Physical Activity & Health Website Resources:(This is only a sample of many websites promoting physical activity and health.)
A great website with information for at school including teacher ideas, resources, at home, at the doctor, in the community, in business links as well.American Heart Association, William J. Clinton Foundation partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
program for the state of Georgia. Shape stands for Student Health and Physical Education. The Georgia Student Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Act was passed in the 2009 Georgia legislative session, and is now Official Code of Georgia 20-2-777. Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, the law requires each local school district to conduct an annual fitness assessment program for all students in grades 1 - 12 enrolled in Georgia public school physical education classes taught by certified physical education teachers.
CDC website link with valuable information regarding childhood obesity.
National Association of Sport and Physical Education is the leading national professional organization for the promotion of physical activity in the country. The site provides important position statements and information for educators as well as parents and students.
PE Central is an ever expanding, continuously updated website that provides real lesson plans broken down by grade levels and physical activity ideas from teachers for teachers. Included you will also find class management tips and video clips.
site focuses on the pre-school age student with ideas, resources, video clips, etc.
Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let's Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools.Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping kids become more physically active. The site provides valuable links for nutrition and activity.
Playworks is a national nonprofit organization that supports learning by providing safe, healthy and inclusive play and physical activity to schools at recess and throughout the entire school day. This site has a great 300 page pdf booklet with lots of game/activities described.
Sparking Life is fueling an international movement to re-engineer school practices and medical recommendations to establish curriculum, lifestyles and corporate practices based on the scientific research that confirms physical exercise enhances brain development, improves mental health, reduces addictive behavior, and helps maintain mental acuity as we age.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school program that encourages the availability and consumption of nutrient-rich foods, along with at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity. The program was founded by National Dairy Council© (NDC) and the NFL and is based on a mutual commitment to the health of the next generation. This site has video clips and valuable information and additional links for teachers, students and parents.
Partnership for Prevention: A nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders working to make evidence based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority.(Includes a link to the pdf guide for School Activity/Physical Education)
This comprehensive site is managed by the US Department of Health and Human Services and includes a wealth of information regarding the newest goals and objectives.
This site stems from the Healthy People 2020 goals and objectives. It provides specific strategies and tactics.
Cooper Institute (CI), established in 1970, is a 501.c.3. nonprofit research and education organization dedicated globally to preventive medicine. The Institute’s founder, Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., the “Father of Aerobics,” was an Air Force physician who became interested in the role of exercise in preserving health. When he published his first best seller, Aerobics, in 1968, he introduced a new word and was the spark for millions to become active. The Youth Initiatives site includes information about the Fitness Gram now required for all Georgia schools through the Governor’s SHAPE initiative.
HealthMPowers’ mission is to promote healthybehaviors and environments by empoweringstudents, school staff, and families to improve health and academic achievement. HealthMPowers is a designated 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization working to improve the health status and environment for students in grades PreK-8. The organization was founded in 1999 and incorporated in 2000 with a goal of targeting schools across Georgia by the end of the decade. HealthMPowers is a comprehensive school health intervention program exemplifying the key strategies that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has outlined for improving health, physical activity and healthy eating in schools. In collaboration with its sponsors, CDC, Emory School of Public Health, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Piedmont Healthcare, Northside Hospital, and Isakson-Barnhart, HealthMPowers has created a model that not only targets youth, but also addresses the major support networks in a child’s life -- school staff and family members.
You Tube Clips:
Seven minute video clip addressing childhood obesity and H.O.P.E – Health Optimizing Physical Education
An Apple A Day promoting Health Education teaching health related skills
Video clip from Dr. Kenneth Cooper talking about the body-mind connection.
Dr. John Rabey from Havard talks about how exercise effects the brain.
Related article links of possible interest:
March 23, 2011 article on how sports may focus the brain
Monday, September 20, 2010 AJC article, The link between body and brain