| Celebrating National
Physical Education and Sports is the theme of May’s issue
of pelinks4u. May is also a month full of a various holidays
and opportunities for awareness. I’ve created an extensive
list of activities to help you celebrate and promote awareness among
your students.
Check out the Literature Review section for a number of
recent articles on interdisciplinary physical education. Articles
included are “Creating a Motivational
Climate to Foster Engagement in Physical Education,”
by Melinda Solmon, and “Ride with Abandon:
Practical Ideas to Include Mountain Biking in Physical Education,”
by Steve Palmer.
I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy the spring weather. Feel
free to contact me with any responses or suggestions for this section.
Moreen Ferdie
Interdisciplinary Section Editor |
| HOLIDAY, CELEBRATION GAMES FOR MAY |
| There
are many interesting holidays and dates of remembrance during May
that you can incorporate into your physical education classes. Excellent
resources for many of the following games are Celebration
Games: Physical Activities for Every Month by Barb Wnek
(Human Kinetics 2006) and Moving
to Discover the USA: 142 Action Rhymes, Songs, and
Games by Mike Lee and Rhonda Clements (Human Kinetics 1998).
Some of my student’s favorite activities are included here.
CINCO DE
MAYO
Cinco de Mayo (“the
fifth of May” in Spanish) celebrates the victory of the Mexican
army over the French, which took place on May 5, 1862. Some fun
games to play in your classes are listed below.
Cinco de Mayo Piñata Jumping
Game
Begin the activity with a brief explanation/discussion of Cinco
de Mayo, what it means to Mexican history and culture, and how it
compares to the July 4th, Independence Day celebration of the U.S.
The objective of this game is to get students
active by having them jump, touch, and count balloons of various
heights. Attach 10 balloons at different heights along a rope attached
to the gym wall. On each balloon are numbers written in English
and Spanish. Have your students first jump for the lowest balloon.
Once they have touched it, have them move to the next highest balloon
and so on, while simultaneously counting in Spanish.
Cinco de Mayo Jumping Bean Game
Tape 10 lines on the gym floor, or use a jump rope. Label the lines
numerically in English and Spanish. Have the students jump over
each line with a two-foot jump, counting in Spanish as they go.
Steal the Sombrero
Begin by copying and cutting out one sombrero for each student.
Tape one sombrero to each student’s back. The students must
then try to steal their classmate’s sombreros without losing
their own. If their sombrero is stolen, they must replace it with
one they have stolen. If they do not have a sombrero to replace
it with, they are out. The last student with a sombrero is the winner.
National Tourism Week – May 2-8
Use this week to introduce your students to many of the great places
in our country. An excellent resource for many of the following
games is Moving to Discover the USA: 142 Action Rhymes, Songs, and
Games by Mike Lee and Rhonda Clements.
Grand Canyon Ride (Arizona)
This game gives your students the opportunity to really use their
imaginations. Divide the class into groups of six. Have each group
pretend they are paddling a raft as you read the following passage
aloud.
“The adventure begins.
The Grand Canyon is like a giant waterslide, a wild 200-mile ride.
Strap on your life jacket, secure it tight and begin to paddle with
all your might. Rapids. The water begins to make a deafening sound,
as white-capped waves splash all around. It feels like a roller
coaster ride as the raft shoots up, down, and side to side. Wild
waves crash over your head. Oh no! See that whirlpool? Straight
ahead! Whirlpool. Suddenly the raft overturns! The whirlpool spins
you around as the water churns. Swim for your lives. Make long arm
strokes and swim for your lives. Thanks to the life jackets, everyone
survives."
The Continuous Canyon (Arizona)
This game is an imaginative way to get your class working together
as a group. Organize students into two, parallel, zigzag lines with
five to 10 feet between the lines to create the walls of the imaginary
canyon. Have individuals from the front of the lines recite the
following verse as they pretend they are paddling down the canyon
created by their classmates: "up and down, round and round,
until I long for solid ground." Once through the canyon, they
stand at the end of the line to extend the formation. Alternate
the type of action they use to move down the canyon (skip, hop,
run, crab walk, slide, etc).
Claim Jumpers (California)
This activity is guaranteed to get your students moving and excited.
Organize the class into three to five groups of “miners.”
Give each group four to six beanbags representing “gold nuggets.”
Each group puts their nuggets into a hula hoop, or chalk circle
(the mine). When the mines are ready, shout "claim jumpers,"
which signals all players to immediately try to secure a nugget
from any other group's mine and place the nugget in his/her mine.
