Promoting Elementary School Physical Activity: Ideas for Enjoyable Active Learning

Physically active children experience healthier growth and development. They are less likely to be overweight. They learn more effectively and manage their behavior better. Yet many classroom teachers offer little or no time for physical activity because they feel pressed for time, space, and equipment.

That’s where Promoting Elementary School Physical Activity: Ideas for Enjoyable Active Learning comes in.

This text provides K-5 classroom teachers and physical educators with simple, creative strategies and activities that have proven successful in schools and that are suitable for all children. The ideas are practical, accessible, and backed by research that supports the benefits of physical activity in the classroom. They are also flexible—meaning the authors present guidance and options for modifying activities, so teachers can choose what works best for their students. Most activities can be carried out in small spaces or within an existing classroom setup.

Promoting Elementary School Physical Activity offers a total of 50 ready-to-use activities in four categories:

• Classroom physical activity breaks
• Physically active instruction
• Recess
• Enhanced physical education

The games and activities afford schools the opportunity to emphasize physical activity throughout the day. The activities are easy to fit into the curriculum at any and all points, including before and after school. Little or no equipment is needed; for the few activities that require equipment, suggestions are provided to make simple equipment from everyday materials. In addition, most chapters offer quick tips to help teachers overcome any challenges that might come up with the activities in that section, and many chapters come with an infographic that shows or describes the benefits of the activity for the topic being discussed.

Promoting Elementary School Physical Activity is organized into three parts:

• Part I, Classroom Physical Activity, offers ideas for integrating classroom physical activity breaks, incorporating physical activity into academic instruction, taking advantage of recess, and creating a physically active classroom.
• Part II, Physical Education, is written specifically for the physical education teacher. It provides simple strategies for getting students moving throughout physical education class, connecting them to physical activity resources in the school and community, and facilitating lifelong physical activity.
• Part III, The Physically Active School, presents more options for student physical activity, including ideas for before- and after-school programs and physically active transport to and from school. It also focuses on the importance of the physical environment, physical activity policies, physical activity practices, and social environment. The comprehensive school physical activity program is explored as a tool to organize and coordinate the physical activity opportunities presented throughout this book.

This practical guide makes it easy for teachers to bring the fun of physical activity—along with its academic, social, and health benefits—to their K-5 students.

Russell R. Pate serves as a professor in the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, where his research is focused on physical activity and its promotion among children and adolescents. Also, he has worked extensively on initiatives aimed at advancing the role of physical activity in public health. Pate is a lifelong distance runner, and he has directed two U.S. Olympic marathon trials.

Pate has served as president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance. He served on the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee in 2008 and 2018. Pate has been recognized by ACSM as its Honor Award recipient, and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Pate received a PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon in 1974. In his free time, he enjoys running, reading, theater, traveling, college sports, and spending time with his family.

Ruth P. Saunders, a professor emerita in the department of health promotion, education, and behavior at the University of South Carolina, has taught and conducted research for over 30 years. She actively participates as a member of the children’s physical activity research group in the department of exercise science and as a co-investigator in Prevention Research Centers, a program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Saunders has conducted federally funded and foundation-funded research in schools, preschool centers, children’s residential homes, and churches. Her research interests, focused largely on physical activity in children, include organizational-level physical activity interventions, influences on physical activity, and monitoring and evaluating physical activity interventions in organizational settings.

Saunders received her PhD in public health education from the University of South Carolina in 1986. She has received numerous teaching, research, and community volunteer service awards. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, yoga, writing, and painting.