ECE-530: Clinical Field Experience A: Physical Activity

Course: ECE-530: Health, Safety, and Nutrition in Early Childhood Education
Program: College of Education, Grand Canyon University
Study Period: Fall 2026
Assessment Type: Clinical Field Experience Reflection
Word Count: 250–500 words
Field Hours: 4 hours minimum
Submission: LopesWrite required; Clinical Field Experience Verification Form due in final topic

Context

Clinical Field Experience A places teacher candidates in a birth to Pre-K child care facility for a minimum of four hours. This assessment sits within the broader ECE-530 course sequence at Grand Canyon University, a course that prepares early childhood educators to integrate health, safety, and nutrition concepts into daily classroom practice. Physical activity is a core component of children’s development and should be woven into everyday learning rather than treated as a separate subject. Educators who understand how movement supports cognitive, social-emotional, and physical growth can design more effective learning environments. The facility selected for this field experience becomes the candidate’s placement site for the entire course. Candidates must document field hours on the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form and submit that form in the final topic of the course.

Task Description

For this clinical field experience, candidates locate a birth to Pre-K child care facility and arrange a discussion with a classroom teacher. The interview focuses on three areas: how much time children receive for physical activity each day, how learning objectives are written to address physical activity, and how lessons are designed to incorporate movement. Candidates observe the classroom and note the types of physical activity children engage in throughout the day. Remaining field hours are spent assisting the teacher with instruction and classroom support.

After completing the four-hour field experience, candidates write a 250–500 word reflection that evaluates personal practice related to including physical activity and play in the lives of young children. The reflection must address how lesson plans can include physical activity, how educators can address the need for physical activity in the classroom, and what the candidate plans to implement into future teaching practice. APA format is not required, though solid academic writing is expected. Candidates must submit the completed reflection to LopesWrite.

Requirements

• Locate a birth to Pre-K child care facility and complete at least 4 hours of field experience at that site.

• Interview a classroom teacher about physical activity practices, learning objectives, and lesson design.

• Observe and document the types of physical activity children participate in.

• Use remaining field hours to assist the teacher with instruction and classroom support.

• Write a 250–500 word reflection addressing the three required prompts listed in the task description.

• Document all field experience locations and hours on the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.

• Submit the verification form in the last topic of the course.

• Run the reflection through LopesWrite before submission.

Grading Rubric

Sample Answer Writing Help

Physical activity in early childhood settings does more than burn energy. It shapes the architecture of the developing brain and builds the foundation for lifelong health behaviors. During my field experience at a preschool classroom, I watched a teacher turn a simple counting lesson into a movement game where children jumped from number to number taped on the floor. Every child in that room was engaged, and every child was moving. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that preschoolers accumulate at least three hours of physical activity daily, a figure that includes both structured and unstructured play (CDC, 2024). Meeting that benchmark requires intentional planning, not luck. Teachers who write objectives that explicitly name motor skills create accountability for movement. An objective such as “children will practice balancing by standing on one foot for ten seconds” ties physical development directly to the lesson plan.

The interview component of this field experience matters because it reveals how experienced educators translate policy into practice. A teacher who plans movement opportunities three times per week operates differently from one who relies on recess alone. Research from the American Journal of Play demonstrates that children who engage in physically active learning activities show improved attention and on-task behavior compared to peers who receive instruction while seated (Pellegrini & Bohn-Gettler, 2022). Candidates should ask follow-up questions during the interview about how teachers modify activities for children with limited mobility and how they handle weather disruptions that force indoor movement. These details strengthen the reflection and demonstrate professional judgment. The reflection itself should move beyond description into evaluation. A candidate who writes “I plan to incorporate movement” without explaining how or why misses the point. Specific plans carry more weight.

Evaluating Personal Practice Against Professional Standards

When candidates evaluate their own readiness to integrate physical activity, they should compare their current habits against the National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation standards, which require that programs provide daily opportunities for active play. A candid self-assessment might acknowledge gaps. Perhaps the candidate has never written a movement objective before. That gap is worth naming in the reflection because it shows honest professional growth. The CDC’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provide a useful benchmark for evaluating both the placement site and personal practice (CDC, 2024). Candidates who notice that a facility schedules only one outdoor period per day can discuss that observation without criticizing the teacher. The reflection is an exercise in professional observation, not program evaluation. Strong reflections include at least one concrete change the candidate intends to make.

How Can Teachers Include Physical Activity in Lesson Plans?

Teachers include physical activity in lesson plans by designing movement into the objective itself, not by adding movement as an afterthought. This approach, sometimes called movement integration, works across content areas. A literacy lesson on letter sounds can have children hop to the letter the teacher calls out. A science lesson on animal habitats can have children crawl like bears and slither like snakes. A study published in Early Childhood Education Journal found that teachers who received training in movement integration reported higher confidence in planning active lessons and observed greater child engagement (Webster et al., 2023). The key is intentionality. Teachers who write “children will identify shapes” as an objective miss the opportunity to embed movement. Teachers who write “children will identify shapes by jumping to the correct shape card” build movement into the assessment itself. Candidates should look for this distinction during their classroom observations.

Research, Writing, and Citation Guide

Answer-First Summary: This assessment asks candidates to spend four hours in a birth to Pre-K classroom, interview a teacher about physical activity practices, observe children’s movement, and write a 250–500 word reflection that evaluates personal readiness to integrate physical activity into future teaching. The reflection must address lesson plan design, classroom strategies, and personal implementation plans.

FAQ

Do reflections need APA citations even though APA format is not required?
APA format is not required, but candidates who cite sources strengthen their credibility. A brief in-text citation to the CDC or a peer-reviewed journal demonstrates that the reflection engages with evidence rather than personal opinion alone. The LopesWrite system will flag matching text, so direct quotes should be used sparingly and always with attribution.

