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  • Welcome
    • About Us
    • Podcast
    • Parents and Administrators
    • Sitemap
  • Service Projects
    • Paradise U
    • Most Important Job in America
    • SPARTAN Races
    • Other Projects
    • Coalition for Quality Physical Education
  • Advocacy
    • Importance of Physical Education
    • Quality Physical Education
    • Advocacy Resources
    • "No Excuses!" Documentary
    • Importance of Recess, Play, and Active Classrooms
  • Effective Teaching
    • Teaching Methods >
      • General Strategies
      • Adapted Physical Education
      • English Language Learners
      • Cross Disciplinary Examples
      • Facilitating Discussions and Debriefs
      • Social and Emotional Learning
      • Growth Mindset and Multiple Intelligences
      • Social Justice and Diversity
      • Engaging Families
      • Advice for New Teachers
      • Miscellaneous Articles and Videos
    • Planning >
      • Planning Units
      • Domains of Learning
      • Instructional Models
      • Teaching Styles
    • Assessment >
      • Assessment Overview
      • Rubrics for Assessment
      • Grading
      • Fitnessgram Guidelines and Resources
    • Class Management >
      • Class Management Overview
      • Tools for Assessing Behavior
      • Techniques for Forming Groups
  • Teaching Resources
    • Physical Education >
      • Activities and Lessons
      • DIY and Hacks
      • National Observances Related to PE
      • Organizations
      • Safety
    • Fitness >
      • Activity Promotion and Adherence
      • Creative Fitness Activities
      • Stress Management Techniques
      • Health, Fitness, and Nutrition Resources
    • Instructional Videos >
      • Ice Breakers and More
      • Instructional Dance Videos
      • Dance Resources
    • Professional Development >
      • Information and Resources
      • Social Media Resources
      • Teaching Evaluation Forms
    • Technology >
      • Technology Overview
      • Online Resources
      • Mobile Apps
      • Projector Uses
      • Virtual Reality
      • Augmented Reality
      • 360 Degree Photos/Videos
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YOUR CART


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!​
Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP)
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​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."

  • Evaluation Handbook (Active Schools)
  • Physical Education and Physical Activity (CDC)
  • Promoting Physical Activity Through Schools - Toolkit (WHO)
  • Promoting Physical Activity Through Schools - Policy Brief (WHO)
IMPORTANCE OF RECESS
  • ​​​A Research-Based Case for Recess​
  • ​Effect of Recess on Fifth Grade Students’ Time On-task in an Elementary Classroom
  • Playing Fair: The Contribution of High-Functioning Recess to Overall School Climate in Low-Income Elementary Schools
  • Returning to School: Make Sure Children Have Daily Time for Recess
  • ​​School Recess and Group Classroom Behavior​​
  • ​​Shrinking Recess May Be Damaging Your Kid
  • ​​The Crucial Role of Recess in School
  • ​The Role of Recess in Children's Cognitive Performance and School Adjustment​​
GUIDELINES FOR RECESS
  • Children should accumulate at least 60 minutes of age-appropriate physical activity on all, or most days of the week. This daily accumulation should include moderate and vigorous physical activity with the majority of the time being spent in activity that is intermittent in nature.           
  • Children should participate in several bouts of physical activity lasting 15 minutes or more each day. 
  • Schools should provide all students in grades K-12 with at least one daily period of recess of at least 20 minutes in length.​
  • Children should participate each day in a variety of age-appropriate physical activities designed to achieve optimal health, wellness, fitness, and performance benefits.     
  • Extended periods of inactivity (two hours or more) ​are discouraged for children, especially during the daytime hours. 
  • Scheduling recess breaks directly before or after academic lessons positively affect student on-task behaviors.
  • Recess should not be taken away for punitive reasons (​10 Ways to Discipline Students Without Taking Away Recess).
  • Do not use physical activity as punishment.

