New blogs

Physical Education

http://www.physicaleducationupdate.com/peblog/
This blog is for physical education overall. There are many ideas on here to do in the classroom including Evolution of Dance and PaceTrek. The site looks likes its been around for a while and it looks like it is updated weekly.


http://teachers.saschina.org/espepuxi/
This blog offers lots of information on what students are doing for the entire year. I think this is a great source of ideas for physical education located somewhere else. The specific blog post that I liked was the one about the mile club. I think walking is a great for students to enjoy for the rest of their life.

Sport Specific

http://www.sparkpe.org/blog/tag/physical-education-blogs/
Spark has just about everything on their site. I can search any activity that I want to do in class. There ideas and things you can incorporate into the normal school days. This site has only been around for 2 years, but it kept update often.

http://relojn.ism-online.org/
This is from an elementary school, the physical education teacher keeps it updated. I like that he separates this into specific grade levels. This is could be used for any activity that I would like to do. My students would be able to follow what they are doing in class compared to what other students are doing in other school.

I feel I could use each one of these blogs for ideas, thoughts or knowledge. Each one has its on unique features.

After looking at many blogs and learning more about them I feel I could use them in my class. I would like to update parents on a weekly basis with the activities their child has done in my class. I know this would take a lot of time when I am first starting out but I feel that it could help me in the future. I would have something that I could look back at and know when I did that specific activity. I am not sure how else I could use it, but this is one way that I would like to use.

Blogs in the Classroom

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47

This site is gives benefits of blogs in the classroom. Also gives a few risks to teachers when dealing with blogs.

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs/

It talks about blogs in different areas of school including a few examples.

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=99517

This is a powerpoint that talks about blogs and why they are great in classrooms. Gives teachers reasons to do use them in their classes.

ME 2011

My name is Theresa Michalski. I am a fifth year student at University of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, majoring in Physical Education with a minor in Adapted Physical Education. I am so excited to be graduating in December 2011.

My hometown is Cudahy, WI. I come from a family of 3 kids. I am the middle child. My sister is 1 year older than I am and my brother is 2 years younger than me.

Majority of my extended family lives in Wisconsin. I have several relatives outside of Wisconsin in Ohio, Virginia, Texas, and Florida. I have 36 first cousins and 6 first cousins once removed. We range from 34 to 5 years old. I have both grandparents on my mom’s side, who live about ten minutes away from our house. My dad’s mom lives about three minutes away. In May 2009, my Grandpa Ted past away. This was extremely hard on my family, since he was the first grandparent to go. We miss him greatly and feel he is in better place because he doesn’t have to be sick anymore.

I graduated from Cudahy High School in 2006. In high school I was very active in sports. I played volleyball, basketball and softball. Also was a wrestling manager for the team. I was also an active band member in both marching and concert band. My senior year I was student athletic trainer for football and soccer teams. I was very active in all my classes and loved every minute of school. My senior year, I received 2 scholarships and 1 award. I received one scholarship from the football team and the top amount from Cudahy Lions Club. My award was for Scholar Athlete from the Marines.

I feel I have many hobbies. One of my favorite hobbies is scrap booking. I love looking at pictures that I have take and making them into memories of the past. I enjoy taking pictures. Any where I go I always have a camera. I also collect anything with frogs. I used to have frogs until they all died, waiting to finish school to get more.

College is a road trip. I have been very active in my major. I am President of HPER Club this year. In this club we plan events and attend conferences to broaden our knowledge of the field and become better teachers.

Physical Education Curriculum

Curriculum Revision in Adapted Physical Education

I feel this article has good ideas and suggestions. I agree that an adapted PE curriculum should be district wide. Revising a curriculum can be extremely hard to do. I like the idea of revising a curriculum through a high school. The different steps of school are to have students improve and grow. Elementary school is the first step students, while middle school is a transition into high school. High school is preparing student for the rest of their life. Making all three schools flow into one another will help the students and teachers.

Objectives can be made for K-12 grades. This will help the adapted students to transition better in the students because they know what is expected of the every year. Objectives should be something they can improve on every year. I like the idea of building from the base and adapting for different needs.

The advantages of district wide curriculum are true in this case. Having teachers travel is not a bad idea because the communication with all the schools can be better. The students will have common objectives and will be able to reach them from elementary to middle and middle to high.

Inclusion is a topic all on its own. Inclusion in PE is needed under different circumstances. Severe students need adapted PE to improve. I feel that there is times where some students can be included with in the regular PE class, but other adapted students need there needs met.

Overall I feel if districts can come to a conclusion about their curriculum there district can benefit more students. Revising can be difficult but can make great changes affecting students and teachers. I have strong feelings for adapted PE and the students that need special classes. Not only will regular PE students benefit from the changes, but schools will be able to reach the goals on students IEPs.

Technology in PE

Blogging Ideas for PE

I feel his advice about using class blogs is interesting. I feel that he can maintain a close relationship with the students. The can write freely on their blogs and don't have to be ashamed about them. A great discussion topic could be exercise or food. They could log their intakes and have an open discussion about it.

