Strategies

A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators

ISSN: 0892-4562 (Print) 2168-3778 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ustr20

An Innovative Strategy for Teaching Health-

Related Fitness Knowledge in Elementary Physical
Education Classes

Michael Hodges

To cite this article: Michael Hodges (2015) An Innovative Strategy for Teaching Health-Related
Fitness Knowledge in Elementary Physical Education Classes, Strategies, 28:4, 19-25, DOI:
10.1080/08924562.2015.1044145

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08924562.2015.1044145

Published online: 07 Jul 2015.

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 AN INNOVATIVE STRATEGY FOR TEACHING
Health-Related Fitness Knowledge
in Elementary Physical Education Classes
By Michael Hodges

A
ccording to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008),
the majority of adolescents (81.8%) do not engage in the recommended 60 minutes of
physical activity each day. As a result, the United States saw obesity rates almost triple
from 1980 to 2011, from 7% to approximately 18% (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & Flegal,
Downloaded by [New York University] at 09:16 15 March 2016

2010). Due to inactivity, poor nutritional choices and other unhealthy factors, public health
organizations and health initiatives (e.g., Let’s Move) have been developed and are calling for
efficient and cost-effective methods to increase children’s healthy and active behaviors. Accord-
ing to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011), public schools have been identi-
fied as ideal settings in which to promote healthy lifestyles, with the schools’ physical education
programs and physical education teachers being main catalysts to fighting childhood inactivity.

Volume 28 • July/August 19
 ity (SHAPE America, 2014). However, many physical edu-
SCAVENGER HUNT MAP A cation teachers continue to face difficult teaching conditions
(e.g., small teaching spaces, large class sizes, minimal prepara-
Clue  #1-­‐  To  lift  a  weight  many  times  you  need…muscular  ENDURANCE! tion time, very little equipment, etc.) that make it more chal-
 
 
lenging for teachers to reach this goal. More specifically, stu-
Clue  #2-­‐  You  just  passed  all  5  components  of  a  health-­‐related  fitness   dents’ health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK) and HRFK
test;  you  should  now….  set  new  goals  to  IMPROVE  your  fitness  level!!       instruction have been negatively affected, largely due to time
 
  conflicts (Hodges, Kulinna, van der Mars, Lee, & Kwon, in re-
Clue  #3-­‐  When  you  want  to  become  stronger,  you  should…OVERLOAD  
view 2015). The term HRFK can be described as the health
your  muscles!
  content in physical education that encompasses the necessary
 
Clue  #4-­‐  If  you  are  fit….  you  have  more  CHOICES  to  be  physically   knowledge for individuals to remain physically active for life.
active!     For example, HRFK could include knowledge of the benefits of
  aerobic fitness, moderate-to-vigorous activities, and the effects
 
that different exercises have on the body.
RIDDLE –
“P.E. STRENGTHENS MY HEART AND MAKE ME _ _ A _ _” Researchers have found HRFK to be lacking among students
of all developmental levels, from elementary to collegiate. For
Figure 1. Scavenger Hunt instructional aid. example, Placek and colleagues (2001) interviewed 40 urban
sixth-grade students on their notions of fitness components.
Results indicated that 82% of students could not accurately ex-
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Quality physical education programs should prepare indi- plain what muscular endurance was and had misconceptions
viduals for lifelong physical activity and healthy behaviors. Ac- of what physical fitness meant. Students explained that they
cording to SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physi- thought physical fitness meant “looking good and thin” (Placek
cal Educators, the goal of physical education is to develop et  al., 2001). Additional elementary-level studies have exam-
physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills ined HRFK with the use of portfolio tasks and revealed similar
and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activ- results (Brusseau, Kulinna, & Cothran, 2011; Kulinna, 2004).
Remarkably, these findings have been recognized for more than
a decade (Hopple & Graham, 1995).
At the secondary level, Stewart and Mitchell (2003) ex-
Body Composition amined students at 62 different high schools, using a written
HRFK statewide test. The class means were analyzed, and out
Avengers! of the 270 classes, only 43% of students were able to identify all
health-related fitness components. Furthermore, the majority
• To keep a good body composition score you need to of students had problems applying basic training principles to
eat and burn the same calories EVERY DAY. improve a health-related fitness component (Stewart & Mitch-
• Your body composition is made up of bones, ell, 2003). Similar results were found at the collegiate level, as
muscle, and fat. Miller and Berry (2000) examined 117 college students in al-
lied health professions using an expertly constructed HRFK
test. Results showed that athletic trainers, physical therapists
and nursing participants were scoring relatively low on the test,
with total correct mean scores of 64%, 72.5% and 58.5%, re-
spectively.
Instruction of HRFK has been documented to be beneficial
for children and adolescents. Many researchers have found that
HRFK provides individuals with a foundation for intelligent
decision making and is a potential determinant of leisure-time
physical activity engagement (Dale & Corbin, 2000; Dale,
Corbin, & Cuddihy, 1998; DiLorenzo, Stucky-Ropp, Vander
Wal, & Gotham, 1998; Keating et al., 2010; Liang et al., 1993;
Pearman et  al., 1997; Thompson & Hannon, 2012). For ex-
ample, DiLorenzo and colleagues (1998) conducted a two-
How to play: Run and grab ONLY ONE muscle from the other
phase longitudinal study by soliciting families of fifth- and
team’s hoop or grab a FAT from yours to place it in their hoop!
sixth-grade children by telephone. The researchers discovered
How to win: Have more MUSCLE on your skeleton than FAT! in the first phase of the study that exercise enjoyment was a
significant predictor of physical activity. However, in the sec-
Figure  2. Body Composition Avengers instructional ond phase (three years later), families were interviewed again
aid. and the then eighth- and ninth-grade students indicated that

