Grin and Barre It: Building Healthy Students in Physical Education
– Laura Bruno and Anne Farrell
Barre fitness classes are ballet-inspired challenges that incorporate ballet barre and ballet positions. This non-traditional lifetime fitness activity is appropriate for a vast array of student learners. Non-traditional units can be defined as ‘new or different from established norms and methods’. Physical educators should consistently integrate a variety of units to offer student choice regarding their physical activity options. This article will support professionals with the implementation of a lifetime wellness, non-traditional Barre unit in Physical Education.
Reviving the Fifth Standard: Placing Value in Physical Education
– Joe Deutsch and Brianna Bieniek
Physical education class is undoubtably unique; the monotony of sitting in a desk is broken as students can move, learn sports concepts, and participate in activities. Physical education teachers implement warm-ups, cool-downs, and games to push students toward their goal of sixty minutes of physical activity per day. How do physical education teachers assess and teach student recognition of the value in participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity? Do the students in physical education classes value why they do the activities? Though some favor the class, research suggests that physical education is often seen as less than desirable. To flip the unfavored views, physical education teachers need to intentionally teach the value that physical education has to offer.
Becoming a Physical Activity Leader (PAL): Skills, Responsibilities and Training
– Peter Stoepker, Brian Dauenhauer, Russell Carson, Jaimie McMullen, and Justin Moore
A comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) is a multi-component approach that aims to provide opportunities for students to meet the nationally recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day and for students to be well-equipped to be active for life. In order for a CSPAP to be effectively implemented, it should be led by a trained physical activity leader (PAL). Due to the importance of a PAL, adoption of CSPAP as a national framework, and the increase in schools implementing a CSPAP approach, this review summarizes recent literature related to the roles and responsibilities of a PAL, various outlets in which aspiring PALs can be trained, and the potential effectiveness of PAL-led CSPAPs.
Lift for Life: Exploring Weightlifting as an After-School Program
– Cathy McKay and Victoria El’Azar
Due to lack of time in physical education class as well as the decreased amount of physical education class students have a week, students are not receiving adequate amounts of daily physical activity. This article describes a solution to this problem, by describing an after-school weightlifting program where students can learn how to do resistance training movements. Resistance training can be greatly beneficial for adolescents by increasing bone density and strength, reducing risk of injury, and improving overall body composition. It also improves muscular strength and endurance. It discusses how to implement an after-school program at a school, while also giving an example of an after-school weightlifting program, Lift for Life Gym.
Departments
ADVOCACY IN ACTION
Physical Education: Education’s Best Idea
– Greg Bert
Physical education transcends all subject fields and life endeavors; if you do not have a healthy mind and body, other learning is more difficult. This article contends that physical education is our education system’s best subject and says it is up to physical educators to advocate, protect, and preserve the profession of physical education.
EDUCATOR'S CORNER
Social and Emotional Learning through Creative Movement in the Physical Education Classroom
– Emily Enloe
The five stages of grief curriculum and lesson outline demonstrate a connection of social and emotional learning (SEL) in the movement-based classroom. Although the focus of this paper is on a dance-specific curriculum, the processes used can be adapted for a SEL-focused lesson in a physical education classroom and supports the various needs of the developing middle school student. The purpose of this article is to provide a sample creative movement lesson integrating SEL that can easily be used or adapted in a physical education classroom.
COACH'S CORNER
Introducing U.S. Soccer Coach Education’s Play-Practice-Play Coaching Model
– Stuart Currie, Ajit Korgaokar, Zac Crawford & Barry Pauwels
The main objective of this article is to introduce soccer coaches and physical education teachers to the United States Soccer Federation’s PPP model. A second objective is to provide coaches and teachers with a practical example that illustrates and explains each stage of the PPP model. The PPP model is broken down into three stages that include play 1 phase, practice, and play 2 phase.
THEORY INTO PRACTICE
Protecting our Student Athletes: Tips for Coaches to Mitigate Dangers
– Greg Wimer
Given the absence of athletic trainers at many sport practices and the unrealistic perception among school administrators that coaches can fill the void, coaches at the middle and secondary school levels are put in a position to meet these expectations. Of the deaths of secondary school American football players each year, approximately 85% of them are from heart conditions, head injuries, and heat stroke, the last two of which are the focus of this article, detailing some strategies that middle and high school coaches can employ to protect the athlete’s health and themselves from liability.