Safely performing rolls in gymnastics can always be an issue as spotting every single student requires a lot of wait time. As we don't want students having to wait for extended periods of time do perform an activity, introducing little games can always help to increase participation time. Please see video below of a fun activity done in yesterday's grade 2 PE class. I have also included pictures of the students in kindergarten playing a similar type activity. They were also working on pencil rolls. The kids had to work together to accomplish a task while ensuring they were egg rolling properly. Try it out with your students. They will love it!
When the timing is right, great integration can take place with the single subjects. Grade 3 teachers, Marina Gijzen and Kath Adams, have been collaborating with me on their current unit of inquiry taking place in the classroom as it fits very nicely with my movement composition unit in PE.
The central idea and lines of inquiry that they are using are as follows:
A work of art is the product of complex processes.
Lines of inquiry:
1. the features of artistic expression (form)
2. people respond differently to the same stimuli (perspective)
3. artists reflections shape the final product (reflection)
As I am in the last couple of weeks in my movement composition unit, the students have started to work on creating their final routines. I will highlight the importance of ensuring a process is followed when creating these routines as they are working on complex processes in their unit of inquiry in class. I am focusing on the 4th line of inquiry mostly, but will also have a look at and consider the 3rd as well.
Objectives of Summative Assessment Task
A)Create a routine, in groups, based on Cirque Du Soleil, Stomp, Gymnastics, and Yoga
B)Choose one element/action from each of the above areas to integrate into a final routine
C)Record their progress through the assessment task in booklets
I have made up movement composition booklets(please see slide show below of booklet) in which the students will:
1.Use a check box to indicate when they have completed each step of the movement composition process
2.Write a short reflection at the conclusion of each step of the process
3.Draw and explain each of the elements that they have used on their routine
4.Complete a self and peer assessment rubric at the end of the task
This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Please see partner balance placards below. I asked our art teacher, Andrew Kay, to find some willing students to make them up for me. I needed these partner balance pictures for my gymnastics unit and wanted something that I could laminate and put up on display in my movement composition/gymnastics room. There are 9 placards in total. Andrew Kay found 2 students that were willing to volunteer their time to create the 9 placards. Thank you to Javier and Jessica for taking the time to create these great placards. Javier and Jessica earned 2 points toward their community and service hours for completing this task. A special thanks to Andrew Kay as well for taking the time to find some grade 10 students for this project!
If you would like a copy of these placards, please email me and I am more than happy to share with you.
My grade 4 students were challenged to apply mental maths when creating a very short partner balance routine in last week's PE class. They had to refine and practice a number of partner balances during the first part of class. In the second part of class, they had to select 4 balances to be used in a 43-second routine. The challenge was to calculate time needed to hold the balance, as well as transition time required to complete their routine as close as possible to the 43rd and final second. It as a fun activity that really got them communicating, thinking, and problem solving. Simple in nature, but hopefully rich in learning! Please see video below of the routines.
Flat Classroom Peer Assessment Project Update (Nanjing International School and United Nations International School)
I am happy to say that we (NIS and UNIS) completed the first chapter of our flat classroom peer assessment project yesterday afternoon with grade 2. For background information on this project, please visit earlier blog (http://www.pyppewithandy.com/2/post/2012/02/flat-classroom-collaborative-peer-assessment-project-in-pyp-pe.html) to see the specifics. Despite experiencing some logistical issues related to scheduling and IT concerns regarding our Skype connection, we were able to stick to our original timeframe and completed the first peer assessment via Skype yesterday afternoon from 1-2pm Nanjing time.
Although things seemed to go quite well, we recognize that there are some areas that could be improved upon. Cameron McHale, the PE teacher from United Nations International School in Vietnam, did a great job at organizing things from his end to ensure all went smoothly. Both Cam and I decided to change the format in which his students were going to assess my students. We needed to ensure maximum efficiency when peer assessing as timing was critical, especially considering the fact that 50 students (three grade 2 classes) were participating at NIS and 20 grade 2 students were viewing our performances via Skype at UNIS. A very special thanks to NIS drama teacher, Sam Brown and NIS music teacher, Bonnie Tsung for their help in making this happen as well!