20 Strategies
 TAKE YOUR HEART RATE
Instructions:  Quickly  choose  an  aerobic  activity.    Perform  that  activity  for  30-­‐45  seconds  then  
check  your  pulse  on  either  your  wrist  or  neck.    
BPM  Calculation-­‐  Count  number  of  beats  for  10  seconds  and  multiply  that  by  6.  
 

Vigorous Activities Moderate Activities

 
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Which  activity  had  more  effect  on  your  heart?  

 

• Vigorous  physical  activities  like  running,  riding  bikes,  swimming  and  jumping  jacks  
strengthen  your  heart  and  greatly  increase  your  pulse!  
 

• Moderate  physical  activities  like  walking  briskly,  yard  work  and  shooting  baskets  are  good  
but  do  not  improve  your  aerobic  fitness!  

Figure 3. Take Your Heart Rate instructional aid.

exercise knowledge was the only predictor of physical activity.
Thompson and Hannon (2012) found similar trends when they
investigated the HRFK and physical activity of high school
students. A self-report physical activity questionnaire was used
to assess students’ physical activity and a 100-point pencil-and-
paper test was used to assess students’ HRFK. Results showed
a moderate positive correlation, r(168) = .438, between HRFK
and physical activity, indicating that students with more HRFK
report higher levels of physical activity (Thompson & Hannon,
2012). After additional analyses, it was also found that students
in the low-HRFK group reported significantly less physical ac-
tivity than students in the high-HRFK group, who exhibited
higher documented physical activity levels (Thompson & Han-
non, 2012).
Despite the continued marginalization of the physical edu-
cation field, teachers should remain optimistic and determined
to teach HRFK, as each health-related component can contrib-
ute to getting students active and healthy for a lifetime. How-
ever, the question still remains, how can teachers reach their
goal with such little contact time with students? The purpose
of this article is to answer this question and offer elementary
physical education teachers a newly tested strategy for teaching
HRFK while still maintaining high levels of physical activity.
Knowledge in Action Fitness
Knowledge in Action (KIA) fitness is a series of student-
centered fitness lessons that enhance all five components of
fitness and teach HRFK in a short segment of the physical
education class period. Knowledge in Action provides each
student with an opportunity to be successful and learn at his
or her own pace, as it is based on cognitive mediating theory
(Doyle, 1977). This theory takes into account the countless
mediating factors that may inhibit learning and places the
student in the driver’s seat while the teacher is the facilitator
of learning. The design of KIA fitness is simple: it involves
a total of seven lessons, with each lesson composed of four
different health-enhancing stations that are situated in the
four corners of the playing area. These four activities are self-
sufficient and require minimal equipment. The KIA activities
are accompanied by an instructional aid (e.g., visual prompt,
sign, etc.) with conceptual health statements, informing the
student how to conduct the activities (see Figures 1–7 for the
KIA fitness instructional aids). After completion of the seven
KIA lessons, the teacher can use PE Metrics (National As-
sociation for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2010),
a SHAPE America-endorsed pencil-and-paper test to assess
students’ HRFK acquisition.

