By Matthew Bassett
Part 2 of a 2 part series.
m Option #2 (Movement Oriented Activity)
A second way to cover your expectations has a movement focus. Students are given the expectations handout at the start of class (with lots of blank lines on the handout) and told that they will be completing a scavenger hunt for class. I divide the students into groups of two or three students. Each group is given a scavenger hunt map before starting. My biggest rule for the scavenger hunt is to stay together. Students can run, walk or jog but they have to stay with their partner/group. I also have listed a well defined boundary for the activity since I cannot allow the students to wander across the whole campus. I typically keep them on our athletic field for this activity. I make sure to tell the students where I am going to stand (in the middle of the activity area) so they can come to ask questions if they need help. It is important to also make sure you cover how you are going to stop the class at the end of the period before you dismiss the students since they have not learned dismissal procedures this early in the year.
This method of presenting the expectations has been enjoyable to watch. Students would rather learn the information while moving. The students also enjoy the social aspect of the activity. The competitive students run the whole time and the non-competitive students walk. My students do not have to change for PE so this works well even if your kids are not required to dress out already.
Closure
Both of these methods have proven effective for teaching my students about my expectations. The greatest part of getting students moving is that after a long summer my voice doesn’t take a beating the first week of school. Students are able to learn the materials just as effectively as through lecture and they enjoy the method of learning way more than if I was lecturing. Maybe it’s time I try and develop more lessons from information I thought could only be learned by lecturing.
Tags: behavior problems, class expectations, Classroom management, pedagogy, physical activity, physical education