This document discusses strategies for increasing physical activity in schools. It recommends that schools aim for 60 minutes of physical activity per day for students. Research shows students who are more physically active tend to have better grades, attendance, cognitive performance, behavior, and focus. The document outlines several "Core 4+" strategies for active schools: active classrooms with movement breaks; active recess with purposeful activities; active physical education maximizing activity time; before/after school programs; and encouraging lifelong physical activity habits. Implementing these strategies can significantly impact students' physical activity levels or "dose." The document cautions against using physical activity as punishment and encourages providing a wide range of age-appropriate activity options.

1. Sponsored by:

2. • Why did you agree to be on this Active School Team?
• Did you get a chance to look at the video’s/article sent by
email?
http://sspw.dpi.wi.gov/sspw_physicaled
• What did you think?
What did you take-away?

3. 60 minutes of physical activity is recommended for kids to
get each day
 It is estimated only half meet this guideline.
Students who are physically active tend to have better:
 Grades
 School Attendance
 Cognitive Performance
 Classroom Behavior
 Increase Concentration and Focus

4. Children spend up to half of their waking hours in school.
 In an increasingly sedentary world, schools provide the best opportunity for a
population-based approach to increasing physical activity among youth.
 Today, the role of the school is more important than ever as fewer families
have a parent at home who is not participating in the paid labor force, and
students are spending more time in before- and after-school programs outside
of the home.
Schools have a broad reach.
 Structuring school environments to encourage and support physical activity
offers a unique opportunity to reach nearly all children and adolescents.
Lifelong health habits are initiated early in life.
 Schools have an impact on children's health both today and in the future.
Glickman, D., Parker, L., Sim, L.J., Cook, H. & Miller, E.A., (Eds.) (2012) Accelerating progress in obesity prevention: Solving the weight of
the nation. Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention. Food and Nutrition Board. Institute of Medicine.

5. Journal of Pediatrics, August 2013

6. Many strategies of increasing physical activity effect
school performance.
• Active Classrooms
• Active Recess
• Active PE
• Before & After School
• Family & Community
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

7. Physical Activity Practice Related Academic Achievement Outcomes
Students who are physically active • Have better grades, better school attendance, and
better classroom behaviors
Higher physical activity and
physical fitness levels
• Improved cognitive performance
More participation in physical education
class
• Better grades, standardized test scores, and
classroom behavior
Time spent in recess • Improved cognitive performance and classroom
behaviors
Participation in brief classroom physical
activity breaks
• Improved cognitive performance, classroom
behaviors, and education outcomes
Participation in extracurricular
physical activities
• Higher GPAs, lower drop-out rates, and fewer
disciplinary problems
Healthy Kids, Successful Students. Stronger Communities Powerpoint
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/health_and_academics/

8. • Active classrooms means integrating movement breaks,
also known as energizing breaks or brain breaks, outside
of physical education and recess, into the school day.
• Can be shorter time periods (3-5 minutes). Although a
total of 20 minutes is the goal.
• Regular breaks improve learning because they give
students time to make sense of information.
• In the classroom, children need breaks for learning to be
effective.
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

9. • Active Recess involves purposefully designing the
playground and recess activities to encourage physical
activity for all students.
• Incorporates activities on the grassy areas or fields,
blacktop surfaces, and playground equipment.
• Provides children with a guarantee of non-structured play
each day.
• Provides some structure to recess and may include
several activity stations scattered around the playground
and green spaces.
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

10. • Effective physical educators can teach skills while
students spend a majority of their time being
physically active.
• They employ a variety of strategies, all of which may be
used to increase the amount of active time. These can
include:
 Management strategies such as active roll call and
assigned rolls
 Instructional strategies such as student-selected activities
during the beginning and end of class
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

11. • School districts can implement a wide variety of before-
and after- school programs that include physical activity
for students and perhaps their families.
• These can include:
 Intramurals
 School-community recreation
 Community education
 21st Century Community Learning Centers
 Clubs and related education-focused programs
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

12. • Encourage students to develop activity patterns that go
beyond the school setting which supports lifelong
participation.
• This may be completed at the school, or PE teacher level.
• Creating assignments to encourage
physical activity.
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

13. • The ultimate goal is the amount of impact you can have.
Reach x Dose = Impact
• Reach ~ how many people in the targeted population are
being affected.
• Dose ~ how much of a given strategy is occurring, which
we’ll measure using 10 minutes as one “dose” of physical
activity.
* Keep in mind impact when thinking
about your strategies. *
Active Schools: Core 4+ Strategies

14. • Scenario #1 – The school holds a “1-day walking event”. About 150 students
participate (reach) and the average student walks for 30 minutes (dose), which is
equal to three doses (10 min = 1 dose). The total impact is 150 x 3 = 450.
• Scenario #2 – The school implements an Active Classroom policy and all
classrooms and students participate daily in 10 minutes of activity in the morning
and 10 minutes of activity in the afternoon (2 doses/day). The 200 students
participate all year long or about 180 school days. So the total impact is 200
students x 2 doses/day x 180 days = 72,000.
Active Schools Toolkit

15. Challenge the strategies you choose :
• What’s the reach and the dose?
• Will many students benefit from it?
• Will this lead to more?
• Will this continue if our team is not there?
• Is there a need for more support?

16. • Taking away recess?
• Using physical activity as punishment?
• Giving physical activity as a reward?
• Directing energy toward physical activity?
• Not having age-appropriate equipment?
• Providing a wide-range of activity options for all interest
and abilities ?

17. • Action Plan Form
• December 15, 2014: Written action plan and preliminary
budget due.
• March 15, 2015: Final project reports due and all orders
are complete.

18. • Folder
 Active School Core 4+
 Resources for Active Classrooms
 Active Classroom Activity Calendar
 Healthy Rewards
 Tips for Teachers (CDC)
 SKIPing toward an Active Start
• Healthy Roots Team Leader

19. Where do we go from here?