  • ​​Recess Before Lunch - Action for Healthy Kids
  • Recess Before Lunch - Montana Team Nutrition​
  • Recess Before Lunch - Peaceful Playgrounds
  • Helping Recess Thrive In A Global Pandemic
  • ​​Resources for Revisiting Recess Before Lunch - School Nutrition Association
  • Strategies for ​​Recess in Schools - SHAPE America
RESOURCES FOR RECESS
  • Alliance for a Healthier Generation - Reimagine Recess
  • CDC - Recess in Schools
  • IPA USA - Recess
  • ​OPEN - Recess Matters
  • ​​Peaceful Playgrounds - Recess Blog​​
  • PHE Canada - Recess
  • Playcore - Evidence Based Resources
  • ​​​Playworks - Game Library​
  • Playworks - Resources​
  • Playworks - Video Library​
  • ​RecessLab.org
  • ​The Buddy Bunch Project​
  • Trying Together - Recess Advocacy Toolkit
  • Your School Games

  • ​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
  • Recess: Lessons From the Playground
  • ​Stop! Pay Attention! You’re on Recess Duty!
  • ​​The Recess Equipment Dilemma: Part 1
  • ​The Recess Equipment Dilemma: Part 2​
  • Trading Your Yard (Recess) Duty for a Club
IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
  • 9 Types of Play and Why They Matter​
  • Benefits of Play
  • Children’s Right to Play and the Environment
  • Improving Children’s Health through Play: Exploring Issues and Recommendations
  • ​Outdoor Play (Interactive)
  • ​The Critical Place of Play in Education​​​​​​
  • The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders
  • The Important Role of Unstructured Play for Adolescent Athletes
  • ​The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children
  • ​​What Does Play Look Like? - 16 Play Types​
  • ​When Children Play, They Feel Better
RESOURCES FOR PLAYGROUNDS
  • Cheap (Yet Valuable) Learning Space Redesign​
  • Kaboom! - Build a Playground Toolkit
  • ​​Kaboom! - Play Everywhere Playbook​
  • In Britain’s Playgrounds, ‘Bringing in Risk’ to Build Resilience
  • ​​Safe Kids - Playground Safety Tips
Importance of active classrooms
 
  • 4 Easy Ways for Health and PE Professionals to Support Classroom Physical Activity
  • Boost Your Physical Education Program with Classroom Movement
  • Classroom Physical Activity (CDC)
  • ​​Integrate Classroom Physical Activity in Schools​
  • Moving Minds
  • ​​My Classroom is the Loud One – and the Students are Thriving
  • ​​School Health Guidelines​ (CDC)
  • ​​The Kinesthetic Movement​
  • The Walking Classroom
  • ​Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students’ Focus
  • Why Crossing the Midline Helped this Child Listen to his Teacher
Research on Active Classrooms
  • Classrooms in Motion - List with Additional Research​
  • Moving Minds - List with Additional Research
  • A Citizen Science Study of Short Physical Activity Breaks at School: Improvements in Cognition and Wellbeing with Self-Paced Activity
  • ​Acute Effects of Classroom Exercise Breaks on Executive Function and Math Performance
  • Breaking Up Classroom Sitting Time With Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity: Behavioural and Brain Responses
  • Classroom Activity Breaks Improve On-Task Behavior and Physical Activity Levels Regardless of Time of Day
  • Classroom Based Physical Activity and On-Task Behavior​
  • ​Classroom Seating for Children with ADHD: Therapy Balls Vs Chairs​​
  • Evaluation of Feasibility, Effectiveness, and Sustainability of School-based Physical Activity “Active Break” Interventions in Pre-adolescent and Adolescent Students
  • Physically Active Lessons in Schools and their Impact on Physical Activity, Educational, Health and Cognition Outcomes
  • Sweat So You Don’t Forget: Exercise Breaks During a University Lecture Increase On-Task Attention and Learning​
RESOURCES FOR active CLASSROOMS (BRAIN BREAKS/BOOSTS)​
Energizing Brain Breaks - Youtube Playlist
 
Physical Snacks - Youtube Playlist
 

​Videos
  • Active2Learning
  • Brain Breaks w/Mallory
  • ​BSD BrainBoost
  • GoNoodle
  • ​PBS - Kids in Motion
  • Pure Edge
  • Sanford Fit - FitBoost Activity​
  • UNICEF - Kid Power Ups​

​Print
  • ​​​Apple Schools Energizers
  • In School Activity Breaks​​
  • ​​Mind & Body Activities for Elementary​
  • ​Moving Minutes
  • ​​​N.C. Healthy Schools Energizers
  • ​Online Physical Education Network (OPEN)
  • Pure Edge
  • ​Springboard to Active Schools​​​