As a teacher you can have discussions about exercises and games the students enjoy playing. This could give new ideas to you as a teacher. You are able to find out what the students want to be doing. If you find out there is something that they absolutely hate you can find your way around while teaching.

I like to bring technology into PE. I feel that Wii Fit is a good idea. Some kids don't have a Wii at home and are unable to experience the fun. Also, I have seen teachers use DDR in their gyms. This is much easier to get a hold of and many lessons you can do with students. Many students don’t like to dance with boys or girls so bringing in DDR, they can challenge other students without touching each other.

I really like the idea of students posting their fitness logs. Not only can the students see what they are doing and take pride in their work. As a teacher you can motivate your students to do better or encourage them to be healthier. Students will also be able to see their improvements without you telling them. You can have a class competition but also make it so they have self competition.

Technology in PE is hard, but can be done. I feel that added some technology will keep you as the teacher up to date with the students. Also I feel that technology can get in the way of being active. I would rather be active with my students in the gym and encourage them to be active outside of school.

Teaching Philosophy

I feel that my classroom should be a learning environment. Letting the students learn the rules of the classroom besides becoming educated in physical activities. I will follow the rules firmly to avoid any injuries but I will let there be fun. At the elementary level, the kids love to have open minds and play, and I find this to be a great time to let them do that adding in the physical activities. When the students leave the classroom and continue physical activities, then my job has been completed. I have taught them that it is not just another class that you have to take it should be part of your lifestyle.

Most of the rules are rules that you can see just about anywhere. Respect should be everywhere not just in classrooms of at school. Just because it is PE, class does not mean there are not any rules to follow. There is great risk for injury in PE class, so following directions carefully is necessary. If students cannot follow directions then there needs to be some disciplinary actions taken.

Rules will be told to the students to the first day. They will be reminded of the rules for several weeks. Besides just telling the students, they will be able to see the rules displayed on a bulletin board. If students repeatedly disobey the rules, a letter would be sent home to the parents. In this letter will be the rules stated and what they student has done to go against these rules. The rules will also be on the tentative rubric for the year. This way parents can also see the rules on paper, in addition to administration and principal.

There will be special accommodations for those with disabilities. The students will be able to participate daily in every game and lesson. They will also be units and games that they can excel at. In each unit, there will be an adapted game for all to get a chance to experience. If regular PE would not work for the student, there will be a special designed physical education class for all those with disabilities. This class will give them a chance to interact with other with similar disabilities.

Each lesson will include a warm up, stretching, focus, game and cool down. More than one focus may be added to the lesson depending on the activity-taking place. In addition, I will have back up game in case the game falls through or students aren’t having as much fun. When students arrive to gym, they will stay in their line and be introduced to the opening warm up. After warm up, they will find their spot on the floor by their number. Go through some simple stretches, depending on activity do extra stretches specific to that muscle. There should be little to no talking, during all this. While students are stretching, review from prior class what was done and learned. Then I will briefly explain the activity and focus for today.

Few minutes before class ends will be cool down and closure time. This is a time for students’ heart rate to go back to normal before they return to class. Furthermore, this time will allow students to review focus today’s lesson.

Students and any other instructions must follow the emergency action plan that is by each of the doors. This plan is made to keep everyone safe and under control if a situation would happen. There will be a map of how to exit the gym during a tornado, fires, bomb threats, and winter weather. Also this plan will have steps in case of an emergency happens such as injury, heart attack, seizure, or anything else that could happen.

Inside this plan would be rosters of all the students for each class. This would list the number of students in each class, the name of the students, and what time their class is at on the days they come in. It will be around the doors of the gym so that way anyone can grab it on their way out. There will also be a list of steps to do when something does go wrong. Also, include a list of phone numbers in case you have to contact anyone or call for help.

The grading policy will be based upon the unit that is going on. Over all if the students show up to class and participate without any problems, they will get their participations points for the day. If they can reach, the objectives set for them daily and for the entire unit, they will also be able to receive more points. In addition they will be graded on their performance when they having testing before and after each unit.

Positive attitudes and positive students are a great thing to have in class. It is a lot easier to encourage the students that want to be in class more than the students who don’t want to be in class. Weekly behavior assessments and rewards will be given to the students. If a student is caught doing something good or encourages other students in class, their name will be added to the weekly bowl. At the end of two weeks, one student will have their name drawn from the bowl and win a small prize. This would encourage all to behavior and for those to participate more.

Negative behavior in class will not be tolerated. The students will be forced to sit out of class or sit in the office during class time. They will also have to make up their physical activity on their own time. This can be coming in afterschool and participating in whatever activity that is taking place. Alternatively, they can have a teacher sign off on a sheet just saying that they have participated in an activity during recess.

Disciplinary action will be taken seriously. Students who feel they do not need to follow the rules set in class can and will be told to participate in physical activity on their own time. When students put others at risk by not following directions, they can sit out of the class that day.

I feel that most of the time I would use the command style while teaching, but there will be some days that changing it up would be good for the students. I really like the idea of discovery and letting the students learn on their own. This could be used in addition to just the command style. Depending on the situation and the safety of the student depends on what style I will use.