap and purchasable in large quantities, popsicle sticks make a great choice for helping your students keep track of the laps they complete. As each student passes a designated line on your track or field, you can hand out one popsicle stick to signify the completed lap. When running is over, you can quickly and easily count the popsicle sticks each student collected during their run. Additionally, if you’d like to jazz up the routine, you can give students the opportunity to color or decorate their popsicle sticks in a way that is meaningful to them.
3. Paper and Hole Punch
Similar to discount cards you may receive at a local store after a purchase, a piece of paper or card with places to hole punch can be another good use for counting laps for your PE students. After every lap, you can hole-punch your students’ card to ensure you always have an accurate count of the laps your students ran. What can make this method more exciting for your students is that after class they can take their card home as a reminder of how they performed. This simple tangible object is perfect for showcasing their success and is easier for younger students to comprehend their progress over the intangible benefits that come with running. Also, it can look great on your students’ fridges at home!
4. Stickers
Everyone knows that kids love stickers! So why not use them to keep track of your students’ laps while they run? After every lap or designated number of laps your students’ complete, rewarding them with a sticker is sure to put a smile on their face. The fun part is how creative you can get with the stickers. With almost unlimited possibilities in sticker selection, you’re sure to find a selection that will excite all your students. It’s up to you where or how you dish out the stickers – stick them on an assigned paper, on a student’s attire, or just give them the sticker unpeeled so the student can decide where they want the sticker to end up – that’s where the fun begins!
5. Tokens
Another collectible way to keep count of your students’ laps, tokens come with many possibilities for design and application. Whether you prefer to design the tokens yourself, choose pre-designed tokens, or even hold a design contest with your students to pick your next token, students will love the extra pizazz that goes into their collectibles! However, it doesn’t need to stop at recording laps. Many educators have found tokens to also be a great way to reward their students. As your students earn more tokens, you can provide them with opportunities to turn them in for a prize! This way your students are motivated to keep running and collecting tokens and you’ll only need a set number of tokens that will continue to be distributed throughout the class.
