Submitted by: Sonia Sheehan, HPEC Vice President Communications
The beginning of the school year is an important time to set
expectations, build routines and create the positive, supportive and
encouraging environment we all want for our students. Every end of August and
beginning of September when the new school year rolls around, teachers are
awarded a new opportunity to set the stage for a positive year of learning for
their students. In this blog post, I will share how I approach the task of
creating a learning environment that allows my students to grow and flourish in
a supportive and encouraging manner.
After establishing my expectations and routines in my
physical education classes at the start of the school year (see HPEC blog for
more information: https://albertahpec.blogspot.com/2023/08/a-successful-physical-education-school.html),
I begin the process of creating a learning environment that supports and
encourages all students in my physical education class. If I want to see my
students cooperate with each other, encourage each other, and problem
solve with each other, I need to provide them with opportunities to practice
these skills during class time. This is where my cooperation and communication
instructional unit comes in. I intentionally teach activities and games to
allow students to learn, practice and demonstrate the skills of communicating
respectfully both verbally and nonverbally, finding a partner, finding a group,
including others, encouraging others, working together towards a shared goal,
completing tasks as a group, and problem solving when challenges arise.
First things first, students need to practice the skill of
finding a variety of different partners in a class to feel comfortable working
with a variety of different students. I learned a valuable partnering technique
from a SPARK PE workshop I attended. Using a particular body part (thumbs,
feet, backs, elbows, knees, etc…), I will call out “foot to foot 2” and
students need to find a student to connect their foot with, if a student does
not have a “foot to foot 2” person, they go to the “lost and found”, which is a
designated central location in the activity area. The “lost and found” is a
place where a student can get help finding their “foot to foot 2” person. If
there is an uneven number of students in the class and one student is left
over, the class is encouraged to welcome the student from the “lost and found”
into their group to ensure everyone feels like they belong. This procedure of
“foot to foot 2” needs to be practiced multiple times to allow students
opportunities to quickly find a close partner and to go to the “lost and found”
for help if needed. An important reminder for students is to make sure each
“foot to foot 2” partner is different from any previous “foot to foot 2”
partner. It is also valuable to give each “foot to foot 2” partner a task when
first trying this technique. For example, the first “foot to foot 2” partner
you find could be your thumb wrestling partner, the second “foot to foot 2”
partner you find could be your healthy eating partner and the third “foot to
foot 2” partner you find could be your secret handshake partner. This will give
a task for students to complete with each partner as they practice the skill of
finding a partner.
Once partner groups have been established, the number used
after “foot to foot” can be increased. “Foot to Foot 3” would mean three
students need to join feet together and anyone not in a group of 3 would seek
assistance in the “lost and found”. Allowing students to practice creating a
variety of groups with different numbers to ensure this task can be done
quickly and inclusively is important to build the skill of creating groups
where everyone is included and welcomed.
As students learn the skill of finding a partner and/or
group, I provide a number of activities and games that use the partner/group
and build the skills of respectful communication, encouraging others, working
together towards a shared goal and problem solving. Here are some activities
that help students build their skills when working together:
Partner Hot and Cold Game – Students are set
up in partners using “foot to foot 2”. Each partner group has one gator ball or
similar item. This game works on trust, honesty and communication. One partner
closes and covers their eyes and shows honesty by not peaking. The other partner
hides their gator ball or similar item in the activity area. The partner who
hid the gator ball returns to the partner with their eyes closed and covered
and uses clear verbal communication to direct their partner who continues to
keep their eyes closed and covered to move to find the location of the ball.
The partner may say “walk forward 10 steps, turn left 90 degrees, walk forward
20 steps, turn right slightly, walk 5 steps, reach down”. These clear verbal
instructions allow students to work on their communication skills and the
partner who has their eyes closed needs to listen carefully and trust their
partner. The 2 partners switch jobs when the ball is found.
Tarp or Mini Parachute Challenges – Students
are set up in groups using “foot to foot 4”. Each group has one mini parachute
or tarp and 1 gator ball. The group is tasked with working together and
completing the tasks provided by the teacher using their problem solving
skills, creativity and communication within the group. Some tasks include:
·
all group members stand on the parachute
·
without stepping off the parachute flip the
parachute over
·
without stepping off the parachute fold the
parachute in half
·
without stepping off the parachute fold the
parachute in half again
·
without stepping off the parachute unfold the
parachute fully
·
holding onto the sides of the parachute use the
parachute to throw and catch a gator ball a set number of times
·
holding onto the side of the parachute pass a
gator ball to another parachute group to catch the gator ball with their
parachute
Group Juggling – Students are set up in groups
using “foot to foot 5”. Each group begins with 1 gator ball. Students create a
passing partner that includes all students in the group with the gator ball
passing to each student only once and not passing to a student directly beside
someone. Once the passing pattern that includes everyone is established the
passing pattern remains the same for the game. The gator ball must pass through
the passing pattern 3 times in a row without being dropped. If the ball is dropped, start back at the beginning of the passing pattern. If the group successfully
passes the gator ball 3 times through the passing pattern, a second gator ball
is utilized and the two gator balls are passed through the passing pattern 3
times. Once the task of passing 3 times through the passing pattern is complete,
then a third gator ball is added. Groups can continue to add balls until they
have one ball per person and group members are simultaneously passing the balls
through the passing pattern. Groups will find the need for clear communication,
focus and gentle passes as keys for group success in this activity.
Hula Hut Activities – Students are set up in
groups using “foot to foot 4”. Each group begins with 6 hula hoops that are the
same size. Groups are tasked with creating a hula hut. A hula hut is a three-dimensional
structure that can stand alone with 1 hula hoop as the base, 4 hula hoops as
the walls and 1 hula hoop as the roof. Once a group creates their hula hut they
can complete the following tasks:
·
have all members crawl through the hula hut
without the hut collapsing
·
build the hula hut in each corner of the
activity area
·
once the hula hut is built lift the hula hut and
transport it around the activity area without it collapsing
·
build a double decker hula hut (one hula hut on
top of another) by working together with another hula hut group
·
play hula hut knockdown by building and
protecting your hula hut and throwing gator balls to try to knock down hula
huts of other groups
Whole Class Long Rope Challenges – Students
are set up in one long line with the whole class working together. Have the
teacher and a responsible student turn the long rope towards the student line
up. As a class, students run 1 at a time through the rope, watching the rope
touch the ground and then following the rope as it turns to make it through the
rope. This is often called “going through the front door” of a long rope. Once
through the rope, students return to the end of the line up. Allow all the students
a chance to go through the rope alone. Next, line up in partners in the line
facing the rope and 2 students run through the rope together as the rope is
turned. Repeat with 3 students and then 4 students together. Finally, allow
students the choice of going through on their own, or going through in a group
to see how quickly the whole class can get through the rope, ultimately trying
to not have the rope stop moving. This whole class long rope challenge allows
opportunities for the entire class to work together towards a common goal and
for students to use encouraging words and support as they navigate going
through the long rope.
