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Volume 1: No. 3, July 2004
TOOLS & TECHNIQUES
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1 | “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: United States, 2001.” |
2 | “Overweight Among U.S. Children and Adolescents.” National Center for Health Statistics, 2002. |
3 | “Guidelines for Schools and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997. |
4 | “CDC’s Guidelines for School and Community Programs: Promoting Lifelong Physical Activity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000. |
Target Audience
Students in grades 4 and 5
Program Objectives
Teacher Object
To convey to students and parents the benefits of being active: improved health; self-expression, aspirations for the future and fun; enhanced sense of well-being and social belonging; enhanced self-esteem and confidence.
These materials address components of the National Education Standards for Level II: Health
- Standard 7 — Knows how to maintain and promote personal health.
Physical Education
- Standard 3 — Understands the benefits and costs associated with participation in physical activity.
- Standard 4 — Understands how to monitor and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
- Standard 5 — Understands the social and personal responsibility associated with participation in physical activity.
Program Components
Getting Started
Show your class the five-minute video, Keep Moving, that shows kids how to be active throughout their day, have fun finding out what they like to do, and enjoy those things with their friends. Ask your students if they identify themselves with any of the kids seen in the video.
Prior to distributing the activity sheets to your students, discuss with them what kinds of activities they like to do. Take a tally to see which activities are the most popular. Ask students how often they do these activities, and with whom they do them.
It is important that all students participate, all ideas are welcome and students are encouraged to name more than sedentary behaviors like watching TV and playing video games.
VERB. Why you do it.
Background and Objective
This first student page focuses on the benefits of participating in physical activities such as sports and dance. Physical activities can be prosocial: in a club, group or on a team. This first lesson serves as a motivator for kids to get active. Some reasons for them to be active are:
Activity
Review with your class the reasons for getting active. Brainstorm what they do that is active and fun, who they do it with, what new things they have discovered that they like doing and how these things express who they are and what interests they have.
*Note: Competitive activities aren’t for everyone — as a matter of fact, competition can take the fun out of being active. Try to encourage a full range of activities so all children can have fun.
Encourage your students to get active — get their bodies and their minds moving. Children should be spending at least 60 minutes a day, at least five days a week, participating in a variety of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity individually, with friends or in an organized group. They should also consider participating in organized (or prosocial) activities such as painting, volunteering, playing in a marching band or singing. Organized (or prosocial) activities will help them build alliances with family, organized peer groups and conventional institutions, and will help to displace unhealthy, risky behavior.
*Note: Be supportive of your students’ efforts to get moving. If they find enjoyment from being active, it is more likely that they will incorporate activity into their lifestyle for the long-term.
What's your VERB?
Background and Objective
This page helps students develop a plan to discuss their VERBs.
It entails
Activity
After discussing the page as a class, talk about each student’s plan for getting active. Ask your students their main reasons for being active. How do they plan on reaching their goals? For example, if their goal is to do more things with their peers, they might join a local soccer team or take an after-school dance class.
Talk about the ideas for getting active found at the bottom of the activity page. Remind students that being active and finding their VERB doesn’t necessarily mean joining a sports team or paying to use an ice skating rink. Being active is about getting up and doing something fun — it can be as simple as volunteering, helping to clean up a park, taking a walk or jog with a parent or dancing in the living room with a friend.
Divide your students into groups and give each group some equipment (i.e., a basketball and 10 cones, a Frisbee® and a hula hoop, a football and two jump ropes, etc.). Ask students to develop a game using all of their equipment. Have groups demonstrate their games for the class.
*Note: Students with disabilities can also be active. Recognize their physical abilities and be creative. Visit www.americasathletes.org* or www.dsusa.org* for more information.
Some Resources
Student Sites
www.VERBnow.com
www.bam.gov
www.kidnetic.com*
www.seventeen.com/VERB*
www.cdc.gov/powerfulbonesParent Sites
www.VERBparents.com
www.healthykids.com*
www.fitfamilyfitkids.com*
www.walkingschoolbus.org*
www.ymca.net*
www.bgca.org*Teacher and Professional Sites
www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign
www.bam.gov/teachers
www.fitness.gov
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa
www.americasathletes.org*
www.dsusa.org*
www.pecentral.com*
www.pepgrant.info/newpe.htm*
www.aka.org.au*
VERB. Where you do it.
Background and Objective
This page asks students to find information about where they can do the VERBs they like to do.
Activity
Students should look for community events and local organizations, including team sports, volunteer organizations, religious groups and after-school programs in their neighborhood. Give them time in class to find this information. Provide students access to conduct this research, such as the Internet, phone books, local newspapers and the library. After students have compiled their research, discuss the information as a class so that as many local organizations and facilities as possible are talked about and explored.
*Note: Consider inviting a representative from a local organization, such as Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA, or Parks & Recreation, to talk to the class about activity options, and/or demonstrate activities in which students showed an interest.
