Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social and emotional habits that are important for mental and emotional well-being. Learning how to cope, manage emotions, problem solve, and develop interpersonal skills strengthens resilience, and promotes healthy lifestyle behaviors. Various health coaching techniques can be applied to the…

Physical activity stations are a simple approach to engage in physical activity breaks during the elementary school day. This article describes the procedures involved in creating physical activity stations that can be implemented in elementary schools nationwide.

As obesity rates rise among youth, physical education classrooms have become a resource for teaching children how to make lifelong changes that will lead to improved overall health. In addition, new curricula and government mandates are focusing on health-related fitness content and its application to lifelong fitness. As these components become…

The purpose of this article is to describe how to integrate nutrition concepts into physical education activities that include aspects of health- and/or skill-related fitness and relevant nutritional information. Three activities, which are applicable to K-12 physical education classes, are showcased.

Health promotion programs for school staff are an overlooked and under-utilized resource that can lead to reductions in overweight and obesity among teachers and other staff members if implemented properly. In addition to increasing the overall staff wellness, boosting morale, increasing productivity, improving academic achievement, providing…

This article introduces readers to the GoNoodle platform for incorporating physical activity throughout the school day, and describes how one of the features, Ultimate Champ Training, can be used to teach health concepts in the elementary school classroom.

The Biggest Mover Program, an educational program to improve daily exercise and healthy eating was developed to address the learning needs of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and physical challenges. The program was part of a three-part program to improve the knowledge of students, staff, and teachers through the use of…

Physical education has been an integral part of the school curriculum for more than a century. Although the focus has changed over time, the major objective has remained relatively constant: to provide students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and confidence to be physically active throughout their lifetime. As more physical…

A fundamental objective for the physical educator is to provide students with effective, age-appropriate physical education (PE) in a safe environment. The importance of PE must be emphasized in light of the strong association between regular physical activity and health. Currently, 18% of U.S. children ages 6 to 19 are classified as overweight…