Volume 28 • July/August 21
 Benefit  Pick-­‐Up  

Soccer,  swimming,  and  running  are  great  aerobic  fitness  activities  that  
require  a  lot  of  Aerobic  Endurance  and  helps  strengthen  your  heart.    
Students’ health-related fitness
Skip  and  touch  the  opposite  wall  and  skip  back.  
 
knowledge (HRFK) can be
Benefit  Pick-­‐Up  

Being  stronger  allows  you  to  throw  farther.    Slide  to  the  closest  wall  and  
described as the health content
overload  your  muscles  with  (8)  wall  push-­‐ups.  
 
in physical education that
Benefit  Pick-­‐Up  

Your  heart  will  benefit  from  daily  physical  activity.    Hop  over  and  give  a  
encompasses the necessary
high-­‐five  to  your  teacher  for  participating  in  activity  today.     knowledge for individuals to
remain physically active for life.
 
Benefit  Pick-­‐Up  

To  test  the  fitness  of  your  heart,  try  to  run  (aerobic  activity)  2  times  
around  the  gym.  
 
Benefit  Pick-­‐Up  

To  build  aerobic  endurance  you  should  increase  the  amount  of  vigorous  
activities  you  engage  in.    Complete  20  treadmills  in  your  own  space.     Time breakdown
  Physical education teachers can be seen spending approxi-
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Benefit  Pick-­‐Up  
  Being  fit  allows  you  to  have  more  choices  of  activity.    Either  crab  walk,  
1  
mately one or two minutes describing the four activities posi-
bear  crawl,  or  seal  walk  in  a  circle  around  your  station.  
tioned in the corners of the playing area. The duration of each
  station should be approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds each
Benefit  Pick-­‐Up   (6 minutes in total for all four stations). During the transitions,
Aerobic  activity  reduces  your  stress  and  tension.    Relax  and  jog  to  get  a   teachers check for understanding by giving students time to
(5)  second  drink  of  water.   critically think about the concepts they are learning. This is ex-
pected to last no more than 30 seconds each (2 minutes in to-
Figure 4.  Benefit Pick-Up instructional aid. tal). Therefore, the total duration of a KIA fitness lesson should
be approximately 10 minutes.

Lesson description
Each KIA lesson contains four KIA activities organized in a
sequential rotation, removing the oldest activity following each
Just a lesson. For example, if Lesson 1 included Stations 1, 2, 3 and 4,
the following lesson (Lesson 2) would introduce a new activ-
Roll of the Dice!! ity, Station 5, in place of the first activity. This would result in
HOW TO PLAY: Take turns rolling the dice. Quickly roll Stations 2, 3, 4 and 5. The subsequent lesson (Lesson 3) would
and add up the dice. Choose from the specific then introduce a new activity, Station 6, thus removing Station
component of fitness and perform that number rolled. 2 to have Stations 3, 4, 5 and 6. This allows students to be ex-
---------------------------------------------- posed to each activity more than once (four times total) during
ODD #: the duration of the KIA fitness (see Table 1 for a breakdown of
Choose from- Aerobic Fitness Exercises: Jumping each KIA activity).
jacks, treadmills, shuttle run… Teachers are encouraged to play preselected music for the
OR activity period of 1 minute and 30 seconds and to have 30 sec-
Choose from- Muscular Endurance Exercises: Wall sits, onds of silence for the transition period. This aids in uniformity
lunges, power jumps, hopping on one foot… and allows the teacher to focus on the students during activity
-------------------------------------------------------- time. Checking for understanding during transitions can be ac-
EVEN #: complished through quick question-and-answer segments that
Choose from- Muscular Strength Exercises: Push-ups, align with the newly introduced concepts. Questions for stu-
curl ups, partner resistance exercises… dents can be categorized by concept taught. Table 2 provides
OR some ideas for questions the teacher could ask to facilitate criti-
Choose from- Flexibility Exercises: Windmills, toe
cal thinking between activities.
touch, shoulder stretch…
Lesson effectiveness
The effectiveness of KIA fitness was examined in one sub-
urban school district with 10 physical education teachers and
Figure 5.  Roll the Dice instructional aid. their respective fifth-grade physical education classes. A total

