Welcome Visitor

Most children prior to adolescents are intuitively active – they like to move, they learn through movement, and they need to move intermittently throughout the day for optimal functioning in sedentary activities such as those often required while in the regular school classroom. In order to become a proficient “mover”, it is important to acquire the necessary skills - the motor skills, including locomotor movements, manipulative skills, and other skills such as balancing and transferring weight, and the movement concepts, such as levels, pathways, directions, time, force, and relationships with body and with others. These motor skills and movement concepts, in time, transfer into a variety of sports and other physical activities that we participate in as adolescents and adults. Acquiring these skills is imperative to continued interest and participation in a physically active lifestyle. They are also necessary to become physically fit – to demonstrate good cardiovascular strength, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility. (more about why children need physical education – NASPE Where do children learn these skills? In a quality physical education program.

What is a quality physical education program, you ask? According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), a quality program should reflect three components:

• Opportunity to learn: instructional periods totaling 150 minutes per week (elem) and 225 minutes per week (middle/secondary), a qualified physical education specialist providing a developmentally appropriate program, and adequate equipment and facilities
• Meaningful content: instruction in a variety of motor skills, fitness education and assessment, development of cognitive concepts about motor skills and fitness, promotion of regular participation in physical activity now and throughout life
• Appropriate Instruction: full inclusion of all students, maximum practice opportunities (no waiting time), lessons that facilitate student learning, out-of-school assignments that support learning and practice, no physical activity for punishment, and use of assessment to monitor and reinforce student learning.

So how do you know if your school has a quality physical education program? Ask your child questions about what they are learning in physical education. Monitor their skill progression in some motor skills and fitness skills at home. Talk to the teacher and principal and ask questions about the program. NASPE urges principals, teachers, and parents to conduct a self-study of their school’s physical education program, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and plan for improvements where needed. The “checkup” includes these 10 quick questions:

1. Is physical education taught by a qualified teacher with a degree in physical education?
2. Do students receive formal instruction in physical education for a minimum of 150 minutes per week (elem) and 225 minutes per week (middle/secondary)?
3. Is the physical education class size about 25-30 to ensure safe, effective instruction?
4. Is there adequate equipment for every student to participate?
5. Is technology incorporated on a regular and continuing basis?
6. Are indoor and outdoor facilities adequate and safe? (and is not displaced for other activities when they occur)
7. Is there a written, sequential curriculum based on the national and/or state standards for physical education
8. Is assessment of student learning included in the physical education program, and is it related to meaningful content objectives?
9. Does the program provide for maximum participation and successful learning for every child?
10. Does the program help to systematically develop the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional aspect of the whole child?
    - National Association for Sport and Physical Education

Physical education should be an integral part of a child’s education. A quality physical education program is imperative to promote continued participation in physical activity into adulthood. Help prioritize and promote quality physical education in your schools!

This article was prepared by the WV Action for Healthy Kids Physical Activity Committee for statewide newspaper editorials. For more information, contact Eloise Elliott.

Links to websites:

Physical Activity: School and Community Guidelines from the CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/physicalactivity/guidelines/index.htm
Source: CDC – National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

What Constitutes a Quality Physical Education program?
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm?template=qualityPePrograms.html
National Association for Physical Education and Sport (NASPE)
Source: NASPE/AAHPERD Online

Checklist for Determining a Quality Physical Education Program
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm?template=checkUp.html
Checklist to see how the physical education program at your school is doing. National Association for Physical Education and Sport (NASPE)
Source: NASPE/AAHPERD Online

Things you should know about school Physical Education
http://pecentral.org/websites/defendingpe.html
Source: PE Central

The Need for Recess in Elementary Schools
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/current_res.pdf
The Council of Physical Education for Children, A Position Paper from the National Association for Physical Education and Sport (NASPE).
Source: NASPE/AAHPERD Online

Guidelines for Facilities, Equipment, and Instructional Materials for Elementary Education
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/instructional_mat.pdf
The Council of Physical Education for Children, A Position Paper from the National Association for Physical Education and Sport.
Source: NASPE/AAHPERD Online

Co-Curricular Physical Activity and Sports Programs in Middle Schools
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/coCurricular.pdf
Middle and Secondary Physical Education Council
A Position Paper from the National Association for Physical Education and Sport (NASPE).
Source: NASPE/AAHPERD Online