Welcome to this month’s Interdisciplinary Physical Education Section. As the weather continues to grow nicer, and the promise of summer break grows more palpable by the day, pelinks4u encourages physical educators to reflect on the lessons and experiences of this academic year, and to think ahead to the upcoming academic year. Below, I’ve provided a number of resources for making the most of the remaining school year, and for promoting student activity during the break.

In the first section, I offer some ideas for promoting cultural awareness through physical activity. The summer months are often devoted to travel; be it domestic or abroad, there are numerous opportunities for students to learn more about the varied people and places throughout the world.

The next section lists some media tools (i.e. books, DVDs, etc.) for increasing cultural awareness through physical activity. The next section provides outdoor activity ideas to share with your students and their parents, to encourage them to remain active over the break. The final section contains useful lesson plan ideas/philosophies from Alice Lockridge, M.S. Phys. Ed., an exercise physiologist, entrepreneur, instructor trainer, and a keynote speaker who grew up in the heart of Tornado Alley U.S.A. - Greensburg, KS.

Congratulations to everyone on finishing another academic year. Best of luck on making the most of your sun-filled break.

Leon Letson
Guest Interdisciplinary Editor

This section covers some popular games from around the world. In addition to the activities, use the quick facts listed for each country to develop your student’s awareness and appreciation of different places and peoples.

ARGENTINA
Location: East Coast of Latin America
Capital: Buenos Aires
Official Language: Spanish
Alto Ahi! ("Stop There!")
Source: Gameskidsplay.net
This game is ideal for K-8 students, and a wide range of group sizes.
how to play
	One player is given a ball and the rest of the students begin running away.
	When the student with the ball says, "Stop there, John," the student with the ball must name one of the other student participants.
	The student named must look for the ball.
	The student with the ball can use three steps to get nearer to the named student to throw them the ball.
	Once the ball is thrown to the named student, two things can happen: If the named student touches the student with the ball, that person gains a “spot,” and is now the one who has to say "stop there" and name one person. If the named student doesn't touch the person with the ball, that student is "clean" (does not have a "spot"), and the one who threw the ball is called "spot". He has to throw the ball again and say "Stop there" naming a different student.
	The first student with three spots has to do something required by the group, which is called "prenda" (punishment). This may consist of doing something funny or embarrassing, but it's not a physical punishment!
	If he doesn't want to do it, he is punished with two more "prendas." If he still doesn't perform the prenda, the game starts again and all players are "clean."
	If he does what the group requires, the game goes on.

printable copy

CHINA
Location: Eastern Eurasia
Capital: Beijing
Official Language: Mandarin Chinese
The Eagle and the Chicks
Source: Chinese Games for Kids
This game requires at least five students to play; the more who participate, however, the better.
how to play
	Choose a student to be the "eagle" and another to be the "mother hen." The rest of the students are chicks.
	The eagle tries to catch one of the chicks so he/she will no longer be the eagle, and the mother hen tries to protect the chicks from the eagle.
	The chicks line behind the mother hen one by one. The first chick behind the mother hen will hold on to her waist or cloth, the chick behind the first chick will hold onto the first, and so on.
	The eagle can catch the chick by tagging the chick, and the mother hen can protect the chicks by spreading her arms shoulder high.
	When the chasing begins, the eagle is free to run anywhere to catch the chick. The mother hen tries to remain in front of the eagle to protect the chicks.
	The eagle must go around the mother hen to catch the chicks and tries to avoid any contact with the mother hen.
	To help the mother hen, the chicks try to run out of the way of the eagle.
	The chicks don't have to be in the line all the time. They may run out of the line and play tag with the eagle.
	If the eagle catches a chick, the game is over and that chick will be the eagle in the next game.

printable copy

ePALS Projects - Introduce technology and the Internet into classroom activities while encouraging cross-cultural collaboration with these projects designed to help you meet your curriculum needs in innovative ways.

Educational Web Adventures - Eduweb provides cross-curricular educational games, simulations, and learning modules. See also Gameaqaurium.com.

Get Smarter.org - An animated and interactive testing and learning site which allows students to compare science and math skills worldwide.

Listed below are some resources from Human Kinetics to help promote cultural awareness through physical activity.

Multicultural Games by Lorraine Barbarash

This book provides ideas and strategies that will help your students develop an awareness of, and appreciation for, other cultures while enjoying physical activity.

