GRADE 9 PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Miss Winder’s
Classroom Newsletter

Welcome! Contents
Dear parents and students,
Philosophy
This newsletter contains further information towards what you can expect from our Statement
Physical Education class this year as well as other important components! I am
looking forward to having each and every one of you in my class this year and I am Assessment Plan
very excited to have an amazing semester learning from one another!
Teaching Styles
Philosophy Statement
Classroom
I believe that within education there needs to be an emphasis placed on physical
Management &
education that is equal to that of any other subject. Physical education classes are Motivation Plan
where students are able to develop functional skills and fundamentals that will assist
them for the rest of their lives. With that being said, I believe that within physical Inclusion
education there needs to be specific instruction/time allotted to teach students Statement
fundamental movement patterns and the proper use of fitness equipment. It is also
equally important that students are provided with knowledge towards health and Nutrition Activity
nutrition within physical education. Within physical education
students will develop many important aspects such as
relationships, communication, respect, sportsmanship, and
teamwork skill. These are all skills that will assist students
throughout their whole lives, not only within a physical activity/
education setting. Through my teaching I aim to provide students
with a safe environment where they have equal opportunities at
developing these life long skills. Something that I am also very
passionate about is mental health through physical education.
Engaging in physical activity is equally as beneficial for the mind
as it is for the body. This is something I want students to become
aware of within their personal experiences in physical education.
Each of these aspects are very important to me as it is becoming
evident within the educational system that less students have
knowledge of fitness, health, and fundamental movement
patterns. It is my job to provide students with the knowledge,
skills, and resources to live healthy lives inside and outside of
school.

1
 Assessment Plan
Within Grade 9 Physical Education we are going to be
focusing on the outcomes of activity, benefits health,
cooperation, and do it daily for life. It is required that
students will be able to: acquire skills through a variety
of developmentally appropriate movement activities
(dance, games, types of gymnastics, individual activity
and activities in an alternative environment);
understand, experience and appreciate the health
benefits that result from physical activity; interact
positively with others; assume responsibility to lead an
active way of life. Each of these outcomes are going to be worth 20%, contributing to a total
80% of their grade. I will also be grading students on participation throughout the year.
However, this will account for only 20% of their overall grade. If there are circumstances
towards why your child is unable to participate at any time during the year, they will not be
penalized for this. In order to provide you and your children with an understanding of how
they are doing throughout the year there will be different assessment tools used.

In order to give your children a grade for each outcome, I will be giving the students multiple
interviews with questions they will record and answer with a partner. These questions will be
directed towards their understanding of what they learned and how well they achieved the
outcomes. We will do these interviews every 2 weeks. I also will be taking notes during classes
and recording the students during class so that I have something to refer back to when
grading. I will be using different checklists related to each outcome when I am grading
students based off the video recordings. These checklists will be related to the specific
outcomes within the program of studies. At the end of the year, the students will be required
to track their own nutritional and fitness habits over a 3-4 day period and provide a reflection
towards how their own eating and exercise habits influence their overall health. This will be
graded as a portion of outcome B (understand, experience and appreciate the health benefits
that result from physical activity). We will also be using different formative assessment tools
such as a class blog, peer-feedback, observation, and exit slips.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at: stephanie.winder@uleth.ca