Students can only take one gold nugget at a time. All miners continue
doing this until time is up (approximately three minutes). The group
with the most gold nuggets wins.
 Frequent Fliers (Illinois –
O’Hare Airport)
This partner-based activity encourages lots of imagination. Have
students select a partner with which to create an “airplane”
by placing one hand across each others’ shoulders. Make tickets
with names of different cities throughout the U.S. Give a set to
each “airplane.” Each airplane begins its trip at a
different city. The airplane must fly to each airport and leave
the ticket at the correct location. Only one airplane can take off
or land at a time. If there is another airplane at the airport,
they must circle until the other airplane has departed. The first
airplane to use all of their tickets wins.
 The
Midnight Ride (Massachusetts)
Have the students stand in a side-by-side formation on one side
of the activity area. These students represent the colonists. In
the center of the activity area is one student representing Paul
Revere. The activity begins with the colonists asking Paul Revere,
“What time is it?” Paul Revere can answer with a specific
time, such as “10 o’clock,” or with a response
reflecting his famous ride, “It’s time to feel my horses.”
Together the colonists
continue to ask, “What time is it?” At some point in
the game, Paul Revere responds, “It’s midnight,”
which signals all the colonists to run quickly to the opposite end
of the activity area. Paul Revere tries to tag as many colonists
as possible before they reach the other side. When a colonist is
tagged, he/she assists Paul in tagging the other colonists.
|
|
 |
|
As P.E. teachers we are taught
not to punish students with exercise. I understand why,
because they will not want to exercise on their own then.
However, what else as PE teachers can we do to punish
those students who disrupt class and are rude to other
students? Lowering the grade may help, but in many schools
gym is not counted toward the GPA, so getting a worse
grade wouldn't affect the student then. What else can
we do as PE teachers that will punish those rude and obnoxious
students? Please share. |
|
| HOLIDAY / CELEBRATION GAMES CONTINUED |
Oh Hear Ye! Hear Ye! (Pennsylvania)
This activity is a creative way to help students develop their
vocabulary. Each student is given a piece of paper and a pencil
with which to write down an action word or phrase that describes
a movement. Offer the following action words to stimulate the
activity: run, jump, touch, stand, hop, spin, walk, shake, gallop,
skip, crawl, creep, wobble, wiggle, prance, stomp, stamp, tiptoe,
fly, scamper, spring, scurry, strut, march, charge, reach, twist,
duck, lift, clap, hold, shiver, push, turn, rise, fall.
Organize the students
into a large circle, and place a bell in the center of the circle.
Each student takes a turn running to the center of the circle
and becoming the town crier by ringing the bell and saying, "Hear
ye! Hear ye!" The town crier then reads and performs his/her
action phrase as the other children imitate the movements. Here
is an example: “Hear ye! Hear ye! Hop, jump, and run in
place, keep a smile on your face.”
Pecos Bill’s Tornado
Ride – (Texas)
The laughter caused by this game will be priceless. Organize the
students into groups of three. Scatter the groups throughout the
activity area with a safe distance between groups and away from
structures. Have the children each join one hand and face the
same direction, so they will move forward when spinning in a circle.
Challenge them to mimic the actions of Pecos Bill riding a tornado
and count the number of circles they can complete before experiencing
dizziness. Swing your rope and lasso a tornado. Hang on as it
twirls you to and fro. It's a high-flying merry-go-round, as the
tornado lifts you off the ground.
Geyser Blow (Wyoming)
Students perform this game individually, but must use their imaginations
as a group. Instruct your students to perform the actions of Old
Faithful. Recite to them the following passage: "Curl into
a ball and make your body small. Imagine you are water trapped
in a cave. As the water grows hot, how do you behave? You begin
to boil and rise up through the earth's soil. Warmer and warmer,
the water grows. Finally, Whoosh! Old Faithful blows! Blow with
a Whoosh! Shoot up high, then fall like rain from the sky. Ever
so slow ... water seeps down into the cave, far below.”
Astronomy Week – May 16-22
Use this week to familiarize
your student’s with the planets of our solar system. Wneck’s
Celebration
Games: Physical Activities for Every Month has a number of
fun activities to get you started.
Planet’s Orbit Relay
Organize the class into groups of three. Provide a set of planet
cards to each group. Each team has a cone they stand by, and one
by one they orbit (using scooters or any locomotor movement) around
all the other groups that are positioned in a circle. Once the
student has completed their orbit, they return to their team,
tag their next teammate’s hand, and run to the center of
the class circle and pickup another planet card from their team’s
pile. Once all the cards have been collected, put them in order,
according to their distance from the sun.
