Archive for the ‘Lesson Ideas’ Category

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A Tale of Two Whistles

Monday, July 20th, 2009
My Two Whistles

My Two Whistles

By John Kruse

Have you ever thought about what the best whistle is for a physical educator? I can’t say I’ve tried them all, however, I have tried two of the more popular makes.

On my first day of student teaching I showed up without a whistle and my master teacher handed me “The ACME Thunderer” stating that it was the best whistle. Not knowing any better, I took his word for it and somehow managed to make it through my student teaching without giving the subject of whistles much thought.

Years later, I misplaced my whistle and discovered it was difficult to get through the day without one. After all, I’m at a really big middle school and have to deal with the noise of eight or nine other teachers’ students. In desperation, I drove to the local Sport Chalet near my house and discovered that they did not sell “The ACME Thunderer.” They did however, sell a whistle that many professional sports officials use called the “Fox 40 Classic.” At the time I can remember thinking that if it was good enough for the NBA, it had to be good enough for a physical education teacher.

The next day, I broke out the Fox 40 Classic and gave it a try. Wow! It had an ear piercing high pitch that could be heard across the blacktop. It was so loud that it kind of hurt my own ears. Students who were a few feet away would complain about the sound a grasp their ears like a toddler ignoring their parents command for bedtime.

Weeks later I found my Thunderer and decided it was time to compare the two. While the Fox 40 Classic was really loud and conspicuous, the Thunderer allowed for more of a custom sound. With a bit of practice, you could really vary the pitch, volume and “whirlyness.” In addition, students really didn’t complain about this whistle and it really didn’t bother my ears either.

To this day, I still carry around both whistles and decide to change it up a bit now and then. More often than not, I regret using the Fox 40 Classic when I do decide to use it.

My advice is this. If you are new to the profession or a veteran looking for a new toy, give the Thunderer a try. My master teacher was correct. In my eyes and ears, its the best. On the other hand, if I was lost in a the wild, I’d want my Fox 40.

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Eight Helpful Hints for using Pedometers

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

By Matthew Basset

Part 2 of a 4 part series.

After purchasing pedometers you should spend a lot of time learning how to use them yourself.  After you’ve become familiar with this new piece of technology, you should think about teaching cues that will be necessary.

Here are some helpful hints to think about:

  1. Storage. Make sure that you use a storage system for your pedometers.  You can use a pedometer storage chart that can be purchased from a physical education catalog or you can use a tackle box from a local fishing supply store.  The key is to have the storage organized (and even numbered) so that the students know exactly where their pedometer belongs.
  2. Markings. Make sure you have the pedometers marked. This will not only allow for the storage to be organized but it will also allow you to find out who hasn’t turned in their pedometer.  No one will admit to having lost a pedometer or that they forgot to put the pedometer in the storage box.  Knowing that the pedometers have marked numbers on them will allow you to find the missing pedometer and, more importantly, know who was responsible.
  3. Distribution. A teacher must have a way to pass out and collect the pedometers.  This still goes with the storage system but if you have one long line of students waiting for the pedometers you might be wasting valuable time.
  4. Tracking of data. You need to know how you are going to track the data. Will you have a master sheet for yourself?  Will the students write down their scores on their own tracking sheets?  You can save yourself some trouble by not having the data recorded the first few times.
  5. Placement. A teacher must teach the pedometer placement.  A student should wear the pedometer on the waistband or belt above their right knee. Having pedometers secured on their right sides will allow you to see if a pedometer has dropped accidentally.  Some students will need to move their pedometers around the waist to the side to pick up more movement.  These are all things that a few class periods of practice can help students work out.
  6. Responsibility. A student must be taught to be responsible for the pedometer.  This not only includes putting the pedometer away at the end of class but also includes how to use a safety strap with an alligator clip.  These straps are designed to help avoid a pedometer being lost from dropping of the waist.
  7. No touching. Students need to avoid touching the pedometer while in the middle of class.  Most of the students will want to look at their scores.  The pedometers will not gather data while it is open, at least not effectively.  Also, students can use their hands to hit the pedometer and cause the pedometer to count steps when the student is not moving.  Not only should we be teaching about personal responsibility and integrity but a teacher needs to have a rule to not touch or the student will lose the pedometer.  A student should NEVER take the pedometer off of their waist band until the end of class when it is time to return the pedometer to the storage system.
  8. Instructional time. Using the pedometer data can be a very helpful tool for the teacher.  In a typical class period how much do you talk?  This time talking is time that a student isn’t moving.  If you are able to use a pedometer that tracks activity time it can help a teacher determine if they are getting the most out of their students.  After realizing that a majority of my students were not moving for 20 minutes of my class period it was time for me to reflect on how to change my teaching practices.

