Summer Activities

written by Martin Donahue, Slippery Rock University, PA

I see summer as an opportunity to learn or try something new. As a Physical Education teacher I see it as an opportunity for my students to do the same. Summer allows children the opportunity to create their own schedules, plan their own daily activities, and dedicate their time to the activities they like the most. They can find out what excites them, and as any parent can tell you, they can find out what bores them.

The independence children experience during the summer provides many learning opportunities. I want students to have fun during the summer and in the process, usually unknowingly, learn through the play experiences summer allows. Play is serious business. Many great leaders and thinkers have supported the value of play (Strong Museum, 2013). My hope is that kids will learn that physically active play and activities are not only enjoyable, but health enhancing.

So what is a Physical Education Teacher's role for the summer? And, how can we take advantage of summer months and student decision making to develop lifelong movers? Is it really something we should be concerned about? This article will briefly discuss why I feel it's an opportunity for Health and Physical Education Teachers, and what we can do to help students be more active and healthy during the summer. Next, I will offer a broad range of solutions; hopefully some that will be useful and make you think. All these suggestions I have either done in school, or seen done.

The introduction to the NASPE national standards states:
"Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health. The goal of physical education is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity (NASPE)."

Both the NASPE standards and many quality physical educators state that students should be physically active outside of the classroom. During the summer months children have the most opportunity to be active. So what knowledge, skills, and confidence have been taught in PE that students can make use of during their free time during the summer?

Summer should be the best, ongoing indicator of what students learn in PE. Over the summer k-12 grade students can make a lot of choices and decisions. Will they choose to go outside and be active, or sit in front of the TV or play video games? Will they have the confidence to join friends and neighbors in games, and will they have the skill to go on a bike ride, on a hike, or play tennis? Will they know how to stay safe while riding a bike?

What are my suggestions? Professionally speaking, how can we work toward getting students to be more active outside school? I am purposely writing in generalities, with only a few specifics to help illustrate my point. I do this because my suggestions are not designed to be the basis of an entire curriculum. They are suggestions, based upon my observations, about techniques that have demonstrated success in getting children to be independent movers. These suggestions can be used through the school year, or toward to the end, to generate interest in summer-time activities for students.

Teach small sided games. Think about how children play outside of school (Siedentop, 1998). They do not have the equipment or space that the PE teacher has. Keep this in mind when planning games. When planning, keep in mind the space constraints children will have when playing a game at home. I saw a class in which a teacher divided students into teams of 3, one soccer ball per game, and said "Here is the ball. You decide the rules and the boundaries. Go." At first I was a bit concerned about this reflecting a "roll out the ball" model, but then the teacher explained the objectives of the game to me.

Fitness was the main objective, and the students were definitely moving; some with prompts by the teacher. More importantly they were smiling. Students were truly enjoying the game, not having to worry about rules or skill performance. They had to negotiate and enforce their own agreed-upon rules. This teacher also used the game as a pre-assesment for soccer, commenting that "Now I know what skills they have, or don't have."

Think of the games kids play during summer months. Rarely are teams even and they are usually small, either by number or ability. There are rarely clear symmetrical boundaries. Home games are usually played without proper equipment. Sometimes we need to think outside our Health and Physical Educator's "box" and see the game from a child's perspective, and offer them practice opportunities relevant to their daily lives.

Have students invent a game. Especially if it is a game they can play at home. The day I moved into my current house I learned that our yard was the "Megaman" field. Megaman is a game I still do not really understand (and try not to), but I know it involves a lot of running and no equipment. The "kids" who taught me the game that first day are now in High school, but it is still being played. The oldest participant this spring is 12 years old; the youngest is in 1st grade. He has a two year old brother that will probably be playing someday.

Teach skills relevant to kids (Smith & Cestaro, 1998). I attended a conference recently in which children were rope jumping and using pogo sticks. I thought about when these children practiced these skills at home, and how many friends they have shared these skills with.

Teach kids to ride a bike. Cycling is very popular, and training can be made developmentally appropriate for K-12. Ask your students what they like to do outside of school. See if it is feasible to include a unit of instruction. Other suggestions are skating, climbing, scooters.

Teach activities that are easily available to children and families in the community. I live in a very small rural community and heard a great explanation from my neighbor from New York City. He said, "We have just about everything a bigger city would have; you just have to find it." He is right. Brief examples are golf courses, tennis courts, mountain biking trails for most abilities, disc golf, fishing, hiking, basketball courts, pools, water activities, Kayak, canoe, SUP, rock climbing, roller hockey, snowshoeing, and X-c Skiing (just to name a few), all within 5 miles of my house.

I do not live in the exotic location some of these activities would suggest. Most of these activities I learned about from Physical Education Teachers. So why not teach students the skills needed to do these activities, so that in the summer they have the skill and confidence to enjoy these activities? I know of one local school district Physical Education curriculum that is solely designed around activities, mostly outdoor, that are easily and readily available to students in the local community.

Encourage students to be active advocates. This can be especially motivating for secondary school students. A lot of schools are requiring service hours, so why not combine the service hours with activity? It is hard not to find a benefit to run, walk or bike. Students can usually find a cause that has personal meaning or interest to them (and then participate in the run, walk, or bike).

To foster independence, many organizations provide resources for information, for training, and for safety. A great summer project for students would be to learn about cycling. Find resources on equipment and apparel. Network with other cyclists. Set goals, and learn how to train for events of various abilities. Some of this could happen during the school year. If a child's interest is strong enough, it will most likely continue through the summer.

Teach summer activity safety and responsibility. The two big areas that come to mind are bicycling safety and swimming safety (NDPA, 2013; Wisconsin DOT, 2013), two activities that children love to do but carry an element of risk. Children need to know how to engage in these activities safely, and how to recognize or respond if they encounter an unsafe situation.

The summer months are an outstanding opportunity for students to apply the knowledge, skills, and confidence learned in physical education. These months could be an indicator of future activity profiles for these kids. Late spring lessons could focus on activities students can do independently, or with friends, family, or neighbors. The early days of the school year, in the fall, might be a great time to find out what activities they participated in during the summer. Enjoy your summer!

References:
The Strong Museum. (2013) Play Quotes. Retrieved from http://www.thestrong.org/about-play/play-quotes

NASPE. (2004). Moving into the Future: National Standards for Physical Education, 2nd Edition. Retrieved from http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/standards/nationalStandards/PEstandards.cfm

Siedentop, D. (1998) What is Sport Education and How Does it Work? Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 69 (4), 18-20.

Smith, T.K. & Cestaro N.G. (1998) Student-Centered Physical Education: Strategies for Developing Middle School Fitness and Skills. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

NDPA (2012) Pool Safety Tips. Retrieved from http://ndpa.org/home/

Wisconsin DOT. (2013). Kids Traffic Safety. Retrieved from http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/kids/activities.htm

Biography: Martin Donahue is an Assistant Professor in the Physical Education Department at Slippery Rock University. He received his B.S. at Castleton State College with concentrations in Teacher Education and Athletic Training. Dr. Donahue continued his education by receiving his M.S. in Athletic Training at Indiana State University. Traveling further west to New Mexico State University, he completed his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Critical Pedagogy. Dr. Donahue is certified in Athletic Training. He is also certified in K-12 Physical Education and General Science in Texas.

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