PPE 310: Health Literacy for Schools

Physical Activity, Fitness and Health

Signature Assignment Outline
Lola Dominguez and Nicole Miller
Course # 89869
Dr. Hesse

Introduction
Exercise your Mind and Body is a program that we are excited to implement at Copper
Trails Elementary and hopefully introduce the benefits of the program to schools all over the US.
Exercise your Mind and Body will start its campaign with a video of a group of third grade
students who share their passion about exercise and encourage their fellow classmate to share in
their passion. This video will explain what and why this event will be and where it will take
place. Each class will have the whole week to create their best and most innovative posters to
promote physical and mental health to their fellow classmate at Copper Trails. The big event will
be a school wide rally. The whole week leading up to the rally for Exercise your Mind and Body
teachers will be encouraged to include some of these concepts into their everyday curriculum.
Information packets and activities will be provided based on need and grade level. At the end of
the week the students who win will present their classes poster to the whole student body.
Ideally the rally will be action packed including inspirational speakers as well as performing
groups like Jumpin All-Stars Jump Rope Team to get the students excited to exercise. At the
rallies completion students will place their posters in the hallowed halls of copper Trails.
For a visual representation please see my Weebly at http://aboutme337.weebly.com
Literature Review
In the article The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the
Community provides the reader with strategies to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
The article Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Use A Systematic Review Update
discusses how programs that promote physical activity, point-of-decision prompts include signs
posted by elevators and escalators to encourage people to choose to use nearby stairs instead.

The text on the signs can vary, but generally includes information about the health and weight
loss benefits of using the stairs and serves as a reminder that stairs are available for use.
(Buchanan, 2005).
In the article 5 Ways Exercise Help Improve your Mental Health it is about how regular
physical activity can help keep your thinking learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age
(Monitor).
Exercise for Mental Health the article was about the increase of obesity has its gateway to
having high risks of chronic diseases especially related to behavior.
The article, Integrating Physical Activity Into Mental Health Services for Persons with
Serious Mental Illness has different parts to it. The one that stuck out the most was the Mental
Health benefits of physical activity. This part of the article was about how physical activity of
any sort can help with health problems such as depression, anxiety disorder, panic attacks and
more.
School Context
Copper Trails Elementary is a suburban school that lies within the heart of the Avondale
district. It is a public school that currently has 948 students in attendance and is a prekindergarten to 8th grade school . The school is set up so grades pre-kinder 3 attend a
traditional type of school day. One teacher for all subjects required. Once students reach fourth
grade they have multiple teachers for a multitude of subjects.
38.5% of Copper Trails student population is currently a recipient of a free or reduced lunch.
While Copper trails is considered a Title one school it does have the lowest percentage of free or
reduced lunches in the Avondale Elementary District. Copper Trails has 38 full time teachers on
staff and the average class size varies from grade level to grade level. Third grade, at Copper

Trails, averages about 25 students per class.

Copper Trails currently holds the record for the largest student body in Avondale. The
racial makeup is: Hispanic (46.6%), White (37%), African American (8.2%). Copper Trails is
currently a B school and due to that grade, has changed their classrooms to, cluster classrooms.
The cluster classrooms are composed of approximately 20% gifted students, 40% average
students, and 40% low average students.
Synthesis of Information
In the article, The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the
Community, it lays out for its readers 10 strategies designed to combat the epidemic that is
childhood obesity. The article is setup to give educators the tools they need to make real and
lasting changes in their students lives and within their school. It also provides the research on
how Point of decision prompts has been used in a variety of behavior change programs and has
proven effective in prompting desired behaviors which supports this passion project. This article
discusses the effectiveness of using point of discussion prompts with stairs. The article states
when used appropriately 10 out of 11 people chose to use stairs as opposed to taking the elevator.
It further goes on to explain how this idea could be tailored for things other than just stair use.
Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Use a Systematic Review, explains the idea

that placing posters in areas that have heavy foot traffic could appeal to other specific
populations. This led to the decision to create the Exercise your Mind and Body campaign.
Comparing this article with the article, The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical
Activity in the Community, that provides the educator with the criteria that they need to set up the
strategy of their choosing and the rationale to support the strategy along with the evidence that
the strategy has been effective encourages one to try this venture in other venues. If something

