Lee High School

How can PE teachers create meaningful and interesting activities for students?
Final Draft

John Vargas Lopez

Senior Capstone
Mrs. Jensen
April 16, 2016

John Vargas Lopez

Mrs. Jensen

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Senior Capstone
16 March 2016

What the Instructor wants to accomplish

A Physical Education (P.E.) instructor is more than just a person who wants the
apprentice to sweat and get tired; they want students to enjoy the activity and at the same time
get something out of it that benefits them. A P.E Instructor pushes his or her students to make
something out of themselves because that's what theyre trained to do, it is why they need to win
them over regarding getting students involved. The point of Physical Education classes is to
teach students to stay physically active throughout the rest of their life, so they need to give the
students an experience that theyll never forget. P.E teachers can create meaningful and
interesting activities for students by providing motivation, teaching specific skills and
giving support to ALL levels of students.
First of all, motivation is the first step to getting students into activities that theyll surely
love. What better way is there to create activities then to have a reason for them to actually
become a reality? Activities are broken down for all levels of students, for example; the
elementary kids could do activities that include movement and tools such as the gym
scooter.Relays work well for kids of any age. The scooters provide a change from the usual
walking or running (Frost). Activities for middle schoolers that they would find entertaining
would be soccer, hopscotch, and jump rope. Sideline Soccer is a popular activity for middle
schoolers. Great game to play to work on all the soccer (football) skills (Category: Soccer") .
This sport is basic and will not require a whole lot of setting up and will be beneficial to the
students being exposed to it. Its a perfect choice for this level of students regardless of skill
level. For the older kids in high school, there would be yoga and weightlifting; these are the

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more serious activities. Weight training has become very popular in recent years and is now
used for a variety of reasons including performance enhancement, competitive weightlifting and
to increase physical fitness.(Strength Training). This will surely have In getting certain activities
covered for different levels; the student will find the willpower to tackle the challenge that is laid
before them. All of those activities will be building blocks in the student's journey through
fitness and motivation. Motivating is showing the possible positive outcomes in whatever it is
that the person is working on and in this case it involves younger individuals so fun can be
used. It will serve as the main reason, so up the fun factor. The positive things that could be
associated with upping the fun factor are 1. The activity is fun. 2. It allows an opportunity for
mastery. 3. It forces a persons sense of competing. 4. It provides a chance to be with friends.
(Williams-Evans) Another strategy for making and increasing motivation for students is to
actually provide challenges for them individually occasionally. Match the activities to the
students and have different difficulties of a task for the kid to choose from. For instance, in a
juggling lesson, provide both scarves and balls of various shapes for youngsters to choose
from.(Alderman) Now this strategy is only acceptable sometimes but the amount of times this
specific method should be used should be minimal. Although there are other proven methods and
types of motivation, these seem the most effective and useful to instructors everywhere.
In teaching specific skills, again students can also have the possibility of feeling the
amusement or fun in whatever it is that they are participating in. In addition to this, the students
will then possibly grow into the specific skill that can be taught by the instructor and then the
student athlete will enjoy it for the time that comes even after he or she is no longer in the P.E
course. One of those specific skills can be large and fine motor skills.Students need to master
certain fundamental movement skills if they are to enjoy the wide range of physical activities,

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sports and recreational pursuits offered in our communities (Games and Sports). For example,
one activity/sport that can teach fundamental movement skills within the P.E environment is
Handball. In this case, the movement skills being taught are catching with hands and sprinting.
Both of these fine motor skills will come in handy in the future for other sports or activities that
are similar to it. Students have the choice to excel in those special skills for the future if they
desire, and thats how professional athletes are born. Furthermore, specific skills are also meant
to be mastered by all of the students, and this is so that none of the students feel like they dont
get any use out of it or because theyll get left out of the crowd. While specific skills are taught,
the worst thing that can transpire is having students not want to try new activities because they
dont progress in their own ways. Along with the positive reinforcement, you create games that
everyone can succeed at on some level. For example, if youre practicing stretching, record each
students personal best at the beginning of the year, and then record it again at the end of the
year. (15 Fantastic Ways) With everyone succeeding in a specific area at some level, students
will be begging for more interesting activities similar to the ones they already participated in, and
the Instructor, of course, will then have a reason to create those meaningful activities.
Activities and drills that are carried out in P.E classes are not just limited to certain
groups or students of different ages but are made so that everyone can participate and get
something out of it. Whether its an English Language Learners student that has a P.E course, a
special needs student or an obese student, they should get support somehow so that they can have
an activity designed to benefit them. All students will have a way to get something out of this, for
E.L.L students it will be somewhat of a challenge because of the situation, but there is a method
called Show dont tell in which the instructor is actually demonstrating the activity or what is
taking place as well as the textual method. Use as many mediums as possible to convey