Stickers
Make a class chart, or have each student make their own chart, to keep track of how many times a week each student is active. When they are active twice a week, give each student a VERB sticker to keep them motivated. Other rewards for being active can include:
Parent Letter
On the back of the teacher’s guide there is a reproducible letter for you to share with your students’ parents and guardians. It is very important to convey to parents the importance of activity in their child’s life, as well as the need for their support and encouragement. At the same time, we want to ensure that activity remains fun for kids. Therefore, we request that you distribute these letters to parents and guardians directly by mailing the letter home, sending it in a PTA distribution or with report cards or saving it for parent-teacher conferences.
To encourage parents to engage their children in positive activities, try these ideas.
VERB. It's what I do.
Background and Objective
This activity page will give your students the opportunity to think about the things they like to do and write about them.
Activity
Ask your students to list activities they like to do, new things that they’ve tried recently, new things they’d like to try and five active things that they’ve done this week. This activity page can serve as a template that can be used multiple times, so the students are constantly encouraged to try new things and keep active throughout the week.
You can also have students make their own VERB poster. Ask them to cut out magazine and newspaper clippings of their favorite ways to get active. Tell them to use verbs, or action words, associated with those activities to create a poster encouraging other people to get active. Display the posters in the hallways, gym and cafeteria.
Ask students to keep a journal of their activities. Hold weekly discussions on how many times a week your students are active, what new positive activities they are trying, where they are going to be active, etc. When a new activity or location is mentioned, ask that student to write it on a large index card and then decorate the card. Post these on a bulletin board as a reminder of all the possible activities that are out there for them to try.
Extension Ideas Curricula Links
Teachers and schools can also incorporate activity into learning.
Look for ideas to integrate activity and movement into your everyday lesson plans. It makes learning more fun, and will grab students’ attention. Try these fun ideas to get you started. They can be adapted across multiple areas of the curricula.
Go Fly A Kite
Teach your students about gravity, aerodynamics and wind by making and
flying a kite. Visit the Australian Kite Association at www.aka.org.au* for
more information on lesson links and instructions.
Energize Yourself
Convey the difference between Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy by
giving students directives, such as march in place, take five steps forward,
etc.
VERBstorm
Give students, or groups of students, a verb such as twist, run, fly or
groove, and ask them to list and demonstrate all of the activities and games
that come to mind.
VERBs I Do
Ask each student to write his or her first name vertically down the
page. For each letter, ask them to write a verb that relates to them.
Geography Movement
Give each group of students a region of the United States. For each
state in their region, they should list the kinds of activities that can be
done given the state’s topography, climate, location, etc. As a class,
discuss what the students came up with. For example: In how many states can
you ski? Go swimming in the ocean? Take a dip in a lake?
Freeze Facts
Make index cards with questions and answers to any topic you are
studying. Now, play freeze tag outside or in the gym. Start by asking
three-quarters of your class to skip, hop, jog or leap around. The other
quarter (wearing different colored shapes taped to their shirts for
distinction) tags them frozen. In order to be released, they must answer a
question asked by any tagger correctly. Switch the taggers every couple of
minutes to give everyone a turn.5
5 Adapted from an activity on PE Central, www.pecentral.com.*
Media Literacy
Have children count how many media messages (TV, radio, billboards,
magazines, etc.) that they see in one day encouraging inactivity (promoting
video games, marathon blocks of a TV show, etc.) compared to how many they
see encouraging activity.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Many adults and children alike can benefit from regular physical activity. How many hours a week does your child spend in front of the TV or computer screen? The answer is probably too much. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created the VERB.™ campaign to encourage children ages 9–13 to get active in an exciting and safe way. It is also about getting involved with family and organizations like clubs, community groups and religious organizations.
Your child has been working on an in-school activity called VERB.™ It’s what you do. In School. In Action. as part of the VERB.™ It’s what you do. media campaign. Developed by Weekly Reader Custom Publishing in support of VERB, it encourages your child to discover new activities and new ways to have fun. By fitting positive activity into your child’s life you may help him or her stay out of unsafe or troublesome situations. You will also bring a special bond and element of fun to your family.
Children who are active often have higher self-esteem and confidence.1 This can help them as they grow older and start to make important decisions on their own. By being active, children also have better overall health and have less stress and anxiety.2 Children should try to be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, five days a week, preferably every day.3
With your help and enthusiasm, your child and your family can become more active and healthier. Some ways to add positive activities to your child’s life include:
Try these ideas to get your family moving:
For more fun activity ideas and tips, check out these Web sites:
Don’t forget to check out the Web for community groups, parks and recreation, and religious groups for activities and ideas. A few Web sites that may be helpful are the YMCA (www.ymca.net*) and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org*).
1 | "Guidelines for Schools and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997. |
2 | “Guidelines for Schools and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997. |
3 | “CDC’s Guidelines for School and Community Programs: Promoting Lifelong Physical Activity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000. |
©2003 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Created by Weekly Reader Corporation.
*URLs for nonfederal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. URLs do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of Web pages found at these URLs.
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The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors’ affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
Privacy Policy | Accessibility This page last reviewed October 25, 2011
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