DPHHS is offering one-time incentive payments to recruit employees at Montana’s state-run health care facilities. For more information go to Work4DPHHS.com

Physical Activity

Making the Connection Between Health & Academic Achievement

CDC Resources

Health and Academics - A leading authority on the connections between health, wellness, nutrition, physical activity and academic success.
School Connectedness: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth - Students who feel connected to their school are also more likely to have better academic achievement according to this CDC resource. Fact sheets for school districts, administrators, teachers, staff and parents/families can be found here. Also staff development resources including a facilitator’s guide, power point, and action plans.
Physical Activity Guidelines for Children and Adolescents

Fact Sheets and Flyers:

Tools and Resources for Schools

Physical Activity Breaks, Brain Breaks, and Energizers

Get Movin’- This Get Movin’ card set created by the Iowa Department of Public Health provides simple, short activities designed to be done in the classroom to help students achieve 60 minutes of physical activity daily

GoNoodle- Free short videos are ready to use.

Lining Up and Waiting in Line Strategies- Creative ways to guide students to line up and activity breaks for waiting in line with this teacher created handout.

Indoor Fitness Breaks- Active inside recess or physical fitness break

Staff Physical Activity Breaks Card Set- Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Physical Activity Before, During and After School

Walking School Bus - Find out how to get started and then watch this video featuring Sioux City, Iowa.

Walking Works for Schools Toolkit - Use this resources to organize a walking club or walk-to-school program at your school that will energize the entire community.

Safe Routes to School Guide- A successful Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program integrates health, fitness, traffic relief, environmental awareness, and safety under one program. It is an opportunity to work closely with your school, your community, and your local government to create a healthy lifestyle for children and a safer, cleaner environment for everyone. This toolkit was designed to assist school in initiating and implementing a SR2S program.

Quality Recess

Recess Moves: A Toolkit for Quality Recess- Discover more about the benefits for brains and bodies from an active, quality recess from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Physical Education

National Physical Education Standards: From SHAPE America, find the National Physical Education standards as well as grade-level outcomes for K-12 physical education.

Montana Health Enhancement Standards (2016)- The Montana Office of Public Instruction worked with a variety of stakeholders to create the Montana Health Enhancement Standards with K-12 grade level outcomes and a Model Curriculum Guide.

National Archery in the Schools Program: MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks- NASP is a two-week physical education program designed to teach the fundamentals of archery in grades 4-12. FWP conducts archery certification trainings periodically. These are 6-hour workshops complete with range set-up and shooting exercises. Contact FWP for a current list of scheduled trainings at (406) 444-9946.

Physical Education Vocabulary for Kids: Playgroundequipment.com features a list of physical education resources for kids and families. They also sell a wide variety of playground and physical education equipment.

Organizations Supporting Physical Activity in Schools

Action for Healthy Kids - This website provides resources and information about nutrition and health-related activities in Pennsylvania and other states across the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Schools- Physical Activity

CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) - By uniting multiple players in a child’s life to create a community of health, CATCH is proven to prevent childhood obesity and supported by 25 years and 120 academic papers indicating as much as 11% decrease in overweight and obesity.

National Physical Activity Plan - A comprehensive set of policies, programs, and initiatives that aim to increase physical activity in all segments of the American population

National Safe Routes to School- Assists states and communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school

President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition - Promotes a healthy lifestyle through fitness, sports, and nutrition programs and initiatives that educate, empower, and engage Americans of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities

SHAPE America - SHAPE America's mission is to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance, and sport.

SHAPE Montana - SHAPE Montana is a professional organization of educators dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles among all Montanans through the promotion of health education, physical education, lifetime fitness and recreational activities, and dance.

SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) - A set of interventions proven to be effective in promoting physical activity among youth.