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Three uses of Pedometers in Physical Education–An Introduction

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

By Matthew Bassett

Part 1 of a 4 part series on pedometers in physical education.

Pedometers have become an easy tool to use in physical education.  A simple pedometer will track the number of steps a person takes.  A more advanced pedometer can also measure activity time (time the pedometer is moving), distance traveled and even calories burned.  Before using a pedometer, a teacher must decide the purpose for its use in class in class.

First, pedometers can be used to track data.  A student who wears a pedometer can record the number of steps, activity time, calories burned or distance traveled.  A teacher can use stations and ask the students to use the pedometers to track a whole class period, sections of a class period or to compare different tasks over time.

Second, pedometers can be used as a simple technology integration. Technology integration can help motivate students.  This motivation can increase movement quality or quantity since students can see physical data about their exercise.

Third, pedometers can now be used to track moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA).  Some of the newest pedometers actually have an MVPA function but these are more costly models.  Using a simple guide of 100 steps per minute can help move a student into moderate physical activity. We can now start using this guide as a way to track MVPA with out students without having to use expensive heart rate monitors or having to trust that students are taking their pulses correctly.

No matter which reason, or reasons, for using pedometers, a teacher interested in using pedometers must first experiment with how to use them.

Next week: Part 2–Eight Helpful Hints for Using Pedometers

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Small Group Balance Stunts

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

By Matthew Basset

Fifth Grade California Content Standard 1.1
“Perform simple small-group balance stunts by distributing weight and base of support.”

Developing this standard has been difficult since it can be very dangerous and a difficult concept for students to understand.   One way I approach this standard is to have a group of students perform a pyramid by distributing weight and base of support.  Minimally, you can have your students set up a pyramid and check to see if they have good balance and move on quite quickly.  This, however,  does not help students understand the concepts of base of support or distributing weight.

This year I tried to get  students more involved.  First, we have to discuss the importance of  base of support.  A wider base typically has the better balance.  We also talk about distributing weight so that one (or two) people don’t have to take the brunt of the weight.  I use a basic combative game to help make the connection.  I have the students face a partner and place their hands together out in front.  Their feet are next to each other and they would challenge each other to push their hands (only) to a point where one person had to take a step (lose the challenge).  Then I direct them to place their feet shoulder width apart and take the same challenge.  I ask, “which is easier to keep your balance?”  Then I direct them to take one foot and place it a little in front of the other.  I ask, “which, of the three, is easiest to keep your balance?”  The goal is to get students to see that the base of support can affect the balance of the activity.

After students understand the importance of their base of support we talk about the distribution of weight.  We discuss how placing weight on two locations makes it easier to support than just one location.  Three locations are better than two locations, and so on.

Finally, when the class is ready to start their own small group balance stunts, I organize students into groups of seven or eight.  Each group is handed a worksheet where they place their names (for tracking purposes).  The class is directed to come up with five different group balances that share the weight distribution differently each time and also show different bases of support. My goal is to see different types of pyramids other than a typical three or four level pyramid.  Students are required to make a diagram of the base of support and where each student in the group is going to stand.  This process moves into a second class period where the students are given extra time to practice the balancing skills.  After a few scary falls, I’ve decided to tell my students that they cannot go above two levels in a pyramid.  This has made them work a little harder to come up with different ideas.  I also talk about how they can make a pyramid that isn’t in a straight line.

During their assessments, students in each group perform at the same time. This allows me to see how well the groups have prepared but it don’t allow a group extra time to practice while another group is performing.  The groups who work together are definitely better prepared for this approach at the assessment.

Other Connections:
This is lesson/unit that allows connections to overarching standard 5.  I constantly have to reinforce the importance of working together (5.5.3) and that it is important to stay safe (5.5.4).  You will have a few students who do all of the planning don’t listen to others.  I also have to reinforce the importance of allowing everyone to contribute their ideas (5.5.5) and to work with each other to accomplish their goals (5.5.7).  The groups who struggle start to work closer together when I discuss the importance of everyone sharing ideas in the group.  With a little work next year, my goal is to get students to understand social concepts while participating in this standard (5.1.1).  This way they reinforce the social skills that I’m looking for in class while they are working on a motor skill.

