Wow, the days just keep getting busier and busier! We have so much going on this week – a dance festival, a field trip to Fraser Heights Secondary, and play rehearsals throughout the week for the big presentation next week! Today I got to teach the p.e. period on my own for the first time since the short 2-week practicum.

I started off the class inside the classroom. As a class, we first discussed the type of behavior expected in p.e. The students were able to bring up all the points I wanted to discuss – safety, cooperative behavior, sportsmanship, etc. This just goes to show that the students are very well aware of what is expected of them. They sometimes just need a refresher and I think asking them to refresh themselves – by sharing out loud – is the best way because then they are actually thinking about the expectations, instead of just being told. This connects back to the concept of priming, and this is what I was looking to do when I began the discussion. It only took about five minutes but it was so worth it. For example, during the actual p.e. activity (California kickball), when one student kept putting his arms around another student, I simply had to remind him of what we had reviewed previously in class to correct his inappropriate behavior. When I held up my whistle and asked what the whistle meant, I got quite a few hands up; however, not all. So then I said, “Come on, everyone has to know what this means, I need more hands up.” That really got the remaining students’ attention, it was quite funny. So, light-hearted humor really does work well with this age – a secret trick I like to use. We then quickly went over the rules of the game since all the students were familiar with the game previously.

It was a great day outside, so we decided to play outside. I asked students to do a lap around the field once and meet back in the center. It’s interesting to see the varying abilities and motivation of students to participate. For example, some students were complaining “I can’t run,” so I tried to keep my instructions as firm as possible but accommodate to certain student needs (e.g., hurting ankle) by changing the running to light jogging. This way I was able to get the entire class to warm up in a way that worked for everyone. To avoid any issues over team members and positions, I numbered off everyone into two teams and chose which team was offense and which defense. Surprisingly, there were no complaints and the students worked well together. I tried to control for equal participation as well by asking the kicking team to be in a boy-girl line-up so that everyone got the chance to kick. Throughout the game, I tried to keep a global scan of student behavior and I realized how different this is during p.e. – especially outside – compared to an academic lesson inside the classroom. First of all, most of the students have different roles so everyone is doing something different. Then, the teacher must be watching out for potentially dangerous behavior. And, your voice must be much higher to keep encouraging students over all the student cheering, asking for the ball, and them communicating with teammates.

This lesson, I made sure to keep watching the time because I really wanted to have time left over for the closure I had planned. So, I got to use my whistle for the first time to bring students back into the circle – pretty exciting! Once in the circle, I explained to students there is a reason we play games like California Kickball – reasons besides fun – to build cooperative skills. I then asked how they did this today. Again, they were able to hit every point I had noted; essentially, working together towards a common goal – getting the most home runs. I thought this closing part was really important because it gives purpose to even the most simple of game like California Kickball and it really directly pushes students to think – even if for a short amount of time – the meaning behind why they are doing what they are doing. In the end, I really enjoyed teaching p.e. and next time I will remember to bring a water bottle out with me because the days really are getting hot!