as simple as putting a poster by a stairwell can encourage individuals to make smarter life
choices, plastering point of decision prompt all over an elementary school is bound to encourage
and remind students to make better life choices each and every day!
In the article, 5 Ways Exercise Help Improve your Mental Health, it talks about how
regular exercise can help your mental thinking traumatically. Teaching students at an early age
that have regular physical activity can increase their mood, memory, long-term memory, keeps
their brain sharp and helps their creativity can get students to exercise more. Most students have
a lot trouble with participating with physical activity now so having teachers teach about the
effects of not exercising regularly and the effects of exercising regularly can increase exercise in
students. Compared to the article, Exercise for Mental Health, it talked more about why exercise
isnt taken serious but also about ways that students can be activate when not in school.
The article also states that, The importance of exercise is not adequately understood or
appreciated. Although that was talking about patients and mental health professionals, It is the
same for all people. Exercise is not taken serious enough and it can effect on the students too. If
students see that adults and role models dont take it seriously, then they wont either. There are a
lot of regular effects on students that are closely related to exercise such as; being distracted
easily, self-efficacy, and social interactions. If students were a little more educated on the effects
that regular exercise could have on their mental ability to accomplish anything, could increase
drastically.
The article, Integrating Physical Activity into Mental Health Services for Persons with
Serious Mental Illness, lays itself back to the article, 5 Ways Exercise Help Improve your Mental
Health with ways on how to integrate that physical activity to compliment your mental health.

The article also lies out that a lot of people suffer from mental disorders such as; anxiety
disorder, phobias, panic attacks, and stress disorder. The article says that research shows that
regular physical activity can improve mental health among people with these serious mental
illnesses. People who suffer from these disorders feel like there is no other way to be healed
except for pills. In the article in 1999 some people with schizophrenia were reviewed and given
exercise interventions. At the end of their study and observations, it was clear that exercise could
alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia.
Physical activity and fitness directly correlate with a person's health and wellbeing yet it
is not talked about nearly enough. All across America students have less recess, less physical
education classes and are eating out more then ever before. Due to over processed, sugary, and
fatty foods and the lack of physical activity childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.
In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese(1). This
statistic is both upsetting and maddening considering obesity is something that could so easily be
avoided. Myplate states that. physical activity simply means movement of the body that uses
energy(2). So if physical activity is as simple as all of that, then why were so many of
Americas youth so profoundly failing at it? As educators take on the awesome responsibility of
taking care of someone's most treasured possession; that includes taking care for their well being
while they are with you as well as providing them with the best education possible. If we are
responsible for their well being does that not include their physical education and providing them
with the tool on how to live a long, healthy life?
After analyzing the Choose MyPlate assignment and simply being near the children
during lunch, seeing what was offered to them under the label of nutrition, made us realize that
there was something that had to be done to help the students at Copper Trails Elementary. It was

decided then that something had to be done to encourage and promote students to eat healthier
and exercise more. After many discussions we came to the conclusion that our proposal of our
PPE assignment would have to be something that would be a realistic endeavor yet deeply
impactful for the students. It was then we had the idea of having posters placed around the
school.
After doing some research, we found that visuals do help with students being able to
think a certain way. For example, if students were to see posters in the school promoting a
healthier lifestyle, it is more likely that they will feel encourage doing so. At our school the
students have Physical Education once a week and have recess for 10 minutes a day. The
students are not getting the recommended exercise that they need at their age. Knowing this, it
seemed logical that if by seeing posters around the school promoting a healthier and active
lifestyle, students might feel more obligated to do so at home.
According to the CDC programs that promote physical activity, point-of-decision
prompts include signs posted by elevators and escalators to encourage people to choose to use
nearby stairs instead. The text on the signs can vary, but generally includes information about the
health and weight loss benefits of using the stairs and serves as a reminder that stairs are
available for use. If this is true for the use of stairs the chances are good that properly placed
signs near playgrounds can encourage students to be active and make the most of the precious
time that is given to them.
Studies show that Aerobic exercises, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking,
gardening, and dancing, have been proved to reduce anxiety and depression According to the
primary care journal of clinical psychiatry. However the benefits of physical activity does not
just end with stress but it also helps people who suffer from mental health issues deal with things

like helping with social interactions and self-efficacy. Physical activity also greatly helps with
seriously mental health issues, like those suffering from schizophrenia since these patients are
already vulnerable to obesity and also because of the additional risk of weight gain associated
with antipsychotic treatment, especially with the atypical antipsychotics. Increasing physical
activity can reduce mental health problems because people with depression tend to be less
physically active but individuals with increased exercise can reduce those depressive symptoms.
Having posters hanging in the hall and having students get more engaged in physical activity can
help students avoid mental health problems such as depression, low self-esteem and social
withdrawal. Research suggests that exercise is well accepted by people with serious mental
illness and is often considered one of the most valued components of treatment (Richardson).
Increasing physical activity within our schools can promote a healthier generation of children.
Practical Implications
Proposals to Administration and other Colleagues: Staff Involvement, Policies
This proposal includes a presentation to introduce to the administration and possibly the
district if they wanted to pick it up and do it at the other schools in our district. To aware the
administration of this proposal, a presentation needs to be created that would include our big
idea, our mission statement of the proposal and our believed effects of having the poster contest.
The presentation would have graphs to present to the administration about the effects of seeing
posters being hung in the hallways. Student surveys would be collected before the presentation
and shows to administration about how much exercise students get on average a week.
My Committee
There will be a committee of at least one student from each grade to represent their
grades ideas for campaigning and poster designs. This committee will be student run with a