Featuring 75 games from 43 countries or cultures on six continents, this practical reference is an excellent source for building an interdisciplinary and multicultural curriculum. It can also help educators meet NASPE's national content standards for multicultural awareness at the elementary and middle school level.

Multicultural Folk Dance DVDs

Each dance is taught by a native of the country from which the dance originated, or by an expert in that particular dance form. Some of the cultures covered include Serbia, Israel, Hawaii, Germany, Ghana, and many more. Wearing traditional costumes, these instructors show you step-by-step how to perform the dances. Then, a group of dancers demonstrates each dance in its entirety. The "Treasure Chest' upgrade includes printed guides and additional instructional/listening CDs.

Encouraging your students to remain active over the summer break might often seem like nothing more than perfunctory wishful thinking. Below are a number of informative Web sites to help students and their parents devise practical, fun experiences outdoors. Create a take-home packet for your students of information from these Web sites to help them on their way.

Outdoorplaces.com - Kids in the Outdoors
This Web site contains a wealth of information for parents interested in experiencing the outdoors with their children. From basic Q&A resources about realistic expectations, to information about quality gear, including qualities to look for, and where to buy it. Outdoorplaces.com has it all.

Hiking & Backpacking with Kids
This Web site offers a list of books about hiking and backpacking with kids. The "Backpacking Ethics & Practices" section, which discusses the philosophies of low-impact camping and proper camper etiquette, is particularly useful for those interested in utilizing hiking and backpacking as social laboratories of learning. Additional topics covered include: using trails, domestic pets (dogs), selecting campsites, wildlife and your food, protecting streams and lakes, sanitation, and campfires.

Kidshealth.org: Camping and Woods Safety
This Web site provides a quick reference list about outdoor safety for parents and children. From insect and plant safety, to fire safety around the camp site, Kidshealth.org offers an extensive rundown on many outdoor safety basics.

My name is Alice Lockridge, and I come from Kansas. I grew up in a tiny town next to Greensburg, KS, which is the town that was blown off the map May 8. Read a news story.

No, I don't know Dorothy, but I think my mother went to school with her (ha!). I now live on the West Coast (as do my two sisters) and my mother is 92 years old and lives on her own in the house she grew up in, just a few miles from the recent tornado touch-down spots. I was full of worry all weekend.

Although recent news coverage showed the town that was most damaged, there is a great deal of damage for hundreds of miles from the center of that town. After talking with my wise ole mother all weekend, I was amazed at how much the health and fitness information I talk about every day at work has to do with getting through an emergency like a night of Kansas Twisters. Here's what I discovered …

Eat right – Eat a balanced meal at appropriate times throughout each day. You never know when a disaster or smaller emergency will occur, and you will be required to live for hours or perhaps days on the last meal you ate. A "Cola and Candy Bar Diet" won’t fuel you well if the sky is falling, and you need to pack up your family and "head out toward Dodge" (that's the next town to the west of the storm center!)

Think back … what was the makeup of the meals you ate in the past 24 hours? Could you survive in a cross country trek, or if you had to hunker-down, say in a basement somewhere if circumstances demanded it? Authorities say we should all have three ways to survive for three days without any help from others. Are you fueled from your past meals in a healthy way? Are your home, car, and workplace stocked with food and water for you and your family to live on without any chance to go to the store again for days?

Exercise Regularly – Does your regular exercise routine make you as strong, flexible, and capable of moving as you might need to if a disaster were about to strike? Are your legs strong enough, and do you have good walking shoes with you at work, in your car, and when you travel? Are your arms strong enough to help you move to safety, or to save other people?

My tiny little mother was able to re-stock the basement's storm room while navigating the 20 or so stairs several times each night. She even practiced slipping off the bed and crouching under it in case she heard the roar of a tornado above the siren. Are you ready for motions like that, in case of an emergency?

I guess I'm just lucky. I had parents that taught me how to be self-sufficient, eat a variety of healthy foods in moderation, and to be active. These lessons paid off for Mother again this weekend, and she's doing fine after the sleepless nights and worrisome days of watching the sky and listening to a record breaking number of disaster sirens. She didn't have to save her own life this time, but she was prepared. Though she is frail and alone, she was sure she could do enough to be safe, which enabled her to not be afraid.

The Twister Lesson encourages you to Get Ready; you don't know what the next day can bring. Health and fitness practices aren't just for cosmetic purposes. They extend your life and may save it in case of an emergency. Be Safe! Be Strong! Stay Fit and Fueled!