#5 – Hang up Fuel Up posters and cut outs!
Making posters is something that any Fuel Up to Play 60 team, no matter how big or small, can do. Making posters is a fun team building activity and an efficient way to get the word out about Fuel Up to Play 60. Talk to your Program Advisor about setting up times before or after school to get your whole team together and make posters. Your school might also have some NFL Player cut outs, so it might be a good idea to ask your Program Advisors about any of those.
Ingredients to a good poster:
- Make sure it’s interesting! Try using a ‘clincher’ phrase to get kids interested and read the poster. Including some opportunities through the club, pictures, and bright titles work as great clinchers.
- Do not include too much info! This is the biggest mistake most kids make. When making a poster, make sure to include the basics. Kids don’t have 5 minutes to sit in front of a poster and read the paragraphs. Instead, they simply take a glance at the main points. So, if you include big, bold points and pictures instead of an essay, kids will be much more interested in the club.
- Keep it clean! I know colors and crayons can be fun, but you don’t want your posters looking messy. Instead of trying to color in the background of your posters, use colored construction paper. Also, always be sure to trace over your words in sharpie or marker so they can be easily read. Crossing out mistakes in marker can also make a messy poster, so avoid this. Lastly, make sure the poster’s font is big enough for students to read.
- Make sure you have a variety! If you are walking in the hall and see the same poster for the same club every corner you turn, it may become boring. However, if a club has a variety of posters that each contain something unique, students will be much more compelled to read and pay attention to every poster.
#4 – Create a presentation!
Using presentation apps such as Google Slides, Prezi, and PowerPoint are a great way to get the word out about FUTP 60. Simply creating a slideshow about the club, its opportunities, ways to stay active, and the meeting time/dates can make a great kickoff event. Your FUTP 60 team could make the slideshow together, so the presentation includes a variety of students’ input. It may be hard for some teachers to present the slideshow during their class period. If this is the case, email the presentation to your principal or Program Advisor. They can then send the presentation to the teachers, and ask the teachers to present it if they have the time. The turnout will still be great and from my experience, teachers are always very willing to share about FUTP 60.
Ingredients to a good presentation:
- Use a trusted and non-glitchy app to create the slideshow. To ensure the event runs smoothly, make sure to use a trusted site to create the slideshows. My personal favorites are Prezi and Google Slides. Also, have a test run of the presentation just to make sure the site doesn’t glitch while teachers are trying to present.
- Keep it short and sweet with tons of pictures! If a teacher presents a long paragraph form presentations, the likelihood of students getting bored is sky-high. However, if a teacher shows an upbeat and interesting slideshow, students will become interested in the club. Slides should have AT MOST 4-5 sentences and they should all include pictures.
- Include a video! Including a video that your FUTP 60 team created could be the key to the best presentation! Students love to see their classmates promote different clubs, so make a skit or find one of the many videos up on the FUTP 60 YouTube page and include one of those.
- Make it a week!
- Why have one presentation when you could have a week of presentations! Ask your FUTP 60 team to help you create a week of presentations. Having more than one presentation will keep kids reminded about the program. Be sure to include a unique element to each slideshow, to avoid repetitiveness.
#3 – Have Dress Up Days!
Dress Up Days are a fun way to get kids excited about FUTP 60. Students will jump at the chance to wear their favorite team jerseys, crazy hats, and pajamas to school! Dress Up Days call for no supplies or equipment, just enthusiastic students and FUTP 60 team members. A week of Dress Up Days keeps students on their toes about the current Dress Up Day and the ones to come! And, as students are dressing up, they are promoting the FUTP 60 team.
Ingredients for good dress up days:
- Make sure students know about the Dress Up Days! It may be awkward if you show up in pajamas and no one knows about the Dress Up Days! So, make sure to include posters and announcements to get the word out. The more interesting the Dress Up Days sound, the more interested the students will be, so make sure to have catchy announcements and awesome posters to ensure participation.
- Make the days simple! For some kids, it may be hard or awkward to ‘Dress Up Like You 100’ or ‘Dress Up Like Your Mom’s Favorite 80s Musician’. So, make the days simple, but fun. Try Jersey Day, Pajama Day, Hat Day, Mismatch Day, Crazy Hair Day, etc. for a better turnout, since these options are easy for every student to do.
- Encourage staff to join in!
- If teachers join in on the fun, participation will definitely increase among the students. It may be funny to see your favorite teachers in their pajamas, and kids will want to join them.
#2 – Brain Breaks!
Brain Breaks are a great kickoff event. However, most kids see this as too much work and too complicated. However, the task can be greatly simplified. You and your FUTP 60 team can compile a list of simple exercises that take about 5 minutes and email it to the staff members. That way teachers will have access to quick and easy brain breaks that they can do at their own time. The turnout of teachers willing to participate will surprise you!
Ingredients to Great Brain Breaks:
- Make them simple! Since you aren’t personally going around to every classroom, make sure that the brain breaks are simple exercises that can be easily understood by students and teachers. If you want to branch out and use unique exercises, make sure to include video examples or pictures.
- Make sure that the brain breaks aren’t too hard! Brain breaks should be exercises that everyone should be able to participate in, no matter what their athletic capability. So, instead of having kids do 30 pushups, narrow it down 5 or 10.
- Keep the brain breaks quick moving! Brain breaks are meant to wake kids up. So, try to include exercises that will get kids heart rates up and that can be done in a matter of seconds. The number of reps per exercise should also be kept to no more than 20 (depending on the exercise).
#1 – FUTP 60 Raffles
Raffles are a perfect way to get students excited about FUTP 60. Raffle tickets can be earned by students when they complete tasks like trying a new veggie or exercising for 60 minutes. This can be as small as winning pencils, or as big as winning autographed footballs. Whichever option works best for your school, you will surely have a great turnout.
Ingredients for a great FUTP 60 Raffle:
- Make sure you know your program’s budget! A raffle can be easily tailored to your school’s needs, but before you promise huge prizes, you should know what your school can realistically afford. Pencils, erasers, and bracelets are great prizes for a smaller budget. I have given these items out as prizes at my school before, and students absolutely loved them.
- Decide whether you want to give away a bunch of little prizes, or a few big prizes. This decision is crucial when planning a raffle giveaway. Little prizes make it so that more students are rewarded. However, bigger prizes provide more determined and excited students because they may be more interested in winning these prizes.
Destinee
Wisconsin
8th Grade
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