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Four Benefits to Splitting Activities while Increasing MVPA

Friday, May 15th, 2009

By Matthew Basset

As physical education teachers, it is often our goal to maximize movement time for students. Ideally, we would like to have one piece of equipment for every student. Sometimes, this is difficult and thinking outside the box can help with this dilemma. Using additional equipment can help maximize students’ movement times.

Recently, I completed a scooter board lesson with my elementary students. I had one scooter board for every two students. The students who were not on the scooter boards were standing around and started to become off task. I pulled out some jump ropes during the class to help with my classroom management. While half of the students were off on scooter boards, their partners were jumping rope. This cut down on students being off task and they were not bored waiting their turns.

There are four benefits for splitting activities with your classes.

1. Maximize participation. The split allows you to deal with limited equipment or limited space. As group A is working, group B is working in a different area with different equipment. Since most people don’t have enough equipment for everyone to be working at the same time we have to modify our activities. Having students wait their turn can be unproductive. Adding a secondary task helps them become more active during class time.

2. Keep idle hands busy. I have found that students who are required to be patient soon find opportunities to keep themselves occupied in less than desirable ways. Giving a secondary task allows those students to focus their attention on the activity instead of doing something that makes me want to take early retirement. Those hands are no longer idle and they stay on task more often.

3. Focus on Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA). This is an easy way to incorporate another standard into your lesson. For me, having the kids jump rope while they were not on the scooter board helped them keep their heart rates up. The students didn’t have time to relax and cool down. I even had students comment on the fact that sweating was such a bad thing. This “teachable moment” allowed me to explain the sweating mechanism. Spending lesson time on MVPA activities is sometimes difficult. By adding a secondary activity, like jump rope, it allows me to help focus my students on their heart rates and keeping their heart rates up during class.

4. Review. Secondary activities can also be used to review an activity that was previously taught. For me, jump rope was an activity that I’ve already taught. I was able to review my expectations for the students and they already understood what they needed to accomplish. I was able to give minimal instructions before allowing the students to start the activities.

With a little work and extra preparation you can easily add more movement time into your classes. Use your equipment and space to maximize your student movement. Try to find ways to add in extra movement to get students MVPA.

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Say Goodbye to Boring Student Created Games

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

By Jennifer Mettler

Introduction
When I was a student teacher, I taught my first “Create-a-Game” unit.  After three weeks my students created games that were so basic and uninventive that I swore I would never teach that unit again.  After some years of experience, I have learned that it is hardly my students’ fault, but mine for not preparing them properly.  When I reflected on why they did not succeed, I realized that the students lacked the content knowledge and experiences in game concepts and strategies to be able to create a game of their own.
California Model Content Standards
6.2.12 Develop a cooperative movement game that uses locomotor skills, object manipulation, and an offensive strategy and teach the game to another person.
7.2.6 Diagram and demonstrate basic offensive and defensive strategies for individual and dual physical activities.
7.2.7 Develop an individual or dual game that uses a manipulative skill, two different offensive strategies, and a scoring system and teach it to another person.
8.2.5 Diagram, explain, and justify offensive and defensive strategies in modified and team sports, games, and activities.
8.2.6 Develop and teach a team game that uses elements of spin or rebound, designated offensive and defensive space, a penalty system, and a scoring system.

Why link game strategies and game concepts with “Create-A-Game”?
It has been my experience that the more students understand and are able to apply strategies to a game setting, the more complex and better designed game they create.  Not to mention, the content standards already link these two things together.  Games that are “boring” tend to lack a design that involves complex strategies.  In addition, students need a wide variety of experiences to learn and apply many different types of strategies.  The more exposure to different types of games, the better their knowledge base to draw upon to create their own.
Types of Games
Net/Wall Games
Team: Takraw, Ringo, Volleyball
Individual/Dual: Table tennis, Tennis, Squash, Pickleball, Badminton
Invasion Games
Team: Capture the flag, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Team Handball, Speedball
Combative
Individual/Dual: Fencing, Wrestling, Martial Arts
Striking/Fielding Games
Team: Over the Line, Baseball, Softball, Cricket, Rounders
Target
Individual/Dual: Bowling, Horse Shoes, Bocce Ball, Croquet, Golf

