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Conversational Jogging

This is a group, aerobic fitness activity in which students with visual impairment or blindness (VI) can participate with little or no adaptation.

  1. Arrange students in pairs around the perimeter of half of a basketball court. Pair a VI student with a sighted student. Depending on the comfort level of the paired students, they can use no adaptation and maintain a few inches distance between them, periodically touching arms for orientation; or they can use a thin rope, called a tether, between them. NEVER loop a tether around one’s wrist. If one student fell, injury could occur.

  2. Tie a knot at the end of the tether. The sighted student holds the knot between his/her forefinger and middle finger. The VI student holds onto the other end. A sliding knot forming a loop can be used for the VI student to hold onto with his/her fingers.

  3. The pairs start jogging slowly counterclockwise around the court without passing other joggers. The teacher stands or walks (clockwise) on the inside edge of the joggers.

    image of slip knot

  4. As the pairs jog by, the teacher calls out the topic for discussion. The age of the group determines topics.

    • Favorite movies
    • Cars
    • Most embarrassing moment
    • Vacations
    • Last Friday’s football game

  5. Several topics can be used within a class. Change topics every 2 to 3 minutes.

This activity takes the attention away from the task of jogging while the students focus on the topic of discussion. At the end of class, students may be amazed at how quickly time has flown. They have learned more about a classmate, about new ideas or places, and achieved a cardiovascular workout.

This game is adapted from Conversational Jogging described in:
Williams, N. F., & Germain, J. (2008). Fitness in disguise. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 79(7), 35-39, 56.