Importance of Recess, Play, and Active Classrooms
Research has shown that physical activity opportunities throughout the school day can improve: attendance, student motivation, classroom behaviors, social and emotional learning, and cognitive performance. Not only does time spent being active not hinder student learning, it enhances it. You can even incorporate physical activity into various content areas!
Benefits of Physical Activity for Schools
See our page Research on the Benefits of Physical Activity for Schools for downloadable PDFs on various topics related to education (attendance, behavior, mental health, sleep, and more).
Importance of Recess
- American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement - The Crucial Role of Recess in School
- Recess: Lessons From the Playground
- Recess is Good for Kids. So Why Are Some Schools Still Taking It Away as a Punishment?
- Recess for High School Students
- Right to Recess Campaign Toolkit
- The Importance of Recess Research and Advocacy
Research on the Benefits of Recess
- Additional Research on Recess
- A Research-Based Case for Recess
- Effect of Recess on Fifth Grade Students’ Time On-task in an Elementary Classroom
- Is There a Relationship Between Primary School Children's Enjoyment of Recess Physical Activities and Health-Related Quality of Life
- Playing Fair: The Contribution of High-Functioning Recess to Overall School Climate in Low-Income Elementary Schools
- The Role of Recess in Children's Cognitive Performance and School Adjustment
Importance of Play
- 9 Types of Play
- Benefits of Play
- Children’s Right to Play and the Environment
- Play is Crucial for Middle Schoolers, Too
- The Critical Place of Play in Education
- The Important Role of Unstructured Play for Adolescent Athletes
- What Does Play Look Like? - 16 Play Types
- When Children Play, They Feel Better
Recess Guidelines and Resources
- Recess should not be taken away for punitive reasons.
- Scheduling recess before lunch helps ensure students do not rush eating (more information).
- Scheduling recess breaks directly before or after academic lessons positively affects student on-task behaviors.
- Schools should provide all students in grades K-12 with at least one daily period of recess of at least 20 minutes in length, especially post pandemic.
Additional Recess Guidelines
- 10 Ways to Discipline Students Without Taking Away Recess
- How to Organize Recess Equipment – Recess Bags
- Recess Duty: Are you Qualified?
- Recess Is a Time of Conflict for Children: Six School Design Tips to Keep the Peace
- Rescuing Recess: Helping Recess Thrive In A Global Pandemic
- Rethinking Recess: 7 Steps to Foster Engagement and Inclusion
- School Playgrounds Are Getting Squeezed: Here Are 8 Ways to Keep Students Active in Small Spaces
- Stop! Pay Attention! You’re on Recess Duty!
- The Recess Equipment Dilemma: Part 1 and The Recess Equipment Dilemma: Part 2
- Trading Your Yard (Recess) Duty for a Club
Recess Activities
Playground Resources
Active Classroom Resources
Strategies for Active Classrooms
- 4 Easy Ways for Health and PE Professionals to Support Classroom Physical Activity
- Classroom Physical Activity: An Implementation Guide for Elementary Schools
- Integrate Classroom Physical Activity in Schools: A Guide for Putting Strategies Into Practice
- Strategies for Classroom Physical Activity in Schools
How to Teach Through Physical Activity
- Art: Incorporates drawing or other art.
- Assembling/Building Objects: Students physically create/build an object.
- Biomechanics: Activities that teach biomechanical principles.
- Coding: Activities that teach coding.
- Game Based Learning: Turn traditional games (ie. Monopoly) into physical activity.
- Incorporate Reading and Writing: Add a reading or writing component to your lesson (reflections, assessment, creative writing, etc).
- Incorporate Math: Add a math component.
- Informational: Passively provide information.
- Matching: Races where students find matching pairs.
- Physical Representation: Uses physical activity to represent numbers.
- Review: Students provide answers using physical activity.
- Simulation: Acting out a concept (ie. settlers traveling on the Oregon Trail).
- Sorting: Races where students sort concepts into categories (more examples).
- Story Walks: Students read snippets of a story along a pathway.
- Storytelling: Students act out a story from a book.
- Target (make it, take it): Students keep targets they hit (targets are informational).
- Target (projector): Students hit targets projected on a screen.
- This or That: Students choose an activity based on their answer to a question.
- Utilizing Music: Students move along to educational music.
Brain Breaks (Boosts) Resources
Campaigns to Increase Opportunities for Physical Activity
Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP): "Schools play a vital role in ensuring children and adolescents get the nationally recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day...A CSPAP is a multi-component approach by which school districts and schools use all opportunities for students to be physically active, meet the nationally-recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day, and develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime. A CSPAP reflects strong coordination and synergy across all of the components: physical education as the foundation; physical activity before, during, and after school; staff involvement; and family and community engagement."
Running and Walking Club Resources
- Adding Morning Fitness Clubs in Your School
- How to Create a Before-School Fitness and Running Club
- How to Lead an Accessible Sensory Walk
- How to Start an After-School Running Club for Kids
- Implementing Successful School Run Clubs: Lessons Learned from a District-level Initiative in Boston Public Schools
Walking and Biking to School Programs Resources
Organizations for Active Communities
Active Community Resources
Using Libraries to Lend Active Equipment
Check out our Active Equipment Library Program page for information and resources for creating an active lending program at your local library.