Movement Journal- week 10

It was our last group teach for PE last Friday. I thought the group did an amazing job on teaching health and physical literacy. The instant activity of spelling out letters was fun and gave us the opportunity to be creative (I love the CITE photo Steve took). I was in Cheryl’s group for reading discussion; the summary was clear and concise, which gave us the chance to reflect more for discussion. I learned new information and strategies for facilitating health and physical activities into other subjects and I had fun listening to other people share their experiences. The warm up and the cool down were awesome; I can imagine grade 2-3 students would be really engaged with acting out as wild animals in the jungle.  Also, this is a great activity to do a cross curriculum with a drama class! I loved the main activity and I was able to get to 13 out of the 16 stations.  We all had so much fun; they must have spent a lot of time preparing for all those stations and setting up. I like how they connected different subjects to the activities at different stations, such as art, music, English and health. This last PE lesson was a great demonstration of how to do cross curriculum with PE and other subjects and it was very well taught!

Physical Literacy- Week 9 Post

What an amazing way to wrap up PE 320! Cheryl, Elizabeth, Jennifer and Rob pulled off the most intricate physical literacy lesson. I believe there was over 16 stations with various activities and levels of engagement. I really enjoyed the free-play nature of this lesson. Being able to engage with different stations and tasks and move on as you please was wonderful. I enjoyed that there were multiple stations that weren’t being used so you could always move along without having to take turns and wait. The lesson was very well designed in this sense. I would have enjoyed travelling with a partner for a little more motivation to read and try some of the other activities. My favourite activities were those where I got to colour a flower with motivational phrases, the meditation station and the goal making template. For me, I was always the type of PE student who preferred to participate in sports so it was nice to challenge myself by doing more low key activities. I can see how this lesson was designed for all learners. Although this lesson seemed like a lot to organize,  most activities were quite simple to coordinate and doing it over the course of a few weeks would be worth the effort. The group had put a lot of thought into aspects of the lesson from the tic-tac-toe organizer that encouraged movement to stations and the way they approached us during the lesson and encouraged us to challenge ourselves and stay on-task.

The Final Post

How do I plan, participate, and advocate for School Based Physical Activity? An important question that as educators it is our responsibility to encourage the school as a whole to be more physically active. This increase in physical activity does not need to be drastic by building a new gymnasium. Physically active lifestyle choices can be implemented into the daily routine of the individual class. I would encourage fellow educators to start their day with a brisk morning walk, approximately 20 minutes, and during this walk the class can engage in cross-curricular education. One morning the students could be observing for scientific research, for example, the different types of moss. I would also recommend for schools that have limited Physical Education time, anything less than once a day, to combined blocks with other classes to optimize student physical activity. Finally the last tool that I would use to increase the physical activity of the whole school would be once a month offers a “sports day”. This program would change monthly to adapt to the weather. During the winter months I suggest a school trip to a swimming pool, skating rink, or a ski hill. This program would expose students of all ages to the wide variety of sports related positions.

Through adaptations to the school as a physically active environment we will encourage students to become lifelong students of health and physical education. By supporting students at a young age we are setting them up with the knowledge and skill base that they need to strive in the future. By educating students on healthy eating practices they will be prepared to make healthy choices throughout their life. The programs that encourage healthy eating habits are present in PE class, Science, and Home Economics. Cross-circular programs that encourage students to inquire about their health is the future. The presence of school or community gardens is impressive. By teaching students to get dirty and grow their own vegetables we are teaching them valuable life long skills.

BC Wheelchair Sports

This was so much fun! I loved learning about the sports options available, and the education programs and grant programs that they provide. All of the representatives from each organization were friendly and excited about sports. I love sports and believe they are so important. I want to tell everyone about how much fun wheelchair basketball is! And that they can play tennis or rugby and everyone can play, not just adults. I loved the kids and the party options. I should be honest and say that I was a little bit nervous about being in the chair and playing the games, but I have always been not so much of a risk taker. Other students in our class loved it! I am glad I got to experience it and learn about bc wheelchair sports.

We read an article in our social justice class about how sometimes having students “pretend” or act out a disability in order to get their point of view can actually have more negative effects that positive effects. I do think that is true if not done with proper care and attention. Having the professionals come in and teach us was a great way to raise awareness to an issue, and was a lot of fun and a great work out at the same time. PE can easily be modified simply by changing the rules or introducing some special equipment, but it is not as daunting of a task as I originally thought. BC Basketball and BC Wheelchair sports are another great resource we can use in our future careers as teachers. Spread the Word!