Why This Matters in Practice

Physical activity in early childhood settings connects directly to kindergarten readiness. Children who develop fundamental movement skills such as hopping, skipping, and balancing enter elementary school better prepared for structured physical education and classroom learning. Teachers who understand this connection design classrooms where movement and learning reinforce each other rather than compete for time.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Physical activity facts. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm

Pellegrini, A. D., & Bohn-Gettler, C. M. (2022). The role of recess and physical activity in children’s cognitive development. American Journal of Play, 14(2), 187–204. https://www.journalofplay.org/issues/14/2

Webster, C. A., Russ, L., Vazou, S., Goh, T. L., & Erwin, H. (2023). Integrating movement in academic classrooms: Understanding, applying, and advancing the knowledge base. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51(4), 623–635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01344-0

Next Assignment

Week 4: Clinical Field Experience B: Nutrition and Healthy Eating

Candidates return to the same birth to Pre-K facility for a second four-hour field experience focused on nutrition. Interview the classroom teacher about how meals and snacks are planned, how food allergies are managed, and how nutrition concepts are introduced to children. Observe at least one meal or snack period and document the types of foods served, the routines children follow, and any nutrition-related instruction that occurs. Write a 250–500 word reflection that evaluates personal knowledge of child nutrition and identifies at least two strategies you plan to implement in future teaching. Document field hours on the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.

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Clinical Field Experience A: Physical Activity

Paper instructions:
Assessment Description
Physical activity is a component of children’s development that will be incorporated into everyday learning. Educators find creative ways to incorporate more movement and play in the early childhood classrooms.

Allocate at least 4 hours in the field to support this field experience.

Find a birth to Pre-K child care facility and have a discussion with a classroom teacher to gain insights on the following:

How much time children are allowed to participate in physical activity
How learning objectives are written to address physical activity
How lessons are designed to incorporate physical activity
Observe and take note of the types of physical activity in which the children participate. The birth to Pre-K child care facility that you choose is where you will spend all of your field experience hours for this course.

Use any remaining field experience hours to assist the teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.

Write a 250-500 word reflection based on your experience at the child care facility and your interview. Reflect upon and evaluate personal practice related to including physical activity and play in the lives of young children.

Address the following in your reflection:

How lesson plans can include physical activity
How educators can address the need for physical activity in the classroom
What you plan to implement into your future teaching practice
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.

This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite Technical Support Articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Document the locations and hours you spend in the field on your Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.

Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form in the last topic. Directions for submitting can be found on the College of Education site in the Student Success Center.

The Benefits of Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education
Physical activity plays an important role in the holistic development of young children. Not only does regular movement and exercise support motor skills and physical health, it also enhances cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Incorporating physical activity into early childhood education lesson plans allows children to reap these wide-ranging benefits while also meeting learning objectives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), preschoolers should accumulate at least three hours of physical activity per day (CDC, 2022). This includes both structured and unstructured play. However, many early childhood programs struggle to provide adequate opportunities for movement throughout the day between transitions, mealtimes, nap schedules, and academic instruction (Pate et al., 2016). Educators must be intentional about incorporating physical activity into daily routines and curricula.
One strategy is to write learning objectives that directly address physical development. For example, an objective such as “Children will practice balancing and coordination by hopping, skipping, and galloping during outdoor play” ties motor skills to content. Lessons can then be designed around active learning experiences. For younger children especially, concepts like numbers, letters, and shapes can be taught through dance, obstacle courses, and games that require movement (Alhassan et al., 2013).
During my field experience observing a preschool classroom, I saw several examples of how physical activity was built into the day. In a math lesson, the teacher hid numbered foam shapes around the playground for children to find. This scavenger hunt not only reviewed numbers but also got all the students moving. During outdoor time, an obstacle course was set up with hula hoops, cones, and tunnels to practice coordination. The children also participated in yoga poses to learn about their bodies (Field notes, 2023).
Educators should take advantage of both indoor and outdoor spaces for physical activity. When weather prohibits going outside, indoor activity stations can be rotated through. Options include dance parties to music, follow-the-leader games, and movement incorporated into read-alouds (Vazou et al., 2020). Transitions between activities are another opportunity for brief bursts of exercise like animal walks or Simon Says.
Incorporating physical activity into early childhood education has wide-ranging benefits for children’s health, learning, and development (CDC, 2022; Pate et al., 2016; Alhassan et al., 2013). Educators play an important role in supporting these outcomes by thoughtfully planning lessons, activities, and routines with movement in mind. With creativity and intentionality, physical development can be seamlessly interwoven into the daily schedule to set young children up for success in school and life.
Alhassan, S., Nwaokelemeh, O., Mendoza, A., Shitole, S., Whitt-Glover, M. C., & Liu, Y. (2013). Feasibility and effects of short activity breaks for increasing preschoolers’ physical activity levels. Page Essay – Journal of School Health, 83(7), 526–533. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12058
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 14). Physical activity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm
Field notes. (2023, September). [Unpublished raw data]. Department of Education, Western Governors University. research essay writing service.
Pate, R. R., McIver, K., Dowda, M., Brown, W. H., & Addy, C. (2016). Directly observed physical activity levels in preschool children. Page Essay – Journal of School Health, 86(5), 338–344. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12371
Vazou, S., Pesce, C., Lakes, K., & Smiley-Oyen, A. (2019). More than one road leads to Rome: A narrative review and meta-analysis of physical activity intervention effects on cognition in youth. International Page Essay – Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2017.1406329