FAQs

Is 20 minutes enough physical activity?

New Physical Activity Guidelines for all Canadians were released in January 2011 by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). The new guidelines recommend that all Canadians 'move more and sit less', and although the recommended minimum levels of physical activity for children and adults have been reduced - from 90 minutes to an hour a day for kids and teens, and from an hour a day to 150 minutes a week for adults - the intent is that people be physical active more often and do so at a higher intensity. The new guidelines are more in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and other developed countries.

Introducing a minimum of 20 minutes of daily physical activity consistently during the instruction time of the school day is only the beginning to attaining a healthy active lifestyle. Parents, caregivers and communities also have a responsibility to support and enhance physical activity opportunities for children and youth so that they can work towards meeting the recommendations set out in the Physical Activity Guidelines.

What is moderate to vigorous activity?

Moderate physical activity causes some increase in breathing and/or heart rate, but not enough to prevent an individual from carrying on a conversation comfortably during the activity. Examples of moderate physical activity are brisk walking and recreational dancing.

Vigorous physical activity is aerobic activity, which increases the breathing and heart rates enough for cardio respiratory conditioning. This type of activity may, depending on fitness level, cause puffing, so that talking is possible but the ability to carry on a conversation is limited. The amount of time required for a vigorous activity is dependent on age and stage of development. Examples of vigorous physical activity are jogging and aerobic dancing.

What are the benefits of DPA?

There are a wide variety of benefits to DPA, including:

Health Benefits:

  • Contributes to optimal growth and development
  • Decreases obesity and helps maintain a healthy weight
  • Builds healthy bones and muscles
  • Develops muscular strength and endurance
  • May improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels
  • Lays foundation for positive attitudes toward physical activity resulting in lasting healthy habits which will reduce the risk for chronic diseases as an adult (e.g., coronary heart disease, colon cancer, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis)

Academic Benefits:

  • Promotes learning and creativity
  • Influences ability to learn, think, remember and be creative
  • Improves academic performance (includes grade point average and standardized test scores)
  • Benefits in the areas of observation, problem-solving and decision-making

Mental Benefits:

  • Increases levels of alertness, mental function and learning
  • Improvements in concentration, memory and ability to master new information
  • Reduces anxiety and stress
  • Enhances confidence and self esteem and elevates mood

Behavioural Benefits:

  • Improved attention span
  • Better attendance
  • Reduces disruptive behaviors
  • Increases positive attitudes regarding school
  • Active children are less likely to smoke or use drugs and are more likely to stay in school

(The Active Link, Issue 1, Fall 2006)

Can DPA be incorporated as part of a Health and Physical Education Class?

Yes. A minimum of 20 minutes or more of physical activity during a scheduled health and physical education class would meet the daily physical activity requirement. However, on days when a health and physical education class does not include physical activity, or on days when no such class is scheduled, other opportunities for at least 20 minutes of physical activity during the instructional day must be provided. Physical activity may be incorporated into the instructional day in a variety of ways. For example: integrate physical activity into other curriculum areas.

Note: DPA time should not replace physical education classes. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate DPA as one component of a physical education class where there is sufficient time for students to be engaged in sustained physical activity for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Is DPA part of the revised Health & Physical Education Curriculum?

Yes, DPA is included as a requisite part of a comprehensive health and physical education program. Students must have an opportunity to engage in at least twenty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. DPA is included in the Active Living strand of the revised curriculum.

Can DPA be done as a whole school?

Yes. There are many opportunities for schools to plan, coordinate and schedule DPA time that can be done as a whole school.

  • As part of a morning/afternoon announcements
  • Rotating schedule in order to avoid one class being continually impacted
  • One day a week where physical activity is schedule for the entire school to participate in physical activity together (e.g. Active Wednesdays, Fitness Fridays)
  • Before, during or after an assembly
  • Special events (e.g., physical activity days, seasonal themes/celebrations, school spirit days, community events, fundraising events, etc.)

Can the minimum of 20 minutes be scheduled into two 10 minute segments?

Implementation of the policy may be at different stages for individual classes and consideration must be given to the scheduling of classes and to the wide range of students’ needs and abilities daily physical activity may occur in several short sessions (a minimum of ten minutes each) over the course of the school day with a goal to achieve a minimum of 20 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous daily physical activity.

Can DPA be implemented at recess or during lunch time?

No. All elementary students, including students with special needs, must be provided with an opportunity to participate in a minimum of 20 minutes of daily physical activity during instructional time. Recess and/or lunch time can provide great opportunities for children to be physically active at school, however recess and/or lunch time is not considered part of the instructional day. Providing additional opportunities outside of instructional time during recess and lunch time, will allow students to participate in their own student led activities and expand upon their experiences acquired during instructional time.

Do you have any tips for overcoming barriers to implementing DPA?

Here are a few suggestions for organizing and executing DPA within a school or classroom.
Physical Education Class:

  1. Physical Education Class:
    • DPA can be incorporated into a physical educaiton class - physical education class must allow for sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least twenty minutes
  2. School-wide DPA:
    • Whole school participates in the same activity at the same time
      • in individual classrooms (using music over the PA)
      • all students in one area (e.g., student leaders in the gymnasium)
    • Whole school participates at same time - activity left up to teacher
  3. Individual Classroom DPA:
    • Take 2-3 minutes from each class/period/subject area and create a 20-minute DPA block
      • Block can be positioned at one consistent time in the school day where the home room teacher delivers the DPA on the days when the class does not have physical education
    • Classroom teacher allocates a DPA block of time during their home room schedule. This should be rotated through the different homeroom subject areas (e.g., Monday - History, Tuesday - Language)
    • Classroom teacher integrates DPA with other subjects (e.g., plans a walk across Canada in Geography; learns a folk dance in Social Studies, action spelling activity during literacy block)
  4. Combination of school-wide and Individual Classroom DPA:
    • Whole school participates for 10 minutes in the morning and classroom teacher allocates 10 minutes of DPA during homeroom time on days when physical education is not scheduled
  5. Get families involved:
    • Organize Family Fit Nights where parents, siblings and other family members can participate in DPA activities after school hours
    • Organize "Bring a Ball, Have a Ball" opportunities - parents provide sport and physical activity equipment to create a class set of equipment for use by the whole class during DPA
  6. Provide cross-curricular connections.
    • DPA can be connected to math, language, social studies, science and technology, the arts and health. Many of Ophea's DPA Activity Cards provide these connections

How do I know if my DPA time is safe?

All teachers are responsible for the safety of the programs they teach. The health and physical education curriculum states that "to ensure physical safety, teachers must follow all board safety guidelines" (pg. 11). The DPA teacher guides provide sample safety guidelines that can be used that meet the curriculum policy requirement. For sport specific guidelines, Ophea’s Provincial Physical Education Safety Guidelines provide the minimum standard for safety for all physical activities.