SCHOOL
WHAT IS FITNESS FOR LIFE: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Fitness for Life: Elementary School is a program that promotes wellness, physical activity, sound nutrition, and healthy lifestyles throughout the entire school. Your school could meet the local school wellness policy by implementing FFL: Elementary.
You can view or download a PowerPoint slide presentation that walks through a general overview of the program. This presentation is also available on the Guide for Wellness Coordinators DVD-ROM.
Why Should I Use FFL: Elementary?
What Are the Components of FFL: Elementary?
How Can I Find Time to Implement FFL: Elementary?
What Materials are Included in the Fitness for Life: Elementary School Program Package?
Why Should I Use FFL: Elementary?
Here are some of the principal benefits of FFL: Elementary:
- Helps schools implement a school wellness plan as required by law
- Helps students meet national physical activity guidelines
- Helps prevent childhood obesity by helping children expend calories and limit caloric intake
- Helps build youth fitness
- Helps children eat a healthy diet and meet national nutrition goals
- Promotes academic achievement
What Are the Components of FFL: Elementary?
FFL: Elementary is a schoolwide wellness program that requires participation by all school employees and students. Once every nine weeks, the entire school conducts a Wellness Week (four each year). Here are some of the major activities of each Wellness Week:
- Classroom activity breaks: Grade-specific video routines with key messages on nutrition and physical activity, plus easy-to-use classroom lesson plans that integrate physical activity with math, science, language arts, and social studies.
- Physical education lessons: These lessons reinforce the key concepts of physical activity and nutrition for each Wellness Week. The lesson plans are easy to use, full of ideas and strategies for delivering content and assessing student learning, and accompanied by numerous resources (e.g., activity cards, signs, and worksheets).
- Schoolwide nutrition and physical activity events: Each Wellness Week has activities that incorporate the whole school in nutrition (Eat Well Wednesdays) and physical activity (Get Fit Fridays). In addition, numerous TEAM Time activities can be used to engage the whole school in fun physical activities.
- Physical activity, fitness, nutrition, and wellness signs: Colorful and catchy signs can be printed and posted throughout the school to promote physical activity, fitness, nutrition, and general wellness.
- Educational messages: Creative and catchy messages are incorporated into the grade-specific video routines to teach children information about basic wellness, physical activity, and sound nutrition.
- Wellness Week newsletters: Modifiable newsletters have been created for each Wellness Week so that teachers or the whole school can promote Wellness Week concepts and activities to students, parents, and community members.
- FFL: Elementary Web site: Resources for teachers, students, and parents who are interested in learning more about physical activity, fitness, nutrition, and general wellness.
How Can I Find Time to Implement FFL: Elementary?
Time is at a premium in the elementary school. Many educational goals need to be met, and there is often too little time for everything. So how can teachers and staff find time to implement FFL: Elementary? The program is conducted during four weeks each year so that a concentrated effort can be placed on wellness during those specific weeks. In the classroom, activity breaks can be done in 5 to 6 minutes. The total time for FFL: Elementary is 10 to 15 minutes per day. Research shows that physical activity can promote learning in the classroom, so the time is well spent. The breaks also promote fitness, health, and wellness. Taking 2 to 3 minutes from each hour of the school day will provide the time to conduct classroom activity breaks. The physical education lessons can be conducted in regular physical education classes and can be integrated with the regular physical education program.
What Materials are Included in the Fitness for Life: Elementary School Program Package?
Each Classroom Guide contains a bound-in DVD-ROM with the plug-and-play activities for that grade, lesson plans, and reproducibles.
The Physical Education Lesson Plans book includes 2 DVD-ROMs with all the plug-and-play activities and instructional videos, a music CD to use during lessons, and a CD-ROM full of reproducible and lesson plans.
The Guide for Wellness Coordinators includes a DVD-ROM with the plans for the Wellness Weeks, reproducibles, and a program overview for teacher training.
The total Fitness for Life: Elementary School program package includes the following books:
- Physical Education Lesson Plans
- Guide for Wellness Coordinators
- Classroom Guide: Kindergarten
- Classroom Guide: First Grade
- Classroom Guide: Second Grade
- Classroom Guide: Third Grade
- Classroom Guide: Fourth Grade
- Classroom Guide: Fifth Grade
- Classroom Guide: Sixth Grade
The nine books include the following bound-in discs:
- 10 DVDs
- 1 CD-ROM of resources
- 1 CD of music