Tuesday 30 October 2018

Gymnastics for All

"I often hear that gymnastics is one of the most difficult units to teach in Physical Education, especially if you are not a Physical Education specialist, or maybe even if you are, but have no formal gymnastics training. I thought people would appreciate the following overview of a gymnastics unit that I have used in the past to guide my lessons. I hope it can be as valuable for you as it has been for me. Of course, I modify it greatly from year to year, and class to class depending on my students' needs and abilities. Please feel free to use it as you see fit, and modify any areas to best suit your students' learning needs."

Submitted by:
Dustin Turner
HPEC Secretary

Gymnastics Station Safety

Grades: K-6
SLO: A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-8, A-9, A-10, A-11, A-12, C-1, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6, D-1, D-2, D-3, D-4, D-5, D-7, D-9.

Materials:
  • 9 pieces of white paper, with each station number listed.
  • All gymnastics equipment available.

Objective: To acquire and improve upon skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities.

Success Criteria:
-          I will set a goal and work towards meeting that goal.
-          I will demonstrate safe play, while maintaining a challenging environment.
-          I will create a movement sequence that include the class-created success criteria.

Methods:
Station Examples
  • Station #1 and #2 (Climbing Structure):
    • Can only go up to the noted height, no higher.
    • Should always maintain three points of contact (e.g. Two feet, one hand).
    • Have to stay underneath bars that are higher than shoulder height, and can go on top of bars that are lower than shoulder height.
    • Only one person at a time on any given piece of equipment.
    • Keep your body as long as you can while using ladder (hold highest bar reachable).
    • If climbing please go all the way down. Don’t jump off when almost down.
  • Station #3 (horse and crash mat):
    • Only one person on horse and crash mat at a time.
    • No flips or aerials.
    • Twists are okay.
    • Land on buttocks.
    • No pushing.
  • Station #4 (Trestles and ladders):
    • Climb up and down ladders (not from side).
    • You have to stay under equipment that is higher than shoulder height, and can go over equipment that is lower than the child’s shoulders.
  • Station #5 (Ropes):
    • Two ropes under crash mat are for climbing or trying to hold yourself up.
    • Please go up, and then go down slowly, don’t let yourself drop.
    • Two ropes in between benches are for swinging.
  • Station #6 (Floor mats)
    • Use ribbons and hula hoops safely.
    • Be aware of body space required (so that you do not hit people with the equipment)
    • Create a routine\sequence with your group.
    • If group does not want to use hula hoops and ribbons, then push equipment off mats.
    • While rest of group is watching, one person may go on the mat and perform somersaults, handstands, cartwheels, or log rolls.
  • Station #7 (Balance beams):
    • Only one person on the beam at a time.
    • Try to perform a balance routine that includes three levels (high, medium, low).
    • Walk on balance beam (no running)

Introduction
·         Explain gymnastics success criteria to students.
o   I will set a goal and work towards meeting that goal.
o   I will demonstrate safe play, while maintaining a challenging environment.
o   I will create a movement sequence that include the class-created success criteria.
  • On the walls of the gym, post 7 pieces of paper, each containing a different station number.
  • Have students create their own groups of 4-5 students (or create functional groupings if required).
  • Stations are setup in the gym. Students will work in groups answering the following questions for their station (writing the answers on a piece of chart paper).
    1. What safety reminders do you have for your station?
    2. What challenges would you suggest to others for this station?
  • Teacher writes down the student instructions for each station, guiding a conversation around student-created safety suggestions, and age-appropriate movement challenges.
    1. These notes will be typed up and posted at each station for future classes and modified slightly to be age-appropriate and within safety guidelines.
    2. As students move from station to station, they will read the instructions as a group before beginning their play.
  • Have students work through stations (only changing stations as a whole class when whistle blows).
    1. *Please note that for when changing stations, students spend one minute before starting the station, reviewing the station-related posted rules as a group.
  • Each day will have the following focus for students as a whole.
Day 1:             - Rule generating sessions and a few stations.
Day 2-5           - General Review of a few key safety guidelines.
- Reminder to review student-generated station rules before starting any station.
- Introduce various challenges for certain stations.
Day 6-10         - General Review of a few key safety guidelines.
- Reminder to review student-generated station rules before starting any station.
- Introduce gymnastic routine expectations.
Day 11-14       - General Review of a few key safety guidelines.
- Reminder to review student-generated station rules before starting any station.
- Gymnastics routine practice and performances (1-2 at the end of each class as groups are ready).
Day 15, 16      - Missions Impossible (setup an obstacle course for students to work through using the various gymnastics skills that they have acquired throughout the unit.
Modifications:
  • Ensure stations are activities that are appropriate to grade level.
  • Lower or heighten equipment for various grade levels, according to Canadian Climber course.
  • Add or remove stations dependent on your gym’s equipment.

