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There is no unique definition of circus pedagogy; however, "scholars agree that such a discipline could provide a valid alternative to learn and deepen various mobility contents". This article aims to provide strategies for implementing an elementary physical education Circus Unit. An overview of how to design three basic routines of a circus program (balances, manipulatives, and clowning) is included, along with a description of how to execute a final performance. Lastly, a description of how the unit aligns with National Standard goals is provided. Now is the time for you to dip your foot into the circus world and make it come alive for your students.

Daily physical activity (PA) benefits children's and adolescents' overall health while reducing the likelihood of obesity. Elementary school physical education (PE) classes provide opportunities for children and adolescents not only to participate in PA but also to build the knowledge and skills needed to be physically active across their lifetime. Physical Best (PB) is one program physical educators might use to develop students' physical literacy and skills. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of PB program inclusion on elementary PE students' PA levels and health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK). Three activity games were paired once with a PB fitness concept-based warm-up activity and once with a traditional warm-up activity for six lessons. PA levels of elementary school students (n = 75, 30 males, 45 females) were recorded with both movement tracking bracelets and heart monitors during these six PE lessons. Means were calculated for movements and time in and above target heart rate zone (TZ) by warm-up type (PB vs. traditional), sex, and grade level. An HRFK assessment given to students pre- and postintervention assessed changes in fitness knowledge. Repeated-measures analysis of variances were utilized in the comparison of sex and grade level differences in relation to movements, TZ minutes, and HRFK assessment scores. Overall, children had significantly more movements in the PB lessons compared with traditional lessons (p < 0.05), while there was no difference in TZ minutes. HRFK assessment scores increased from pre- to postintervention (p < 0.05). Children accrued more movements in PB warm-up lessons than in traditional warm-up lessons but exhibited no difference in PA intensity. Children also increased HRFK from pre- to post-PB experience.

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) aim to increase students' physical activity opportunities across the entire school day. Targeted areas include physical education, classes throughout the curriculum, before and after school settings, and time spent both with families and in the community. Home fun (formally known as homework) is an underutilized strategy that can address multiple CSPAP components while providing students opportunities to develop their physical literacy. This article provides a definition of "home fun," applications to address interdisciplinary goals, and includes guiding principles for creating effective home fun tasks.

Using whole child approaches and promoting the development of social and emotional learning skills are educational priorities in today's K-12 schools. SHAPE America's heath.moves.minds. program helps school and community personnel address these priorities via movement-based lessons. PETE faculty can address several national standards and competencies by embedding this new curriculum and fundraiser within their existing curriculum while fostering teacher candidates' knowledge and skills to address whole school approaches in their future career settings. This article describes how faculty at one PETE institution has progressively integrated heath.moves.minds. throughout its program.

Physical educators have been identified as ideal school champions to lead comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) efforts within their schools. As such, they should be adequately prepared to take on this role. Faculty from three physical and health education teacher education programs have collaboratively developed the Adopt-a-School program to address this need. This problem-based service-learning program aids inservice professionals as they implement CSPAPs while simultaneously developing the skills, knowledge and confidence of future physical activity leaders. Through mutually beneficial partnerships, teacher candidate teams and local elementary school champions use the Active Schools and Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthy Schools Program websites to support and assess each school's current CSPAP, design and activate an action plan, and celebrate each school's success. Because each school and its needs are unique, teacher candidates have created and completed a variety of school physical activity initiatives over the past six years. An overview of service-learning is provided, followed by an in-depth description of the Adopt-a-School program and perceived stakeholder benefits.

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice elementary classroom teachers' (PCTs) beliefs about physical education and their willingness to incorporate physical activity as they progressed through an undergraduate physical education methods course. This course focused on quality physical education as well as the classroom teacher's role in school-wide physical activity and required participation in one of three laboratory experiences. Participants (33) completed either focus-group or individual interviews at the beginning and end of the course. Results indicated that PCTs' beliefs about physical education positively evolved through the course and PCTs gained an appreciation for the subject. Despite this, PCTs strongly indicated that they are not willing to teach physical education lessons as future teachers. They are very willing, however, to incorporate physical activity into their classrooms.

This study inductively analyzed posts made on an existing participant-initiated open Facebook group page called "Dude, Calm Down…It's Gym Class." Following data retrieval, the first 25 days' posts following the page's inception were examined. Open coding was used as a method of identifying the content and curricular activities discussed within the page's posts. The frequency of codes were determined with descriptive statistics, and post content was examined with the constant comparative method. Quantitative results showed that 1,882 of the 2,969 posts analyzed were coded as being made by males (63.3%), whereas 36.7% (n = 1,087) were coded as being made by females. Nearly half (49%) of the posts described participants' own or their peers' participation behaviors exhibited in physical education class. Of the 337 activity references, invasion games (n = 145, 43%) dodgeball (n = 72, 21.4%), and net/wall games (n = 69, 20.5%) were the most frequently mentioned. Qualitative analyses resulted in three major themes: student groups (Pro-Page--supported the page's ideology; Anti-Page--did not support the page's ideology; and Reasonables--could see the validity of both arguments), participation patterns (Overachievers, Underachievers), and Meanness (a general derogatory and negative nature of the posts). Results of this study support the need for further exploration of peer behavior as a potential influencer on student attitudes toward physical education.

When examining recess within a school's comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP), stakeholders should consider that 30% to 70% of school injuries occur during this part of the school day (Posner, 2000). Thus, existing frameworks to prevent and manage recess injuries may require a thorough review. The purpose of this article is to describe proactive strategies to prevent recess injuries, help readers in both recognizing and treating common recess injuries, and outline the necessary components of a recess emergency action plan (EAP).

We live in a rapidly changing world with technology as an essential part of our lives and an important component in contemporary education. Preparing teachers for the future requires that university professors understand what it means to teach and learn in the digital age. Teacher preparation programs need to create intentional learning environments where teacher candidates can study contemporary issues that are relevant in today's schools, develop pedagogies that are effective for the current generation of students, and develop expertise to design and facilitate meaningful learning for the future. Educational stakeholders, especially teacher educators, need to change how they approach and use instructional practices, change the routines, change how they and the teacher candidates think about teaching and learning, and change the pedagogical approach. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of a physical education teacher preparation program that has addressed the need for a new model in teacher preparation.

University-based homeschool physical education programs are one way to ensure homeschooled children have access to high-quality, standards-based opportunities to develop their physical literacy. These programs have traditionally been held on site at hosting institutions and were greatly impacted by the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. This article describes how one university's program faculty pivoted their in-person homeschool program to one delivered online. Replication of the processes and/or implementation of other online field experience alternatives shared in this article may increase opportunities for homeschooled children to receive appropriate physical education instruction, while also improving the flexibility and variations of field experiences within teacher preparation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]