Week 11 – Response to Guiding Questions

What is the importance of collaborating and sharing ideas and resources?
As a teacher candidate, I am walking into the teaching environment as a fresh slate. With this comes advantages and disadvantages. Most importantly, I have little knowledge of the physical education classroom that I can apply to my own teachings in the future, besides what I have learned about in EDCP 320. The importance of collaborating, sharing ideas, and resources is that you should be taking ideas from your fellow teacher candidates and more experienced teachers to create the best classroom culture and physical literacy environment that you can have. As someone who grew up being quite weak in physical education class, I know that I valuable perspective for those students who do not love to exercise or feel that they are good or that they enjoy certain sports. What this means for my students is that I can support their needs better than someone who has excelled at PE their entire life. On the other hand, perhaps those who excel in PE would be better off with a teacher. These are the people I need to be collaborating with so that I can create an inclusive environment for everyone.

How will I support and create conditions for student growth, success and enjoyment?

I will support and create conditions for student growth, success and enjoyment by creating a positive atmosphere. I don’t care how long it takes for me to build this culture at the beginning of the year. To me, the most important part of a physical education classroom will be the fact that it is a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Name calling or teasing will be addressed immediately as something that is absolutely not tolerated in my classroom. With this type of inclusive environment I will be giving my students the tools they need to succeed in physical education. As well, I strongly believe that a growth mindset needs to be supported in every classroom, so I will constantly model and share this mindset with their students so that they will not think that their ability in any sport will be stagnant, but as something that can improve with time. Lastly, I hope students will have a chance to try many different types of physical activity so that they will learn to love and enjoy a variety types of physical activity.

Dance Class Reflection

I actually enjoyed our dance class lesson. This is the one that made me the most nervous about teaching and learning – my strategy to pair up with Agnes (a fellow nervous dancer) was foiled when our group was separated into 4 lines! Now what was I going to do!

My only dance experience has been some less than enthusiastic swing dance lessons, “dancing” at the bar or whatever you call that – mostly just distract and run away from the dance floor – weddings (which are always a great time!) and PE class where we learned line dancing and two step (probably). So far my love of line dance has not been very useful so I was really excited to learn this dance – they taught us 4 basic movements, eliminating any fear or confusion – and then a simple set of steps that we all completed IN A LINE! I loved that. This was line dancing without being country which means most people will like it, not just redneck girls like me. It was a great lesson and I appreciated their instruction and enthusiasm. By the end of the lesson I was feeling brave enough to incorporate more emotion and movement into my steps. SUCCESS!

Dance can be intimidating because we often think of ballerinas or real modern dancers and their ability to perform complex moves synchronized and very quickly. It was nice to see that this is not the only way. I also really enjoyed the articles that taught the basics of modern dance. I want to teach dancing as a story telling and dramatic movement – from more of a theatrical approach than an actual song and dance routine. Maybe as teachers we just need to demystify dancing. Don’t worry so much about looking good or getting the beat right and practice using your body to show emotions. The kids that love dancing will be able to take this and expand on it, and the kids that are intimidated by all this dancing, will be able to access it from a point of view where they can be more comfortable. I actually feel prepared to teach dance now.

On a side note, I was watching SHAW local tv this morning and they had a kids dance instructor group on there called FUCI, fun unique creative individuals and they were great! I want to bring them in to my class. Also DancePlay is full of great resources as well. Dancing can be fun and easy to teach!

Oct 28th – Self-reflection (Dance Lesson) Ashley Wong

This was my very first time teaching physical education, and I can honestly say I learned a lot just in the planning and execution of this one lesson. First, I learned there are so many details (particularly with dance) that you have to consider when prepping your lesson. For example, considering your student’s skills and prior knowledge. As a group, we wanted to come up with a dance lesson that was challenging and new, but still accessible. We also wanted to come up with a routine that was fun and engaging. It was difficult coming up with a dance routine we felt was both age-appropriate and fun. We also had to consider in what format were we going to introduce the routine, for example, if we’d teach it in parts, or as a whole with music. All these minor details had to be thought out and discussed.

