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Educating the Student Body
Classroom Activity breaks
An emerging strategy for increasing daily participation in physical
activity in schools is the implementation of structured, classroom-based
physical activity breaks. Classroom physical activity includes all activity
regardless of intensity performed in the classroom during normal classroom
time. It includes activity during academic classroom instruction as well as
breaks from instruction specifically designed for physical activity. It also
includes time spent learning special topics (e.g., art, music) even if not
taught by the usual classroom teacher. It excludes physical education and
recess even if conducted in the classroom by the usual classroom teacher.
It also excludes physical activity breaks during lunchtime. Although some
discussions of schooltime activity breaks include such breaks during
lunchtime (Turner and Chaloupka, 2012), the committee views lunchtime
physical activity as more akin to activity during recess and before and after
school than to physical activity during normal academic classroom time.
While a number of programs specifically designed to increase the volume
of students’ physical activity during usual classroom time exist, the com-
mittee found no information about changes in such programs over time at
the population level.
A typical break consists of 10-15 minutes focused on vigorous- or
moderate-intensity physical activity. This strategy has been found to be
effective in significantly increasing physical activity levels of school-age
children (Ernst and Pangrazi, 1999; Scruggs et al., 2003; Mahar et al.,
2006). Bassett and colleagues (2013) found that classroom activity breaks
provide school-age children with up to 19 minutes of vigorous- or mod-
erate-intensity physical activity, and the sustained use of such breaks was
shown to decrease body mass index (BMI) in students over a period of 2
years (Donnelly et al., 2009). The effectiveness of classroom physical activ-
ity breaks is discussed further in Chapter 7.
An example of an effective school-based physical activity program is
Take 10! Kibbe and colleagues (2011) provide consistent evidence that the
Take 10! program has been effective in increasing physical activity levels
among a variety of samples of children enrolled in kindergarten through
5th grade in various countries. Likewise, Mahar and colleagues (2006)
found that, with the implementation of 10-minute physical activity breaks
called “Energizers,” students increased their time on task while averaging
approximately 782 more steps in a day. Another example, supported by the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity
(2012), is Jammin’ Minute, a realistic and effective “bridge” tool for
increasing children’s physical activity until schools have sufficient resources
to develop more comprehensive physical education programs. Jammin’
Minute has important implications for advocates and policy makers, as well
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Approaches to Physical Activity in Schools
267
as administrators and teachers, seeking ways to make school environments
healthier for children. At the same time, it should be emphasized that, while
the benefits of small increases in physical activity during the school day
need to be recognized, the ultimate goal of policy makers and advocates
should be to ensure that all schools have comprehensive physical education
programs (see Chapter 5).
Another program, Texas I-CAN!, helped teachers incorporate physical
activity by modifying lesson plans to include more active activities, thereby
increasing vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity by 1,000
steps per day (Bartholomew and Jowers, 2011). It was found that these
curriculum-based activities improved time on task immediately following
the breaks, especially in children who were overweight; these students went
from being on task 58 percent of the time on typical instruction days to 93
percent of the time after the breaks (Grieco et al., 2009).
These findings emphasize the effectiveness and feasibility of provid-
ing classroom-based structured opportunities for physical activity. Breaks
in the classroom provide an additional opportunity for physical activity
throughout the school day with minimal planning, no equipment, and a
short amount of time required; they can also incorporate learning opportu-
nities for students. It should be noted that the literature tends to focus on
the effect of classroom physical activity breaks on elementary school rather
than secondary school students.
For classroom-based physical activity breaks to become a priority,
it will be important to provide evidence that such breaks do not detract
from academic achievement. Chapter 4 provides an extensive review of the
evidence showing that physical activity in general has positive effects on
academic performance. With respect to classroom-based physical activity,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2010) reviewed
studies examining the association between such activity and academic
performance in elementary school–age children. Eight of nine published
studies found positive effects on such outcomes as academic achievement
and classroom behavior; only one study found no relationship (Ahamed et
al., 2007), but that study also found that the breaks did increase physical
activity levels and did not adversely affect academic achievement. Donnelly
and Lambourne (2011) provide further support for the link between physi-
cal activity and positive cognitive and academic outcomes in elementary
school–age children. In addition, studies in elementary school–age children
have found an increase in on-task behavior in the classroom after partici-
pation in a physical activity break (Jarrett et al., 1998; Mahar et al., 2006;
Mahar, 2011; see also Chapter 4). For example, Mahar and colleagues
(2006) found that time on task increased by 8 percent (p < .017) with the
implementation of a 10-minute break. They also found that the 20 percent
of students who were off task improved the most in time on task. Similar
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
268
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