By

Hope Gillaspy,   Kenwood Elementary School

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Physical Activity Participation

Our Fuel Up To Play 60 team created an In-Class Activity Break Contest that encouraged teachers to include short physical activity brain breaks in their classrooms over the course of 4 days. We offered an incentive to students and teachers for recording the most PA in our 4 day contest. The incentive was an extra hour of PE to be awarded to the top two classrooms that recorded the most physical activity break time. The teachers wanted the incentive because it awarded them extra planning time and the students wanted the incentive because they LOVE PE. We received many compliments about the contest and heard great feedback from teachers about how easy it was to include these little breaks, how much the students enjoyed them, and how it actually seemed to improve the students' behavior during other instruction time. This is probably a contest that will become a yearly event for our Fuel Up To Play 60 team. Our plan is to increase the number of days each year so that slowly this contest is no longer a yearly special event, but a regular classroom occurrence that happens every day.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Our students and teachers are required to work together. The teachers have to allow time in their planning to include these short bursts of activity. The students have to constantly participate and then have good behavior afterward to encourage their teachers to continue to allow the activity breaks.

How did you accomplish your goals?

We accomplished our goals by including an incentive for classes with the most logged PA in 4 days. This encouraged teachers and students to participate.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

This is probably a contest that will become a yearly event for our Fuel Up To Play 60 team. Our plan is to increase the amount of days each year so that slowly this contest is no longer a yearly special event, but a regular classroom occurrence that happens every day.