Links

Sport New Zealand

Sport New Zealand provides free downloads of their Developing Fundamental Movement Skills booklets for children ages 5-12 years. The booklets feature dozens of simple games and activities to help children develop movement skills such as running, jumping, throwing, hopping, skipping, and more. Each booklet also includes information for teachers to understand the movements so they can teach the key elements of body mechanics.

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True Sport Experience

The True Sport Experience – Volume 1: FUNdamentals is a resource for educators of children ages 6 to 9 years. It presents a series of physical activities that facilitate learning ethical principles in sport and physical activity alongside physical literacy. The activities align with current Canadian physical education curriculum, and they can be applied in and out of the classroom, as well as in the community.

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Wonderschool Learn at Home Guides

These free Learn-at-Home Guides from Wonderschool present research-backed ideas and activities to support learning at home. The activities are designed for children 1-5 years-old, but they can be scaled up for older children.

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The Ability Toolkit: Children with a Disability

The Ability Toolkit was developed to help parents and guardians support their child or teen with a disability meet the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth. The Toolkit provides tips for adapting the movement guidelines to the unique abilities of children or teenagers with any type of disability. This resource is best suited for clinical practitioners working with parents to promote physical activity for their child or teen with a disability.

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Early Years Physical Literacy resources

Early Years Physical Literacy offers a suite of free resources and tools for measuring and developing children’s physical literacy in the early years. The Physical Literacy Observation Tool (PLOT) is a guide to help early childhood educators to observe their children’s fundamental movement skills so they can enhance their program planning, activities, and play-based environments. The APPLE Seeds program supports educators in providing fun, exciting, and meaningful opportunities to develop their children’s physical literacy with activities that run for 45-60 minutes. APPLE Seeds is based on the APPLE model.

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Indigenous Sport Heroes

These lesson plans provided by the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame are intended to inspire further learning and relationship building with Indigenous Peoples. They were designed to help teachers to integrate holistic teaching methods that recognize the many distinct Indigenous histories, cultures, pedagogies, traditional languages, and traditional knowledge systems.

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Coaching Association of Canada “Get Coaching” online tutorials

Are you coaching with a community sport association, or thinking to start? These free online tutorials from the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) present tips, tools, and downloadable coaching resources to help you. Content includes how to prepare, plan, deliver, and conclude effective practices. Whether you are a first timer, or you have been coaching for a few years, you will find these tutorials informative and easy to use.

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Creating a Quality Physical Literacy Experience

Developed by Sport for Life and Dr. Dean Kriellaars, this series of short videos shows educators, coaches, and activity leaders how to create quality physical literacy programming for children. Each video explains a key component of physical literacy and how to address it in a program setting. Supplementary information and resources are provided after each video.

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Learn Sports sport skill videos

Learn Sports is a free online video resource designed for teachers and coaches of elementary school-aged children. It features Olympians in a series of short videos demonstrating the component parts of a variety of sports and skills. Teachers and coaches with little knowledge of a given sport or skill can play these videos in a classroom, in a gym, or on a playing field to guide the participants in the activity.

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Inclusive physical literacy resources

The inclusive physical literacy web portal presents a list of different adapted physical literacy programs and resources across Canada. As organizations and agencies work to promote physical literacy for all Canadians, these resources can provide guidance on creating programs that are inclusive of all abilities. There is also a link to a 2-hour webinar discussion of inclusive physical literacy.

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PE Central

PE Central provides over 2200 activity lessons arranged in categories for Preschool, K-Grade 2, Grades 3-5, and Grades 6-8. There is also a section with information on adapted activities for children with disabilities. Start with their index of lesson plans.

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Canadian Olympic School Program

The Canadian Olympic School Program (COSP) offers over 100 free online education resources for promoting safer and more inclusive sport environments, spreading Olympic values, and engaging Canadians in adopting and maintaining active lifestyles. The resources and lessons have been written by teachers for educators, athletes, coaches and community groups.