teacher facilitator and the students will be in charge of picking a winner and where the posters
should be hung in the school. This committee will also distribute the information packets to the
teachers and grade levels that express a need for said packets. Students who win in their grade
level will get the opportunity to talk about their poster and what their inspiration was at an
assembly.
Family and Community Involvement
The physical activity promotion strategies considered being the most appropriate for
public health agencies and their partners and to have the highest priority for implementation are
community-wide campaigns (Strategies to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases The
CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the Community)
On top of marketing and spreading the word about the posters, we would also want teachers to
think about teaching a healthy behavior content in one of their lessons. We think that it is
important for students to know why they should live more active and why it is important for their
minds and bodies. We would want a lot of parents and student involvement because there is so
much that we as teachers can do for our students; it also needs to continue on at home.
Student Involvement
Having these posters around the school will increase students activeness and lower stress
in the classroom. To make students aware of this contest, a video announcement will be played
every Monday after morning accouchements. This will give the students the entire week to think
about the poster contest. The students will also be responsible for creating the posters that will be
placed throughout the hallowed halls of Copper Trails. It will be through their creativity and
innovation that their classmates reap the benefits that posters provide.
Teaching Healthy Behavior Content Knowledge in the Classroom

Teaching about healthy behavior in the classroom can help promote a healthier student.
Nutrition education (to) is a major educational component of all child nutrition programs and
offered in all schools, child care facilities and summer sites (Anonymous). Just as schools have
a Physical Education class, I believe that school should also have a nutrition period or subject
where students get the information they need. I think a lot of students dont eat nutritious foods
at home, which could cause them to eat unhealthy. I think that if school taught students the
effects of poor eating habits it can help promote a healthier student.
Funding
The student committee will put together a small fundraiser to raise money for the supplies
for each grade level winner to create a new poster or add more to their poster. We would also
have grade level marketing, newsletters and possibly a video announcement because visuals are
important to children of all grade levels. If a small fundraiser does not raise enough money, each
teacher will let the students work in the classroom using classroom supplies in order to complete
a poster to be entered.
Conclusions
The program, Exercise your Mind and Body will be in all districts across the world and
incorporated into curriculum in all classrooms. Exercise your Mind and Body will give students
the opportunity to put their best skills forward as they put their creativity into place on a poster to
be hung around the school to help to promote a healthy lifestyle and mind. In three to five years
the program will be taking place at more districts in Arizona. After seeing the effects that the
posters have on the students mental health and regular exercise, districts will want to get their
schools involved in this program. It gives the students to opportunity to get involved in their own

well-being and also by helping other students get on the right track. When students feel more
independent about a cause, they are more likely to want to participate in it.

References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase
Physical Activity in the Community. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human
Services.
Choose MyPlate. (2015, March 27). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/physical-activity-what-is#sthash.89kJXXHe.dpuf
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. (2011). Social Marking for Nutrition and
Physical Activity Web Course.
Richardson, C., Faulkner, G., McDevitt, J., Skrinar, G., Hutchinson, D., & Piette, J. (2005).
Integrating Physical Activity Into Mental Health Services for Persons with Serious
Mental Illness. Retrieved November 22, 2015, from
Sharma, A., Madaan, V., & Petty, F. (2006). Exercise for Mental Health. US National Library of
Medicine National Institutes of Health.
Wilhelm, S., & Hipp. (2014). Point-of-Decision prompts for increasing park-based physical
activity: A crowdsource analysis. PubMed.gov. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.08.029

Poster

T-Shirt

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Criteria with
Professional
Standards
Referenced

5
Exemplary
(97 100%)

4
Highly
Proficient
(93 96%)

3
Proficient
(83 92%)

2
Approaching
Proficient
(73 82%)

Outline
Turned In

Logical,
detailed
outline with at
least 5
original peer
reviewed
references
written in
APA format is
submitted.

Brief
outline with
at least 5
original
peer
reviewed
references
written in
APA format
is
submitted.

Brief outline
with some
references
but not 5
original peer
reviewed
references
written in
APA format
are
submitted.

Brief outline
with one or
no references
submitted.

5 x 2=10
points

1
Unsatisfactor
y
(72%
and below)
No outline
was
submitted.