2
TEACHING STRATEGIES
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
I will be using direct instruction in different
units, games, and activities to ensure that the
students are able to correctly understand a
skill or particular outcome. I will be using this
style during the beginning of classes. For
example, when teaching the students a skill I
will show the students what I want to do and
then get them to each demonstrate the same
skills after. I will also be using direct
instruction to teach specific skills or fitness
routines.
PERSONALIZED SYSTEM FOR INSTRUCTION (PSI)
I will use the personalized system for
instruction model when focusing on larger
units. Since this teaching style is focused on
students moving through modules, I think
that this model would work very well with
gymnastics and dance. However, I will use
this with volleyball and basketball modules
as well. What I enjoy most about this
teaching style is that the teacher is not as
involved in the instructions and in result they
can observe students and provide them with
useful feedback. I also like this strategy as it
does not force students to move to the next
step without being ready, they can work at
their own level without feeling pressure.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
This is a teaching style that I will use as it
gives students an equal opportunity at
success, and also allows them to understand
the concepts of fair play, team-work, and
sportsmanship. I will use this model
frequently when I have lessons designed
around game play or partner activities.
3
SPORTS EDUCATION
I will use this model within our class this year
as it allows the culture of the sport or activity
to be taught to students. Through this model
students learn to appreciate other important
components such as fairness, values, proper
sport etiquette, etc. I will also be using this
model by incorporating a theme with certain
sports. For example, when we do our
gymnastics unit it will be based around the
movie “bring it on” which will help to excite
the students! Each student will be given a role
for a few classes in relation to the unit, then
after a few days they will switch roles with
other students. It regards to the dance unit
this year, students will designing their own
dances in groups. They will come up with a
routine that they will show to the class on the
final day of our dance unit. Students will be
performing the dances to a panel of judges
(other students), where they will be judged on
creativity and group effort. The grades the
students give one another will not be taken
into account but are used to help motivate the
students!
TEACHING GAMES FOR UNDERSTANDING
I will use the teaching style of TGFU as it
allows students to participate in an activity/
game while developing the skills. This
teaching style appeals to me as it allows
students to be active learners instead of
listening to instructions for long periods of
time without participating in an activity. I will
use this during our basketball unit to
effectively teach the students the different
progressions.
 INCLUSION CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT & MOTIVATION PLAN
In order to create a
positive and inclusive
environment for
Within our Physical Education class there
students I will
are specific expectations that must be
incorporate their
followed in order to create a successful
interests into our environment. The first expectation we have
lessons/activities. I will as a class is that you need to be in the gym
do this by developing on time so that we can get started as soon
relationships with the as possible. You will be given the first 5 minutes of class to change and
students and finding ready for the game/activities of the day. If students are continually late
for class, they will be required to do additional physical activity while
out what they are
students are playing a game. Within the locker room there will be no cell
passionate about in
phones allowed. Students are required to keep these in their bags at all
relation to sports, time. Students are required to bring proper gym clothing (clothes they
games, and physical can easily move in) and shoes to participate in PE. If students are unable
activity. Each student is to wear gym clothing than regular clothing will be allowed. However,
going to be given an gym shoes are required. If you have a concern with acquiring gym shoes
“exit slip” during our for this class, please come see me! Students who are unable to
participate due to medical reasons will require a note. Assignments will
first week of class. This
be required to complete for the following class if a student is unable to
exit slip contains
participate.
questions pertaining to
games they dislike, Another expectation we have within our class is that of respect! In order
enjoy, and a game they to begin our semester off on a good start, we will take time to discover
would like to learn. what respect does and does not look like. The expectation of respect
This provides me with means having respect with yourself, your peers, and your teachers. The
next expectation we have within our PE class is safety. This expectation
a stronger
needs to be followed 100% of the time. If students are unable to follow
understanding of what
our safety rules they will be removed from the game/activity for that day.
the students interests If this continues to be an issue, then the student will be removed from
are and how I can participating for several days with required assignments to complete.
incorporate those into This student will also be required to clean up the gym equipment for the
our class this year! It week. If they are late for their following class, it will be their responsibility
also provides to explain to their teacher why they are late. Immediate removal from
our class will happen if students are placing themselves or other
opportunities to learn
students in danger. If they cannot appropriately engage with the
about different cultural
equipment and use it for other purposes that place harm on others, then
games ensuring that they will be asked to leave the class. Each week as a class we will focus
each student has an on different tasks. For example, while playing hockey one week we may
opportunity to express focus on sportsmanship. We will have a chart on the side of the wall and
themselves in our each time I notice a team demonstrating this they will get a point. At the
physical education end of the week we will see which team accumulates the most points
and they will be allowed to choose what we do for PE the following
class!
Monday! As a class we want to have a very fun semester, in order to this
each expectation needs to be followed!

4
 NUTRITION ACTIVITY
During our physical education journey, I
will take a few classes to go over
nutrition with the students. This would
include what a healthy meal is
composed of and what they should be
eating if they are playing sports or
extracurricular activities to fuel their
bodies properly! This will be a great way
to introduce students to nutritional
habits and to get them thinking about
how the different types of food/drinks
they consume affect their bodies!
At the end of the semester, the students
will be involved in an activity where they
are required to track their own
nutritional habits over a 3-4 day period. I
will be providing them with further
resources and information towards how
to do this closer to when the assignment
is due. The students will be graded on a
reflection they provide on this
assignment towards how their own
nutritional habits impact their overall
health. I have decided to do this activity
with the students as it allows me to have
a stronger understanding of their own
personal knowledge towards living a
healthy lifestyle!
DANCE & GYMNASTICS OVERVIEW
Dance and gymnastics are both a part of
the curriculum that is required to teach
within Physical Education. However,
there are many different ways to
incorporate this while keeping students
excited and interested in this unit. As
previously mentioned, I will be teaching
both of these activities through the sport
education model. By doing this, I am
taking these activities and focusing
them around certain themes that will
help to keep the students engaged. For
gymnastics, we are doing group
routines based around the theme of
“bring it on”. For dance, the students
will be creating dances that they will
then present to their classmates who
will be acting as a panel of judges on the
final day of this unit!
I believe that it is very important to
design these units as interesting as
possible for the students to increase
their interest in these movement
activities. For both the dance and
gymnastics units, the students will be in
control of choreographing their own
routines with a checklist of moves to
cover. I am very excited to see how both
of these units turn out with the students!