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PE Universe

PE Universe is a website designed specifically for physical educators to share activity ideas and videos. It also provides discussion forums where educators can ask questions and find solutions to issues in teaching. Start exploring at the site home page.

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PE Scholar

PE Scholar is a resource site for physical educators that offers everything from lesson plans for individual skills to multi-week curricula in different sports and activities. The site also includes a video section where you can watch and share videos covering a wide range of topics relating to PE teaching, exercise, and wellness. The site home page is the best place to start.

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Coaching Association of Canada Fundamental Movement Skills workshops

Not sure how to instruct a child to improve their running form, or how to improve their throwing? These workshops will teach you, in detail, how to instruct, observe, and correct fundamental movement skills such as throwing, catching, kicking, jumping, and running. Each workshop provides participants with plenty of opportunity to practise teaching these skills. There are separate workshops designed for coaches, school teachers, recreation leaders, and parents.

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Outside Play

Outside Play provides information to help parents and communities to encourage kids to play outside and take healthy risks in play. This website also provides online tools for parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators to reflect on their own understanding of the benefits of outdoor play and risky play.

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REACH classroom dance resources

Through the Sharing Dance program, Canada’s National Ballet School has created downloadable lesson plans, video content, music, and other resources to help teachers introduce students to dance. No dance experience is necessary to facilitate or participate in these lessons. Resources and tools include resources for ages 6-12, printable activity plans, online videos, and downloadable music.

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Playing to Learn in the Early Years

This webinar was delivered by Professor Dawne Clark of Mount Royal University in 2017 and explains the theory and practice of promoting learning through active play in early years education. These slides provide a succinct overview of the major points of the webinar. You can also listen to the webinar recording online.

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Have a Ball Together early childhood resource

Have a Ball Together is a website for early childhood educators and parents who want to give children the right start in physical activity. Produced through Health Nexus’ Best Start initiative, the website features a long list of age-appropriate physical activities and games for children ages 0-6 years. It also has fact sheets on children and physical activity, and tips and ideas for getting children active.

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Indigenous sport heroes education experience

This free digital book shares the stories of the 14 Indigenous athletes inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. By initiating conversations about equity and inclusion through the lens of sport, this resource was developed to help foster a more informed, united, and inclusive Canada. Educational elements include 12 sets of K-12 lesson plans, multimodal chapters, provincial learning outcomes, digital education interactivities, and more.

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Mental Health and Sport Research

The Coaching Association of Canada’s Mental Health and Sport Resource Hub provides tools and information to guide conversations about mental health and overcome stigma. This free online portal offers training and resources for coaches to develop mental health literacy and positive practices for improving performance and well-being in sport.

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Run Jump Throw Wheel physical literacy program

The Run Jump Throw Wheel is a program for children 6-12 years that teaches fundamental movement skills and develops physical literacy using track and field activities and games. Developed by Athletics Canada, the program is delivered by different partners in a variety of formats throughout Canada. Whether you are already running a sport program for children or looking to start something new, Athletics Canada can help you with instructor training, equipment, tools, and templates to deliver the Run Jump Throw Wheel program.

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CSEP 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) has produced the world’s first 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (5-17 years). The guidelines make evidence-based recommendations for balancing amounts of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep each day, emphasizing how children and youth need to “Sweat, Step, Sleep and Sit” through each 24-hour period.

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BrainFutures

BrainFutures is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the practical application of brain neuroscience research in society, including student education. The BrainFutures report Brain Fitness and Executive Function presents a vetted set of brain fitness programs that meet the evidence-based standards of the U.S. federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Interventions reviewed include cognitive training, mindfulness, and executive function skills curricula. Outcomes include increases in proficiency on math and reading tests, improvements in school-administered tests of core subjects, reductions in disruptive classroom behaviors, and increases in prosocial behaviors.

