Concepts to excite, engage and entice learning

1. Integrating physical education concepts into your classroom content Concepts to excite, engage and entice learning

2. Math - Numbers and operations • What percentage of your maximum heart rate did you reach after one minute of jumping rope? • Express as a fraction the distance you threw the football compared to the distance that you kicked it? • I see here that in one game today Kevin scored 3 points and Maria scored 2. Their team scored 12. I want you to express Kevin and Maria’s scores as fractions of their team total. Then calculate their combined score as a fraction of the team total.

3. Math - Geometry • What shapes can you draw using these lines? • Based on the dimensions of our four courts (basketball, volleyball, tennis & badminton) which has the greatest perimeter and which has the smallest area?

4. Math - Measurement • Let’s look at some of the equipment we use during physical education. Complete the following sentences, with a piece of equipment at each end of the sentence and using these middle parts: is longer than, is as long as, is shorter than, is heavier than etc. • Our last physical education class was at 9:30 yesterday. How much time in hours and minutes has passed since that lesson?

5. Math - Data analysis & probability • Today we completed that short putting circuit where your focus was on putting for accuracy. I’d like you to draw a pie graph that represents your scores on the four holes you played. • On the board you can see a bar graph I made of the class totals from our recent basketball challenge. Which team scored the highest on free throws, and which team scored the highest on total points?

6. Language Arts - Writing • Create cinquain poems or use the nouning or acrostic techniques to write a poem about a physical education topic • Using a format found in our local newspaper – headline, byline, and story – write a news report about a game you played in physical education. Who were the teams that played, what happened during the game, and who won? • During the games unit, we spend a lot of time discussing the idea of fair play. Write a one-page essay that compares the attributes of a “good sport” and a “bad sport.”

7. Language Arts - Speaking • Prepare and orally present a news release headline or a slogan that reveals the key cues of dribbling a soccer ball or punting a football. • Prepare and orally present a television advertisement that highlights the benefits of physical activity.

8. Science - Physical Science • Practice hopping. When you hop up, why do you come back down to the ground? Why don’t you just keep going higher and higher? • Today in class you had a chance to throw baseballs and ping-pong balls. Which kind travels fastest and farthest? • Let’s look at this whole idea of “transformation of energy” What are some of the energy changes that take place when we hit (such as chemical to electrical, electrical to sound, mechanical to heat? Think of your body’s energy and the bat or stick, as well as the ball.

9. Science - Life Science • The general place or physical environment in which a population lives is called a habitat. Let’s make a list of all the different places where we play games (including park, stadium, swimming pool, pond, school ground). What other animals or plants might also live in those places? What might be some of the natural homes of those animals or plants? Should we be careful where we play our games?

10. Science • All of us were perspiring when we came in from our jumping circuit today. Is sweat good or bad for your body? How does sweat work? • Today you worked in teams to capture the cone from the other team. Which of the animals that we are studying work in teams to get food?

11. Science - Earth & Space Science • If this tennis ball represents the size of Earth, what other ball would you choose to show the difference in size between Earth and other planets? • What instruments do we use to measure the weather (rain gauge, thermometer)? What instruments do we use to measure things in physical education and sports? Would there be times when we would need weather instruments in a sport?

12. Social Studies - Economics • Let’s look at all the materials we used today during our dance lesson in physical education. Which of these were human-made, and which were natural resources? Do they cost more to produce? • Participation in physical activity often involves both good and services. What goods do you use outside of school to be physically active? Do you pay for any services (such as tennis lesson, karate club, or swimming pool entrance)?

13. Social Studies - Geography • During physical education we are practicing our punting and kicking skills. Let’s look at other forms of football that are played around the world. Can you find the countries on our maps where these games are played? • Right now in our social studies class we’re studying different kinds of dances from all over the world. How are these dances similar to or different from the rhythmic dances we’ve been practicing in our physical education classes?

14. Social Studies - History • All around the world countries hold celebrations: Children’s Day in Japan, Thanksgiving in the United States, Bastille Day in France, Cinco de Mayo in Mexico, New Years celebrations in China. What are some of the physical activities or sports that are played on these days? • Some of the skills you have been learning in physical education date back a long way. Baseball, volleyball, and basketball were all played in the 1800s. How do you think teams might have communicated with each other in past times to report scores or arrange matches (letter, radio, rotary-dial telephone)? What are some of the different forms of communication we have now that those teams and players did not (e-mail, television, cellphone)?

15. Social Studies - Political Science • What are some the similarities and differences between a referee in a game and a judge in a courtroom? Why do you think both are necessary? • Let’s look at some of the rules for baseball. Let’s compare game rules to laws; what make them fair or unfair?