Tag Archives: Fitn’healthy

Reflection – Michelle Parker

This week was my group’s turn to teach. We taught track and field, specifically sprinting. I think our lesson went well, my instant activity was short, fun and engaging. The class enjoyed the warm up as well. We did dynamic stretching to music and it turned into a dance party. I think these ideas really transfer to the classroom as students really enjoy doing things this way. I also felt that my discussion group for the reading summary went really well. We had a great discussion and I almost did not get through everything I needed to for the summary. I felt that the reading was really engaging for us to discuss and we were all in the same mindset for it.

Our planning was difficult. We ended up changing our lesson plan quite significantly as we had planned way to much. However it came together in the end which was great. We ended up changing our track relay the morning of. We realized that the track was bigger then we were thinking in our heads and needed to modify the game so there was not as much running involved. We wanted to make the game enjoyable for people who are not runners and we felt this modification was important for that.

I felt the group was really engaged and I was not expecting this! I felt people were not excited when they heard what we were doing but the attitude really changed as we got into the activities. I think we managed to make running fun!

Tiffany’s Movement Journal_Post Lesson Reflection (Oct 14)

This was my first “practice teach”, and I must say it was a great learning experience.  The first thing that struck me was the energy that was generated just by being outside – we were blessed with beautiful sunshine, the fresh air was invigorating, and Meghan’s enthusiasm was contagious! Even though our class was nothing fancy – we didn’t go on a paddleboarding field trip, or go on a hike up at Grouse Mountain – merely being outdoors had a positive impact on our physical and mental well-being.

One thing that I learned from this group teach was the importance of clear, written communication.  I can be a bit of an “organization freak”, and throughout the process of planning our lesson, I color coded and made charts to my heart’s content.  Our group discussed all of the logistics and felt ready to go.  After the lesson however, Steve pointed something out that none of us realized – even though we had discussed and expressed everything in our group teach, not everything was documented in our lesson plan.  We did not realize the importance of written communication – if “something” is not written down, those who were not part of our discussions would never know that that “something” ever existed.  What if, as a future educator, I was sick and couldn’t deliver the lesson I had planned? What if I did not write my lesson plan clearly, resulting in making the life of my TOC extremely difficult? What if I did not outline the safety precautions properly on the field trip forms, and a student got hurt as a result?  As professionals, we must remember that we are being held accountable for all of our actions, so we have to act as diligently and responsibly as we can!

Lastly, I want to take this time to thank the class for all of your enthusiasm and participation! Without it, our lesson would never have been able to take form.  Thanks for giving us such a wonderful learning experience : )

Tiffany’s Movement Journal_Week 1 (September 9)

The evening prior to our first class, I was very nervous.  Having experienced mostly negative experiences in my childhood Physical Education (PE) classes, I was apprehensive about what this course would be like, and how I would be able to teach a class and make it exciting and fun for everyone.

The PE classes of my recollections involved a lot of standing in the sidelines during soccer games, and wishing that I wouldn’t be “saved” during dodgeball so I didn’t have to go back into the battle zone.  Although teachers encouraged everyone to participate, children who were already good at whatever sport or game that was being played tended to take the spotlight, while the rest of the class stood by and watched.

I did not quite understand this problem until we discussed the article regarding primary school teachers not feeling qualified to teach PE.  In my own conversation with a classmate, a multitude of reasons could contribute to this issue.  Fitness and athletic abilities, as well as past experiences were brought up.  Having never been exceptionally athletic, as well as experiencing the feeling of being left out, I was hesitant about my own ability to teach PE successfully.  It then made sense that teachers with a similar background would feel unqualified to teach PE.

The views toward fitness and physical education are changing, however.  Rather than being focused on “super stars” with skills that the majority of the population are not able to achieve, attention is being drawn to staying active through whatever means you are comfortable with.  I hope that I will be able to create an environment that emphasizes the importance of staying active, rather than letting it become an exhibition of skills.

Meghan’s Fun Facts Blog Post! September 9th

“The Journal of School Health revealed PE teachers are so biased against fat children they automatically assume they are less clever and have fewer friends than fitter pupils.”

 

Hard facts:

Worldwide:

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  • 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013
  • The fasting growing areas are the low to middle income countries with emerging economies, particularly in urban areas.

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In Canada:

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  • The fastest growing provinces are Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

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Global reasons:

  • Increased intake of energy dense foods that are high in fat and sugar
  • Increase in sedentary nature of many forms of work, modes of transportation and increased urbanization

What can we do?

  • Limit energy intake from total fats and sugars
  • Increase our consumption of fruits and vegetables
  • Engage in regular physical activity (60 minutes a day for children, and 150 minutes a week for adults)
  • Support each other in our endeavors
  • Educate ourselves and others

YOUR THOUGHTS?

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

http://childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/what-is-childhood-obesity/statistics/O