Daily Organized Physical Activity in Elementary School

Dr. Steve Gall

MOVE!

Dr. Steve Gall gave a short blast on the whistle hanging around his neck and the Elementary School Daily Physical Activity session began. Next, we were directed to stand with hands on hips and, while Coach Steve counted to 10 in French, we all rose up to our toes to his cadence.

Coach Steve, retired Tucson teacher, is passionate about daily physical activity for K-6 students. “I am very concerned about childhood obesity because physical education programs all over the country are being eliminated, especially in Arizona.” Dr. Gall continued, “There is a correlation between physical activity breaks and focused, concentrated academic performance.” Seeing what just 2-30 minutes of daily physical activity per day can do, Dr. Gall has personally observed the difference in children. Current research confirms his experiences that K-6 physical activity contributes to improvement in student performance, while state and national student performance results also support daily physical activity.

Dr. Gall identified the difference between physical education and daily physical activity. Physical education is taught by a credentialed Physical Education teacher according to the Arizona State Standards for Physical Education. Daily physical activity is not lunch recess but an organized activity, sometimes called structured recess, taught by the teacher during each school day (walking, jogging, dancing, relays, sports or games in or outside the classroom). Teachers are not expected to be PE teachers but they can be facilitators for these activity breaks during the school day. With daily physical activity, there are no grades, no cost, no bullying but the health and academic benefits are present.

• Coach Steve’s recommendation is to get outside and move! He provided the following tips:
• Walk around the playground before class begins (5 min.)
• Exercise in class (5 min.) doing jumping jacks or touching toes
• Intramurals or supervised games at lunch recess (15-20 min.)
• Games and sports (20-25 min.)
• Walk or jog outside with deep breathing (10 min.)
• Share time with another teacher to achieve daily physical activity with students
• Use inside options for rain or severe cold activities

ASPRA Reporter Mary Cummings, Educational Communications Consultant