Miscellaneous
  • ​​​Examples of Adding Activity to Other Content Areas​
  • ​Mobile Friendly Version of these Resources
  • ​​Strategies for Classroom Physical Activity in Schools
  • The Genius of Play
using LIBRARIES to lend Active equipment
Libraries can be a great resource for physical activity in the community. Check out the resources below and ​​​Let's Move in Libraries​ to help start a program in your area!​
​ 

​Articles
  • Many Syracuse Libraries Have Sports Equipment for Checkout
  • Physical Literacy in the Library at Lethbridge Public Library
  • Victoria County’s Active Gear Program in Demand at Local Libraries

​Examples​
  • Avondale Public Library
  • ​Oakville Public Library​
  • Smyrna Strong Collection
  • Taber Public Library
​Resources from ​Lethbridge Public Library 
​(thanks Barbara Longair and Lisa Weekes)
  • ​Example Feedback Form 
  • International Information & Library Review​
  • Physical Literacy in the Library Presentation
  • Physical Literacy Pamphlet
  • StoryWalk Resources
RESOURCES FOR ACTIVE COMMUNITIES
Organizations
  • ​​Afterschool Alliance​​
  • ​​​Change Lab Solutions Healthy Neighborhoods​
  • ​Kaboom!
  • National AfterSchool Association

Resources in the Community
  • All Trails​
  • Building a Little Free Sports Library​
  • Every Kid in a Park (4th Graders)
  • ​Find your Park​
  • ​Kaboom! Map of Play​
  • Making Walks Sensory
  • ​​Park Rx America
  • ​​Recreation.gov

Traveling To and From School
  • ​Auditing the Pedestrian Environment: A Brief Tool for Practitioners...
  • ​Safe Routes to School​​
  • Walk.Bike.Schools!
  • Walk and Bike to School
  • Walking School Bus
Physical Activity & Academics - Multimedia
The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise
Run, Jump, Learn! How Exercise Can Transform Our Schools

PE + Health = Student Success
Click on Photos to Enlarge and the Link for the Original Source​
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & ACADEMICs - SPARK
​SPARK: "A groundbreaking exploration of the connection between exercise and the brain’s performance that shows how even moderate exercise will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking, enhance memory, and much more."
​
Spark Learning and Creativity
The Neuroscience of Movement with Dr. John Ratey
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & ACADEMICs - ​RESEARCH
Additional Research Lists
  • Action Based Learning
  • ​CDC​​
  • Dr. Lynne Kenney
  • ​Larry Ferlazzo
  • ​​SPARK