Overall, I’m really happy with our lesson. I feel like we were able to create a lesson that encouraged a lot of class participation, group collaboration and fun! Something that we can definitely consider for next time is (as mentioned to us by Steve) is ensuring every student feels supported and included in their learning by giving them that one-on-one support if needed. For example, while I was demonstrating at the front of the class, we could have had Amy and Jennifer roaming through the students to see if anyone needed extra help in learning the dance moves. As an educator, it’s easy to forget that even though you’re teaching to a group, you’re teaching individuals who learn at different rates. When we check in with students to see their progress, some students may be too shy to admit that they are behind the class or just not understanding the material. It’s our job to notice this and take the time to help those students. That’s the same with teaching dance, knowing when to break in your lesson or take that initiative to help those students learn the dance moves and overall, feel included.

Movement Journal- Final Week

Last Friday was a lot of fun, it was the most free flowing lesson we’ve had all year, due to the variance it’s station based approach.I really enjoyed the creativity involved in the warm up and cool down. More so, I appreciate the creativity and ambition with the lesson as a whole. It goes without saying that, that lesson is a high risk, high reward undertaking. With an ample amount of front loading by the instructor and a trusting relationship between teacher and class, it could be tremendous. On the other hand, things could easily go array. Nonetheless, as aforementioned, I admired the ambition of this lesson. I think a lot of the preceding groups, including my own, took a more traditional route because most of us assumed that the students would be acclimated regarding the type of behavior expected in those traditional structures. Last Friday, however, took an entirely different, more progressive, and perhaps more fulfilling approach. If there is a time to try a more unique approach to teaching, it is in a safe, experimental and controlled environment such as this. In retrospect, I wish I had suggested something more outside the box to my presentation group after participating in this lesson. Overall, it was a great lesson, one that only provides us with more tools for our P.E. toolbox. We have now been gifted some knowledge in almost every overarching aspect that we will have to deal with in our P.E. class in terms of activity types to game plan for. I hope to lesson plan in a creative manner much like the one that was exemplified last Friday.

Physical Literacy Teaching Reflection

Teaching PE this week was so much fun, and  I liked how engaged everyone was with our Bingo activity and our animal-themed warm up and cool down.  As we prepared I was thinking of how to facilitate engagement in activities that would promote an integration of mindfulness, health and fitness.  Throughout this course I’ve come to recognize how important it is to be present in the moment when we’re getting active – focusing on breathing, appreciating the process, enjoying the surroundings, having an attitude of acceptance and engaging in exercise for physical, mental and social benefits.

We incorporated stations to promote good social interaction during physical activity: cheering for each other, running a ‘victory lap,’ engaging playfully in physical activity together, and exploring new games.  We also incorporated health and mindfulness activities: meditations, positivity flowers, and personal goals.  Our approach was to plan an activity that could be used as an end-of-term festive class party to celebrate the big ideas that we would hope to have covered with our class already.

I was very appreciative of the feedback I received after teaching.  I felt encouraged to hear that I set a safe, inclusive environment for everyone to participate in.  I look forward to practicing developing better volume in the gym so that all participants can hear me!  I found this feedback extremely useful practically.  Thanks for the safe environment to practice teaching PE!

Health and Physical Literacy

Congratulations Cheryl, Rob, Elizabeth and Mary! I thought you did a fantastic job with your presentation on Friday. I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s teaching persona come out during the different activities. For instance, I thought Mary had a more warm and gentle voice while Elizabeth’s was very enthusiastic and encouraging which also helped to suit the activities they were doing. I loved the warm up and cool down activity which involved students imagining themselves as animals. From my experience, primary students absolutely love animals and thought these activities were a great way for students to use their imagination. I also loved the instant activity where we each used our bodies to form different letters of the alphabet. This was very creative and allowing students to form partners based on where they were in the gym when the music stops is a great way for them to form relationships with different people.

I thought having sixteen stations was an excellent idea and I loved how Elizabeth said students are free to explore which ever stations they want. This made all of the activities sound really fun and exciting. I also liked how all of the different activities came together to help promote mental, emotional and physical health. I’m a great fan of mindfulness and loved the positivity wall and the meditation centre. I think a lot of students might sometimes get overwhelmed with all of the noises and activities that go on in PE and this is a great way to calm themselves down. I also liked how all of the stations were positioned around the sides of the gym and I feel it would be quite easy for a teacher to stand in the centre and monitor what was going on in the different stations. Overall, it was an excellent presentation and all of the presenters should be very proud of the hard work they put into their lesson.