| Following the
wisdom of the age-old adage - “you are what you eat”
- we take a closer look in this month’s Interdisciplinary
PE section at the multiple benefits of combining sound nutrition
with physical activity. The links included in this month’s
page offer many types of information and activities to help students
understand the importance of eating right and staying active, to
improve academic performance, and to develop “Healthy Hearts,”
the theme of this month’s issue.
Furthermore, we revisit the topic of Active Learning this month.
Visit the links in this section for numerous activities that combine
physical activities with science, spelling, social studies, and
other subjects.
pelinks4u staff |
| The
Role of Sound Nutrition and Physical Activity in Academic Achievement
Factors related to overweight in schoolchildren
negatively influence a child’s readiness to learn and overall
achievement. Poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are not
only root causes of overweight and obesity, they are also factors
associated with lower academic achievement. Studies demonstrate
that when children’s basic nutritional and fitness needs are
met, they attain higher achievement levels. Schools have a critical
role in helping students learn and practice healthy eating habits,
and in providing the knowledge, motivation, and skills children
need for lifelong physical activity. Read more…
Physical
Activity and Learning Go Hand in Hand
Neurokinesiologist Jean Blaydes Madigan
believes the best way to nourish children's brainpower is to get
them up and moving. The former classroom and physical education
teacher from Murphy, Texas, now consults on how brain research links
movement to learning. She said there is a "lot of emphasis
today on students sitting in class loading up on academics,"
when they should do quite the opposite. Read more…
Nutrition,
Physical Activity, and Achievement Fact Sheet
The facts are in: poor nutrition and lack
of physical activity lead to lower academic achievement. Study after
study proves what educators have long believed to be true: when
children's basic nutritional and fitness needs are met, they have
the cognitive energy to learn and achieve. Schools continue to be
a core place for students to learn and practice healthy eating habits,
and can also be a primary place to gain the knowledge, motivation,
and skills children need for lifelong physical activity. Read more…
The
Learning Connection: Better Health, Better Performance
As most parents know, poor eating habits
and lack of physical activity are the root causes of obesity and
being overweight. But did you know that these factors also affect
academic performance? Find out more…
Better Nutrition and More Physical Activity Can Boost Achievement
and Schools’ Bottom Line - The
Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical
Activity in Our Schools documents how the excessive rise
in poor nutrition, inactivity, and weight problems adversely affect
academic achievement and possibly cost schools millions of dollars
each year. The report calls on schools to work with partners to
address the issue, and points to current best practices in schools.
Find out more…
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| ENERGIZERS - MIDDLE SCHOOL |
SCIENCE
Classroom based physical activities. The way teachers integrate
physical activities into academic concepts. This is a 37 PDF download
of lots of lessons covering Science (and a few miscellaneous) integrated
with physical activity. Whether you teach science, or would just
like to use some of these lessons in your PE class, these are great
lessons for anyone!
SOCIAL
STUDIES
This is a 34 PDF download of lots of lessons covering Social Studies
integrated with physical activity. Whether you teach science, or
would just like to use some of these lessons in your PE class, these
are great lessons for anyone!
HEALTHFUL
LIVING
This is a 34 PDF download of lots of lessons covering Healthful
Living integrated with physical activity.
LANGUAGE
ARTS
This is a 41 PDF download of lots of lessons covering Language Arts
integrated with physical activity.
MATH
This is a 33 PDF download of lots of lessons covering Math integrated
with physical activity.
MUSIC
This is a 28 PDF download of lots of lessons covering Music integrated
with physical activity.
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Does anyone have any ideas on types of integrated
warm-ups and cool downs that can get students interested
in doing exercises, and help students realize the importance
of warming up and cooling down the muscles before and
after physical activity? Please share. |
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ACTIVE
ACADEMICS
The overall mission of this project is to provide a resource for
elementary classroom teachers that will assist them in providing
more physical activity opportunities for their students while
in the classroom. The active learning ideas in Active Academics
are designed to incorporate movement with grade-appropriate standards
in reading, language arts, math, and health. Ideas are also included
that give students a short activity break any time during the
day in the classroom. Find out more.
THE
ACADEMICS – VERSUS PLAY DEBATE
Children are active, concrete, experiential learners who acquire
information and knowledge with all of their senses. Given all
that we know about how they learn, it’s clear that there
should be no debate: play is far more appropriate for a young
child’s first formal school experiences than academics.
Yet preschoolers are now being required to do more and more seat work.
This includes producing worksheets that purport to show evidence
of their learning, and following curriculums originally designated
for kindergartners and even first-graders. Find out more…
MOVING
AND LEARNING SERIES (book)
PERFECT FOR CHILDCARE EDUCATORS, CARE GIVERS AND STUDENTS ALIKE!
Pre-service and in-service teachers, as well as child care professionals,
will welcome this valuable resource designed to integrate song
and movement with the age-appropriate curriculum of preschoolers
and kindergartners. Each activity is identified in a curriculum
grid, demonstrating integration within the key content areas of
art, mathematics, science, social studies, language and music.