Monday 22 October 2018




HPEC Annual Conference, An Excellent Professional Development Opportunity!


Conference Registration for HPEC 2019 is open!


The HPEC Annual Conference is a “must do” for health and physical education teachers in Alberta. This annual professional development event is held in early May each year. It is an exceptional learning opportunity put on by Alberta teachers for Alberta teachers. Some words used to describe last year’s HPEC conference include: informative, engaging, collegial, inspiring, active, fun, social, exciting, refreshing, connecting, learning, laughing, awesome, useful, relevant, motivating, energetic, captivating, enlightening, uplifting, worthwhile, professional, exceptional, enjoyable, interesting, wonderful, rewarding, applicable, insightful, fulfilling, educational, invigorating, amazing, outstanding and practical. With teachers describing the annual HPEC Conference with words like these, who wouldn’t want to attend?


The 2019 HPEC Conference will be held in Red Deer on May 9, 10 and 11. Here is the HPEC 2019 Top Ten Reasons to ensure your attendance at this year’s conference.


  1. The Conference Theme: Life’s A Journey, Let it be ACTIVE! 
  2. The Conference Keynote Speakers: Hal Johnson and JoAnne MacLeod. These are iconic Canadian figures promoting physical activity for all. 
  3. The Conference Venue: New facilities will be used for the conference at Red Deer College. These facilities have been specifically built for the 2019 Canada Winter Games. 
  4. The Conference Program: Countless sessions sharing information and best practices related to Health and Physical Education. 
  5. The Conference Friday Night Social at Canyon Ski Hill: Canadian themed and there might even be snow to play in and cardboard tobogganing races at the Friday Night Social in May. Let’s Play Eh?! 
  6. The Alberta Teachers recognized with HPEC Awards: Celebrate the exceptional teaching and contributions to Health and Physical Education in our province with the HPEC Awards of Distinguished Service, PHE Canada Young Professional Award and the HPEC Certificate of Commendations. 
  7. The Conference Exhibitors: Check out the latest and greatest resources and equipment on display to enhance your health and physical education program. 
  8. The Conference Nutrition Breaks: Get re-energized during the day with healthy snacks to keep you going throughout the sessions you attend. 
  9. The HPEC Executive: Meet the HPEC President and fellow executive members throughout the conference. The HPEC Executive members volunteer to serve Alberta teachers and promote health and physical education throughout the province. 
  10. The Pre-Conference Session put on by Ever Active Schools. Learn about the resource, “Ski, Skate and Slide”. Using an alternative environment of ice and snow. 


All HPEC 2019 Conference information can be found on the HPEC website conference link:


http://www.hpec.ab.ca/hpec-2019-life-s-a-journey-let-it-be-active


I hope to see you in Red Deer on May 9, 10 and 11, 2019! Conference registration is now open on the HPEC website.

https://event-wizard.com/HPEC2019RedDeer/0/register/



Blog post submitted by:
Sonia Sheehan
HPEC Vice President Communication

Thursday 11 October 2018



Health, Wellness, Well-being: What’s in a Word?