Teaching Strategies
The best way I have found to teach strategies is develop games and activities that forces students to use very specific strategies.  Students start by playing a simple game that requires them to “apply” a few specific strategies.  As the games get more difficult, they will need to apply the strategies they already practiced in a simplified way to the more complex game.  A possible progression for the “know” is to start with defining offensive and defensive strategy.  Next, identify whether a strategy is offensive or defensive.  Then list offensive and defensive strategies.  Next, explain what the benefit is of a particular strategy.  Continue with identifying a diagram.  Then, have the students finally diagram a strategy themselves.

Parts of the Game
In order for students to understand the components necessary to play a game, students are taught the critical parts of the game throughout the different units that lead up to the Create-A-Game unit.  The depth of this content will depend on the grade level and prior knowledge of the students.
1. Object of the Game:  The object of the game is to (how you know you won) and you do this by (how to score or what you do to win.)
2. Rules & Scoring System
3. Penalty & Consequence System
4. Equipment, Field/Court & Players
5. Skills
6. Strategies & Set Plays

Create-A-Game
In prior units the students should be introduced to all three types of games depending on their grade level (8th grade: invasion, net/wall, and striking/field; 7th grade: net/wall, combative, and target;  6th grade:  mix of modified games).  During each unit activity the parts of the game should be introduced.  In-class worksheets and handouts should be given to the students for each component of the parts of the game.  Strategies need to be integrally taught by listing, identifying, diagramming, and applying throughout the units.  Once the students have the basic understandings of different types of games, parts of the game, and strategies used in each type of game then the students can be guided through the create-a-game process.

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Super Size Lesson Ideas

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

By Matthew Bassett

Part 2 of 2

I like having an activity for the students to complete while watching the movie Super Size Me. This is why it takes me a few extra days to get through the video. It also allows me to actually get the students thinking about their eating choices instead of tuning out the video.

I usually have the students watch the first part of the video and stop the video when Morgan is starting his first meal at McDonalds. This gives the students the background to the experiment and also allows them to see the three visits to the doctors. I ask the students to predict what they think will happen to Morgan during the next thirty days as their first assignment.

Another activity is to have the students make a menu of some of the meals that Morgan is eating. During Morgan’s first meal, I have the students write down the items he has chosen to eat.  I then pass out a nutritional guide for McDonalds and ask the students to write down the number of calories for each item. This gives me time to discuss what a calorie is and how many calories an average person should eat in a given day. I do the same assignment during the rest of the video and also focus on other nutritional information such as sodium or fat content.

Another extension activity can follow the menus. Have students write a list of physical activities that equal the amount of calories that are consumed in the meal. This allows the students to integrate some math skills into physical education. They will also get an understanding that it takes a while to burn 100 calories and not just five minutes of work.

An activity to complete at the end of the video is for the students to write down five different things that happened to Morgan’s body while eating at McDonalds. The video lists 11 things that happened to Morgan as a result of eating out for the 30 days. These items range from medical information to personal feelings that Morgan was having. It allows students to understand that the type of food that you eat can have a negative impact on your health and also with your mood and behavior. I always ask the students their thoughts on eating McDonalds after watching the video.

I usually ask the students if they were to choose another fast food restaurant if the results would be any different than eating at McDonalds. I was amazed that a lot of my students actually thought it would make a difference. I had more than one student point out the Jared commercials for Subway and said that the food was always healthy. It got me thinking about how I could make a connection that any fast food is really not that good for you, even Subway.  I started by downloading nutritional information directly from the Web sites of some of our local restaurants and fast food restaurants. The students were asked to make different meal choices as if they were going to eat at a specific location that night. The students were then asked to find some of the nutritional information for those choices. The goal is for the students to see that the choices at these places are not always healthy.

Another continuation with this lesson is to replace one of the menu items on the menu with something healthier. Maybe it means changing the salad dressing, changing the size of the item or finding a healthier option on the menu. The goal is to help students make better choices and to look for healthier options while eating out. These concepts can be added to the Dairy Council of California’s curriculum for middle school students. They strive for students to understand correct proportions and to try and avoid over eating. The nice part about the Diary Council’s curriculum is that it is free!

