This week’s PE class was so active and fun, I honestly have not moved around this much in class since high school! It was pretty much non-stop from the instant activity to the group teach to Steve’s mini-activities. The instant activity and this week’s group teach was amazing by the way, definitely worked up a sweat early on! All of the activities involved a ton of movement and got our blood pumping and warmed us up quickly, especially in the chilly gymnasium :). I also appreciated Steve’s demonstration games on the importance of TGFU. It was really useful to see it in action and to actually participate in the activities. It’s amazing how much we can accomplish with minimal equipment!
When I was at my first practicum visit at Southridge, I was impressed to hear from some students that their DPA was actually implemented every day during school hours. I was able to witness this firsthand in a first class grade when the teacher noticed the students were getting antsy from having sat on the carpet for quite some time. She told everyone to stand up, head outside and run some small laps around the courtyard just outside their classroom. Students came back out of breath but energized, and were able to contribute even more to the activity the class was completing beforehand! I guess something to keep in mind is to always keep our eyes and ears alert to make sure the class is still paying attention instead of focussing on getting the lesson done. From all the different group teach presentations we have done, a valuable lesson I have learned from them all is definitely to be adaptable!
That’s great that some teachers will drop their plan to accommodate where the students are at. It obviously was effective because like you said the children were able to communicate more and participate more after they had some time to run out their physical energy. I think it’s so important, and, though it interrupts a teacher’s planned schedule, it’s worth it because the children are able to be more attentive and their bodies more relaxed.
When I was teaching in the summer time, I noticed the same thing. The children usually had classes from 10am -noon, 30 minutes of lunch and then two more hours of classes. Because it was so sunny, I asked if we could have 1 hour of lunch and extend class to go 30 minutes longer at the end of the day. I would take them outside (many of them boys) and they would run around the field with their soccer ball. When classes resumed at 1pm, I was shocked (really) at how the students (especially the boys) were focused on their writing and doing their work. I was sold at how important physical activity is needed throughout the day in order to be productive in other things.
I also agree with you Fiona about the group teach and lesson last class. It was well done and fun. I really enjoyed netball. Because there were only four on a team, again, everyone was active. I also enjoyed learning about TGFU. The best way to learn something is to do it. When can we play the game? Children have so much energy. It’s a great approach to learning games.
Fiona, the same exact thing happened during our first day at practicum. We were observing a Grade 3 Class when Ms. Sun noticed her kids were getting restless and having difficulty keeping focused, so she asked them to grab their coats and they went for a walk. I honestly can’t remember an experience like that in my own educational experience. It’s really great to see that teachers are using physical literacy as a means to help students in their academic process, knowing when it’s appropriate to take kids on a walk to help them refocus for example. Adaptability is going to be so key for us as educators in both the classroom and gym. Knowing when to stray from the lesson plan and reading your students’ level of engagement and having to respond to it .
I like the TGFU as a model for introducing invasion games. I think it’s a great rubric to work from and that it follows a trajectory that ensures your students are informed and engaged. I find it difficult to explain game-type activities that students aren’t familiar with, so it’s great that there’s a model we can work from. I only hope that there are other similar teaching rubrics/strategies in other subjects as well as PE that can help us with future lesson planning. I’m also hoping we’ll have a chance to apply these rubrics during our short practicums.
I really enjoyed reading your reflection! I’m glad you worked up a sweat in class, so did I when I was participating in the TGFU games that Steve set up after my group teach! I also found it interesting to read your example from practicum. Like Julie I love how the teacher read the room and knew what they needed in order to continue learning. So many times in my school experience the whole class has been super agitated and we have had to sit still, even though no one is actually present in their learning. It’s so exciting for me to see and hear about these real life applications of what we hear about in class and I hope that in my practicum I get to experience similar situations. However I do have a kindergarten class and so I believe it has to be a bit more rigid and held to a stricter routine as the students are just learning how to be a student! Therefore please keep sharing your fun experiences! I look forward to hearing more!