Physical Best: Physical Education for Lifelong Fitness and Health

Physical educators play a critical role in shaping the health and fitness of America’s youth—and Physical Best, Fourth Edition, is the resource that will help them achieve success in that role.

Physical Best,  developed by experts identified by SHAPE America, has long been the  standard in the field for health-related fitness education, and this  latest rendition is the best and most complete package yet: 

• A comprehensive, three-in-one resource. The entire Physical Best program was previously spread over three books (Physical Education for Lifelong Fitness, Physical Best Activity Guide—Elementary Level, and Physical Best Activity Guide—Middle and High School Levels).  It now is offered in one all-inclusive resource to reinforce the scope  and sequence of the program so teachers can see what comes before and  after the grade levels they teach.
• Updated material to address standards. All  chapters and activities are updated to address SHAPE America’s National  Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education.  Teachers can be confident they are measuring student progress  effectively.
• New or revised chapters. Teachers  will benefit from the new information on the latest research,  technology, power training, professional development, best practices,  and more.
• An attractive four-color layout. The text now features four-color illustrations.
• A web resource that includes K-12 activities. With  previous editions, the activities were housed in two separate books,  one for elementary teachers and one for middle and secondary teachers.  Now, all activities are on the accompanying web resource, where teachers  can sort the activities by standard, grade, outcome, and skill and then  use them on a mobile device or download and print them. Most activities  are supported by ready-to-use reproducible forms such as handouts,  assessments, posters, and worksheets.

 Other useful web ancillaries include an instructor guide to help teachers deliver effective lessons, a test package that teachers can use to create various types of tests and quizzes, and a presentation package that offers slides with key points and graphics from the book.

Physical Best meets needs on many levels. For veteran teachers, it outlines strategies for emphasizing health-related fitness in their existing programs. New teachers will  benefit from the specific examples from master teachers and be able to  use this guidance for creating an effective fitness education program.  For teacher education programs, it provides an overview of current research, trends, and best practices in health-related fitness. And for district coordinators, it reinforces professional development training and continued education.

This latest edition of the official SHAPE America resource is organized into four parts: 

• Part I offers  an in-depth look at physical activity behavior and motivation and  explores basic training principles. An expanded chapter on nutrition  covers the foundations of a healthy diet and reflects the most  up-to-date USDA guidelines.
• Part II examines health-related fitness concepts: cardiorespiratory endurance,  muscular strength, muscular endurance, power, flexibility, and body  composition. The text supplies tips for addressing each fitness  component within a program.
• Part III presents strategies for integrating health-related fitness education  throughout the curriculum, employing best teaching practices, and being  inclusive in the gym, on the field, and in the classroom.
• In part IV,  readers study assessment and learn assessment strategies for effective  teaching and health-related programming. They discover how to collect  and use assessment results and how to assess fitness concept knowledge.

Physical Best helps  teachers impart the skills and knowledge that students need to become  physically literate—the first step to leading healthier, less stressful,  and more productive lives. It details best practices, provides current  content, and shows how to integrate health-related fitness education  into an existing curriculum. It helps students meet standards and  grade-level outcomes. It can help spark student interest in lifelong  physical activity. And it will help teachers be the best physical  educators they can be as they shape the future health of the nation.