John has tutored algebra and SAT Prep and has a B.A. degree with a major in psychology and a minor in mathematics from Christopher Newport University.
Do you remember physical education classes when you really wanted to play kickball, but it took what seemed like forever to call role, pick teams, and organize the equipment? Some physical education students spend only one-third of the time actually playing. In a forty-five minute class, this means only fifteen minutes is spent playing, while thirty minutes seems wasted.
Physical education classes can be fun and beneficial, however, if they are run correctly and coaches properly organize the students. The goal for a physical education teacher is to maximize exercise time so that at least fifty percent of class time is spent being active. In a fifty-minute class, a minimum of twenty-five minutes should be spent exercising.
There are three main keys to executing this plan of increasing activity time. They include:
An inefficient gym class is one in which the students spend too much of the period standing around. Avoid allowing the students to walk, except for perhaps a brief warmup before and cool down afterwards. Have the the students jog, run, or even skip or gallop while going to and from the locker room, transitioning between activities, and retrieving or returning equipment.
One increasingly popular method of running an efficient P.E. class is to divide up into smaller groups and create stations, where different activities are performed. Since students can get bored quickly and have brief attention spans, this can keep them interested. For example, at Station One, the students could jump rope. At Station Two, the students could play two square. At Station Three, the students could play Red Rover. The coach can blow a whistle or give a hand signal every ten minutes or so to signify the change. To stay more organized, the stations could be set up in a circle, and the students could always move clockwise.
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Physical education is one subject where students are allowed to talk above a whisper to one another. This presents a problem for coaches as they try to get students' attention, stay organized, and avoid wasting time. After all, as any poor substitute teacher knows, without strong communication in the classroom, instead of organization, there will be chaos. The coach can use a whistle, a megaphone, or a microphone. Since the students still may not hear directions, the coaches can use their hands to gesture and give commands nonverbally as well.
The coach can have the students place a ball at their feet when it is time to stand still or even have them partner up with the nearest student and stand toe-to-toe. The coach can also give the freeze command, where the students stop moving and stand still until the coach says otherwise.
Students have a lot of energy and can occasionally get out of line. This is not only disruptive in a P.E. class, but also dangerous since there is more potential for injury. As we mentioned previously, a classroom without organization will lead to chaos, especially in a physical education class. When this does happen, a time-out may be in order to discipline the child and prevent further disruption to the other students. First, the coach must emphasize to the child that he is not a horrible person but has broken a rule that needs to be followed. The time-out also acts as a buffer zone where the child can cool down and reduce his anger, embarrassment, or frustration.
It is also important that the coach makes gym class fun. Otherwise, the students will not think of a time-out as punishment and may not even mind going to one. A good system is to give the student a warning after the first transgression, a time-out for a brief interval after the second, and a time-out for the full period after the third.
In this lesson, we discussed ways to organize students in a physical activity setting. This included forming groups quickly, rapid transitions between various activities, and returning equipment efficiently. We expounded on how constant movement and using smaller groups and creating stations can allow for more activity time during the course of the period. We reviewed ways a coach can communicate with the students, including through the use of a whistle and hand gestures. Finally, we elaborated on the time-out and how it plays an important role in allowing the physical education class to run smoothly.
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