22  Strategies
<LE5>Figure 5. Roll the Dice instructional aid.</LE5>
  BEARING  the  WEIGHT    
Table 1.  Description of KIA Fitness Activities
Instructions:  Participate  in  the  weight-­‐bearing  exercises  listed  below.    Try  to   1. Scavenger Hunt: Following a map, students work
complete  ALL  tasks  before  you  move  on.  
  with a partner and hunt for different activities
ü  Build  muscle  and  strengthen  your  bones  with  this  weight-­‐bearing  
activity.    Perform  10  curl-­‐ups!   scattered throughout the gym. Once they find an
 
  activity, students perform the task before moving
ü  Softball  is  a  great  weight-­‐bearing  sport.  Perform  a  pitch,  homerun  
catch,  swing,  field  a  groundball!      
on. Students need to find all activities to answer
 
  the final riddle.
ü  Build  muscular  endurance  with  (15)  fast  WALL  JUMPS  over  and  over  
again.  
 
2. Body Composition Avengers: Students in this
 

ü  Hold  your  body  weight  by  staying  in  the  middle  of  a  push-­‐up  for  10   station are divided and positioned at opposing
seconds.    
 
Hula-Hoops spaced approximately 20 feet apart.
 

ü  Running  is  another  great  weight-­‐bearing  activity.  Jog  in  place  for  20  
The hoops contain six yellow beanbags (fat) and six
seconds!   red beanbags (muscle). One hoop contains 6 red
bags (muscle), and another hoop contains 6 yellow
(fat). Students run and attempt to gather more red
Figure 6.  Bearing the Weight instructional aid. (muscle) bean bags than yellow (fat) in their hula
hoop. Students may only grab on red bag at a time
and get rid of one yellow bag. Whichever team gets
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of 30 fifth-grade classes and 633 students participated. Physical more red bags wins.
education teachers were selected and randomly divided into ei-
3. Take Your Heart Rate: Students immediately
ther the intervention group (implementing the KIA fitness) or
choose either a moderate (e.g., walking, playing
control group (no changes to the already existing lessons). Stu-
catch) or vigorous (e.g., jump roping, or agility run)
dents were assessed before and after the intervention using PE
activity that is available at the station. Students
Metrics (NASPE, 2010), and NL-1000 accelerometers were
engage in their chosen activity and stop just before
used throughout the duration of the study to assess students’
the end of the station and check their heart rate.
physical activity levels. This device provides step counts, as well
as time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity (any movement 4. Benefit Pick-Up: Students grab one card from
from brisk walking to a more strenuous exercise), which has several that are scattered face down inside a Hula-
previously been validated for this age group (Hart, Brusseau, Hoop. Each card has a health benefit (e.g., running
Kulinna, McClain, & Tudor-Locke, 2011). Teachers who par- faster, prevent injuries) and an activity to perform
ticipated in the intervention group were provided with lesson (e.g., standing hamstring stretch; reach and touch
plans and YouTube videos a week before the upcoming KIA your toes). Once the student reads the benefit
lesson. Physical educators were also given the instructional aids card, he or she puts the card back face down and
and equipment (if needed) to teach the KIA fitness lessons. The performs the activity. Once completed, the student
training was seen to be very effective, as identified across the picks up another card and continues this process as
interview data (Hodges et al., in review 2015). many times as they can.
5. Roll the Dice: Students quickly begin by rolling
the big foam dice. If the dice land as an odd
number, the roller decides between either an
QUIZ YOUR PARTNER! aerobic or muscular endurance exercise. If the
dice land on an even number, the roller chooses a
Walk or jog with your partner (in your own space) and take turns asking each
other questions. If they get the answer right, perform 2 jumping jacks! weight-bearing or flexibility exercise.
Question 1: Name 3 aerobic fitness-type activities/sports.
Answer: Jumping jacks, soccer, rope jumping, running, vigorous swimming, etc.
6. Bearing the Weight: Students read the sign (task
sheet) posted on the wall and perform the task
Question 2: What happens to your body when you exercise vigorously? listed. All activities listed on the sign are weight-
Answer: Increase pulse, sweat, you get hot, breathe hard…
bearing activities (e.g., sit-ups, performing a softball
pitch, wall jumps). Information regarding weight-
Question 3: True or False: Being physically fit makes you feel better and
allows you to do a wide variety of activities? bearing activity can also be found on the sign.
Answer: True; feel better, play in many different activities
7. Quiz Your Partner: Students partner up and walk
Question 4: Name two places on your body where can you check your pulse. while reading and quizzing each other on the given
question on a card.
Answer: Wrist & neck

Figure 7.  Quiz Your Partner instructional aid.

