ED 243 Magazine Project

How educators can
make
recess
even better!
Recess seems to be a work in
progress today in the United States.
During the mid-two thousand’s, many
schools began to reduce recess time,
or even completely cut it out of the
school’s schedule. According to The
Atlantic, these decisions were made
due to the “No Child Left Behind
education law—which emphasized test
scores—prompted some schools to
scale back recess (along with art and
music) to spend more time on math
and reading.”. Studies show that even
now, only a handful of states in the US
require recess breaks throughout the
school day. Fortunately, as schools
began to reduce and cut recess,
science began to increasingly show
the benefits of play for children. Due to
the scientific backup and other
elements such as research on reducing
childhood obesity, recess has begun
to make a comeback in schools across
the nation.
As of January 2017, CDC (Centers for
Disease Control and Convention), and
SHAPE America (Society of Health and
Physical Educators), have recently
released resources to help promote
active recess in schools across the
United States. Both CDC and SHAPE
America released a School Recess plan
that “identifies the strategies a school
will use to organize and implement
recess at the school. This plan should
be a written document that can be
shared with all school staff, students,
and parents.” According to this plan,
there are five strategies that should be
used for recess time in schools. These
five strategies are:
1. Make Leadership Decisions
Communicate and Enforce
Behavioral and Safety
Expectations
2. Create an Environment
Supportive of Physical Activity
During Recess
3. Engage the School Community
to Support Recess
4. Gather Information on Recess
The School Recess Plan was designed
to help boost academic performance,
improve behavior and focus issues,
and enhance physical and emotional
well-being. This plan also helps
increase student’s participation in
recess time. It ensures that each
student is involved physically, rather
than only a few students engaging
physically. Recess can boost academic
performance by letting children
simply burn some of their energy out
during recess. Children are not able to
sit and focus for long periods at a time.
They need time to move their bodies
and free some of their energy and
stress. Having a brief period away
from the academics helps the students
be ready to go back to the classroom
setting to learn. It refreshes their focus.
Being physically involved helps
enhance their physical well-being by
helping them create a healthy lifestyle.