Cam’s students watched 4 consecutive movement composition routines and were given a couple of minutes between each group’s performance to peer assess. The best thing about the entire process was that at the end of the 4 routines, aside from the pencil and paper assessment, some of Cam’s students gave verbal feedback to my students that was extremely useful. His students commented on how cool it was to see cartwheels, scarves, and other elements in the routine. They even mentioned that seeing our routines was great because it gave them ideas for their routines. It was clear to see that they were completely focused and following along on Skype.
My students will be observing Cam’s students do their routines in two weeks time. That will conclude the grade 2 part of this project. We have also scheduled peer assessment projects via Skype with our grade 3 classes on March 9th. Please view slide show below of the flat classroom peer assessment process continuing to unfold. It has been a great professional experience so far. Cam and I look forward to refining the process in an effort to make the learning experience more valuable for the students and to provide as much feedback as possible to any other teachers around the world wanting to try this sort of thing out.
Tanya Derkash, our learning support specialist at Nanjing International School in China, has been excellent in providing me with strategies to use when teaching any special needs students that I have in my PE classes. Tanya’s main focus is to provide an inclusive and collaborative approach to teaching and learning and has been a valuable asset to have on faculty. Both Tanya and I are in our first year at NIS. She taught at Mission High School in San Francisco before joining Nanjing International School. She also has an extensive background in art. To see her amazing work, visit her website at www.tanyaderkash.com Please read Tanya’s guest blog below:
In Mr. Andy’s PE class on Friday, I was supporting a little boy with Down Syndrome. The activity for the day was to create shapes with the body in relationship to a partner. As some may know, partnership or ‘picking partners’ can be difficult for students with special needs so I was overjoyed when Mr. Andy announced that they would be in groups of three. His reasoning was that the third person could observe the body formations and then comment on ways to make it more effective. Putting children in groups of three provides more opportunities for participation and allows for more creativity in how individual students participate.
Sometimes including students with special needs can require some ‘thinking outside of the box.’ It is always a joy to work with teachers who can interact spontaneously with a child’s unique behaviors and utilize these moments as opportunities for role modeling. For example, as Mr. Andy was explaining the assessment activity, the little boy I support got up and walked to the front of the room at an inappropriate time. Without missing a beat, Mr. Andy grabbed his hand and asked him to help demonstrate a body formation. Such a small gesture did two large things - one, it modeled to the kids that this child was capable and two, it allowed this student to feel like a leader by treating him with dignity rather than scolding him. Kids with disabilities are very aware that they are different from the others and are constantly seeking opportunities for positive recognition.
Recorded in 2010 in California, Sir Ken Robinson gives an excellent talk about education. If you have time, watch the entire video. It is well worth it!
A) Students will learn to safely execute 6 different partner balances
B) Create routine by choosing 4 of the 6 balances
C) Perform routines to class
1) We will review central idea and lines of inquiry
2) Revisit individual balances by practicing a few of them (bird, bridge, table, candle)
3) Students will be paired up
4) Discuss safety: How best can we ensure that we are safe while performing balances?
5) Using Smart Board, introduce partner balance pictures as exemplars.
6) Discuss key points such as strength and stability
7) Students practice each of these partner balances
8) Asking for feedback from peers/teacher stressed as very important in order to ensure that the balances are done properly
9) Students select 4 of the balances that they enjoyed the most and create a routine
10) Practice and refine
Formative Assessment Task
The students are required to draw their selected balances on the assessment sheet in the order that they will perform their routine. Space is provided for extra comments if they wish. Each pair must identify and show teacher their favorite balance. Teacher to take picture that will be included on a assessment sheet.
Lesson went very well. Was not able to perform the routines as we ran out of time. However, they will be able to use first part of next week's class to practice and perform.
The PYP attitudes provide a great basis to stress the enduring concepts in PE. The 12 attitudes are often demonstrated on a daily basis in our classes and should be recognized whenever possible. One of my grade 4 students is currently working on better involving himself in group tasks. In order to differentiate and allow him every opportunity possible to demonstrate his understanding of what we are doing in PE, I allow him to draw pictures. In yesterday's class, we were focusing on partner balances in gymnastics. He followed along very closely observing the group and drew the pictures below. Excellent creativity shown and certainly worthy of recognition.
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