Fitness Topic Module Offers Opportunity for Integrated Curricula


Science + technology + physical education + health = well-rounded students.


How often do science, health, physical education and technology teachers have a genuine opportunity to integrate their curricula? The DIY Podcast Fitness module offers that opportunity. Students’ podcasts could include a discussion of the effects of microgravity on the human body from a scientific point of view. For health class, students could discuss the importance of physical exercise on Earth. A physical education teacher could assist students with proper form as they demonstrate basic physical exercises. And a technology teacher could give instruction on audio and video production techniques for the final product.

The concepts students learn while researching, writing and producing a fitness podcast are reinforced in four subject areas. This reinforcement promotes greater understanding of the concepts. Producing a fitness podcast could help students make connections that otherwise might not have clicked for them.

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DIY Podcast: Fitness


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New DIY Podcast Topic Module: Fitness


Astronaut Sunita Williams actually ran the Boston Marathon in space. And in our latest DIY Podcast topic module, she and astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria demonstrate and explain how astronauts exercise in space and why it’s so important. We posted the new Fitness module this week to give you easy access to downloadable NASA audio, video and images that students can use to build their own podcasts about fitness and exercise. The Fitness module includes 13 video clips and 12 audio clips that students can mix with original content as they examine fitness in space and on Earth. You’ll find helpful information about fitness along with links to additional resources for students who want to research the topic before writing their script.

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DIY Podcast: Fitness


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NASA Student Resources


One component of NASA Education DIY Podcast topic modules is a list of resources related to a specific topic, such as Newton’s laws or spacesuits. On the main page of each topic module, you’ll find helpful information for writing a podcast script on that topic, followed by links to related resources. As you might expect, the lists of links just skim the surface of NASA resources available to students when they’re conducting research for classroom projects.


Homework Topics pages are a good place for students to do research for their DIY podcast. New topics are added at the K-4 and 5-8 reading levels.

Homework Topics Grades K-4: Search by Topic
Homework Topics Grades 5-8: Search by Topic

Here are additional research tools you may want to share with your students:
NASA Student Pages by Subject
NASA Student Sites Listed by Alphabet


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Educator Resources for the Science of Sports in Space


The action of sports and the thrill of space exploration are great motivators for even the most reluctant learner. From Newton’s Laws of Motion to the conservation of angular momentum, there’s a lot of science to consider when contemplating sports in space. You’ll find several resource links on the
DIY Podcast: Sports Demo page. A recent DIY Podcast Blog post, “Resources to Put Newton’s Laws in Motion,” features a long list of useful links, including the Buzz Lightyear Mission Game 5 that shows students how toys behave in microgravity.

Here are a few more resources that might come in handy if your class develops a podcast episode about the science of sports in space:

•    NASA — What is Microgravity?
•    Out-of-This-World Olympics
•    The Effects of Space Flight on the Human Vestibular System

The last link, covering the human vestibular system, points you to instructions to demonstrate Newton’s laws and the conservation of angular momentum using a rolling office chair. Your class could videotape a student in a rolling chair to make it easier to understand some of the scientific principles that would likely be discussed in your podcast on the science of sports in space.


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