Enhancing Physical Education with a Supplemental Physical Activity Program

For decades, schools have played a pivotal role in providing physical activity opportunities to children. For many students, school-time physical activity serves as the primary source of activity, via activity clubs, classroom physical activity breaks, and family health awareness nights. The purpose of this article is to describe how three schools in Midwest Nebraska developed an alternative way of offering a structured physical activity class on days that physical education was not offered. Readers will learn how such a class can provide additional time for students to work on skills learned in physical education while increasing their weekly physical activity time. Guidelines to effectively implement a physical activity class will be provided, along with sample physical education and lesson plans structured around the same fundamental movement pattern.