March+Into+Fitness

Need For Fitness Education America is experiencing an epidemic of childhood obesity. It doesn't take extensive research or case studies to see that our sedentary lifestyle, reliance on technology, and obsession with video games and television has caused Americans in general and children specifically to gain weight leading to increases in health issues, school problems, and emotional scars. Many schools have been forced to do away or decrease the time preserved during the school day for physical activity in order to meet the standards of No Child Left Behind. This month's focus is designed to call attention to the problem of decreasing physical activity and healthy eating that is occurring around the world and start finding solutions here at Philo. Click on the links that follow for some activities to incorporate into your classroom on a daily basis and to raise awareness about fitness during enrichment clusters. (information adapted from the ABC Manual by Dr. David Katz) 

Fitness WebQuest For Enrichment Groups This webquest covers the areas of diet and exercise and encourages team cooperation, research and writing skills, and presentation skills. It includes real world application and has students acting as dieticians and personal trainers to create a total fitness plan. Access the webquest and Click Here

Incorporating Fitness Into The Classroom (Information derived from the ABC Manual by Dr. David Katz) "Physical activity is vital for children's health. It is vital for their attentiveness and concentration....They are restless and rambunctious. Children need to move. It is perhaps no coincidence that as daily physical activity levels decline, the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder increases." Dr. Katz suggests that by incorporating activity bursts into the classroom, children will be able to release their energy and increase their concentration and attentiveness resulting in more learning. Activity Bursts only need to last 3-6 minutes and should incorporate warm up, a core activity to increase heart rate and breathing, and a cool down. The following activities are meant to coincide with the Fuel Up For 60 program at Philo Magnet Academy. Warm-Up Activities: (At least one minute) Stretches are great ways to warm-up the muscles for an activity burst. Stretch each side 2-3 times. Do not stretch to the point of pain. Choose at least 2 stretches for each activity. Hamstring Stretch
 * Hamstring Stretches Click on the following link for an explanation.
 * Quadricep Stretches Click on the following link for an explanation. Quadricep Stretch
 * Calve Stretches. Click on the following link for an explanation. Calve Stretch
 * Tricep Stretches. Click on the following link for an explanation. Tricep Stretch
 * Upper Back and Shoulder Stretches. Click on the following link for an explanation. Back and Shoulder Stretch
 * Arm and Shoulder Stretches. Click on the following link for an explanation. Arm and Shoulder Stretch
 * Neck Stretch. Click on the following link for an explanation. Neck Stretch

Core Activities for Increasing Heart Rate For more activities, visit the website
 * Jog in place for 2-3 minutes
 * Knee lifts
 * Calf lifts
 * Electric Slide
 * Lunges
 * Jumping Jacks
 * Jumping Rope
 * Squats

Cool Down Activities encourage students to focus on their breathing, practice relaxation techniques, and/or do stretches. It may help to have relaxing music playing and/or turn off the lights.

More Enrichment Activities (Some Math Ideas As Well): Fitness Partner
 * Develop a personal plan for health and fitness. Print out your goals and track your progress by completing the online plan on the website Making A Change In Your Life
 * Create a menu for healthy eating by looking at the website Kids Health
 * Explore topics of various interests to teens such as body piercing, tatoos, health basics, taking care of your skin, etc on this website for the Teen
 * Come up with a fitness plan and use the calorie calculator on the following website to determine the number of calories you burn.
 * Use the following website to calculate your Body Mass Index. Take a survey of the BMI results in your class or grade level and use your math skills to create charts and graphs to report to the class.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Take a survey in all the classes to determine the number of hours of activity teens at Philo participate in each day. Also survey food choices and extracurricular sports, dance, etc. Create a chart or graph for a classroom presentation.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Have Students Check Out These Interactive Websites! Weight Quiz
 * Kidnetic Inner G: Learn about the parts of the human body and what foods we can eat to keep us healthy. Inner G
 * Get Moving With These Games To Play Indoors and Outdoors Kidnetic Move
 * More Games To Get You Moving! Move Some More
 * Take a quiz on Childhood Obesity. How much do you know about this epidemic? Childhood Obesity
 * Test your knowledge about Physical Activity. Physical Activity Quiz
 * Test your knowledge about Eating Healthy with this interactive quiz.
 * Explore this website on obesity in teenagers. It includes videos, articles, and games. Obesity in Teens