children running

Healthy Choices in Motion

Curriculum

Healthy Choices in Motion was developed as part of the Shaping Healthy Choices Program. The Shaping Healthy Choices Program is a multi-component approach to improve children’s food choices.

Healthy Choices in Motion allows students to explore a comprehensive set of physical activity concepts, including the benefits of physical activity, recommendations across the lifespan, the five components of physical fitness, why doing a variety of physical activity is important, and what being physically active means to you. Concepts for this curriculum were identified from the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015, CATCH, Centers for Disease Control, and California Department of Education.

All activities are structured around a five-step experiential learning cycle. In the Experience phase, students carry out the procedures of an activity. In the Share, Process, and Generalize phases, students participate in discussion about their observations and experiences, make inferences about them, and generalize these findings to real-world settings. In the Application phase, students use what they have learned and practice it in authentic settings. This is accomplished in Healthy Choices in Motion through a take-home journal that students can complete with their families and an optional technology-enhancement.

Healthy Choices in Motion

The curriculum is organized into five sequential modules that begin with foundational skills and build to more complex skills:


Newsletters

Healthy Choices in Motion newsletters are designed to be sent home with the student and engage youth and adults with games and examples of physical activity that can be done with the entire family. Newsletters include content related to the benefits of physical activity, physical activity recommendations, the components of physical fitness, and the importance of engaging in a variety of physical activity.


Training

The UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools has created an online training to help you get
started with Healthy Choices in Motion. This training provides an overview of the curriculum and demonstrations for each of the physical activities in which the students will engage.


To access the Online Training, complete the following steps:

  1. Request access to the Online Training by completing the online form.
  2. Once you’ve submitted the online form, you will receive an email from Canvas within the next one to two business days to let you know that you’ve been granted access to the course.
  3. Click on the link in the email to be taken to Canvas, where you can either log into your existing Canvas account or create a free account if you don’t currently have one.

 

Now you’re ready to get started with the Online Training! We recommend having the curriculum open as you go through the training modules. While the online course reviews the main points of each curriculum module, you will need to read the curriculum for the full, detailed activity procedures.