ERIC Number: EJ1023315
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0892-4562
EISSN: N/A
"LET US Play": Maximizing Physical Activity "in" Physical Education
Weaver, R. Glenn; Webster, Collin; Beets, Michael W.
Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, v26 n6 p33-37 2013
Schools have been identified as a promising setting for increasing youth physical activity levels because of their broad reach and the amount of time youth spend in attendance. Specifically, physical education is one key time during the school day where youth can accumulate health-enhancing levels of physical activity. Indicators of quality physical education call for all students to spend 50% of their time in physical education class in MVPA (Carlson et al., 2013). The actual time children spend in MVPA in physical education, however, is somewhere between 30% and 40% of class time (Fairclough & Stratton, 2006). Further, in today's school climate with the emphasis on standards-based assessment, there is less time allocated for physical education throughout the school day (Lee, Burgeson, Fulton, & Spain, 2007). The National Standards for Physical Education published by the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (in press) call for physical education programs to develop children who "demonstrate competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns" (http://www.aahperd.org), and it is known that maximizing practice opportunities is key to developing a motor skill (Rink, 2010). These two goals can go hand in hand. The more time students are engaged in an activity, the more practice opportunities and MVPA they are accumulating. For these reasons, physical education teachers need strategies to increase the practice opportunities and the amount of time students are engaged in MVPA during their class. The purpose of this article is to describe one approach, LET US Play, to maximizing physical activity opportunities and the amount of practice time students accumulate during physical education.
Descriptors: Physical Activities, Physical Education, Physical Activity Level, Health Related Fitness, Educational Principles, Educational Strategies, Program Implementation, Educational Opportunities, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A