                Health, wellness, wellbeing: Alberta teachers are moving closer to implementing the new K-4 Wellness curriculum. As Physical Educators, we need to come to a mutual understanding of some common words used in our practice. Some terms, like health and wellness, have a long socio-linguistic history, while others, like well-being, are a more recent addition to the health education lexicon. What do these terms mean, and why does it matter?

                According to the World Health Organization, health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2018). This definition was adopted in 1946, and it signalled reformed understanding of health. Rather than seeing health as individuals not being sick, this definition emphasized seeking knowledge about all the complex factors (social, mental, environmental, occupational, financial, intellectual, and spiritual) that influence a person who is living with, or without, illness. The adopters of this definition recognized that health was a social contract between people – not merely the outcome of individual choices.

Wellness has been defined as “a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and sense of well-being” (Corbin & Pangrazi, 2001, p.1).  The term came into common practice because of the work of Florence Nightingale, although it has been used since the time of Socrates (Johnson & Click, 2017).  Several theoretical models exist, and many of them place self-responsibility as central to developing wellness (Roscoe, 2009; Williams, 2009).  In these models, wellness is seen as a positive outcome of health, and an individual attains this state through balancing multiple dimensions such as nutrition, physical activity, stress, context, and spirituality.

                Where does well-being come into play? Well-being, a derivative of “be well”, refers generally to a person being in a positive state. Difficult to measure and used interchangeably with both health and wellness, wellbeing/well-being/well being does not have a settled definition (Marjanen, Ornellas & Mantynen, 2016) or even a common spelling.  Rather than measuring well-being, researchers look for evidence, or indicators, of well-being.  These indicators generally aim to measure people living satisfying lives and is a growing area of research worth keeping an eye on over the next few years.

                So why does it matter what term we use? Health – wellness- wellbeing – isn’t it all the same? Definitions matter because if we look to the origins of the words, wellness places emphasis on individual responsibility and health emphasizes collective responsibility. The word we choose changes how we teach the curriculum. If we see wellness as a state of being and a component of health, then we understand that society influences individual wellbeing: that the social and physical environment of individuals can influence their ability to sleep and eat well, drink clean water, and feel safe.

Arguably, if we see health as a component of wellness, then we place personal decision-making above society’s responsibility to the individual. Absence of positive wellbeing could be judged as the fault of an individual who makes bad choices by eating junk food, drinking too much wine, or not sleeping enough. Instead of considering all the factors that might influence a lack of sleep, like a railroad track built through the centre of a town, individual choices, like drinking coffee too late in the afternoon, can be blamed.  Keeping the focus on health is a reminder that being well results from a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our personal control.

So, the question for discussion becomes: are we teaching a Wellness curriculum or Health and Physical Education? I look forward to discussing this idea further.


Submitted by: Astrid Kendrick, Ed.D
Editor, The Runner, the annual publication of the Health and Physical Education Council




References
Corbin, C.B. & Pantrazi, R.P. (2001). Toward a uniform definition of wellness: A commentary. President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport Research, 3(15), 3-6. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED470691.pdf
Harper, D. (2018). Well. Online etymology dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.etymonline.com/word/well
Johnston, J., & Click, E. R. (2017). Wellness. In J. Fitzpatrick (Ed.), Encyclopedia of nursing research (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/spennurres/wellness/0?institutionId=261
Marjanen, P., Ornellas, A. & Mantynen, L. (2016). Determining holistic child well-being: Critical reflections on theory and dominant models. Child Indicators Research, 10(3), 633-647. doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.1007/s12187-016-9399-6
Nicola, R. M. (2004). Health. In M. J. Stahl (Ed.), Encyclopedia of health care management, sage. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sageeohcm/health/0?institutionId=261
Roscoe, L. J. (2009). Wellness: A review of theory and measurement for counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development : JCD, 87(2), 216-226. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2009.tb00570.x Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2009.tb00570.x      
Williams, A. (2009). The wellness culture: Self-Responsibility at Last. IDEA Fitness Journal, 6(9), 28–35. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=44455878&site=ehost-live
World Health Organization. (2018). Constitution of WHO: Principles. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/