CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP CALENDAR

In this issue the PELINKS4U Staff have gathered several ideas presented by PE Central. In case you haven't visited this site, it is an excellent source of ideas and well worth the visit. Starting this fall, we will also have two new editors joining us to contribute to the Interdisciplinary PE section. One of our goals is to try to initiate more discussion on what exactly physical educators should be doing to "integrate" their subject matter. In a previous editorial, it was suggested that maybe we are wrongly focused. Instead of trying to teach classroom content in PE, perhaps it is the classroom teachers who should be teaching more, using movement as an instructional medium. What is clear is that classroom teachers do not have spare time to develop "integrated" lessons. So, if we want them to do anything with our content, we probably need to take responsibility to provide teachers with materials, and perhaps in-service training. Packaged programs such as EPEC and SPARK were developed specifically with classroom teachers in mind. We'd like to hear more from users of these, or other programs, about their experiences working with regular classroom teachers. As always, we look forward to your comments and ideas. The quality of this page, and our site, depends on you. Help us out by sharing ideas, and becoming a participant in raising the quality of children's physical education. Thanks, PELINKS4U Staff

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Health

Pyramid Puzzler & Pyramid Races: Short activities to use with the nutrition unit. Front/Back/Middle? - A quick warm up or review game using muscle names.

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The Case for Elementary School Recess There is a misconception in our society that recess does not serve any real purpose. The Board of Directors of the American Association for the Child's Right to Play (IPA/USA) believe that recess is vital to the child's overall healthy development. This site offers parents, teachers, and school administrators information that supports the need for elementary school recess. Click here for more, and be sure to tell your colleagues about this valuable resource. Why not email your school administrators and school board members with a reference to this site?

Light the Fire Within On February 8th the 2002 Olympic Games will begin in Salt Lake City. Prior to the start of the Games, teachers have many opportunities to integrate the Olympic theme into PE and classroom lessons. On the (Utah) Governor's Music & Education program web site, there are detailed sample lessons for all grade levels (K-12). These give PE and classroom teachers ideas for activities that can lead into discussion about the Olympics. Click here for more. Winter Olympics Education Were you aware that the Salt Lakes Olympics has an educational web site? You not only can find out more about the venues, sports, and participating countries, but also get curriculum ideas for integrating Olympic themes into your lessons. This site is a great resource for educational materials teachers of all subjects can use.

History and Physical Education The history of physical education makes a fascinating topic of investigation with older students. Now, John Williams has created a web site devoted exclusively to this topic. John allows you to link by dates, or by the names of those who helped to develop our profession. One suggestion we would make to users of the site is to consider how the past has shaped what we do today. Take a look at all the work John put into creating this unique site. John is clearly a PE professional with a passion for what he does.

Contribute YOUR Ideas

If you have ideas, comments, letters to share, or questions about particular topics, please email one of the following Interdisciplinary PE Section Editors:

•	Cindy Kuhrasch
•	Shaunna McGhie
•	David Kahan
•	Lynette Overby

Help to support quality physical education and health education by contributing to this site.

Learning Students Names The folks at PE Central have compiled a wonderful selection - 23 in total - of instructional strategies teachers of all subjects and grade levels can use to help them learn student names. Check these out and share them with colleagues. Forming Groups Thirty-two different ways to form groups! Yep. That's what those clever PE Central folk (with a little help from many practicing teachers) have listed. Tired of numbering off the kids? Bored of having them stand next to a partner? Check out these ideas to put some zest into the new teaching year.

Social Studies

Playing Card Warm-ups Creator: Michael Harnett who posted the idea on PE Central. Purpose of Activity: To provide students with an opportunity to enhance their knowledge about subject matter across the curriculum, while engaging in a fun warm-up activity. Suggested Grade Level: 3-5 Overview: In this activity students move around the gym performing exercises, while simultaneously identifying capitals and states.

Money Machine Creator: Bill Mays who posted the idea on PE Central. Purpose of Activity: To practice locomotor movements, while recognizing different colors and practicing various math skills. Suggested Grade Level: 1-2 Overview: This activity involves students gathering different colored bean bags and collecting them inside hula hoops. Each bean bag is worth a different sum of money and at the end the students total their accounts.

Featured Resource

Life Skills 4 Kids On this website, you'll find life skills and character education resources for teachers, parents, counselors, and home schooling parents working with elementary school children in Grades K-6 (ages 5-12).