Teaching Strategies
My Top 10 List of Key Things to Remember for Teaching HPE in K-6
10 – Use a whistle or digital whistle to get students attention. It will save your voice! My AT uses a whistle and each pattern of whistles represents a task. One whistle: Stop and Stand, Two Whistles: Stop and Sit, Three Whistles: Squad Formation. 9 – Be clear on your expectations and rules of behaviour in the gym. Also, have clear expectations and rules of the games / activities students are participating. 8 – Do a quick safety check of: the gym, any equipment you may be using. Also ensure students are wearing appropriate clothing and footwear for the activity planned. 7 – Be prepared! Have a HPE lesson plan, but also be flexible enough for a plan B or C. In other words, have some ‘back pocket’ activities. Be in tune with your group. If some students are bored or off task, change things up! 6 – Create and establish clear appropriate routines - From the moment students leave the classroom, during the activity, to the moment after the HPE activity. Students should know what is expected of them. 5 – Check for understanding of the task at hand. Be clear and concise on your instructions. 4 – Encourage team work and participation, and positively acknowledge it when you see it. 3 – Give Feedback to students that is purposeful and practical to the task at hand. 2 – Remember student’s names! 1 – Have fun. Be genuine. Not all superstar athletes make the best HPE teachers. It is the ones who have fun and instill a love for HPE with their students that make the best HPE teachers. |
Fundamental Movement Skills
“In developing and teaching a child, we break down simple skills into key components to help the child learn and understand. In teaching a child to read, we teach them about letters and the sounds they make, and how to combine words so that they are comfortable with language and can grow into advanced readers. In math, we teach children the value of numbers and simple addition and subtraction for them to grow to understand complex problems of all different types. In teaching movement we want to do the exact same thing!
Physical literacy is the ability for an individual to move competently and confidently in all types of environments -- it is the literacy of movement. The key components of physical literacy, the letters and words, if you will, are the fundamental movement skills!
Fundamental movement skills are very important in the physical development of a child. When a child is confident and competent with these skills, they can develop sport-specific and complex movement skills that allow them to enjoy sport and physical activity. Most importantly, having a firm grasp of the fundamental movement skills and being physically literate leads a child to enjoy a long life of physical activity.”
Why do kids need Fundamental Movement Skills?
The Fundamental Movement Skills as determined by the NCCP are:
- Throwing
- Catching
- Jumping
- Striking
- Running
- Kicking
- Agility, Balance and Coordination
Teaching Movement Skills
1. Demonstrate skills
According to the Coaching Association of Canada’s 2011 NCCP Fundamental Movement Skills Coach Workbook (pg. 11) there are four phases of movement:
Preparation – using all the body parts (joints) that can be used
- E.G. – the back swing of the racquet or club – use all joints that can be used in as great a range of motion as naturally possible.
Force Production – use them through as great a range of motion as is naturally possible
- E.G. - swing the racquet or club toward the ball – the faster the swing, the more force is produced.
Critical Instant – critical instant is the moment of release.
- E.G. – the instant the racquet or club connects with the ball and the ball is released – this determines where the ball will go (repercussions of hitting ball too high, too low, too soon, too late, etc)
Recovery / Follow Through – follow through in the direction you want the “force” to go.
- E.G. –the continued movement of the racquet or club in the direction you want the ball to go.
Additionally, when teaching the key aspects of movement skills, educators must also know how to:
2. Give Feedback (as quoted from the Coaching Association of Canada’s 2011 NCCP Fundamental Movement Skills Coach Workbook pg. 14)
Start positive – there’s got to be something the person is doing right, e.g., “You’re holding the ball right, now…(insert what the person needs to do”
Keep it short and simple – no more than 10 seconds of instruction, and NEVER more than two things to change – changing one thing at a time works best with young children.
Tell people what you WANT THEM TO DO – not what they did wrong.
Make sure people understand what you want them to DO; e.g., “Tell me what you are going to concentrate on in your next throw”
Remember that your body language says more about your attitude than your words.
Effective Lesson Design:
Teachers need to consider what students need to learn, how they will know if they are learning, and how to respond if students are not making progress. To begin planning teachers need to consider the big ideas, the learning context, and specific learning goals. As teachers assess learning they will need to adjust plans and instructional approaches. Teachers need to help activate students’ prior learning, review learning goals, and scaffold instruction, differentiating according to needs.
Effective Instruction in Health and Physical Education:
- Motivates students and instills responsible risk taking.
- Based on the belief that all students can be successful and that learning in HPE is critical.
