Incorporating Physical Activity in the Elementary School Classroom

Abstract

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children ages 6 through 17 should be getting at least 60 minutes of exercise per day. Unfortunately, findings suggest many children in the United States are not reaching those recommendations. With children spending much of their time in school, it is necessary to implement measures to ensure they are meeting their health needs. Many teachers have taken their own measures, such as brain breaks, but is that enough? My work is aimed at not only educating teachers on the importance of physical activity but also providing ideas to help their students stay active throughout the school day.

Keywords: Physical activity, movement, elementary school, CDC

Introduction

Launched in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1946, the CDC is the nation’s leading service organization focused on public health. It began as the Communicable Disease Center with the sole goal of stopping the spread of Malaria. Today, the CDC’s mission is to protect America from health, safety, and security threats. They have become a very reliable resource, and something many people look to for health advice. To achieve their mission, they conduct critical science research and often make recommendations or standards people should be following. As such, their recommendations are trusted to be backed by science. One of those recommendations is for youth physical activity. After reading the about the PA goals, I was skeptical on whether children were actually reaching them. My research consisted of analyzing numerous research articles studying the compliance of PA goals in children. I then read through articles to help me develop ideas for ways to help children attain the goals set by the CDC. The following information will explain those findings.

Conclusions

After reviewing numerous articles and research studies, it became clear that there are so many children in the United States and the world who are not meeting the physical activity goals set by world health leaders. One of the studies tracked children's’ activity in twelve different countries. Across the board, most children did not comply to the recommendations. Only 4.8% of the children studied spent 60 minutes or greater in moderate to vigorous physical activity for every single day of the week. There were disparities between the countries, though. Chinese, Indian, and American children were some of the least compliant children, while Finnish, British, and Colombian were some of the most. When it came to individuals, girls and overweight children were less likely to reach the goals. Differences in cultures and attitudes seem to be reasons for such disparities. Another study focused more on American children and daily step requirements. Key findings suggest that only 36% of children meet the most widely-used recommendation of 11,000 steps per day for girls and 13,000 for boys. Lastly, another study found that 90% of children studied met the Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.6 guideline of at least 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week. Although this is a high number, this is not the standard set by the CDC. It is still important information, though, because it shows children are active, they are just not fully reaching the level they should be at. All of this together, leads to the main takeaway that American children are lacking when it comes to physical activity.

Signature Work

Following my findings on the fact that there are so many children not reaching the recommended physical activity levels, I wanted to help do something. One of the gaps I noticed as I read through the sources was that there weren’t concrete examples on ways to help kids get moving. Throughout some of the articles, there was blame put on school for the amount of time students spend sitting. What better way to address that concern, then develop a plan to help? I have designed a professional development seminar that teaches teachers on the importance of physical activity, and ways they can incorporate it throughout the school day (beyond PE and recess). The interactive seminar incorporates movement throughout, and teachers get a lesson plan at the end to kickstart their journey to a more active classroom.

Future Directions

It’s important to note that this idea is not being researched by me. I am simply coming up with an idea that can give teachers more information and ideas in a way that is familiar and accessible to them. I would be very interested to see the affect of certain adopted programs or efforts on students physical activity. As such, I think there is a great opportunity here to study the success of efforts to increase PA in classrooms. If there is research-based efforts, I think there would be increased interest and desire to implement change in our schools.

For Futher Disucssion

This serves as an overview of the project and does not include the complete work. To further discuss this project, please email Áine Clarke.

Course Overview

IDS 400: Transdisciplinary Project is the capstone course of the interdisciplinary studies major. Students design an individual integrative project using a transdisciplinary lens. The project can be creative, empirical, theoretical and/or professionally focused.

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