ACTIVE
LEARNING
Active learning, is a type of instruction which some instructors
employ to involve learners during the learning process. This type
of instruction is often associated with the term "learning
by doing." Many contrast "active learning" with
less active forms of instruction. It has been suggested that students
who actively engage with the material are more likely to recall
information later and be able to use that information in different
contexts. However, adopting active learning does not mean eliminating
the lecture format. Find out more
about this topic.
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| HEART HEALTHY LESSON PLANS |
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Know
Your Fats
Knowing which fats raise LDL cholesterol and which ones don't is
the first step in lowering your risk of heart disease. In addition
to the LDL produced naturally by your body, saturated fat, trans-fatty
acids and dietary cholesterol contribute to blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated
fats and polyunsaturated fats don't. Some studies suggest they might
even help lower LDL cholesterol slightly when eaten as part of a
low-saturated-fat diet. Find out more.
Dietary
fats: Know which types to choose
Not all fats are created equal. Find out which kinds to avoid and
which to enjoy in moderation. Most foods contain several different
kinds of fat - including saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated
and trans fat - and some types are better for your health than others
are. Find out more.
Also, find
out what kinds of foods contain different types of fat.
Fats
& Fat Replacers
Dietary fat supplies essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic
acids, which are especially important to children for proper growth.
In addition, fat is required for maintenance of healthy skin, for
regulation of cholesterol metabolism, and as a precursor of prostaglandins,
hormone-like substances that regulate many body functions. It is
also needed to carry and aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
A, D, E, and K and carotenoids. Continue reading
for some very good, thorough information on fats.
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Facts
About Cardiovasular Disease: View this animation to see how
the lack of blood supply affects the heart, the brain, the kidneys
and lower extremities. You can see how the progressive obstruction
in the arteries of the heart, brain, kidneys and lower extremities
lead to events.
The
Role of Lipids in Cardiovascular Disease: Why? High lipid levels
put you at risk for heart attacks and strokes. Learn the facts BEFORE
you have symptoms. Cardiovascular disease can begin as early as
age three if there is a family history of heart disease or high
cholesterol. There has been ample evidence since the 1900's that
people with high cholesterol develop more heart attacks.
Overweight,
Obesity, and Diet: Obesity is the latest threat to our society.
More people are overweight than ever before. 65% of the population
is overweight. 3 out of 5 are overweight and 2 out 5 are obese.
Not only are these people at risk for heart disease, but for diabetes,
cancer of the breast, colon and ovaries as well. Find out more.
Diabetes
& Pre-Diabetes: Diabetes is defined as a metabolic disorder
characterized by the inability of the body to utilize sugar properly
and as a result the levels of sugar in the blood are elevated. It
is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It doubles the incidence
of events, heart attacks and strokes. Find out more.
The
Role of Physical Fitness: Why exercise? Exercise may save your
life! Physical exercise on a regular basis can help prevent heart
attacks and strokes.
The
Role of Emotional Fitness: Prolonged or excessive mental stress
puts you at risk for cardiovascular disease. Stress can take a deadly
toll.
The research over the past two decades at Duke University and other
leading institutions show clearly that mental stress affects the
cardiovascular system negatively. More specifically, some stress-related
emotions, such as anger, hostility and anxiety are particularly
dangerous to the heart. Find out more.
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LESSON PLAN UNIT: Inflamm-O-Wars:
Silent Battles within Your Cardiovascular System |
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Rationale: Students
will explore structure and function of the cardiovascular system
as well as the consequences of disease processes. |
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Healthy
Community… Healthy You?
Students will be able to: Analyze the connection
between a walkable community, freedom of mobility, and everyday
activity levels; Calculate and chart daily walking distances
for two groups of students and compare the distances to the
daily-recommended levels of activity. |
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| Integrated
Curriculum - by Kathy Lake
Integrated curriculum
is an educational approach that prepares children for lifelong learning.
There is a strong belief among those who support curriculum integration
that schools must look at education as a process for developing
abilities required by life in the twenty-first century, rather than
discrete, departmentalized subject matter.
This article is a bit old, but provides
some very good information.
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| Nintendo
Says You Need To Be In Shape To Play The Wii
It's Wii-Day+8 and gamers
around the country are simultaneously discovering one thing: they're
wildly out of shape. Yup, it seems that many gamers have gotten
a bit more than they bargained for regarding how vigorous playing
the Nintendo Wii is. One girl described it as "harder than
playing basketball" while another complained of sore muscles.
You know how Nintendo responded to these complaints?
Essentially, "work out more, fatsos."
Read the rest,
and read user comments.
A
Wii Workout: When Videogames Hurt
A videogame maker has finally succeeded in getting kids off the
couch and moving around. But the new approach is turning out to
be more exercise than some players bargained for. Read more.
Wii
Have A Problem - A short article, and reader comments in regard
to Wii. Very interesting.
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