Physical Education & Health

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Why it works

Quality physical education and health education, guided by standards (such as SHAPE America's), aim to develop physical literacy (the competence and confidence to be active for life), healthy decision-making, and wellbeing, for all students. Research supports maximizing active participation (not standing in lines), including and engaging every student (not just the skilled), teaching skills and concepts, and connecting to lifelong activity and health, rather than rolling out the ball or favoring the athletic.

The research: SHAPE America standards; research on quality PE and health.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: raise the quality of PE or health

Teachers leave with a PE or health lesson that engages and develops every student.

Pick a PE or health lesson.
Maximize active participation and engagement for every student (not lines, elimination, or a few athletes).
Teach real skills and concepts (physical literacy, healthy decision-making).
Connect it to lifelong activity and wellbeing.

Physical literacy and health for every studentQuality PE and health build skills, healthy habits, and wellbeing for all, not just games for the athletic. Maximize participation and teach for life.

Facilitator notes

Maximize active participation, and include every student.
Teach skills and concepts.
Connect to lifelong health.

Rolling out the ball is not teachingKeeping kids busy, or favoring the athletic, wastes PE's potential. Maximize participation, teach physical literacy, and build lifelong healthy habits for all.

Adapt it

Elementary: fundamental movement, participation, fun.
Secondary: physical literacy, fitness, lifelong activity, health decisions.
All settings: participation, skills, lifelong health.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

PE & Health: physical literacy for all

Develop, not just occupy: maximize participation, teach skills and concepts, and connect to lifelong health.

The PE or health lesson:
How I maximize active participation for every student:
The skills and concepts I teach:
How I include the less athletic:
How I connect it to lifelong activity and wellbeing:

Make it stick

Participation and physical literacy:

Maximize participation.
Teach physical literacy.
Bring a lesson that engaged every student to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't PE just about playing sports and staying busy?

Quality PE builds physical literacy, skills, and lifelong healthy activity for every student, not just a few games for the athletic. Keeping kids busy is not the goal; developing them is.

How do I include the less athletic students?

Design for participation and success for all, vary activities, maximize active time, minimize elimination and waiting, and value effort and improvement, so every student engages and benefits.

What about health education?

Health education teaches decision-making and skills for wellbeing (not just facts), covering physical, mental, and social health in developmentally appropriate, engaging ways.