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Kids and recess
Physical education programs in schools
The importance of physical education in elementary school
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The first three articles that were read for this review discuss the great importance of recess in a student’s life. There are many benefits of recess for students, but there are even more added benefits to a structures recess for students. The Crucial Role of Recess in School an article from the American Academy of Pediatrics states that recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom (2012). Equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offer cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits. “After recess, for children or after a corresponding break time for adolescents, students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively” (The Crucial Role …show more content…
Even with these benefits school must be careful to not turn recess into an extension of physical education. Physical education is an academic discipline. There are ways to encourage a physically active recess without necessarily adding structure. Schools can achieve this adding attractive safe playground equipment to stimulate free play, establish games and boundaries by painting the playground, or instructing children in games such as four square or …show more content…
With this decrease students are losing the chance to develop positive social and emotional skills that are important to cognitive performance. These researchers state that “recess is the fourth R that needs to be taught in schools” (Pellegrini, A., & Bohn, C., 2005, p. 16). The ability to interact cooperatively with peers, inhibits antisocial behavior, and form close relationships are important developmental tasks for children as they first enter primary school. Mastery of these tasks constitutes social competence for that period and this provides the foundation for subsequent skills for success in school. They come to the conclusion recess is very important to a child’s well-being. They even go as far to state that extending the school day and school year, with more frequent recess periods, might positively affect children’s cognitive performance and social competence, while simultaneously providing parents with the badly needed child care for more extended periods (2005, p.
With an increasing demand for higher standardized testing scores, schools are finding themselves in a tough position. The huge question being asked is how do we create more time for students to learn common core. The simple answer is, we don’t! Incorporating more time for recess is the key to success for students everywhere. Many researchers and educators alike agree that participating in recess increases students’ cognitive, academic, and social skills. The amount of time allotted for recess should be increased for students of all ages. A child’s well-being encompasses more than just academia. Children spend almost eight hours a day at school, sometimes more. The school system and
Some people might say that middle schoolers shouldn’t have recess, but, middle schooler don’t always have gym, and they don’t get enough exercise, so recess would be beneficial to middle schoolers.
In the “The Crucial Role of Recess in School” (2012) article it explains, many schools are beginning to replace physical activity, like recess, with more attention to academic subjects. What these schools are forgetting is that well-supervised recess also has benefits that surpass academics. They help make a well rounded student because recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits to the student when they are young that they carry with them into adulthood.
Students who are enrolled in a year-round school attend school for 180 days, the same number of days as students on a traditional calendar schedule. A year-round school calendar is formulated into nine-week quarters. Each quarter is separated by a three-week break called an intersession. There is still a summer vacation , but at four or five weeks, it is less than half that of a traditional school summer break, and does not provide enough time for students to completely forget what they learned all year. This solution actually reduces the problem. This school system has been proven to have positive effects on student achievement, especially for students with learning disabilities. The goal of year-round schooling is to create continuous or extended learning by adding hours to the days and days to the year. According to the benefits of year round education article, “Fifty years ago, most American households were supported by a working father, while mothers were expected to stay at home. However, the women’s movement of the 1970’s combined with the rise in divorce rate and the high cost of living, lead to a decline of stay at home mothers.”First, The shorter vacations implemented by year-round education and intersession are helpful to today’s working parents because it is a less expensive alternative to daycare or summer camps. Also, parents and teachers can schedule vacations
the ICPA also stats that The outdoors is the best place for children to burn calories, practice emerging physical skills and experience the pure joy of movement. Research has even shown that children who are physically active in school are more likely to be physically active at home, and children who don’t have the opportunity to be active during the school day don’t usually compensate during after-school hours. This will also help the students to feel more energized because the more your body works the more energy you will produce meaning students won't be so tired. Children get one quarter of gym and 3 quarters of band art and computer where you sit in a chair most of the time. And Recess can help children make friend
Sindelar, R. (2004). Recess: Is it needed in the 21st Century? Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting, Vol. 18, Issue 1, 1-6.
According to NCBI: “Physical Activity, Fitness, and Physical Education: Effects on Academic Performance” it states, “A single bout of moderate-intensity physical activity has been found to increase… attention to a specific cognitive task.” The given evidence supports the fact that physical activity- such as recess -has a direct effect on how attentive kids are in class. In addition, the higher the attentiveness level a kid has in class, the more information they will gain and comprehend. To add to this, The Atlantic: “Why Kids Need Recess” states, “... an analysis of studies... found positive associations between physical activity and the ability to concentrate in class.” This shows that even if a kid has a small amount of physical activity between classes, they will be able to concentrate better on what they are learning in class and will be able to comprehend it better.
