The Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention on the way Elementary School Girls Play

The rates of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States have been increasing steadily. American youth continue to eat more (increase energy intake) and reduce physical activity (decrease energy expenditure) resulting in increased body weight and body fatness. One way to help reduce body weight in children is to increase physical activity. The purpose of this study was to determine if an age appropriate before-school physical activity intervention would be successful in increasing energy expenditure, intensity of activity, and behavioral approaches in overweight girls. The subjects were recruited from Parker Memorial School in Tolland, Connecticut, and two testing periods occurred over an eight week period. Video recordings of each physical activity session were analyzed to determine energy expenditure, exercise intensity, and behaviors during exercise. Data was evaluated for normal distribution, and paired t-tests were used to determine statistical significance. This study showed that the age appropriate before school physical activity intervention was able to increase energy expenditure and exercise intensity and have a positive effect on behavioral approaches in overweight girls.

Determining the feasibility and acceptability of a garden-based nutrition curriculum for preschoolers

Obesity rates around the nation have risen to epidemic proportions. Rates of childhood obesity are at very high levels with 24.4% of preschool-aged children in the U.S. currently considered as overweight or obese. The percentage of childhood obesity is much higher in the southern part of the United States as compared to the rest of the nation. Minority populations, especially African American and Hispanic, are affected more than other ethnic groups. Obesity prevention programs are needed targeting young children <6 years of age from minority populations. Currently, there are few obesity prevention programs that have been implemented and evaluated in children <6 years of age. Gardening programs have been successful in improving the health status of elementary school children by increasing fruit and vegetable intake and increasing preferences for healthier food choices. However, there is no evidence of the feasibility and acceptability of a garden-based obesity prevention program among preschoolers. This pretest study, a classroom-based gardening curriculum program with 16 lesson plans and coordinating activities for preschool age children (3-5 years old) enrolled in Head Start, provides the opportunity to address this need. The study included 103 preschoolers from two centers and 9 teachers or teachers' aides. Qualitative data on feasibility and acceptability was collected from process evaluation forms of individual lesson plans and focus groups with teachers. Teacher questionnaires assessed individual teacher characteristics and provided feedback regarding the curriculum. Quantitative measures of teachers' self-efficacy, attitudes, and knowledge pertaining to nutrition were analyzed from pre and post-test surveys. Results revealed this preschool garden-based nutrition curriculum was both feasible and acceptable. The program improved teacher's self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes about nutrition, with teacher's confidence in ability to teach a gardening curriculum increasing from a mean score of 2.14 to 3.00 from pre to post test (P value = 0.0046). These results indicate implementing garden-based nutrition lessons within preschools is achievable. Employing garden-based nutrition lessons in the classroom is the first step in teaching children about nutrition and gardening concepts. Constructing gardening beds for more hands-on learning is the next proposed step in the larger parent study of this program.^

Constitutionality of Federal aid to education in its various aspects. Miscellaneous memorandums of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; and opinions of certain scholars of the law relative to S. 1021 (a bill to authorize a program of Federal assistance for education) and related subjects, submitted upon request of the Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare; and a legal analysis of the Administration's brief on Federal aid to church-supported elementary school,

Mode of access: Internet.

Nutrition education in the elementary school; follow-up report of the Terre Haute Workshop.

Mode of access: Internet.

A brief report of the meeting commemorative of the early Saint Louis movement in philosophy, psychology, literature, art and education, in honor of Dr. Denton J. Snider's eightieth birthday, held January 14th and 15th, 1921, at Vandervoort's music hall, St. Louis, Missouri.

"Missouri one hundred years ago" (a brief description of the Saint Louis Missouri centennial pageant, with illustrations): p. 249-254.

A familiar view of the domestic education of children during the early period of their lives ... /

Mode of access: Internet.

Our cereals; a nutrition unit for the fourth, fifth and sixth grades of the elementary school,

Bibliography: p. 33-34.

The mother's practical guide : in the early training of her children ; containing directions for their physical, intellectual, and moral education /

Mode of access: Internet.

Relationship between Comprehensive School Readiness Profiles and Longer-Term Academic Growth

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

The impact of increased writing time allotment on the developmental writing skills of intermediate elementary school students

The purpose of this study is to determine which of several treatment groups and/or grades have shown growth when increased writing time allotment has occurred. Third, fourth and fifth grade students identified as Gifted, Learning Disabled, and Limited English Proficient enrolled in ESOL classes were the 69 subjects.^ All students were allotted at least one hour of writing time, four days a week for the school year of 1994-1995. Writing activities conducted during the school year involved the full writing process, including prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Pretests and posttests were administered across the grade levels at a designated period of time using the same administration procedures as the Florida Writing Assessment Program. Three teachers rated each sample on a scale of zero to three.^ The results of the oneway ANOVA indicated that the three raters did not score the pretests and posttests significantly different from each other. A single group pretest-posttest experimental design was used on the three groups. The results of the Gifted group revealed that the Gifted C subgroup (Gifted Behavioral) appeared to have averaged a higher gain score than both the Gifted A and Gifted B subgroups. For the four subgroups of the LD group, no distinct pattern was evident. The Group C subgroup (ADD) appeared to have scored lower than the other three subgroup although their mean IQ score was higher than the others LD subgroups. Comparisons were difficult to make among the four ESOL subgroups due to low subjects and/or scores. Qualitative analyses were also conducted using semi-structured interviews with the Gifted, Learning Disabled, and ESOL teachers. All believed the additional instructional time spent on writing made the difference in the increased writing scores.^ The study indicated that time alone is not a significant factor in developing accomplished writers. Direct instruction perhaps in a specific strategy or skill may lead to significant results. ^

Plurilingualism vs multilingualism in early years of schooling: The rise of a critical cultural awareness in primary school

Since early 80s the Council of Europe has taken a great approach to teaching and learning of languages by encouraging plurilingual practices instead of multilingual practices, being these understood as the coexistence of several languages within a given society. In this context, we believe that once one learns many languages, one values one's native language, allowing one to understand it more clearly and to communicate with others on an equal footing and, more importantly, one also learns about other cultures. This is an issue of great importance in order to value and respect one's own and other cultures in the context of European integration. Considering this, in this article, we present two linked projects: a) the “PrimaLang” project, related teaching practices multilingual promoting critical cultural awarenessl in the 1st cycle of Portuguese Primary School System; b) the “Plurilingual” project, which refers to the design of a coursebook which stimulates the development of a plurilingual competence in the 1st cycle of Portuguese Primary School System. At the same time, we analyze some materials made by students and teachers in the projects to better understand their contribution under the InterNetwork Comenius Project

Spontaneous puberty in girls with early diagnosis of Turner syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To verify if the frequency of spontaneous pubertal development among girls with Turner syndrome (TS) diagnosed in infancy and childhood is greater than that of patients diagnosed later. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty three girls aged < 10 years at the time of diagnosis were evaluated regarding pubertal development. The frequency of spontaneous puberty was compared with that of girls aged > 13 years diagnosed at the same service. RESULTS: Sixteen of 32 informative patients had signs of spontaneous puberty, a frequency greater than that of patients diagnosed later. In six patients, there was no progression of puberty; menarche occurred in six, and one became pregnant, but the fetus was a stillborn. Spontaneous puberty was absent in all cases with 45,X karyotype. CONCLUSIONS: The greater prevalence of spontaneous puberty in girls whose diagnosis was not based on pubertal delay suggests that, among those diagnosed later, there is a bias towards patients with hypogonadism. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab. 2012;56(9):653-7

Reflexões acerca do brincar na educação infantil

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física