Last Friday’s group did a great job on physical literacy! Both the warm-up and the cool-down were really memorable! They were able to have consistency with the animal theme; something that I think is a great strategy for a Grade 2/3 class, for any class! It was a great way to get us students to use our creativity and imagination; something we should all be striving to do in our lessons. I think we can get lost in the content of what we have to teach that we have a hard time getting creative. Although, using the new curriculum, we will have more opportunities to be inventive with our lessons.

I thought the main activity was also a great way to teach us physical literacy! Liz, Rob, Cheryl and Mary were effective educators in giving us the Bingo task. They told us we did not have to complete it and that we had the choice to go to any of the stations as we pleased; just as long as we were moving and completed at least 2 of the stations. It was a great way to show us students that it was more important to be moving, exploring and having fun with it. I think that is what physical literacy is all about, being able to apply the different aspects of movement into every day play and being able to balance the different bouts of knowledge, in our daily routines. For example, there was a station to create a healthy routine and a healthy plate; giving us the option to have fun with the food options and while educating us. I personally enjoyed the cheering station! I love the rhythmic gymnastics ribbons, they are so much fun to run around with and it was very fun to cheer for our classmates!

The last two groups did really well with their lessons!  The gymnastics group did really a great job of scaffolding our skills and giving us the introductory lesson to the world of gymnasts! They did a superb job of showing us how each station worked and what they specifically wanted us to work on at each station. They were very clear with what parts of the body we should be focusing on at each station. The various sets of skills were not overly hard nor were there too many; therefore allowing us students to focus on building up one or two skills, and building them up really well. I particularly enjoyed the “balance beam” station. While I would be pretty frightened of going on a real balance beam they created the environment for it! I felt if I were in an actual gymnastics class and started with practice on benches, I would have the confidence to move up to the real thing! I want to commend the group for creating that safe space!

The dance group was also fantastic! They really got us moving! I was so exhausted at the end of their lesson! I liked that their focus was on expression and movement rather than getting perfect steps. And while we worked on timing and counting in beats, it was still fun and focused on the movement aspect! Being one to let loose and be silly, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to be free and have fun! They taught a few dance moves which were used throughout the whole class; this was very effective teaching tool! We were taught only a few moves but were free to add our own flavour. As well, they used the dance moves in different ways, in the group dancing with Cheryl, the game and the dance-off. I thought the friendly dance-off was a nice touch and definitely something tailored to our class. I think our class is comfortable enough to have fun with something like a dance-off and I thought it was a great addition to their lesson.

I thought the last week’s outdoor lesson was so much fun! It really got us moving around and they made such good use of their resources! UBC is such a great place and there is an abundance of area and resources nearby! I don’t know why we didn’t go outside sooner! I thought they implemented and integrated the First People’s Principles really well; regardless if that was their intent or not. But just being outdoors and conversing while studying the nature and other environmental elements really brought that to life. I think we should all strive to bring various aspects of the outdoors into our lesson as future educators. It will help teach our students on physical literacy, get them out in the fresh air and a simple yet effective way to integrate the First People’s Principle of Learning in our curriculum.

The use of stations in the different areas was a great way for us to move around and to really focus on the specific places we were set it. I think all of the stations were great, but I especially enjoyed Jackie’s station where we were told to make artwork with the nature around us; ie. Leaves, rocks, pine cones. I also thought that balloon station with Brianna was a great way for us to build on our teamwork skills and it was just great fun!

Great job Jackie, Lexi, Brianna and Katy! It was super enjoyable and thanks for getting us outside!

I thought this week did really well with invasion games! They implemented the TGfU model in such a way that we did not even really noticed how well it worked! (Or at least I did not). They provided a safe environment for us to play and build on our skills. The idea of keeping students in their ZPD – Zone of Proximal Development was well executed this week. Zoe, Jenny and Vivian did a great job of keeping the games simple while building on our skills. Their main activity showcased this as they continuously added various aspects to the game, from just running from one side to another while on team stays on lines to block, to passing a ball to each other to get to other side while the other team is allowed only one step from the lines.

Their explanations of how these sets of skills play into other sports and everyday life was very well thought out. While playing, I was not as aware of how this built on our skills and our physical literacy; I was too busy having fun and participating. I think that this is what we should all strive for as future educators. Being able to keep our students in their ZPD’s while pushing them a little further each time, without them even noticing because they’re having too much fun, is how I think it should be. PE should be a fun place! I look back at my own elementary and high school experiences and think about the fun we had. I think about how the games we played slowly built on our skills. Our teacher was able to break down the skills needed while reinforcing the concepts of fair play and teamwork. And looking back at it now, many of the skills were transferable to other games we played! I think this week’s group teach gave us an ideal example of how to apply the model into a class!

1. I think what worked well for this lesson was that our group was on the same page, therefore was able to keep the lesson going smoothly. We planned the entire lesson together and made sure we all knew what was happening at all times. While we planned the lesson together, my responsibility was to put together and lead the instant activity. As well, to lead the station to build on volleyball setting skills.
2. One thing I noticed about planning and teaching was that it can often be a collaborative effort. As futures educators, we may be the lone teacher in the classroom, but we still have to be able to work in a group; ie. with our fellow staff. In terms of teaching and planning, I noticed that we do need to make changes on the fly. It is easier to make changes ahead of time, while planning, but I found having a backup to our activities helped with changing things on the fly. We had something to fall back on, therefore making it a little easier to change things up.
3. I noticed our learners week very engaged. I believe our enthusiasm and encouragement throughout the lesson helped with that. They were able to build on their skills as we gave them tips in a positive and constructive way. As well, our group made sure to keep the learners building on their volleyball skills, even while moving between the skill stations (ie. The shuffle monkey position). I think they were able to have fun with it, while continuing to be active participants in class. And because we kept the fun movement (the shuffle monkey) consistent throughout the lesson, we were able to keep the flow of the class and allow our learners to follow instructions easily. They responded well to the fun aspect of our lesson; they listened more intently and we were able to have a smooth lesson.
4. I think if we did anything differently, we would’ve made sure that we were always loud and clear with our instructions. I think we could have also had smaller groups to help with building on more skills and giving more feedback towards the learners.