Background Information for Teachers

These web sites offer general information on health, fitness, and nutrition. All include links to more sites with the information you need to engage middle school students in a topic. Some of the resources may also be of interest to other educators, coaches, and parents.

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Food and Nutrition Information Center http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=1

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Information Center, this web site is full of links to nutrition resources, such as subject- and grade-specific bibliographies, databases, and lesson plans. Need current information on the food pyramid, or ideas for food-related science fair projects? You'll find the resources you need at this site. MSP full record

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports http://www.fitness.gov/

You may remember going through the activities and tests provided by the President's Council when you were in gym class. This is the site for information about the President's Challenge as well as resources about health, physical activity, and fitness and sports. You can also access public service videos promoting exercise and nutrition. MSP full record

The Healthy Refrigerator http://www.healthyfridge.org/

This web site tells us how to stock our refrigerators with good nutrition choices for the whole family. The site is divided into four sections: The Healthy Fridge, Good Nutrition, Heart of the Matter, and Just for Kids. There's a list of 10 tips for maintaining a heart-healthy refrigerator. Enjoy your visit to this site and do a makeover on your own refrigerator! MSP full record

Shape Up America! Healthy Weight for Life http://www.shapeup.org/

Shape Up America! is a not-for-profit organization committed to raising awareness of obesity as a health issue. This site provides information about safe weight management, healthy eating, increased activity, and physical fitness. A pediatric BMI (Body Mass Index) assessment tool calculates BMI and plots BMI percentile on growth charts for children and teenagers. Teachers and coaches will find several physical fitness tests in the fitness center. MSP full record

MomsTeam.com http://www.momsteam.com/

Although this site was originally designed with moms in mind, it has evolved into a resource for all parents, as well as coaches and others working with young people. The site provides informative articles on kids who participate in sports. Users may select a particular sport and read articles pertaining to that sport, or select articles simply by age groups from under five to 14-18 years. The articles cover the usual topics such as nutrition, sports psychology, product recalls, and equipment. However, the most important articles may be the ones for parents on winning and losing, talking to the team coach, interacting with referees, and the like. Coaches may wish to direct parents to the site. MSP full record

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Copyright September 2006 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.