- Based on diagnostic assessment of prior knowledge and skills
- Provides appropriate level of challenge
- Balance of both direct instruction and inquiry based instruction
- Encourages higher-order thinking, critical and creative thinking
- Includes participatory exploration and hands on activities
- Provides wide range of activities
- Includes developmentally appropriate activities
Questions to consider when evaluating your health and physical education program: p. 42-43 Curriculum document, related to the fundamental principles of health and physical education:
- Support from School, Family and Community
- Physical Activity is Vehicle for Learning
- Physical and Emotional Safety
- Student-Centred and Skill-Based
- Balanced, Integrated and Connected to Real Life
Characteristic of a Quality Lesson (p. 59, Pangrazi & Gibbons, 2009):
- Student Engagement. Students are engaged in appropriate learning activities for a large percentage of class time.
- Success-oriented. Learning atmosphere is a caring, positive climate.
- Clear Learning Outcomes/Specific Feedback. Students know what they are learning and are given feedback on those outcomes even when teacher is not available.
- Progress Monitored Regularly. Students are held accountable for progress toward goals and are able to assess and record their progress.
- Limited Management Time/Smooth Transitions. Equipment and movement from activity to activity is organized and seamless. Lots of structure and routine.
- Limited Time in Lines. Students spend a great deal of time practicing and playing rather than waiting for a turn.
- High, Realistic Expectations. Teachers have structured activities to challenge students and hold them accountable to moving forward.
- Enthusiastic Teacher. Teachers are actively involved in the instructional process but are aware of surroundings and in control.
Essential Elements of Instruction (p. 60 – 64, Pangrazi& Gibbons, 2009):
- Learning Outcomes that are observable and clearly define content to be learned.
- Determine Instructional Entry Level and develop a progression of learning activities that lead to final outcome.
- Use Anticipatory Set designed to focus students on learning outcomes.
- Deliver Meaningful Skill Instruction that maximizes three key points; limits instructions to 30 to 60 seconds; presents information in easy to understand form; and separates management and instructional episodes.
- Monitor Student Performance ensuring students are on-task and practicing correctly.
- Use Teaching Cues which are precise; short and action-oriented; and, integrated.
- Demonstrate Skills as teacher or using students.
- Check for Understanding using hand signals; asking questions answered in choral response; direct forthcoming activities to all students; and use peer-assessment techniques.
- Offer Guided Practice that allows students repeated opportunities checking for correct form immediately after instruction.
- Bring Closure that reviews learning asking for key points, demonstrations or reflections.
MANAGEMENT IN THE GYMNASIUM
Research clearly shows that teachers who establish routines and rules early in the school year enjoy more success in managing their active classrooms, fewer discipline problems, and students who learn more. Remember that your time in the gymnasium may be limited, so effective use of that time is essential to maximize student activity level and learning. Routines are procedures for performing specific behaviours in class, such as getting changed, bathroom breaks, equipment storage, dismissal, etc. Rules identify general expectations for behaviour that cover a variety of situations (“pay attention when the teacher is talking”). Be sure to take time to plan how you wish to manage your gym time based on school policies, facility lay out, as well as your personal commitment to reinforce the rules and routines throughout the year.
Classroom management is essential in any classroom, but is perhaps even more important in the gymnasium. Without rows of desks, students have much more freedom of movement. With effective gym management, students will learn appropriate behaviours based on your expectations. This will make your job much more enjoyable and effective! The ideas in this section will hopefully aid in your health and physical education planning. Consistency is a key! Be sure to apply your expectations frequently and positively for all students, particularly at the beginning of the term. Continue to reinforce these behaviours throughout the year.
The following table summarizes some of the most common routines used in organizing an active gym class (Siedentop, 1991):
ROUTINE |
PURPOSE |
Pre-Period (entry) |
What to do when entering the gymnasium, which may
include a warm-up, practice activity, or a specific place to go |
Warm-Up |
A specific warm-up to perform without teacher
prompting or supervision |
Attention/quiet |
A teacher signal for attention and the expected
student response |
Home base |
A specific spot on the gym floor that the student
goes to when instructed |
Gain attention |
An appropriate way for the students to gain
attention of the teacher |
Gather |
An appropriate way to gather in a central
location when directed by the teacher and the formation to gather into |
Disperse |
An appropriate way to disperse from a central
location to a more scattered formation |
Equipment |
Appropriate ways to obtain or put away equipment |
Retrieve |
An appropriate way to retrieve a ball when it has
invaded the space of classmates during a game or drill |
Start |
A procedure for initiating activity quickly on a
signal |
Boundaries |
Specific procedures for staying within defined
boundaries |
Finish |
A specific procedure for ending a lesson that
typically includes a cool-down and a closure to the lesson |
Dismissal |
A procedure for leaving the space and returning
to the classroom or locker room |
Housekeeping |
All procedures for dealing with things like
getting changed, using the bathroom, drink breaks, leaving the space, safety,
etc. |
PRE-PERIOD IDEAS
Students may or may not enter the gymnasium at the same time. If they do, you have an opportunity to instruct the students before they enter the gym as to what they are to do or where they are to go when they do enter. Remember that the gymnasium is a wide open space that can entice students to run or play in an inappropriate or unsafe manner. This energy is a good thing, it just needs to be directed in the right manner! If students do not enter at the same time, it is worthwhile to give those students who arrive early an appropriate activity to perform before the class begins.
