Bringing Physical Activity into the Elementary Classroom

1. Bringing Physical Activity into the Elementary Classroom Child Nutrition & Wellness, Kansas State Department of Education 120 SE 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66612-1182

2. Physical Activity • Children and adolescents should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity EACH day. • It is one of the most important things that children & adults can do for their health. It can help: • Control weight • Reduce risk of disease (cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, etc.) • Strengthen bones and muscles • Improve mental health & mood • Keep thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp

3. Why Worry About Physical Activity? • Data from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System showed that, of students in grades 9-12: • Only 34% were physically active doing any kind of physical activity that increased their heart rate and made them breathe hard for a total of at least 60 minutes per day on five or more days of the week • Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: • For children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4% • For those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0% • For those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%

4. Physical Inactivity and Long-Term Health • Obese children and adolescents are more likely to: • become obese as adults • have health problems related to cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes • If overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe

5. Can Fitness “Fit”? • What are some of the biggest barriers that keep physical activity out of the classroom? • Time • Space • Ideas • Special Needs • Confidence

6. What “Counts” as Physical Activity? • Physical movement • Weight bearing • Partially weight bearing • Non weight bearing • Health benefits come when: • Heart rate (pulse) increases • Breathing rate increases • Use the “Talk Test”

7. A Few Examples… • Basic movements and motor skills: • Tossing and catching • Jumping, hopping and skipping • Side-stepping • Balancing (on toes, on one foot, on one foot and two hands, etc.) • Pattern movements (hopscotch, dance steps, “Simon Says” etc.)

8. Let’s give it a try! • Toss and Catch • Share: • Your favorite fruit or vegetable • Your favorite physical activity • Your favorite food served in the school cafeteria

9. Science & Health Classes

10. Science and Health • When learning about the body, talk about exercise and how it affects the body (bones, muscles, etc.). • Watch muscles shorten to lift an object or bend a joint. • Feel muscles lengthen during a stretch.

11. Science and Health • Discuss calories with students. What are they and how does our body use calories? • Make it real: compare different activities (walking, jumping, stair-climbing, etc.) to show how muscles have to work harder in some activities than others.

12. Science and Health • Hold a nutrition/physical activity-related science fair.

13. Math Classes

14. Get Moving with Math! • Math relay races • Use physical activity to help teach/reinforce basic concepts • Utilize teamwork and physical activity to solve problems at the board

15. Let’s play! • 2 + 4 = • 3 x 6 = • 25 ÷ 5 = • 100 – 63 =

16. Keep Physical Activity on Students’ Minds • Use physical activity examples for story problems- • Sam burns “x” calories per hour walking around the neighborhood. How many calories does he burn in “y” minutes? • Tina lifts weights in the afternoons. She lifts weights with her arms 10 times to make a set. If she does 3 sets during her workout, how many times did she lift the weights? • Have students track the amount of physical activity they get for several days. Then have them create their own chart, table or graph to organize the information.

17. Social Studies Classes

18. Physical Activity during Social Studies Class • Teach historical dates • Human timeline • Before or After • Mix and match • “Reenact” historical events and lifestyles • Cultural celebrations

19. Language Arts/Reading Classes

20. Keep Physical Activity in Mind… • Have students write stories or poems about their favorite sport, most enjoyable summer activity, etc. • Create a class book about physical activity (Olympic sports, water sports, ABC book of activities). • Have your librarian assist you in obtaining physical activity related books for students to read. • Use exercise concepts as spelling/vocabulary words (duration, intensity, sedentary).

21. … Then Get Up and Get Moving! • Sequencing/following directions • Activity breaks • Jump for Homophones • To, too, two • There, their, they’re • Its, it’s

22. Art and Music Classes

23. Art andMusic • Create posters that promote physical activity (promoting a sport, doing an activity as a family, shutting off the TV). • Create puppets or characters for a student-written play about physical activity. OR have puppets sing a student-written song (or existing song) about physical activity. • Have students write poems related to exercise and set them to music.

24. Other Opportunities for Physical Activity

25. Take Advantage of Downtime • Getting in line • Returning to seats • Standing in line • Time between subjects • Time before/after school assemblies • Class parties

26. Recess is Important Too! • Allow adequate time for recess. • Do not withhold recess as a punishment. • Consider “Recess Before Lunch” • Organize games where everyone participates

27. Resources Available • Take 10 • Brain Breaks • President’s Challenge • SPARK • Fitnessgram • Energizers • Health E Tips- Just-A-Minute (JAM) • Eat, Exercise, Excel! • National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion • Move in the Classroom • Kansas Coordinated School Health • Kansas Team Nutrition