Your Local Offices
Physical Education
A planned, sequential K-12 curriculum that provides cognitive content and learning experiences in a variety of activity areas such as basic movement skills; physical fitness; rhythms and dance; games; team, dual, and individual sports; tumbling and gymnastics; and aquatics.
Regular physical activity is linked to better health and lowered risk for developing many diseases as adults. Children and adolescents are more physically active than adults but as children become teenagers, the amount of time they spend being physically active tends to decrease. Physical education as part of a coordinated school health program can slow this decline and teach skills to establish lifelong, healthy physical activity patterns. Physical educators should use a K-12 curriculum that includes lesson plans that expand upon and reinforce content over time. Physical education should emphasize that participating in physical activity is fun. It should help students develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor skills, behavioral skills, and confidence so they will continue to engage in some form of physical activity throughout their lives. The curriculum should emphasize the benefits of physical activity and the appropriate amount and kinds needed. Rather than emphasizing competitive sports, physical education should teach skills for activities that students can enjoy over a lifetime such as dance, strength training, jogging, swimming, bicycling, cross-country skiing, walking, and hiking. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has developed standards that define the essential functions of physical education and guidelines for elementary, middle, and secondary schools that can help districts design K-12 physical education programs.
Helpful Links
The following documents were released by the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association. They address the importance of physical education in schools and are valuable resources that can be used to bring about greater awareness of the importance of and need for physical education in schools. Download these documents now: Physical Education Fact Sheet and Statement on Physical Education in Schools.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has many resources through the following link that can help improve school physical education and physical activity programs.
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - Healthy Youth
Also available through this link is the Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT). This tool helps school districts conduct clear, complete, and consistent analyses of written physical education curricula, based upon national physical education standards.
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - Healthy Youth