- Posted task or tasks (eg. Blackboard, poster, etc.)
- Fitness activity as a part of ongoing fitness program within the curriculum (may be specific fitness activity each week, so no instruction necessary as students enter)
- Basketballs available for shooting practice
- Fun activity to reward those who arrive early. Those who are late miss out.
WARM-UPS
Depending on the time you have available, the warm up should be an essential part of your gym class. The benefits of a gentle, active warm up are many, and should precede flexibility or stretching exercises. The number of different warm up activities is as broad and varied as your imagination. Here are a few ideas:
- Relays (teams) – competitive, non-competitive, cooperative
- Tag games
- Activity stations (circuit style) – posted around gym
- Individual activities (skipping ropes, various types of locomotion)
- Use music - aerobic-style, marching, musical mats or variations
- Games of low organization – dodge ball type games, handball type games, etc.
- Sport specific – basketball dribbling, badminton give and go, etc.
ATTENTION/QUIET
How are you going to get the attention of your students??? Remember that your voice could be strained if you continually try to call for attention! Do you have a “gym voice”? Some common ideas are:
- Whistle blows – one, two blasts
- Clapping once or twice
- The word “freeze”, or some other single word
- Lights on or off – may not be feasible depending on type of lights in the gym
- Stop the music
- Hand in the air – requires students to pay attention visually, which may not always be appropriate
- After an activity – once you have done this a certain number of times, sit quietly in your groups
How do you want your students to respond when you do get their attention? Most PE teachers just want students to stop, place the ball/equipment at the feet (or just simply hold on to it), and turn to face the teacher. If you do not have a voice that projects around the gym, call the students in for more instruction.
HOME BASE
This spot may move depending on the position of the teacher or the particular activity in question. When a teacher calls for “squads”, students are to sit in assigned groups, in straight rows, in front of teacher. Teachers may want students to stand along a line in the gym, or in a particular corner, etc.
GAIN ATTENTION
How do you wish the students to address you or get your attention? For example, do you want them to approach you and ask you one on one, put a hand in the air and wait for you to acknowledge him or her, or simply call out? This depends on the situation, whether or not you are talking at the time, or if students are on task.
GATHER
Teachers use various formations to speak to students. There is no question that it is more appropriate to talk to students while they are seated on the gym floor and you are standing. That way, you can make more effective eye contact, and determine when students are not paying attention or those who have questions.
- Squads are used to aid the teacher in organizing the class during attendance taking, team formation, instructions at beginning and end of class, etc. Students can choose their own squads, or the teacher can choose the groups based on skill level, alphabet, etc. These groups are maintained throughout the year. Variations using squads are very helpful as well (eg. all students at the front of their squad are on Team A, second in line, Team B, etc.).
- Semicircle – used for instruction during class time
- Scatter – used for instruction during class time
- Lines – used for instruction during class time
- Partners – used for organizing activities
DISPERSE
These routines are often sport specific. You should think in advance how you wish to form your groups or teams, and how you want your groups or teams to move to different areas of the gym. For example, “Group A goes to Court 1, Group B goes to Court 2, etc. You may just want them to spread out (eg. at least 3 steps apart, arms width apart, etc.) Be as specific as you can before you give the command to “GO”, otherwise, students will start to move before they receive all the instructions.
EQUIPMENT
Storage of gymnasium equipment is often a challenge for most schools. Most gymnasiums have equipment cupboards or storage areas under the stage. It is worthwhile to determine how you wish to access this equipment, as well as to train your students how to properly get the equipment, set it up, care for it and put it away at the end of the period. It is always a good idea to organize your class so that equipment set up is orderly and that all students eventually contribute to equipment set up and take down. You may wish to assign certain squads for set up, then the other squads for take down. You could use equipment set up as part of the pre-period activity, however; those students who continually arrive early are always setting up the equipment. Just make sure that these students are not the ones to take it down. A common rule is to not dismiss students until all equipment is put away.
