Tootsie rolls as a teaching aid? Absolutely. Demonstrate to young athletes the importance of warmups and stretching  with an activity that asks them to try and stretch a piece of cold taffy. Class members hold the taffy in their hands for about five minutes while they engage in other activities. They then try again to stretch their piece of candy. The activity underscores the point that to stretch muscles appropriately, like taffy, the warmer the muscle the more flexible it is. 

Concepts

flexibility, stretching, the muscular system, human body systems

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Additional Tags

flexibility, muscles, stretch, tootsie rolls, health

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Instructional Ideas

• If food allergies are a concern, consider substituting chilled silly putty for the taffy

Classroom Considerations

• Check for food allergies 

Pros

• An engaging way to make a very important point

Cons

• None