Another addition that I have made this year is to purchase the regular DVD of “Super Size Me.” This video comes with some bonus features that are appropriate for the students. The regular version of the DVD is not appropriate for our students since it does have inappropriate language and it also has some scenes that are inappropriate for our students. The bonus feature called “The Smoking Fry” is on the regular DVD and can also be found on YouTube. This bonus feature shows Morgan placing different McDonald’s foods into glass jars. They show how the food decomposes every few days.  It’s amazing how long it takes for some of the food to finally start to break down. This is a great time to discuss with the students about the added things that are placed in fast foods to keep them fresh. These additives may not be very good for you in the long run.

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Its Elementary—Push-up Variations

Friday, March 27th, 2009

By John Kruse

Its not unusual for the conversation to turn to the topic of push-ups when a group of physical educators get together.  This is probably because teaching students to do correct push-ups seems to be a really difficult task.  I know that in middle school, I see some very interesting takes on what my students think a push-up is.  Many of them seem to lack the kinesthetic awareness needed or core strength.  Consequently, its difficult to make them understand what a good push-up feels like.

Matthew Bassett, a contributor here at FitMet, stumbled upon this push-up variation video on TeacherTube.  It left me wondering if I might have more success teaching middle school students correct push-up form if more students were exposed to this teacher’s approach in elementary school.

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Line Dancing on Teacher Tube

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

By John Kruse

I’ve discussed the value of TeacherTube on this blog previously.  In fact, I even went so far as to suggest that my readers post something on the site.

Recently, my sixth graders helped me create an instructional video on the Electric Slide line dance.  We also collaborated with some 8th grade students at the school who are in a small learning community with a focus in technology.  While the quality of the video isn’t necessarily that of a professionals, I am impressed at what these tech savey students came up with. They filmed the video footage, did the editing and added some snazzy transitions.

After watching the video, I’ve had some time to reflect on the lesson.  Consequently, I’ve decided that I need to spend more time with the students on following the beat of the music.

I’ve posted this video on TeacherTube and also embedded it on my school Web page.  I envision using it in the future when I teach line dancing again.  Students will be able watch the video for homework to reinforce what they have learned in class.  I’m also thinking of asking one of my classes to watch it ahead of the lesson to see if it makes my job easier.

If you attempt something like this with your students, be sure to get parent permission before filming and posting on the Internet.

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Google Docs & Assessment

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

By John Kruse

Recently, I learned about Google Docs, a free service offered by Google that allows for the creation of simple surveys using a form.  Simply sign up for a Google account and you will have access to a few online applications that are very similar to Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint.

A form is an easy way to create a nice looking  survey that you can have students complete on the Internet.  Once you’ve created the survey, Google Docs gives you a Web address to click on.  This address takes you to the survey.  If you have a school Web page, all you need to do is post a link on your page directing students to the survey.  The best part is that you can have students complete the survey for homework by directing them to your Web page.

When students complete the survey, their answers appear in a spreadsheet as soon as it is submitted.  This spreadsheet is stored in your Google Docs account and operates very much like Microsoft Excel.

There are a few things I really like about this technology.  First, you can have students complete an assessment without having to sacrifice activity or movement time.  Second, you can save a few trees.  And third,  you can save yourself the headache of carting out a bunch a clipboards, pencils and papers.  I’m not saying that this technology should completely replace good old paper and pencil assessments.  If used wisely, it certainly has its place and can be used to inform instruction.  One drawback is that you may not get the response rate you are looking for.

If you design the survey with some forethought, you can even create a few questions using a likert scale.  For example, “On a scale from one to five with five being best, how much did you learn from the lesson today?”  By assigning a number to the answer, you can get an average by manipulating the numbers in the spreadsheet.  When surveying depth of knowledge pertaining to a concept, I create questions that are short answer or open-ended.  These answers also wind of up in the spreadsheet and you can easily scan them to see just how much learning is occurring in class.

In conclusion, Google Docs is a technology that has some awesome potential for physical educators.  I see that it has the potential to really increase my ability to inform my instruction based on student responses.  I would encourage you to sign-up for a Google account and experiment with the applications within Google Docs.  With a little imagination, you can come up with some really innovative ways to use this technology.

A final thought.  I’ve created a simple survey using a Google form so you can see a sample.  Please click on the link below and give us some feedback about this blog.

Click here to go to the survey.

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