Tagged with 'physical education'

Planning for the first week of school can be tricky. Should you focus on making the classroom fun and engaging with games and activities, or should you dedicate the time to covering, practicing, and reinforcing rules, routines, and procedures? Striking a balance between these approaches can help you build a positive and effective classroom culture.

Here are some tips and tricks you can use when planning the first week of school.

Build Relationships

Establish a connection by greeting students at the door. This could include high-fives, smiles, hugs, and even handshakes. Making positive first impressions is essential when building rapport with your students. Create a video or use personal pictures of your summer activities.

Establish Routines

When creating classroom routines, use different visuals to help your students practice routines together. Take pictures or videos demonstrating the correct way to complete the routine. This helps reinforce consistency, and students can see the routine in action. Develop and stick to routines for starting and ending class, transitioning between activities, and managing equipment. Routines help students know what to expect and reduce downtime.

• Organize Students

Using floor tape can help organize and manage your classroom space. Create shapes on the floor to help organize students into spaces where they will sit during instruction. Draw arrows with floor tape to help students visualize how to enter and exit the gym.

• Consistent Modeling

Modeling positive behaviors to help all learners understand can help establish expectation boundaries. For example, demonstrate how to enter and exit the classroom, then have students practice entering and exiting the classroom. If your students are not able to practice the correct way, continue modeling, giving feedback, and practicing until they are successful.

• Start and Stop Mechanism

Find a consistent way to introduce when to start and stop an activity. This can include a specific signal for students to see and hear that a transition is happening. Using a signal will help the flow of your lesson, especially when students receive equipment and put away equipment.

• Offer Positive Praise

Provide students with positive praise sincerely for their efforts and accomplishments, as this can improve their behavior and academic performance. One strategy you can try is the 10-2 strategy, where you identify 10 students in each class and spend 2 minutes throughout class time getting to know your students by asking them a relatable question.

• Power 4 Reset

Refocus the class using a Power 4 Reset for one minute to do deep breathing with the entire class. Instruct all students to be quiet and not active and focus on their breathing. Work on inhaling for four seconds, holding their breath for four seconds, and exhaling for four seconds to help everyone reset.

• Inclusive for all students

To set a positive tone in your PE class, engage all students by planning inclusive and differentiated activities. Plan activities to last only 2-3 minutes to help ensure that every student can participate and feel safe in the environment. Keep students active and interested with diverse activities tailored to various skill levels and interests, as this helps prevent boredom and reduces disruptive behavior.

Reflect and Adjust

Reflect on your classroom management practices regularly and be open to adjusting. Seek feedback from colleagues, students, and mentors to improve your approach continuously.

Maintaining consistent routines, modeling behavior, and building strong relationships are crucial for enhancing student engagement and focus throughout the school year. Establishing clear routines and cues from the beginning helps support a stable environment for months to come. 

10 Tips for PE Summer Camps

Create a safe, inclusive, well-organized, and fun summer camp experience for every student. With an incalculable number of games and activities, every individual can get active and interact with their peers. These tips are specifically designed to enhance the physical education experience of every participant all summer long! 

1. Plan Dynamic Activities: Prepare a diverse range of physical activities that cater to different skill levels, interests, and abilities. Ensure you have all necessary equipment ready and in working condition.
2. Promote Teamwork and Sportsmanship: Design activities that encourage teamwork, cooperation, and fair play. Students should foster a sense of community and mutual respect among students and staff.
3. Encourage Inclusivity: Design activities that are accessible and enjoyable for all students, regardless of their physical and emotional abilities. Promote a culture of respect, kindness, trustworthiness.
4. Be Flexible: Prepare to adapt activities based on weather conditions, student energy and interest levels, or other unforeseen circumstances. Flexibility is crucial to maintaining a positive and engaging summer camp experience.
5. Prioritize Safety: Conduct safety checks of all sports equipment in all facilities. Train staff in first aid and educate them on emergency procedures specific to physical activities. Establish clear rules to reduce the risk of injuries and offer treatment if needed.
6. Stay Organized: Maintain detailed records of student information, including medical histories, allergies, and emergency contacts. Checklists can help ensure all equipment is accounted for, activities run smoothly, and even allow an easy way to share plans.
7. Conduct Pre-Camp Training: Provide comprehensive training for staff on proven instructional strategies, injury prevention, and effective communication with children and parents. All parties should know proper protocols.
8. Effective Communication: Maintain clear and consistent communication with students, staff, and parents. Provide detailed information about daily schedules, activity rules, and emergency contact procedures so that everyone can be kept in the loop.
9. Evaluate and Improve: Regularly ask feedback from students, parents, and fellow staff. Use this information to continuously improve your summer camp activities, organization, and overall experience.
10. Make It Fun and Engaging: Create a positive and energetic atmosphere where students feel excited to participate and play. Incorporate games and challenges to keep the experience enjoyable and motivating.
     