  1. A Better Cardiopulmonary Fitness Is Associated with Improved Concentration Level and Health-Related Quality of Life in Primary School Children
  2. A Longitudinal Examination of the Link Between Youth Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement
  3. A Review of Acute Physical Activity Effects on Brain and Cognition in Children
  4. ​​A Whole Brain Volumetric Approach in Overweight/Obese Children: Examining the Association with Different Physical Fitness Components and Academic Performance
  5. Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance
  6. Aerobic Fitness and Academic Achievement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis​
  7. Associations of Physical Fitness and Academic Performance Among Schoolchildren
  8. ​Be Smart, Exercise Your Heart: Exercise Effects on Brain and Cognition​
  9. Beneficial Effects of Acute Exercise on Executive Function in Adolescents
  10. Boost your Brain, While Having a Break! The Effects of Long-Term Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity Breaks on Children’s Executive Functions and Academic Achievement
  11. Brief Aerobic Exercise Immediately Enhances Visual Attentional Control and Perceptual Speed
  12. Cardiovascular Risk Factor Trajectories Since Childhood and Cognitive Performance in Midlife​
  13. ​​Effect of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Academic and Physical Activity Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  14. Effects of Acute and Chronic Exercises on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis
  15. Effects of Acute Physical Activity on NIH Toolbox-measured Cognitive Functions Among Children in Authentic Education Settings
  16. Exercise Intervention for Academic Achievement Among Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
  17. Health and Academic Achievement (CDC)
  18. ​​Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students — United States, 2015 (CDC)
  19. ​High-Intensity Training Enhances Executive Function in Children in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
  20. Independent and Combined Influence of the Components of Physical Fitness on Academic Performance in Youth
  21. ​​Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results from Public School Children in the Northeastern United States
  22. Longitudinal Associations of Physical Fitness and Body Mass Index with Academic Performance
  23. Multimodal Imaging Brain Markers in Early Adolescence Are Linked with a Physically Active Lifestyle
  24. Muscular and Aerobic Fitness, Working Memory, and Academic Achievement in Children
  25. Physical Activity and Performance at School: A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment
  26. ​Physical Activity Promotes Academic Achievement and a Healthy Lifestyle when Incorporated into Early Childhood Education
  27. ​​Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function, and Academic Achievement in Children: A Systematic Review
  28. Physical Activity, Health-Related Fitness, and Classroom Behavior in Children: A Discriminant Function Analysis
  29. ​Physical Education, School Physical Activity, School Sports and Academic Performance
  30. ​Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in Third- and Fifth-Grade Students
  31. Physically Active Lessons in School and their Impact on Physical Activity, Educational, Health and Cognitive Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  32. Relationship Between Academic Achievement And Healthy School Transformations In Urban Elementary Schools In The United States
  33. ​Relationships of Physical Activity to Brain Health and the Academic Performance of Schoolchildren
  34. ​The Association Between Aerobic Fitness and Language Processing in Children: Implications for Academic Achievement
  35. The Effect of Low-Intensity Exercise on Emotional and Cognitive Engagement in the Classroom
  36. ​The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Children's Cognition and Metacognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  37. ​​The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality, Well-Being, and Affect in Academic Stress Periods
  38. The Indirect Role of Executive Functions on the Relationship between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and School Grades
  39. The Influence of Daily Structured Physical Activity on Academic Progress of Elementary Students with Intellectual Disabilities
  40. The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities
  41. White Matter Microstructure Mediates the Association Between Physical Fitness and Cognition in Healthy, Young Adults
  42. Widespread Positive Direct and Indirect Effects of Regular Physical Activity on the Developing Functional Connectome in Early Adolescence
Other BENEFITS of PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - RESEARCH
Additional Research
  1. Advancing Ideas for School Health - Research Archives

Fitness, Health, and Absenteeism
  1. ​Association between Increased BMI and Severe School Absenteeism Among US Children and Adolescents
  2. ​​Individual-Level Fitness and Absenteeism in New York City Middle School Youths, 2006–2013
  3. ​The Association of Obesity and School Absenteeism Attributed to Illness or Injury Among Adolescents in the United States

Physical Activity and Mental Health
  1. ​A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Children's Physical Activity and Mental Health
  2. Association Between Physical Activity and Risk of Depression
  3. Association Between Physical Exercise and Mental Health in 1.2 Million Individuals in the USA Between 2011 and 2015: A Cross-Sectional Study
  4. Depressive Symptoms and Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour throughout Adolescence: A Prospective Cohort Study
  5. Exercise as a Potential Treatment for Drug Abuse: Evidence from Preclinical Studies
  6. Exercise Therapy Improves Both Mental and Physical Health in Patients with Major Depression
  7. ​Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
  8. Physical Activity and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: An Updated Review of Reviews and an Analysis of Causality
  9. Physical Activity Improves Mental Health Through Resilience in Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents
  10. Physical Activity in European Adolescents and Associations with Anxiety, Depression and Well-Being
  11. Physical Activity Interventions and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  12. Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Health-Related Quality of Life in School-Aged Children
  13. ​The Effect of Acute Exercise for Reducing Cognitive Alterations Associated With Individuals High in Anxiety
  14. The Role of Exercise in Preventing and Treating Depression
  15. Volume and Social Context of Physical Activity in Association with Mental Health, Anxiety and Depression Among Youth

Physical Activity, Fitness, and Miscellaneous Benefits
  1. Associations Between Health-Related Physical Fitness, Academic Achievement and Selected Academic Behaviors of Elementary and Middle School Students in the State of Mississippi
  2. Association Between Objectively-Measured Physical Activity and Sleep
  3. Fit to Be Good: Physical Fitness Is Negatively Associated With Deviance
  4. ​Physical Fitness Level Is Related to Attention and Concentration in Adolescents
  5. Systematic Review of the Health Benefits of Physical Activity and Fitness in School-Aged Children and Youth

​​Promoting Quality Physical Education through Advocacy and Free Access to Information and Resources
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