It seems like we were just planning for school to start and September activities to begin; now the holidays are fast approaching. November is the beginning of the hustle and bustle as we prepare for all the additional activities that accompany this time of year. Sometimes, in the midst of all this busyness, it is difficult to take the time to evaluate our professional goals and ideals. After teaching and coaching for 27 years, I reached the point in my profession where I needed to take the time to step back and ask myself, "What is quality teaching?"

One of the answers that has become a primary goal for me throughout the previous years is teaching to each child's ability. As you know, this is not always the same as teaching to our expectations. Children progress through all of the stages of motor development for each movement they perform, depending on their beginning skill level and maturation. All children need to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, no matter what their skill level is.

In our PE classes we have: talented athletes performing at a high level who need to be consistently challenged, children who enjoy PE and try hard during all activities, children who are less enthusiastic about PE and are average in physical skills, and lastly, children who have no interest in participating and are also very inactive outside of school. Unfortunately, we spend a majority of our time attempting to get this last group of children involved in our class activities.

After incorporating the California state PE standards I realized that teaching to the individual's ability, and helping my students build lifelong fitness goals, a team mentality, and good character, are more important than just teaching a sport and letting them play (which I have seen in other PE classes). This realization led me to get involved in promoting methods to attain some of these higher goals.

I am the California Independent Schools regional PE coordinator and have presented my programs at several conferences. I started a Survivor PE program in 2000. My classes, camps, and presentations have confirmed Survivor to be my most successful program. I also published a book that was accepted on pelinks4u book review. The name is Survivor…PE Style!

Bringing more adventures to the children is where my curriculum extends further than the basic PE program. Some examples of this include incorporating orienteering and obstacles courses. These activities encourage team building and developing a value for lifelong fitness, besides being a fun way to stay active and fit. As for me, I continue to stay enthused, and am always looking for new and creative ways to teach and present programs for children and PE professionals (just like you). This year I will include DDR Dance Revolution, The Olympics, Circus Fit, Cross Country Kids Mileage Series, and tinkling activities. Details on these programs are outlined below.

When you decide to take a step back and evaluate your program, ask yourself, "Does my PE class really make a difference in my student's fitness?" Hopefully your answer is YES. Remember, for some kids the only exercise they get is during your PE class, or during recess. I know we all value our time with the children and want to make the most of that time. Then ask yourself: "Will my student's continue to choose a healthy lifestyle after they graduate? Did I make a lasting impact on their choices to be fit?"

In this section are some of the activities I have used. Hopefully, after reading my suggestions, you will have found many ideas you will choose to try with your students. We are the best fitness role models for the children we teach, and (in my opinion) pelinks4u is the best place for resources on the internet. Thank you for visiting the Elementary section of pelinks4u. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. My email is kim_nygaard@msn.com.

Thank you, and good luck with your November activities, units, and games. Don't be afraid to share your expertise with me, and I will make sure it's presented in the Elementary section of pelinks4u.

Aerobically yours,
Kim Nygaard
Elementary Section Editor

Congratulations to Dan Persse, Washington state Elementary Teacher of the Year. Dan was gracious enough to provide us with an overview of his innovative program. Learn from the many creative ways he is working to help his student's achieve a healthy, active lifestyle. You may contact him at the Blain Elementary PE website.

The Big Picture: Blaine Elementary School Physical Education Program

I teach at a wonderful rural elementary school in the NW corner of Washington State. Blaine Elementary School has over 490 students in grades 3-5. Due to the proximity of the Canadian border, we have a variety of ethnically rich and diverse families within our community, along with a high transient rate. Over the last nine years, as the sole physical education teacher for these three grade levels, I have developed a unique physical education program based on Washington State Standards in Health and Fitness, and augmented by NASPE's National Standards.

To provide the most comprehensive curriculum for my students, I have divided the 37-week school year into seven 8-day-long instructional skill activity unit themes. These include soccer, basketball, traverse wall climbing, tumbling, volleyball, dance, and cricket. I also focus on the five components of health-related fitness through fitness activities incorporated in a standard routine for the students.

Additionally, a unit of nutrition is provided during the traverse wall climbing unit. The standard routine includes a warm-up activity, the 1-Minute Run Club. The 1-Minute Run Club is a goal setting activity that motivates students to run as many laps possible within the 1-minute time period. Randomly every month, I record student laps on the 1-Minute Run Club board. Students then try to improve on their previous record by 1/4 of a lap by the next recording day. This activity helps with mini-goal setting, while motivating students to be responsible for their own fitness levels through their individual efforts.

Fitness assessments for students coincide with their skill unit (e.g. 1/2-mile run/jog with the soccer unit, shuttle-run with the basketball unit, etc.). Students are pre-tested, and then provided the length of the unit (seven days, which is equivalent to five school weeks) to practice during PE class and encouraged to practice outside of class.

To assist with out-of-class practice of their fitness assessment goals, and to help them improve on their fitness pre-test score, 4th and 5th grade students use a "Fitfolio." The Fitfolio™ is a tool that I have developed (and trademarked) to help students identify the health related component(s) being assessed (e.g. 1/2-mile run = cardio respiratory endurance & muscular endurance), vocabulary specific to PE and their state PE assessments, and the FITT principle.