Remember, the most important part of summer camp is for everyone to have fun! Students and staff should have an enjoyable experience making memories and staying active. There are many ways for everyone to participate safely, while engaging in exciting physical and educational activities that will help build healthy habits for life.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Gabriel Ryan, School Health Blog Writer and Contributor

A couple of years ago, I was intrigued when I came across a workout video online with all the participants seated using wheelchairs, and the most enthusiastic, positive, encouraging fitness trainer I’d ever seen! I was glued to my screen. My initial feeling was shock, and I said to myself “this… is awesome, an engaging workout for people that use a wheelchair.” My feeling quickly turned to wanting to be a part of this experience and in no time, I was stretching, reaching, and moving with the music. This workout session was part of an Abilities Expo Conference. The trainer was Justin Graham with W.O.W. Wonders on Wheels. Recently, I learned that W.O.W. offers this wheelchair-friendly fitness class live online, so I signed up for a fitness pass. This was my first week participating and it was great fun! This experience prompted me to focus this month’s Access Angle on encouraging exercise and fitness for all.

The Commit to Inclusion video beautifully highlights aspects of inclusion in fitness and beyond. Great video! Commit to Inclusion is a campaign that supports guidelines and programming for people with disabilities to empower and promote healthy and active lifestyles through physical activities and nutrition. 

A few related Access Angle blogs full of ideas to learn more about fitness and creating realistic goals for yourself or children/students you work with:

• Access Angle: A Fitness Focus: The First Step to Get Started is to START – Fitness goals and websites with sections dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle for people with disabilities.
• Access Angle: Stretch Yourself to the Limit: CanDo Multi-Grip Exerciser – Multigrip resistance bands with large and small loops for easy grip

Don’t forget to incorporate hydration! In previous posts, I have written about the Giraffe Bottle Handsfree Drinking System, which I use. No matter how you hydrate, keep in mind you may need to increase your intake as you increase your activity.

School Health has numerous fitness resources and supports. Browse through the School Health website under categories such as Sports Medicine, Special Education, Early Childhood, and Physical Education to find products and ideas to support a variety of fitness goals. School Health Physical Education is your one-stop shop for all things PE, including equipment and programs for those with differing abilities. For example, the Visual Exercise System offers a variety of premade, color-coded visuals that look like real people doing real exercises. The visuals facilitate communication and provide structure in exercise programs. The Exercise Buddy Pro is also a great tool that incorporates evidence-based practices, videos, and progress monitoring. These tools can help diverse learners better participate in physical education programs and stay engaged! 

Fitness goals are different for everyone. Find an activity you love and most importantly…remember to have fun! 

School Health is proud to welcome five Special Olympics athletes to our headquarters on April 18, 2023. Nate Freeman, Ashley Jones, Katie Hajost, Sam Deveraux, and Kevin Stuercke will meet the School Health team and learn what we do to help students, staff, and communities across the country.

Learn more about the athletes below!

ABCD Funding Formula to Acquire Health and PE Funding

By: Dr. Kim Morton

Did you know hundreds of federal dollars go unspent every year in school districts? Some of the reasons include delayed access to the funds, a nationwide teacher shortage, and a desire to make the money last. 

When I served as a district health and PE coordinator for a large urban school district in North Carolina, I never bought into the common excuse made by most school leaders: “We don’t have the money.” In my opinion, school funding is not the problem. It is the allocation of it that is the greater issue. To ensure federal funding is spent on supporting the needs of students, every school or district requires a health and PE advocate. 

To help nudge my federal funding department to spend some of our district’s federal funds on health and PE, I created and applied the ABCD funding formula. In over five years, I was able to obtain over $4 million in federal funds to purchase curriculum, PE and strength training equipment, instructional resources, professional development, and hire staff to instruct summer learning sessions. 

The first step before applying the ABCD funding formula is to know exactly what you want and how much it would cost. In other words, be ready to submit product names, descriptions, and costs to your federal funding department. If you need a quote, a School Health Specialist can help.

