I really loved today’s group teach. I think it was an awesome idea to present mini games and activites for us to play that can be used in different ways during our own practicum experiences. My favourite was the maze game. Chris, Maymie and Julie placed coloured circles onto the ground and created a code. They then split us into two groups and the point was for each group to complete the maze by stepping on the correct colour all the way to the end without talking to one another. One person began, if they stepped on the correct colour our teachers would stay silent, if they picked the incorrect colour our teachers would make a beep sound that would signal our cue to restart. I thought this was such a cool team building exercise and is something I can really see myself using with my grade fives. Some modifications we discussed were spreading the circles out to encourage students to jump from one to the other, adding an extra component of skill building exercise and coordination. Chris also suggested moving the circles even closer together, and when the player steps on the wrong circle he or she has to take a lap of the gym. This adds exercise as well as an extra component of difficulty, as the person would have been running around the gym instead of watching their teammates and learning the code. Playing games which involve communication skills besides talking is a good learning tool for both teachers and students. It’s important to remember that not everyone will be comfortable with their words, so encouraging communication through other avenues is key. Great job!

Today’s group teach was really interesting and I feel the activities we did are things I can see myself implementing in my own gym class. The first activity we did was a small warm-up of a lap around the gym to get our heart rates up. Elixa, Sheena and Kate then instructed us on how to measure our heart rates, which we did after our lap and recorded on our worksheets. After recording, we did a dance aerobics routine. This was so fun, I really enjoyed the music. After this segment we re-measured our heart rates and recorded them again to evaluate if anything had changed from our previous record. After this we did a choreographed dance segment, which was fast paced and engaging too. We recorded our heart rates again and then moved into yoga. Yoga was obviously slower paced and more relaxing so my heart rate went down. I think this was a really great way to introduce a new area of health and physical literacy to the class. Knowing how to find your heart rate and being aware of what a healthy heart rate is for resting and exercise is so important and teaches students responsibility in their own health. I think this group did an awesome job of encouraging physical literacy and new knowledge for us!

I really think the gymnastics group did such an awesome job with their lesson last Wednesday. I think gymnastics might be one of the more difficult topics we will have to cover, but after our last session I saw some ideas I can definitely see myself using if I have to teach a gymnastics class. Learning the fundamental skills of balance again made me think about how it might be to teach a gymnastics class to much younger children. I remember the group who was running the team teach felt like they were repeating themselves a lot with their directions, but that kind of repetition is absolutely necessary when working with younger students. Another thing to remember is the safety issues when working with all of the gymnastics equipment. I thought the group kept us in line and safe for the whole lesson and managed to make things fun for us too. I really liked that they incorporated a cooperative activity for teaching us balance as well. Gymnastics is usually such an independent sport, but it was fun to work together on it too in this kind of setting.

This lesson also made me think back to when I used to do gymnastics as a child. I don’t remember ever doing a gymnastics unit in school, but I did it outside of school and absolutely loved it. Looking back I can say that I really like the way gymnastics develops basic fundamental skills such as balance, and I think it should be included in the curriculum for this reason. Looking forward to this week’s lesson!

Week 2 Reading Summary (September 23^rd, 2015)

Physical Literacy – Chp 13, PHE Canada Article

Julie Russell, Emily Warner, Gemma Galbraith

Chapter 13 – Physical Literacy

• “The overarching characteristics of a physically literate individual are that the person moves with poise, economy and confidence in a wide variety of physically challenging situations. Furthermore the individual is perceptive to reading all aspects of the physical environment, anticipating movement needs or possibilities and responding appropriately to these with intelligence and imagination.”- Margaret Whitehead on physical literacy (241)
• This is based on PHE Canada’s ‘recommendation’ that an educator has a responsibility to the development of the whole child (fitness & skill development, cognition & affect).
• Physical literacy focuses on three domains:

• Keep in mind though, fundamental movement skills are the basic building blocks of physical literacy – once a child achieves this, you can then start to work on some of the other qualities/skills.

• Physical literacy is a goal that is always in progress, one does not become physically literate and then stop, as there is no real end state
• Physical literacy encourages the inclusion of alternate activities. E.g. hiking, climbing, hula-hooping. An interdisciplinary approach can also be used to teach physical literacy (Science, math, history can be incorporated)
• What blocks physical literacy curriculum reform is assessment that focuses on the acquiring of techniques related to traditional sports. *See Case Study 2
• The Visual Assessment Chart (Figure 13.2) was used (and can be used) to help seasoned educators see learning beyond the more common dominant sport education. The four quadrants of the visual chart include: knowledge & understanding, communication, thinking & inquiry, application and are evaluated from Level 1 (function) to Level 4 (flow).

Putting Physical Literacy into Practice

• Almond and Whitehead suggest in their article that participation be rewarding for all participants and encourage a sense of self-realization and self-confidence, as one of the main tenants of physical literacy is making sure each student is valued as an individual.
• It should be noted that this competence is understood on a person-by-person basis and there is no universal definition of competency within physical literacy
• To first implement physical literacy in class, the teacher must be knowledgeable of their learners and be ready to work with young learners as an encouraging and nurturing model. Pedagogical skills are required of the teacher: Building trust with students, creating an exciting environment, promoting motivation on the subject.
• This function, form, feeling and flow is presented through multiliteracies/modalities (visual, audio, gestural, spatial), aimed at accounting for diversity and inclusion (local diversity and global connectedness mean there can be no standard) ex: movies, books, drama, social networking
• Teachers then must connect with students: generating enthusiasm, involving learners, focusing on individuals making progress
• Finally teachers must act by creating appropriate challenges, engaging their students, listening, and then encouraging the risks students are taking to step out of their comfort zones.
• We believe that valuing participation in purposeful physical pursuits, and experiencing this as important in their lives, is the way for people to develop and maintain a personal commitment to lifelong participation