Movement and physical exercise is key to a child’s life, especially in developing necessary skills to function throughout their whole life. Recess can be a time where children are able to explore how their bodies can function. Student’s can learn and apply skills like bouncing, throwing, catching, running, skipping, and the list may keep going on. Research has even shown that children who are more physically active in school are more likely to be physically active at home. Children who don’t have the opportunity to be active during the school day don’t usually compensate during after-school hours.
Lahey states that “young children develop social skills, such as negotiation, social dynamics, and the use of subtle verbal and nonverbal communication cues” through recess. Students should be familiar with all of these qualities, so that they can apply them to the real world. Negotiating comes into play when there are oppositions, group projects, or team sports. Children learn how to negotiate with each other by reaching an agreement. This is seen when children first begin to play games or sports with one another at recess. Negotiation is a significant quality that teaches students that they do not always get their way. Social skills can be formed through interactions with people. Recess provides students with the opportunity to interact with other children in order for them to learn different behaviors. This time that is set aside for recess teachers children about acceptable and non-acceptable behaviors. Students utilize their social skills to create special bonds with others at recess time. These bonds are friendships that teach children how to improve upon their social skills. Friends are the people who bring out the best in people. Misbehaving children will miss out on learning proper socializing skills if their recess is
Through the use of teacher directed and student initiated activities, students become more engaged in learning and therefore develop the skills necessary to become self-directed learners. By stimulating their interest and motivating a love for learning, teachers can use preschool curricula to build school- and life-related skills. There have been links between play and child development, especially in the areas of creativity, reasoning, executive function, and regulation of emotions (Bodrova, Germeroth, & Leong 2103). Active play is needed for healthy brain growth and not only strengthens muscles, but stimulates brain activity leading to higher levels of interest and curiosity. Through play children are able to try out different ways to handle and address stressful or hurtful situations and stand strong when facing challenging situations. Play enhances children’s memories and attention spans and allows children to connect their ideas into realities and realities into deeper understandings. Play supports children’s language development by improving their verbalization and receptive/expressive vocabularies. Using preschool curricula to build school- and life-related skills is a great practice as long as it is developmentally
When students miss out on social opportunities in a typical classroom they are missing out on opportunities for academic enrichment (collaborating on projects, working in pairs, participating in class discussions) as well as personal and social enrichment (making new friends, playing games). The long-term goals are to continue building relationships over time and having greater social competence. “The earlier we can intervene with these children and teach the necessary social skills, the more likely it is that they will become adjusted and socially competent young adults and adults” (Stephens 2). Adolescence is a critical time in society; it is a developmental period where children have an experimental foundation for developing a variety of social skills. Therefore, if we implement these skills at an early age, these children will be able to apply them to their everyday lives and communicate with others more
However, despite the unquestionable link to a brighter future for the children who engage in it, less and less time is being allotted for play in the classrooms. As standards for what children are expected to know at younger and younger ages continues to rise along with the demand for standardized testing from the state, time for play is being sacrificed. Adults are choosing to get rid of time for unstructured play and recess to make time for this new testing interfering with the time allotted for children to learn independently through play. Cutting play and recess is a mistake, and here is why: “recess gives students time for social interactions: for students must be able to initiate, negotiate, cooperate, share, and build relationships with one another--skills that are highly valued in the adult world but that often are quite different from work or play under adult supervision and control” (Chang). Those skills learned through play, are often not the sole purpose of a classroom lesson and could potentially be the only place they learn those needed skills. Play is an affective measurement in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom and children can learn so much from it if only given the chance
Physical education must be mandatory for students all over the world. It provides many conveniences for children later in life. Sports in school encourage kids to play more outside of school and from there, their health increases. Unquestionably, physical education improves kids’
...n, B., (2012) Yay for Recess: Pediatricians Say It’s as Important as Math or Reading, Available at: http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/31/yay-for-recess-pediatricians-say-its-as-important-as-math-or-reading/, (accessed: 05/01/14)
UMCG, (2012) More free playtime benefits young children’s psychosocial development, Available at: http://www.umcg.nl/EN/corporate/News/Pages/More_free_playtime_benefits_young_childrens_psychosocial_development.aspx, (date accessed: 28/12/13)