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This picture was photographed at the finish line of the 2015 30 km "Around the Bay" road race in Hamilton, Ontario. This finish line was a place that would appear to many runners at the end of a long journey of dedication and training. To reach this point they would need to be physically and mentally prepared to complete the grueling 30 kilometer race. What is written on this individuals shirt truly captures the essence of this moment: "You are not fully literate until you are physically literate."

This is the discussion icon.Assignment 1: Physical Literacy

  1. What do you think the slogan means, not only to me at that moment, but to all people young and old?
  2. What does it mean to be "physically literate?"
  3. Do you consider yourself "physically literate?" Why or why not?

 

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Moving through the years

Day by day we are growing, both physically and cognitively. The human brain and body have to continually learn and sometimes re-learn movements and actions to help adapt to the constant change in the rate of growth we encounter throughout our lives. Keep in mind that the growth and development experienced in one’s life is not only physical, but social, cognitive and emotional as well.

To give ourselves the best opportunity to live a healthy active life across our lifespan, it is important for us to understand the factors that affect our physical growth and motor development throughout our lives. These factors include heredity, our nutrition, our participation in physical activity and the physical, social and emotional environment in which we live.

Dr. Dean Kreillaars, from the University of Manitoba, studies the impact of children’s involvement in physical activity and life long health. Watch this video to learn about the connection between physical activity and its impact on children’s health and wellbeing.

This is the dropbox icon.Assignment 2: Time to Inquire

Throughout this course, you have learned how to investigate issues and draw your own conclusions through inquiry. Now it is time to put it all together.

    1. Choose one of the 7 stages of Human Growth and Development and one of these factors to investigate: heredity, nutrition, participation in physical activity, physical environment, social environment, emotional environment.
    2. Use the criteria for an effective question and the questioning chart from unit 1 activity 3, to create an inquiry question that you want to investigate.

Adapted from Inquiry-Based Learning in Health and Physical Education: A Resource Guide for Educators

  1. Once you are satisfied that you have collected enough relevant evidence, answer the question you posed using the information you gathered to support your conclusion/decision/stance.
  2. Consider the following checklist as you collect your evidence:
    • ___ I have looked for patterns or relationships in the evidence;
    • ___ I have made connections to my personal experiences;
    • ___ I have identified if more information is still needed;
    • ___ I have considered whether my topic/question needs to be revised;
    • ___ I selected the most important and relevant information;
    • ___ I have combined my information gathered so it makes sense;
    • ___ I have considered new information I’ve learned that would change or add to my stance/decision?

Activity: If you can’t, then you won’t...

As we progress through the growth and development of our mental and physical capabilities, it is important to provide a safe, yet challenging environment for new experiences and understanding. By providing these experiences early in a child’s life we open the doors to greater opportunities in allowing children to develop confidence in moving through different spaces in different ways, thus increasing their physical literacy.

Courtesy of Canadian Sport for Life: Developing Physical Literacy A Guide For Parents Of Children Ages 0 to12

The above infographic is taken from the Canadian Sport for Life presentation on “Developing Physical Literacy A Guide For Parents Of Children Ages 0 to12”. The infographic draws the relationship between the fundamental movement skills of locomotion, manipulation and stability and the sports/physical activities they allow one to participate in successfully. This relationship is the foundation of the physical literacy movement.

Physical literacy is the cornerstone of both participation and excellence in physical activity and sport. Individuals who are physically literate are more likely to be active for life.

The concept of physical literacy has little to do with high level of skill and proficiency, and more to do with the development of fundamental movement skills and motor skills to establish the foundation for participation in many sports and physical activities throughout a person’s lifetime. A child who has not had the opportunity to develop these basic motor skills, experiences difficulties or barriers when participating in sport experiences, or later school-based programs that involve more difficult skills.

In it for the "Long Haul" - Long Term Player Development

Science, research and decades of experience all point to the same thing: kids and adults will get active, stay active, and even reach the greatest heights of sport achievement if they do the right things at the right times. This is the logic behind the Long-Term Athlete Development model (LTAD). Review the Long Term Athlete Development model below and respond to the questions that follow.

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment 3: Time for Reflection

After reading about the LTAD program answer the following questions.

  1. Where do you fall in terms of the stages of the Long Term Athlete Development model? Why do you place yourself at this stage?
  2. One of the goals of the Long Term Athlete Development model is to create a knowledge base and comfort level that ensures people are "Active for Life". Do you think it meets that objective for all people in Canada? Why or why not?
  3. Choose and describe one person in your life who is at one of the 7 stages of the Long Term Athlete Development model. Briefly outline what they are doing that links them to the stage.
  4. Based on your understanding of the importance of developing physical literacy at a young age, how does the Long Term Athlete Development model support Dr. Dean Kriellaar’s hope that it is the answer to lifelong health?

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