Category: Adapted PE

Physical education and health education classes should be designed to benefit all children regardless of their abilities. Writers share information within the Adapted category about different types of disabilities and how teachers can create learning experiences appropriate for all learning levels.

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It Takes a Village to Make 50 Million Strong by 2029

I wasn’t at the SHAPE America Convention in 2015 when the 50 Million Strong by 2029 commitment was announced. I missed the emotional convention hall moment that physical education teachers attending received. In my mind, I imagine it similar to a political convention where groups of like-minded people cheer on a passionate speaker introducing a new life-changing idea.

But I heard about 50 Million Strong after the event. A friend of mine told me about it and while I wanted to feel the energy, my first reaction consisted of adjectives like unattainable, improbable, idealistic, and vague. It wasn’t that I didn’t share the vision that SHAPE America leaders were aspiring to, it was that I didn’t see how the change could happen. I thought to myself, so many great teachers are working hard every day, how is this 50 Million Strong slogan going to make a difference?

Nonetheless, while I still wasn’t really certain about my role in the commitment, I decided to use the 50 Million Strong slogan to promote my 1st Annual Family Fitness Night. At the beginning of the night, I did my best to explain SHAPE America’s 50 Million Strong commitment and our school program that was committed to creating “380 Southdown Strong.” The night was a huge success. Students, parents and the administration were intrigued and excited. I was ecstatic. I had seen the light!

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Join PEPEPTalk in Supporting National Physical Education and Sport Week May 1-7

It’s time for all physical educators to celebrate National Physical Education and Sport Week, May 1-7th. This special week focuses on sharing, improving and celebrating the schools, classes, children and families that benefit daily from the work of America’s health and physical education teachers. Learn more about what teachers can do to help celebrate this week with their students here: http://www.shapeamerica.org/events/pesportweek/

At PEPEPTalk (pronounced PE Pep Talk) we believe it is important not only to celebrate the value of physical education classes and what more and more teachers are doing to succeed with SHAPE America’s 50 Million Strong commitment, but also to celebrate the hands that mold and the feet that guide this critically important work.

Health and physical education teachers play such a vital role in preparing today’s youth for healthy, productive, and happy future lives. At PEPTalk we are striving to validate, encourage and celebrate the work of our teachers. PEPEPTalk provides teachers with resources to help keep the teaching fire burning, and for those who need it a way to reignite the lost flame.

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What Exactly is 50 Million Strong by 2029?

(This essay was originally published on SHAPE America’s member Exchange [April, 2016] and is reprinted with permission.)

For much of the past year as SHAPE America president, I’ve written extensively about 50 Million Strong by 2029. Since announcing 50 Million Strong to great fanfare at last year’s national convention, SHAPE America board members and staff have made every effort to explain exactly what it is at state conferences, on Exchange, in news releases and social media, and elsewhere. Collectively, we’ve traveled thousands of miles, devoted hundreds of hours, and spoken countless times in an effort to mobilize the physical education and health education professions to support what is in reality a revolutionary change in what we do.

Clearly however, communicating exactly what this change means to others is not easy. In puzzling over the challenge, I was reminded of the party game in which guests try to guess a song title. You remember? Someone tries to tap out a well-known tune on a table. Despite “hearing” the tune clearly in one’s head it’s often impossible to get others to recognize it.

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Making the Physical Education Environment Handicap Accessible

This article presents some of the main guidelines mandated by the Architecture Barrier Act 1968 (ABA) and American with Disabilities Act 1990 (ADA), as well as suggestions to make the physical education environment compliant with the laws. These laws work together to help ensure buildings are readily accessible and services are readily achievable.

Between 1968-2008 amendments were made to improve the law’s ability to meet the unique needs of people with disabilities. However, following the “letter of the law” and the “intent” of the law is not the same. Accessibility is more than ramps, parking spaces, and dimensions of restrooms. Accessibility also impacts equipment, playing fields, pathways, programs, and polices that all contribute to the environment promoting equal access. We encourage all physical educators to go beyond what is legally required and make real changes that allow all students with disabilities full access and enjoyment in physical education.

When thinking about accessibility it’s important ask yourself, “Can a student who uses a wheelchair, access and participate in the activity?” If a students who uses a wheelchair either manual or battery powered can participate successfully, then the environment should be appropriate for all levels of disability. However, if the answer is “No,” then your program or services are not readily achievable and accessible to all.

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Addressing the Activity Gap

Most teachers I know are always looking for ways to improve their practice so they can better serve their students. We strive to develop more effective assessments, more engaging lessons, better classroom management techniques, stronger interpersonal relationships, the list goes on endlessly.

When I reflect on my own teaching and try to answer the question “How can I better serve my students?” I find myself challenged with a related question, “Where should I strive to have most impact?” Should it be in the gym and on the fields, or on the streets and in the yards?

I have always been a firm believer that a strong physical education program (among many things) serves as the foundation for a healthy life, but wonder whether my teaching reflects this. It is easy to say that PE can provide the foundation for healthy living, it is even cliché to a degree, but I still wonder, “Am I truly teaching all of my students how to do it?”

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50 Million Strong: Utilizing the Universal Design for Learning to Reach All Children

50 Million Strong (50MS) includes all children as seen on the photo on the 50MS literature from SHAPE America. This image depicts children that come from diverse backgrounds with a range of skills and abilities. Our job as educators is to address the needs of all students, including those with disabilities. Because many physical education teachers have only one or two courses related to teaching inclusively, programming can be difficult. We have assembled a few important points that every teacher must keep in mind:

  1. Children with disabilities are children first!
  2. All children must have access to the curriculum and be offered similar units of instruction as their peers even if they are in a self-contained, modified, smaller class, or an inclusive class. In other words, physical therapy does not count as physical education.
  3. When conducting assessments, they must be assessed with everyone else and their scores must count towards educational outcomes.
  4. If they have a paraeducator who works with them in physical education, the para should be trained to ensure that the child is safe and receives the best education.
  5. Adapted Physical Education (APE) is a service NOT a placement. APE can be delivered in any setting. It is how the class is taught; not where it is taught.
  6. Lastly, the Universal Design for Learning approach should be adopted as a teaching strategy so that every child who walks in to the gymnasium will access the curriculum.

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a teaching approach that takes into account every child and their learning style. It started in 1990 with the passage of the American’s with Disabilities Act, addressing the primary barriers to educational opportunity.

UDL embraces the ethos that every child be included, and have access to the general education curriculum. Variations in equipment, rules, instruction and environment are planned when the lesson is created and NOT as an afterthought at the bottom of a lesson plan.

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Healthy Hearts Lead to 50 Million Strong Kids!

(This essay was originally published on SHAPE America’s member Exchange [February, 2016] and is reprinted with permission.)

February is Heart Month. Time again for America’s physical educators and health educators to celebrate the value of what we do best: keeping kids healthy.  In our increasingly sedentary and fast-food-focused world, cardiovascular disease remains the nation’s leading cause of death. It’s estimated close to 1 million lives are lost annually, which represents about one of every 2.5 US deaths. None of us remain untouched.

Because many of these deaths are the result of poor lifestyle choices they are often preventable. Inactivity, poor nutrition and tobacco use are chief among the causes, which makes the work of health and physical educators top among the solutions.

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