ABCD Federal Funding Formula for Health and Physical Education Requests

Align your budget request with district messaging. Include language from your district’s strategic plan. For example, if one of your district's initiatives is to increase mental, social, and emotional goals, then be sure to explain how your budget request fosters social, emotional, and collaborative student activities.

Be sure to provide a possible budget source(s) with your request. This way, it provides guidance to your federal funding department regarding which budget sources can be used for your request. You do not need to be a budget expert, but you need enough knowledge to make it difficult to deny your request. Below are some examples of budget sources that can help you get started:

1. Title I Federal Funding provides financial assistance and program support to schools with high numbers of children from low income-families.
2. Title II Federal Funding can be spent on:
   1. Staff development
   2. Workshop expenses (this includes PE equipment and curriculum being used in the workshop training)
   3. Coaching
   4. Mentoring
   5. Recruitment
   6. Residency programs
   7. Induction program
3. Title IV-part A can be spent on:
   1. Curriculum
   2. PE and Strength Training equipment
   3. Student resources
   4. Evidence-based PD
   5. Registration
   6. Travel costs
   7. Certified salaries and benefits
4. ESSER II (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds must be used through September 30, 2023, and can be spent on:
   1. Covid-19 supplies
   2. Summer learning
   3. Educational technology
   4. Supplemental after-school programs
   5. Addressing needs of low-income students
5. ARP (American Rescue Plan) ESSER III (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds must be used through September 30, 2024, and can be spent on:
   1. Activities to address needs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
   2. Implementing public health protocols
   3. 20% must address learning loss

Make it hard for them to say “No.” Give them details of your budget request (purpose and how it will be used) and connect them emotionally. You want to inform your reader, but also inspire them to take action. For example, if you are seeking to purchase CPR manikins you would want to state, “performing CPR in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.”

Identify student learning gaps and needs. Moreover, use local data to help decision makers “see” how your budget request can help address a local issue. For example, if you are requesting to purchase BRAINball™, your messaging should include how this product can increase your district’s reading and math scores. If you are requesting fitness equipment, you can pull student fitness data from WELNET® online software, indicating the percentage of students who met or did not meet fitness measurements. 

Assert Your Case

Be prepared to showcase all the evidence and support needed for how funding can benefit not only your students, but also your school and district. To ensure federal funding is spent on supporting students’ physical, mental, emotional, and social needs, it is necessary for every school or district to have a health and PE advocate who is willing to work towards meeting these goals. Contact School Health to learn more about ESSER funding.

Getting Kids Excited about Nutrition

It seems the sight of children running around a playground is few and far between. Tablets, television and video game consoles are the new slides and swings, and it is taking a toll on children’s eating habits and physical health.

The inactivity of children has turned childhood obesity into a global epidemic and according to Benioff Children’s Hospitals, media use has been identified as a main contributing factor. Studies from Benioff states children between 8 and 18 spend about 6 hours and 43 minutes a day on media devices. Limited physical activity is an obvious reason excessive screen time is unhealthy, but the ads that come with the media they are consuming can be harmful as well. Children’s media often contains ads for foods that mostly have high sugar and high fat content.

Getting children away from their tablet completely is a tough task, but being able to limit screen time by finding something more entertaining is a big first step, and that first step can be at school.

School Health can provide your schools with equipment from Palos Sports that provides unique and engaging activities in gym class. The Zone™ 3-on-3 Scooter Basketball provides a unique and fun approach to basketball that keeps students moving and engaged. The Zone™ Alien Spaceship Battle is a fun alternative to bowling with more intense competition. These activities provide a fresh new experience for kids instead of a normal game of kickball or jump rope.

What a child replenishes with after physical activity is just as important as the activity itself. FamilyDoctor.org explains the lifestyle benefits for children that eat healthy as well as what these healthy habits can prevent.

As teachers, it is important to educate your students on the benefits of good nutrition, and work to introduce them to some healthy snacks. School Health provides numerous ways to educate children on what a balanced meal looks like. The MyPlate Real Plate is a teaching aid used at mealtimes to show food groups and portion sizes for each meal.

 School Health also provides nutritional snacks and drinks to give students and athletes after physical activity. Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Shakes include high quality proteins that help with workout recovery and building strength. The Clif Shot Bloks Electrolyte Chews are an edible option for workout recovery and protein, and also provide high energy for a low-calorie intake.

Helping your students understand what it takes to maintain a healthy lifestyle can be essential for their future and taking a fun and rewarding approach through games and engaging educational resources can make it easier for them to remember key components.