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Canadian Paralympic FUNdamentals physical literacy resource

The Canadian Paralympic Committee has developed an excellent suite of free teaching resources to help teachers introduce children in grades 2-6 to the fundamentals of four different parasports. In addition to the teaching plans and activity outlines, there is also an online course for teachers to familiarize themselves with principles and tips for building inclusion in the classroom. Users are required to create an online account and register to access the resources, but registration is completely free.

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Hop Family Resource

The Hop Family Resource presents 50 play activities to help children ages 3–5 years to develop physical movement, verbal activities, early literacy, and healthy eating. Each activity describes the benefits for the child, as well as directions that include necessary equipment, location, safety tips, and notes on additional resources.

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Outdoor Play resource

Children’s outdoor play is being increasingly recognized as essential for their healthy development. This page at the Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development provides a useful information sheet, discussion, and further links for anyone interested in learning more about the benefits of children’s outdoor play and how to promote it.

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Let’s Move in Libraries

Let’s Move in Libraries is a website for library professionals to share ideas and resources for promoting physical activity in their communities. With their substantial public reach, libraries have the capacity to encourage activity for people of all ages through initiatives as diverse as yoga classes, cycling groups, walking groups, circulation of fitness equipment, and much more. Be sure to check out the Resources section of the website.

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Sport for Life (S4L)

Sport for Life (S4L) has created the Physical Literacy Assessment Youth (PLAY) tools to help coaches, educators, and parents to assess the fundamental movement skills (FMS) and overall physical literacy of children. Sport for Life (S4L) has prepared this Physical Literacy Movement Preparation Guide as a multi-purpose warm-up for sport and activity. It describes and illustrates exercises that are also designed to improve children’s movement mechanics so they have reduced risk of injury during activity. S4L has also prepared this simple booklet as an overview of physical literacy.

Parent/Coach coaching handbook

Are you coaching children at the community level? This practical and excellent handbook provides tips and tools to help you understand your role as a coach, create a safe and positive environment, promote positive values, and plan and manage practices and games.

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Who’s who in the physical literacy sector

This page archives webinars conducted by Drew Mitchell, looking at the sector of physical literacy in Canada.

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American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Dance and Recreation (AAHPERD)

AAHPERD promotes research and provides resources for health and physical education, dance and sport. This one-page Life Chart describes five “standards” that children should reach in developing physical literacy.

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Outdoor Play: A Canadian Toolkit

This 78-page document is intended to support anyone in early childhood education and recreation who wants to help promote children’s outdoor play. It was created because of growing concerns that children are overprotected when playing outdoors or stopped from going outside altogether.

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Beyond the win education platform

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame’s Beyond the Win Education Platform connects you to lesson plans, resources, and artefacts related to some of Canada’s great sport heroes. These cross-curricular, interactive, and engaging resources are designed to inspire students with the invaluable lessons of sport.

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Activities Guide: Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills

This 16-page guide from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University describes a variety of activities and games that adults can use to support and strengthen various components of executive function and self-regulation in children. Each chapter of the guide contains activities suitable for a different age group, from infants to teenagers.

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I Move We Move preschool activity guide

The I Move We Move physical activity resource has been developed with early childhood and infant movement specialists to get preschoolers moving and developing fundamental movement skills. This resource helps early childhood professionals to create fun, developmentally-appropriate, active play experiences for the children in their care.

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Play in Peel

Play in Peel helps educators and parents improve children’s physical literacy so they can be active for life. Play in Peel is collaborative, community partnership between Child Development Resource Connection Peel, the City of Mississauga, Peel District School Board, Region of Peel Public Health, and Sport for Life.

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Coaching Kids of All Abilities instructional program

Coaching Kids of All Abilities is an online program that teaches coaches and youth activity leaders how to create inclusive environments for children and youth of all abilities. Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities developed the program in partnership with Sport For Life Society, Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, Canucks Autism Network, Coaching Association of Canada, and Défi sportif AlterGo.

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Keeping Girls in Sport instructional program

Keeping Girls in Sport is an online program that teaches coaches and youth activity leaders how to create engaging sport and physical activity programming for girls. Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities developed the program in partnership with the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport, together with the subject matter expertise of Dr. Vicki Harber, professor emeritus in the faculty of physical education and recreation at the University of Alberta.