Hula Hoop Trip to the Planets
This activity takes students on an imaginative journey to the
various planets in our solar system. Each student is given a hula
hoop (their “spaceship”) with which to explore the
solar system. Incorporating Gustav Holst's "The Planets"
music is recommended for helping to set the mood for this activity.
While the music plays, the students fly around the room exploring
the planets. Slowly turn the volume of the music down to indicate
landing time to the students. At the end of each session, have
the students describe what they experienced on each planet.
|
American
Bike Month
Encourage your students to bring their bikes to school and set
up a course for them to ride through with stop signs and cones
to weave in and out of. The League of American Bicyclists has
a number of suggestions to help you make the most of this event.
Asthma-Allergy
Awareness Month
If you are like me, you most likely have at least a few students
who have asthma or allergies. Spring can be a very difficult time
for these individuals. To detect possible breathing problems,
observe your students as they blow through straws to move ping
pong balls across a table top. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation
of America offers free educational material for students, parents,
and teachers.
Strike
out Strokes Month
May is National Stroke Awareness month. Check out the National
Stroke Association’s Web site for tips on teaching your
students about strokes and how to identify their symptoms.
|
| HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION (webmaster) |
For
some interesting reading, information in regard to what physical
education is all about has been included in this section. It's
all interesting, so hope you enjoy it.
From
Wikipedia - Physical education (PE) is the interdisciplinary
study of all areas of science relating to the transmission of
physical knowledge and skills to an individual or a group, the
application of these skills, and their results. Included, among
other subjects, are aspects of anthropology, biology, chemistry,
physics, psychology, and sociology. Some treatments of the discipline
also include spirituality as an important aspect. Read more.
From Pitt
County Schools in Greenville, NC - bits and pieces of the
history of physical education. This site at first doesn't appear
impressive, but it turns out to be very interesting. Included
are the origins of words used in physical education. There are
old videos, old images, old games and more.
Physical
Education: overview, preparation of teachers - In general,
the preparation of physical education teachers in the late 1800s
and early 1900s ranged from as little as two months to as much
as five years.
|
If
you have diabetes, your body cannot make or properly use insulin.
This leads to high blood glucose, or sugar, levels in your blood.
Healthy eating helps to reduce your blood sugar. It is a critical
part of managing your diabetes, because controlling your blood
sugar can prevent the complications of diabetes.
Wise food choices are a foundation of diabetes treatment. Diabetes
experts suggest meal plans that are flexible and take your lifestyle
and other health needs into account. A registered dietitian can
help you design a meal plan.
If you or someone you know has diabetes, you should be able to
find all the information you need at MedlinePlus.
Diabetes,
Cholesterol & Heart Disease - some good information in
regard to the cholesterol levels in diabetics. Some more helpful
information can be found here.
Diabetes,
Heart Disease, and Stroke - These 3 can go 'hand in hand'
so finding out all you can about diabetes and it's prevention
is very important. Use the links as a 'jumping point' to further
study.
|
|
|
| LITERATURE REVIEW (by
Leon Letson) |
|
This section is dedicated to the review
of some recent articles on interdisciplinary physical education.
Articles included are: “Creating
a Motivational Climate to Foster Engagement in Physical Education,”
by Melinda Solmon (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation &
Dance, Oct. 2006) and “Ride
with Abandon: Practical Ideas to Include Mountain Biking in Physical
Education,” by Steve Palmer (Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation & Dance, Oct. 2006).
Creating
a Motivational Climate to Foster Engagement in Physical Education
– Melinda Solomon
Solomon’s article
serves as a meta-analysis of various other theories on enhancing
motivation levels in physical education environments. After reviewing
more than 30 different theories/techniques, Solomon identifies five
key factors for creating a motivational climate that fosters engagement
in physical education.
Value: To
engage their students, physical educators need to insure that the
activity means something, or has value, to the students. There are
four different types of value touched upon by Solomon: (1) attainment
value - the importance of performing well in the activity;
(2) intrinsic/interest value - the enjoyment associated
with the activity; (3) utility value - the usefulness of
the activity; and (4) perceived cost - what must be sacrificed
to perform the activity.
Potential for
Success: Once students have been convinced that the activity
holds some value for them, they then must be assured that they possess
the potential to be successful in the activity. It is the physical
educator’s responsibility to make sure the activity is developmentally
appropriate for their students. Structuring the learning environment
so that all of the students have an opportunity to experience some
level of success is also important.
