The Role of the Classroom Teacher in Physical Activity Programs chapter 5 The Role of the Classroom Teacher in Physical Activity Programs

Why Does the Classroom Teacher Need to Have a Role in PA? Children need several short bouts of PA for a minimum of 60 minutes per day. Children are in school half of their waking hours. The classroom teacher is with the child most of day and needs to ensure that children obtain at least 30 minutes daily.

How Intentions to Improve Test Scores Led to Decreased Activity Physical education time decreased. Recess has been eliminated. Children are sitting for unrealistic amounts of time and expected to stay focused. Research shows that these changes have been counterproductive.

Examples of Ways Teachers Can Provide PA Start the day with activity. Include a walk in the day. Organize a game to play. Teach a simple dance. Include a daily recess period. Transition from lessons with a physical activity break. Integrate PA into academics. Use interdisciplinary teaching with physical education.

Start the Day Take a schoolwide approach by opening the school day with PA during morning assemblies or via television. Use DVDs or CDs that promote or lead movement. The teacher or a student can lead the class in a movement routine.

Selecting Activities Activities should be time appropriate, enjoyable, varied, age related, developmentally appropriate, and suitable for the available space.

Walking Breaks Cross all skill and fitness levels Provide opportunities for socializing Extend the learning environment to outdoors Contribute to academic success

Motivational Tactics for Walking Post a state map so students can walk across your state and document mileage. Have students do a marathon walk, using a score sheet to accumulate 26 miles. Use pedometers. Keep a journal of walking field trips. Play walking games such as I Spy or Categories.

Organizing and Playing Games Select games that elicit maximum physical activity for all. Set up activity stations. Use games or activity stations as a special weekly event.

Teaching a Dance Young children love to dance. Practice a dance that was taught in PE class. Teach a new dance. Once a dance is learned, it becomes a quick and easy way to add moderate or vigorous PA to the classroom setting.

Recess Recess is unstructured break time that is needed by all children. The role of the classroom teacher is simply to supervise. Primary grades need a recess break twice a day for 15 to 20 minutes. Upper grades benefit from one longer period of about 30 minutes, as they need time to organize specific activities.

Transitional PA Breaks Movement activities 3 to 5 minutes in length Easy to organize and typically involve students standing beside their desks Transitional breaks used to refocus the brain, energize the lethargic child, release vitality in the high-energy child, refocus the body from sitting, and open or close a lesson with an active review.

Integrating PA Into Academics Movement is a perfect medium for learning. Teachers should integrate movement into the occasional lesson to enhance learning. Use movement to review content. Students may be more enthusiastic about the lesson with the use of PA. Students may retain the information longer.

Interdisciplinary Teaching Combines concepts from more than one subject area to help students interrelate knowledge Benefits: More meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences Different learning styles addressed Learning transferred from one subject to another Additional practice provided in multiple content areas Three models: connected, shared, and partnership

The Connected Model One teacher connects a subject to physical education. Classroom teacher must know the physical education content. Can provide clarity to a concept. May make concept more interesting to the students. Content previously learned in PE can be reviewed and connected to new content in the classroom.

The Connected Model: Measuring the Distance of a Jump The lesson focus is on different forms of measurement in math. The integration is with jumping for distance, a skill learned in physical education. The children will jump as far as they can and measure the distance jumped. They will repeat the jump three times. The jump will include cues from the teacher encouraging the students to bend their knees and swing their arms back and then, on takeoff, swing the arms forward to increase their distance. For the math, a partner will measure the jumps using both metric and standard measurements, record the distance, and average the three jumps.

The Shared Model The classroom teacher and physical education teacher work together to teach a concept. Time to collaborate is crucial. This model helps students see how concepts, topics, and skills can be applied across subject areas.

Shared Model: Teaching Rhythm and Rhyme The classroom teacher is teaching the use of rhyme in poetry and instructs the students to read the poetry with a clear and steady rhythm. The physical education teacher is having the students develop jump rope routines and teaching students to jump with a clear and steady rhythm. The two teachers can share in helping the students make a connection between rhythm in poetry and rhythm in rope jumping.

Partnership Model Involves a team of teachers working together on one theme Intermingles concepts, topics, and skills across subject areas Communication and considerable planning time necessary for success Can be across a grade level and include related arts and physical education May be a used for a schoolwide or community event

Partnership Model: Teaching History All of the teachers in the school who teach fifth grade have been asked to focus on the settling of the West in America. The fifth grade is studying the history of the early American settlers in social studies, studying the music of this time period with the music teacher, and drawing pictures of the trip west in art. The physical education teacher will teach square dancing as an important part of the culture of that time and will also have students create a dance of an episode involving covered wagons.

Making PA a Part of the Daily Routine Adding PA should not be looked at as one more thing to add the many responsibilities of a classroom teacher. Activity does not have to be strenuous. Several short bouts of time throughout the day is the best approach. PA should be a routine part of the learning environment.

Effects of Adding Physical Activity to the School Day Students are more motivated. Students have positive attitudes about school. Learning increases. Behavior problems decrease. Standardized test scores may increase. Absenteeism may decrease.

Classroom Teachers Should Help Promote Physically Active Lifestyles Reinforce student participation in activity. Support the physical education program and teachers. Make PA a positive experience. Never use the elimination of PA as punishment. Involve parents and community in opportunities for PA outside of school. Follow appropriate practices for PA.

Classroom Teachers Need to Promote Quality Health and Nutritional Habits Follow state curriculum standards for health and nutrition. Help students make good nutritional food choices. Encourage avoiding harmful substances (drugs, cigarettes). Help with prevention of injuries (bicycle safety, using crosswalks). Help children learn positive solutions to deal with stress and maintain emotional wellness.

Final Thoughts Make PA a part of your classroom learning environment. Become a part of your school wellness committee. Be physically active yourself. Be a positive PA role model.