Category: Elementary School

Within this category, essays and articles focus on effectively teaching children in the pre-school and elementary grades. It’s a great place to find teaching tips and get advice from experienced practitioners.

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School’s Out for Summer…Let the Projects Begin!

I just completed my ninth year of teaching. It’s officially summer! For me, summer is a time to go to the beach, visit as many playgrounds as possible, eat sno-cones and popsicles, watch movies, spend time with my family, swim, and attend #PhysEd conferences. I intentionally carve out a ton of time to improve my pedagogy. Before the school year ends, I think of 3-4 big things I want to accomplish over the summer in order to get ready for the next school year. This year, I’ve chosen three summer projects, each inspired by someone in the #PhysEd and sport communities.

Summer Project #1: Attempt to Create a Yearly Unit Plan

Creating a yearly plan is something I’ve always wanted to do, but have felt there were limitations within my schedule to create one. Students at my school are enrolled in physical education for three quarters and health for one quarter. Our class rosters change slightly at the end of each quarter/grading period. The students’ schedules can even change during the school year, which means they may change class periods and/or teachers. As a result, my students’ physical education experiences vary greatly. There are always going to be units, activities, and concepts my students miss.

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We CAN All Get Along

“It is vital that when educating our children’s brains we do not neglect to educate their hearts.” ~ Dalai Lama

2016 is shaping up as the summer of much discontent. While it’s typically a time of great joy for teachers and their students — an opportunity to relax, reflect, and recharge — with all the depressing news and tragedies occurring in the world, it’s hard to smile through it all.

As physical educators you might be wondering, “What can I do in the new school year to help my students better understand, cope, and ultimately excel in today’s world?”

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Navigating the Space Between PA and PE

This year at the SHAPE America Convention and Expo in Minneapolis, MN I found myself finally swayed toward accepting SHAPE America’s commitment to 50 Million Strong by 2029. I had previously feared for the vitality and longevity of the Physical Education (PE) profession in the face of the inclusion of Physical Activity (PA). I worried, as did some of my peers, that the broad acceptance and adoption of PA would spell the cheaper and less regulated end of PE in districts where school boards seem to be ever looking for ways to save a buck. But I have since turned over a new leaf.

I’m hoping that the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which ushered in the inclusion of PE in a “well-rounded education” (a definition which includes PE along with traditional subjects like mathematics and English found on p. 298 of the ESSA), will encourage regularly scheduled, professionally led PE in all schools across the nation in the near future. As a result, I now see PA as an integral sub-section of PE that should be embraced as a kind of “supporting structure” through which PE is strengthened outside of the school grounds and instruction hours.

I have come to this conclusion on the heels of a good deal of reading and conversational exchange among PE professionals. Therefore, my idea for this article is to share resource materials for easy access along with a commentary on their use or inclusion.

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SHAPE America’s 50 Million Strong is a Vision not a Prescription

There’s a memorable scene in the popular Sandra Bullock movie “Miss Congeniality” in which she’s asked, “What is the one most important thing our society needs?” The audience greets her first response with confused looks and silence so Bullock’s character quickly adds “and world peace.” The mood of the room instantly transforms. The crowd smiles and enthusiastically applauds. World peace was a vision that struck a very visceral emotional connection. What’s not to like about world peace? It’s something society obviously needs and for most of us well worth supporting.

Noticeably, the reaction of the listening audience wasn’t to pause and demand a definition of “world peace.” They had no problem understanding the intent. Similarly, who among us has any problems understanding what it means to be educated, hard working, ethical, trustworthy, competitive, dependable, organized and so on. We don’t need definitions. We get it. Sure, we each have slightly different perspectives on what exactly these words mean, but in general we GET IT!

Why then is the notion of getting kids physically active and healthy (which is what 50 MS represents) proving so hard for some people to understand and support? It’s no different from “world peace.” Yes, we can slice and dice the vision up in an effort to come to some sort of precise definition but to what purpose? Who needs it? Just as all of us likely support “world peace,” surely all PHE professionals can agree that “getting kids physically active and healthy” is a good thing to rally behind.

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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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How America’s Physical Educators Can Succeed with 50 Million Strong by 2029

On the SHAPE America website 50 Million Strong by 2029 is described as follows:

 “SHAPE America wants to ensure that by the time today’s preschoolers graduate from high school in 2029, all of America’s students are benefiting from the skills, knowledge and confidence to enjoy healthy, meaningful physical activity.”

I like that our national organization has set a long-term goal that benefits all of America’s youth and requires a commitment from all physical educators across our nation. We live in exciting times where we have the opportunity to make an impact on future generations. So, “Count me in, SHAPE America – I’m planning to do my part toward succeeding with 50 Million Strong!“

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Having a Caring Moral: The Underlying Force Guiding Culturally Competent Physical Educators

As classrooms in the United States have become increasingly diverse and multicultural, it’s become more important for teachers to have cultural competency skills. Culturally responsive pedagogy in physical education supports engagement and learning among diverse learners (Weinstein, Curran, & Tomlinson-Clarke, 2003; Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke, & Curran, (2004).

Culturally competent physical educators acknowledge the cultural background of their students, advocate for ethnic groups, and make connections between students’ homes and school experiences. Moreover, culturally competent physical educators set high expectations for their students and utilize various teaching strategies to support multiple learning styles (Gay, 2000).

In their behaviors and methods” culturally competent physical educators exhibit an underlying “caring moral.” For example, both caring and culturally competent teachers have high expectations for their students despite cultural differences; they recognize students’ needs and are capable of developing close connections with their students. They create warm, encouraging classroom environments that emphasize learning. In this article I’ll explain how a “caring moral” is the underlying force guiding and supporting cultural competencies among physical education teachers.

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