Volume 28 • July/August  23
 Table 2. Conceptual Questions to Engage Students’ Critical-Thinking Skills
Concept Conceptual Questions

Choosing to be physically • What is the best activity you can do when you get home?
active outside of school • If you want to get better at football, what sort of activity should you do?

Describing personal responses • Does your heart beat faster or slower when you perform vigorous activities?
to physical activity • How can you tell from your body that you are exercising hard?

Describing characteristics of • Running is what type of activity?

health-enhancing physical • What are some weight-bearing activities?
activities • Who knows a moderate physical activity?

Improving personal fitness • What do you think people should do to be more flexible?
• What sorts of activities benefit the heart the most?
• To keep a good body composition, what do people need to eat?

Identifying personal health- • Where can you find your pulse on your body?
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related weaknesses/ • Why do people want to test their fitness levels?

strengths • Do you feel you are able to do a lot of different exercises when you are physically fit?

Identifying the principles
associated with improving
physical fitness
• When you lift a weight many times, are you trying to improve your flexibility or your
muscular endurance?
• When you run a mile or long distance, what area of fitness are you working on?
• If you want to get stronger, what do you think you should do?
• What parts of the body make up body composition?

Identifying specific benefits • What are you capable of doing when you get stronger?
associated with each health- • How do you feel when you are physically fit?
related fitness component • Are you more susceptible to injuries when you are more or less flexible?

Results from this study indicated that students from the accrued significantly more physical activity, F(245) = 32.38,
KIA group improved their test scores by 20%, which was signif- p < .001, and gained more steps on average (871.20) than
icantly different than the comparison students’ scores (Hodges   the control group (762.38) and more minutes in moder- 1
et al., in review 2015). See Figure 8 for a graph showing the ate-to-vigorous physical activity, F(245) = 16.18, p < .001.
improvement between students’ pretest and posttest scores. See Figure  9 for a group comparison of physical activity
  Furthermore, researchers found that students in the KIA group 1   levels.

100
Pretest
Mean HRFK Scores

80 1000
Posttest
Student Mean Steps

60 900
800
40
700
20 CONTROL
 
600 INTERVENTION
 
0 500
Brad Ruth Jessica Mike Gabby 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
KIA Lesson Segments
Figure 
<LE8>Figure 8. Student
8. Student pretest
pretest and and
posttest PE posttest
Metrics PE assorted
mean scores Metricsby
mean scores assorted by Knowledge in Action teachers. Figure  9. Comparison of physical activity levels in
Note.
Knowledge HRFK
in Action = health-related fitness knowledge.
teachers. Knowledge in Action fitness assorted by lessons.
<LE9>Figure 9. Comparison of physical activity levels in Knowledge in Action
Note. HRFK = health-related fitness knowledge.</LE8>
(KIA) fitness assorted by lessons.</LE9>
24 Strategies

Knowledge in Action (KIA)
fitness is a series of student-
centered fitness lessons that
enhance all five components
of fitness and teach HRFK in a
short segment of the physical
education class period.
Conclusion
In an effort to increase pupils’ academic achievement, many
school districts have cut children’s physical activity opportu-
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nities (e.g., recess and physical education; Thomas, 2004).
Consequently, teachers have had to prioritize and adjust their
curriculum and instruction, often needing to remove key com-
ponents. According to recent research findings, HRFK may
have been one component that has been removed, because
students’ HRFK levels have been documented to be consider-
ably low (Keating et al., 2009). As the aforementioned studies
have indicated, HRFK can positively affect students’ engage-
ment in physical activity during leisure time (Dale et al., 1998;
DiLorenzo et al., 1998). Knowledge in Action fitness was de-
veloped to aid teachers in this regard, and with the documented
success described in this article, hopefully more teachers will
attempt to combine activity with HRFK instruction as a way
of helping their students become well-rounded and physically
literate individuals.
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Michael Hodges (Hodgesm1@wpunj.edu) is Assistant Professor in the Ki-
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Volume 28 • July/August 25