Fitness for Life: Middle School

Fitness for Life: Middle School provides a foundation for students to be physically active and fit throughout their whole lives. This middle school version of the award-winning high school text Fitness for Life meets the new NASPE National Physical Education Standards and state standards, and it is an ideal companion to the FITNESSGRAM/ACTIVITYGRAM assessment program. This book includes everything that made the original Fitness for Life one of the most widely used and respected high school texts. In addition, Fitness for Life: Middle School follows the IDEA formula:
I = Integrates with other academic areas (e.g., math, science, language arts)
D = Developmentally appropriate for middle school students
E = Educationally and pedagogically sound
A = Articulates with the high school level Fitness for Life

In Fitness for Life: Middle School, students follow the recommendations of the Physical Activity Pyramid to perform the correct amounts and kinds of activities. They also learn these skills:
-Assess their own fitness levels and develop plans for improvement using short- and long-term goals
-Develop skills to help them build self-esteem, communicate effectively, deal with peer pressure, and handle other social concerns
-Understand how their bodies work so they can move more effectively and efficiently

Fitness for Life: Middle School is coauthored by Charles Corbin, a world-renowned expert in teaching lifetime fitness; Guy Le Masurier, who was an editor for Fitness for Life, Fifth Edition, and who coauthored the Children's Physical Activity Guidelines for NASPE; and Dolly Lambdin, a nationally recognized leader in the field.

The text includes 18 lessons organized into 9 chapters. The lessons guide students in developing the skills they need in order to enjoy physical activity and explore the topics of body composition and nutrition, aerobics, sports, recreation, flexibility, and muscle fitness. The final chapter focuses on how to develop a healthful, active living. Each chapter includes the following elements:
-Two lessons designed for the classroom portion of the class
-A “Moving Together” feature that uses physical activity scenarios to address social issues of importance to middle-schoolers
-A “Biomechanical Principles” feature that analyzes components of human movement
-A “Take It Home” feature that guides students in independent projects that reinforce classroom lessons and encourage community interaction
-A chapter review

There are other features throughout the book:
-“Fit Facts” that offer interesting facts about health and fitness
-Lesson vocabulary listing the key terms in each lesson
-Web addresses that direct students to the Fitness for Life Web site for more content
-Review questions for each lesson

Fitness for Life: Middle School not only sets the stage for high school by exposing middle-schoolers to a variety of developmentally appropriate and fun physical activities, but it also helps prepare them for a lifetime of health and fitness.