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information: oral, written, videos, teacher demonstration, student demonstration, etc. (Effective
Teaching Strategies). Multiple mediums can be used in the understanding of actual activities
such as sports like basketball, and this will be crucial in the E.L.L students learning of the sport.
Say theres a new E.L.L student in the class that needs to be caught up in the basketball unit; the
student can watch how the sport plays in watching the other students play it. In using these
methods and strategies, the student knows what his/her goals are in the class and will know how
to function in the course thanks to the instructor. For example, obesity is one of the leading
problems in the U.S in children today. Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and
physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing related
diseases.(Childhood Obesity Facts). These activities that the Instructors create for the
youngsters are part of that healthy lifestyle and of course, they are physical activities which fight
the obesity our youth is struggling with. It is common knowledge that being active is healthy,
thus creating requirements for schools having certain P.E classes. From there, the P.E instructors
use their creativity to make useful drills and activities for ALL students, even those who arent at
full learning capacity. In the past three decades, numerous studies have revealed that physical
activity and sport participation result in improved functional status and quality of life among
people with selected disabilities. (The Role of Sport) The teacher can easily find an activity
which will benefit the student. For example, a student in a wheelchair would not be able
participate in an activity/sport that includes kicking a ball such as soccer because they cant use
their legs. Instead of having an activity that revolves around the body part that they cant use, the
instructor will instead find an activity that requires some other body part that functions such as
tennis or badminton which will only require the use of hands. In participating in the sport, the

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student will then also take the experience and partake in that activity even after P.E in school,
and this of course will keep the student active and living a healthy lifestyle.
In conclusion, P.E instructors can create enthusiastic activities for students in creating
motivation, teaching certain skills and finding ways to involve ALL levels of students. Exposing
all students to physical activities will give them a huge advantage regarding physical attributes
for the future. The activities will affect the student in a positive way more than in a negative way.
In the 21st century, the role of Physical Education Instructors is crucial in creating a fit human
being from their youth all the way into young adulthood when students are out of school, and
that is done from creating the meaningful activities that students would be willing to participate
in.

Works Cited
"15 Fantastic Ways to be a Better PE Teacher." N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
<http://physicaleducationdegree.org/be-a-better-pe-teacher/>.
Alderman, Brandon L. "Enhancing Motivation in Physical Education." Publications Website. Ed.
Brandon L. Alderman. N.p., 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233570980_Enhancing_Motivation_in_Physic
al_Education>.
Category: Soccer" PHYSEDGAMES. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
https://physedgames.com/category/soccer/

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"Childhood Obesity Facts." CDC, n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2015.

<http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm>.
"Effective Teaching Strategies for English Language Learners ." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
http://www.supportrealteachers.org/strategies-for-english-language-learners.html
Frost, Shelley. "Gym Scooter Games." N.p., 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/151129-gym-scooter-games/
"Games and Sports." N.p., 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/pdhpe/gamessport/fms001.
Htm
"Strength Training." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
http://homepages.gac.edu/~astadthe/STRENGTH%20TRAINING%20UNIT%20PLAN.p
df

"The Role of Sport and APA for People with Disabilities." N.p., 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.sportanddev.org/en/learnmore/sport_and_disability2/sport_and_adapted_physi
cal_activity__apa_/the_role_of_sport_and_adapted_physical_activity_for_people_with_dis
abilities_/>.
Williams-Evans, Kymberly. "Maximizing Motivation, Minimizing Fear." N.p., 1 Feb.
2002. Web. 27 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/maximizingmotivation-minimizing-fear-0>.