RETRIEVE
Often, errant balls or small equipment veer off course out of the play area, and these tend to land in another court. Coach your students how to appropriately retrieve the item in question by never entering the playing area of another game in progress. They should be instructed to detour around the boundaries to retrieve, politely ask for the implement once play has stopped, or warn the classmates of the potential danger of a rolling ball.
START
Choose an easy command that you will apply consistently throughout the year to permit play to commence. Some teachers use a whistle command, while others use a verbal command (eg. “Ready, Go”).
BOUNDARIES
Be sure to be specific in your instructions to students. They will try to bend the boundaries! This is particularly important if you take the class outside. You do not want students spread all over the field so that you can’t keep track of them or can’t communicate with them. Use cones or borders if necessary.
DISMISSAL
In fairness to all students, dismiss all students together. This will require you to call the class together at the end of the lesson or practice time or game. The use of squads is helpful for this. The orderly formation of students will help to ensure their attention and allows for the completion of equipment take down. This will also give you time to take attendance and account for all equipment, as well as allow you a brief period of time to give positive feedback about the class, future class plans, announcements, etc.
LEAVE
Establish a procedure for leaving the gym and returning to the locker room or classroom. If space is limited, or you don’t want students to charge the door, have them leave by squad, or some other orderly arrangement.
HOUSEKEEPING
Changing: You should build in time for students to change at the beginning and end of class. Boys tend to be able to change very quickly! Girls like the social aspects of the change room, so it is more difficult to speed up the process. Be sure to give specific times for them to be in the gym ready to go. For example, "3 minutes after the second bell you should be in the gym".
Some schools have a strict gym uniform policy. If not, consider safety, practicality, and appropriateness of indoor wear, and outdoor clothing considerations when necessary. In other schools, particularly the elementary schools, changing is not possible or reasonable. You might consider appropriate footwear to prolong the life of the gym floor.
Bathroom/drink breaks: Consider how you will deal with bathroom requests. Remember you are responsible for all students in your care, so you have to keep track of all of them. It is common practice to allow only one or two students out at a time for washroom or drink breaks. If you allow more than this to go, it could break down the game in progress, or cause potential problems in other areas of the school, depending on the location of the fountain or washroom. If school policy permits, students may bring a plastic, sealable water bottle into the gym for their use. This will reduce the need for drink breaks.
Injuries: Any injury, no matter how slight, should be reported to the teacher. If an injured student needs to leave the gym for a drink, or medical attention, do not send him or her alone! Depending on the severity of the injury, you must use your judgment to determine the steps to take to seek medical attention and/or complete an accident report form. Be aware of your school's policy for reporting injury.
RULES
Rules are different from routines in that they specify behaviours applicable in various situations. You will want to establish rules in the gymnasium that are consistent with classroom rules. However; the gymnasium environment generally lends itself to the following categories:
- Safety
- Respect for others
- Respect for the learning environment
- Support the learning of others
- Effort
CHOOSING TEAMS
Making or forming teams can be a big challenge for you, particularly if there is a wide range of abilities within your class. Here are some ideas for forming teams quickly. A variety of methods over the course of the year will ensure mixing of students and avoidance of lopsided teams. Consider how you might use established teams for several days to save precious gym time! NOTE: Please try to avoid choosing two captains and allowing the students to choose team members one by one. This always results in the weaker students being chosen last – not a good situation for building self-esteem for your students.
Teacher Directed Methods:
- Numbering (eg. 1, 2, 1, 2, etc.)
- Give everyone a number, then split in a variety of ways, e.g. odds & evens; 1-10, 11-20; sums, etc. (keep students guessing!)
- Names (eg. apples, pears, bananas, etc.)
- Colours of shirts, shoes, hair colour, eye colour, etc.
- Students choose a partner, then partners split to opposite teams (can work well for defense/offense partners)
- Students choose a partner, teacher assigns both to the same team
- Birthdays, Zodiac sign (e.g. January- June on one team, July-December on the other team, etc.)
- Use squads, combine squads
- Draw names out of a hat
- Teacher simply balances teams by assigning students to particular teams
- Teacher might consider joining the weaker team once the game is underway and a mismatch is apparent
Student Centered Methods:
- Choose own groups of 4, 5, 6, etc. (can result in lopsided teams, often 1-2 students left out)
- Choose a partner, partners move together to one team or apart to different teams
- If games or activities are lopsided, have a draft! One representative (or a captain) from each team chooses one or two players from the other team to join. Losing team picks first. Representatives/captains cannot move, and they cannot choose their own players to come back.
- Students make two equal lines; one or two “judges” (assigned by teacher or volunteers) determine if teams are fair, if not, they determine who moves. The judges tell what students to move to what team. All students must respect their choices, no disputes.