Within the Fitfolio™ students: 1) develop a (realistic) goal score to attain for each of the five fitness assessments (1/2-mile run/jog, shuttle-run, sit and reach, curl-ups, and push-ups), 2) develop a plan to achieve that goal score, 3) identify barriers that would affect their plan, 4) identify strategies to overcome those barriers, and 5) identify two physical activities they can do outside of school to help with their goal score.

Fitfolio™ work is completed as homework and assessed on their report card. For assessment of their written plan I use our state's comprehensive writing rubric: Conventions, Organization and Style, or COS. Students are also assessed on individual improvement for each of the fitness assessments, in addition to their written homework.

Each of my seven units is structured in a way that will maximize student learning at all skill levels and is enjoyable for all. The school year starts with a soccer skills unit to coincide with our community's youth soccer program, and mild seasonal weather. Assessment is both informal authentic assessment and formal assessment, evaluating what students know and are able to do as a result of having been involved in this (and each) unit. I then follow this pattern of instruction with the remaining six units.

To help the student's transition from one skill theme, such as dribbling in soccer to dribbling in basketball, students participate in an eight-day basketball unit which coincides with the community programs. Next, students participate in the various skills of rock climbing during our traverse wall-climbing unit. These skills include climbing a 59' rock wall, two peg boards (2’x 2’ & 6’ x 1’), a rope, and a pull-up bar.

The traverse rock climbing wall, along with abdominal work, helps students prepare for the next unit, tumbling. The tumbling unit focuses on routines, while working on hamstring flexibility using the sit and reach. After tumbling, students work on both volley skills and net etiquette during the volleyball unit. After our volleyball unit, students participate in a 5-day dance unit. The goal of the dance unit is to provide a culturally rich and diverse dance experience for the students. The dance unit features songs and dance moves from the Peloponnesian islands, various line dances, square dances, swing dance, hip-hop, and folk dances.

The last unit of the year has proven the most enjoyable and popular among the students. It is a skill activity game I developed called Womba-ball. Womba-ball is similar to the playground version of cricket, and incorporates catching, throwing, fielding (grounders to pop-flys), batting, base-running, and the various offense/defense strategies related to softball/baseball. continued top of next column.

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In the fall students take part in our state's Healthiest School Challenge. Activity inside and outside of our school is recorded, along with the over 200 other schools participating. Last year our students, combined with 150 community members, logged over 15,000 miles in activity from September through December. In October of every year all the students participate in the Pumpkin Run, a predictor's mile challenge. The boy and girl from each grade level who comes closest to their predicted 1 mile time, without going over that time, wins a pumpkin.

February of every year students participate in Jump Rope for Heart on Valentine’s day, raising on average, $4000 to help fight heart disease. In March, all 4th and 5th grade students participate in the PE Central Challenge. The 66 students who participated last year received either a bronze, silver, or gold medal pin for their ability to complete a variety of six physical challenges. Additionally, 4th grade students participate in a poster contest on how to "Stomp Out Second Hand Smoke" in celebration of Kick Butts Day. All 160 posters describing the negative health effects of second hand smoke are displayed each year in our "Hallway of Health."

May, for our school, district, and community, is Bike to School/Work month. Another Blaine School district employee and I set-up a booth distributing bike helmets and bike safety information to both students and community members. Additionally, the entire district participates in ACES, or All Children Exercise Simultaneously. In June, students, as well as the community, participate in the Run to the Border 1.5-mile Kids Fun Run and 5K Race. This is a fund raiser I established six years ago for our local Girls on the Run program. This year's race featured over 270 runners, of which 30 were students from our district.

The finale of the school year is the last day of school when all 480 students participate in Field Day. Field day features six unique and fun rotation stations for each of the three grade levels. During the Field Day cheer contest individual classrooms compete for the coveted "Cheer Trophy." At this time I also present various medallions for students who have broken school fitness records, and for those students (a boy and girl from each grade level) who have been selected as "PE student of the Year." This honor is determined by the cumulative value of their report card that is based on physical skill ability, safe and respectful participation in PE, homework assignments completed, assessment scores, and individual fitness assessment improvement.

Throughout each school year I use a PE theme that dominates my instructional focus. Classroom teachers will use this theme as a writing prompt for in-class work. Student essays, drawings, and relevant material will be displayed on the PE bulletin board in the "Hallway of Health." Two years ago I started selling shirts with the PE theme such as "got phys ed?" Profits go towards our "Athletic Shoe Fund," a fund established for those students whose families cannot afford athletic shoes. This year's 2007/08 PE theme is, "PE is good."

In addition to my regular curricular program, I host an "Open Gym" every morning before the start of school that features: tennis, Soccette, badminton, pickleball, passball, volleyball, handball, and scoopball. This 30-minute program allows students the opportunity to learn skills not otherwise taught within my program.

My overall physical education program is shared with parents in every month's issue of The Heartbeat. The Heartbeat is distributed to all students, and provides a headliner for the month, historical/cultural information pertaining to each of the activity units, fitness assessment record holders, a health quote, information on upcoming events, factoids related to fitness and exercise, pictures of student work, NASPE's Toolbox information (fitness calendar, etc.), Open Gym activities, a web search for a prize drawing, and a chance for a random prize drawing.

There you have it, a "Big Picture" of the physical education program I established 11 years ago on the basis that ALL students need to acquire the knowledge, combined with the social and physical skills, which will enable them to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.