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NSTEP Nutrition and Physical Activity

NSTEP is a Canadian organization that teaches children healthy habits in nutrition and physical activity through school- and community-based outreach programming.

NSTEP programs provide simple messaging to clarify the science of nutrition and activity, while emphasizing the core message that healthy eating and activity lead to healthy brains.

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Outdoor Playbook

The Outdoor PLAYbook is a website providing leading research and best practices to transform schoolyards into dynamic environments for learning, growing, and playing. Content includes discussion and research around landscape architecture, sustainable design, economic and phasing strategies, child development, injury prevention, and outdoor educational opportunities.

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A Hop, Skip, and a Jump: Enhancing Physical Literacy

This document is a collection of activities developed at Mount Royal University to promote the development of physical literacy in preschool children. It describes structured physical activities that can be delivered with basic equipment and spaces that most early childhood centres possess. The activities focus on building basic gross motor skills that are important in early childhood development.

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The Role of Play in Any Setting

This video shows how play helps children to develop resilience, problem solving, and social skills. Experts discuss how play helps develop responsive relationships, strengthen core life skills, and reduce stress.

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Unstructured Play resources by CPHA

The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) has written a position statement on the need for children’s unstructured play, and their website provides a number of research summaries, infographics, decision-making tools, and descriptions of promising practices to help parents and educators in supporting unstructured play.

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Physical Literacy Handbook for Early Childhood Educators

This handbook helps Early Childhood Educators to incorporate fundamental movement skills into their daily programming to promote physical literacy in children under the age of six.

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Let’s Play activities for children with mobility impairments

Let’s Play provides basic tools for teachers and rec programmers to deliver inclusive physical activity programs for kids with physical disabilities and mobility impairments. The Let’s Play activities page provides a long list of fun physical activities and games. Each activity description outlines the setup, rules, objectives, equipment, time required, and number of participants. Let’s Play also provides hints and suggestions for making activities more inclusive on their Modifications and Adaptations page.

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Fit Kids Healthy Kids

The Fit Kids Healthy Kids web resource provides an extensive list of fun, non-competitive and inclusive games that develop fundamental movement skills. The games and activities are easy to search, and the instructions are clear and concise. In addition, short videos illustrate how each game is played. Fit Kids Healthy Kids is an excellent resource for developing physical literacy through low-organized games, stationed play, dance, modified sport, and free play.

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ParticipACTION

ParticipACTION is your go-to source for information on physical activity, sport participation and sedentary behaviour. The benefits and guidelines section outlines the amount and type of physical activity needed at every age and stage of life – and the annual ParticipACTION Report Card provides the most comprehensive assessment of child and youth physical activity in Canada.

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Musicalité

Musicalité creates interactive musical experiences for young children from 0 to 6 years old, using an intuitive approach to learning music through movement. Their programs are used in early childhood centres and daycares. Their newest program, Toutoui, includes 54 online videos that guide children through the exploration of music through movement.

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Canucks Autism Network – Tip sheets for parents and coaches

The Canucks Autism Network (CAN), in collaboration with viaSport, has developed 10 tip sheets for coaches and community recreation staff to reference when supporting athletes with autism in a sports and recreation or community setting. These tip sheets are invaluable to any sport coaches, administrators, and parents who are working to involve children with autism in sport and recreation programming.
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PHE Canada

Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE Canada) champions healthy, active kids by promoting and advancing quality health and physical education opportunities and healthy learning environments. Supporting community champions with quality programs and resources, professional development services, and community activation initiatives, PHE Canada inspires all to live healthy, physically active lives. Find out more at www.phecanada.ca.

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Passport for Life by PHE Canada

Passport for Life is a tool for teachers to assess and monitor the ongoing development of their students’ physical literacy. It includes a web-based application to record and track student assessment data, as well as teacher resources to help students to improve their physical literacy based on their assessments.

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