My philosophy for Physical Education class!

"The results of good physical education are not limited to the body alone, but extend even to the soul itself."   Aristotle  350 B.C

 Physical Education is an important part of any school's overall program.  Physical education provides students with an opportunity to include physical activity (exercise) as part of their daily routine.  By offering students at least a moderate level of daily exercise, physical education teaches the importance of physical activity in developing healthy life style habits. 

    Classes offer a variety of activities aimed at introducing students to various movements, skills, sports, games and other physical tasks that will stimulate both cardiovascular and muscular systems, leading to improved fitness levels.  Other class goals include learning game rules, terminology, strategies, skills, spatial awareness, team work, leadership behavior and sportsmanship.  By doing this, students will have a better understanding and an increased appreciation for these activities. 

     The physical education program also strives to create an atmosphere that is not intimidating but rather fun and enjoyable which will in turn teach students that exercise can be fun.  If students perceive exercise as enjoyable they are more likely to make it a part of their daily routine outside of school and later in life. 

    Regular exercise promotes physical, mental and social health, by improving fitness levels, burning calories, reducing stress, helping to promote quality sleep, teaching sportsmanship, encouraging assertiveness, teamwork and fostering leadership skills. 

Students will attend physical education class three days a week for roughly 25 minutes a day. I look forward to getting to know and work with your child this year.   

  class goals and standards

The goals for physical education class are as follows:

1. Students will obtain an improved level of fitness, including muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, improved flexibility, and agility.

2. Students will improve their perceptual motor skills.  This will include overall coordination, balance, spatial awareness, rhythm, hand/eye coordination, foot/eye coordination, and an awareness of the body's parts and musculature and how they work together to create movement.

3. Students will improve their ability to perform fundamental motor skills. These will include locomotive skills (running, skipping, galloping etc.) non-locomotive skills (bending, arm and leg movements, calisthenics etc.) and manipulative skills (throwing, kicking, batting, hockey sticks, etc).

4. Students will learn social skills in the form of listening to and following directions, taking turns, sharing, team work, leadership, fair play and sportsmanship. 

5. Students will strive to fulfill the "six pillars" (citizenship, integrity, perseverance, honor, excellence, respect) in everything we do.

6. Students will HAVE FUN, and leave class with a smile on their face.

7. Classes will teach to the (Shape America) standards, formerly known as the NASPE standards. These standards have been adopted by the state of Minnesota.  

8. You can view documents showing two different snapshots of these standards as well as the full document by clicking on the links below.

K-5 PE standards (snapshot) 

K-5 Shape America Standards (snapshot)  

Shape America standards (full document)

 Required dress for Physical Education classes

Students will need a pair of sneakers/tennis shoes for 3-5 Physical Education.  It is very important that they wear a shoe that allows them to run, jump, stop and start quickly and change directions without slipping.  Without proper footwear, students risk slipping and falling or rolling an ankle.  A shoe that is marketed as active wear is not necessarily a good shoe for gym class.  Please view the picture below for examples of acceptable shoes.  Students should always come to class with “gym” shoes on.  Students who come to class without proper shoes will likely not be allowed to take part in the day's activity because the gym floor will be damaged by street shoes and boots.  It is also unsafe for them to participate with street shoes on.  Students that don't participate in gym class due to improper shoes will receive a zero for the day.  Also their shoes should fit well enough that they don’t come off during vigorous activity.  Please encourage your student to learn how to tie and then practice tying their own shoe laces.  Shoes that are not tied properly often fly off when kicking and create the risk of hitting another child.  Girls who wear dresses or skirts should always have shorts or tights on underneath them.  Please try to remember to have gym shoes available for your students on formal dress days when they are required to wear dress shoes to school.   

 Weekly Activities and Class syllabus

3-5  Physical Education Daily Routine

Classes are twenty five minutes long.  When students enter the gym they go to their squad spots. While I take attendance, students are doing their “do now” which means making sure their shoes are tied well.  After attendance we will do a warm up.  We will have a variety of warm ups.  Some involve general space and some will be done in personal space.   When the warm up is over students go back to their squads where they will listen for an explanation of the day’s activity.  After the activity time is over, students will again go to squads for reflection and dismissal.

To view the syllabus click here>  

To view daily and weekly Phy. Ed. activities in Planbook please click on this link.  app.planbook.com/plans