Teacher Caring:
Students need to feel as though they are important to their peers
and the overall success of the activity. It is the physical educator’s
responsibility to insure their students that they care for them
and care whether or not the students learn the content of the activity.
A Mastery Climate:
Focusing on personal improvement and mastery of tasks is far more
important than outperforming others when attempting to create a
motivationally-positive learning environment. This does not imply,
however, that competition is bad or useless as a motivational tool.
Competition is a powerful motivator for many. It is the physical
educator’s responsibility to insure that competition within
the classroom is structured in such a way as to encourage all students
to work to improve.
Intrinsic Motivation:
There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and
intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation involves engaging in an
activity for an outcome, such as a grade. Intrinsic motivation involves
engaging in an activity for personal enjoyment or interest. Intrinsic
motivation promotes active learning and autonomy. Students who willfully
engage in an activity are more likely to be successful and positive
about the experience than students who are forced to engage in an
activity simply for a grade.
Ride
with Abandon: Practical Ideas to Include Mt. Biking in PE –
Steve Palmer
In response to the
growing acceptance of “lifetime activities,” such as
climbing, skiing, and bicycling, as possible activities for physical
education classes, Palmer’s article covers a number of issues
associated with the inclusion of mountain biking as a possible physical
education activity, and offers numerous strategies and suggestions
for teaching and curriculum ideas.
Liability
is often a major deterrent in regards to the inclusion of activities
like mountain biking in physical education settings. Palmer and
others argue that the liability associated with mountain biking
is often perceived, rather than real, and that numerous other activities
commonly held in physical education settings, such as wrestling,
golf, etc. hold far more potential for injury. As with any activity,
Palmer argues, proper planning and preparation, in conjunction with
effective teaching practices and developmentally appropriated curriculum,
are critical to successfully integrating mountain biking into physical
education settings.
Obtaining Bicycles
can be one of the more challenging obstacles to overcome when attempting
to make mountain biking a viable physical education activity. Palmer
offers a number of solutions, including scavenging - obtaining abandoned
bicycles from credible resources, such as apartment managers and
second-hand shops like the Salvation Army and Goodwill.
Sending notes home
to interested parents of the community may also prove useful in
acquiring bicycles. Palmer encourages schools and physical educators
to strictly monitor the quality of the bicycles they obtain. Although
some affordable options may exist at places like Target and Wal-Mart,
these bicycles are often of inferior quality and may ultimately
result in more money spent, or even injury. Stockpiling additional
parts for repairs is another important task for schools and physical
educators. Repairing bicycles can also be integrated into the student’s
learning experience.
Mountain Biking
Curriculum should include units on removing barriers, such
as bicycle repair, etc., reducing risk of injury, increasing self-efficacy
or confidence in skills, and identifying appropriate settings and
opportunities for mountain biking. Here
is an abbreviated version of one of Palmer’s units
on mountain biking.
|
| things to do with FOOD
(webmaster) |
FOOD
FOR THOUGHT
Food
for Thought is a standards-based, multi-disciplinary ready-to-use
program designed for use with students in grades 3-5 as a supplement
to your health, social studies and mathematics curricula. Through
the program’s exciting, interactive learning activities, students
utilize important thinking, research and math skills as they become
more
aware of the nutritional value of the foods they eat, learn
all about their home state and solve
challenging math problems. You'll want to thoroughly review
this whole site.
Strictly
Yum Dancing - Strictly Yum Dancing is the FSA’s fun show
communicating healthy eating and food safety messages. Launched
at the 2006 BBC Good Food Show at the NEC in Birmingham, the show
features eight dancing foods, who each promote a different healthy
eating tip. Genie Jean the Hygiene Queen communicates some vital
food safety messages too.
Games
and quizzes
- We have a selection of interactive games and quizzes where young
people can learn about and test their knowledge on food-related
issues.
Eat
Smart, Play Smart - Eat Smart, Play Smart is a Food Standards
Agency teaching resource developed for primary school teachers throughout
the UK to use with children aged 5 to 7 years.
5-a-day
the Bash Street way - Primary school teachers will find materials,
advice and suggestions here to help them give pupils aged 7 to 11
(Key Stage 2 or P7 in Scotland) greater opportunities both to learn
about and have access to fruit and vegetable choices. There are
also details of how these materials fit with the school curriculum.
|
|
