FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is Fitness for Life: Middle School?
A: Fitness for Life: Middle School is a unique program designed specifically to help middle school students become fit, active, healthy, and well while in school and later in life. NASPE standards for middle school physical education serve as the basis for content development. Students are exposed to a wide variety of physical activities and basic rules for skill learning. The program includes a student text and many teacher ancillaries.
Q: What are some of the concepts featured in Fitness for Life: Middle School?
A: Fitness for Life: Middle School has a main strand of content that focuses on learning key concepts of fitness, physical activity, wellness, and healthy lifestyles. In addition, special features include Moving Together, Biomechanical Principles, and Take It Home.
- The Moving Together feature focuses on meeting NASPE standards related to social interactions, personal responsibility, and diversity in physical activity.
- The Biomechanical Principles feature helps students to understand biomechanical principles and to apply them in physical activities of all types.
- The Take it Home feature is designed to promote healthy lifestyles at home and in other settings out of school.
Q: What type of schedule is required for a Fitness for Life: Middle School course?
A: The basic Fitness for Life: Middle School plan is designed for implementation in a nine-week unit. The program can be adapted for use during a full semester and can fit into just about any schedule, including the basic plan, block plan, integrated plan, and accelerated block plan. The Fitness for Life: Middle School program can be taught at one grade level or as short units in several grade levels. The Fitness for Life: Middle School Teacher’s Guide contains details and sample schedules for delivering the program within these various plans.
Q: I'm using FITNESSGRAM/ACTIVITYGRAM. Does Fitness for Life: Middle School support this assessment?
A: Yes, Fitness for Life: Middle School provides students the information they need to take FITNESSGRAM test scores and use them to develop individualized activity plans. The FITNESSGRAM assessments are used throughout Fitness for Life: Middle School. In addition, ACTIVITYGRAM is also introduced in Fitness for Life: Middle School.
Q: How can I get training on how to teach the Fitness for Life: Middle School course?
A: Physical Best, a program of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), provides instruction on teaching the Fitness for Life: Middle School course. For more information, contact Susan Schoenberg, the Physical Best director, at 800-213-7193 extension 426, or visit www.aahperd.org/naspe/
Q: What ancillaries are included if I purchase the Fitness for Life: Middle School student textbooks?
A: The nation's first personal fitness textbook for middle school youth is accompanied by a complete set of integrated resources, including:
- a Teacher’s Guide with classroom and activity lesson plans,
- a CD-ROM of worksheets, quizzes, class materials, and more,
- a test bank of questions for creating customized quizzes,
- computer presentation programs for student review and reinforcement, and
- other teacher and student resources available on the Web site.
Q: How does Fitness for Life: Middle School relate to the existing Fitness for Life program?
A: Fitness for Life: Middle School was developed specifically for middle school youth using middle school standards. The existing Fitness for Life program is designed primarily for use in the high school. The Fitness for Life: Middle School program prepares students for the advanced high school program. Easy articulation from middle school to high school is a designed feature of the comprehensive Fitness for Life program.