As the we enter the last month of the school year, it seems that parts of the past year have gone by fast and other times, it seems to go slow. This year seemed like there were more fast times than slower times. I feel like it is due to the fact of changing many aspects that otherwise have made it seem slower at times. Changing Curriculum I have changed many aspects of my curriculum this past school year, ranging from the word usage I use in class (i.e., activities instead of games, skills units instead of sports units, instant activities instead of warm-ups). I have changed my calendar for the year to rotate skills and then revisit them again the second half of the year. iPad - Mobile Teaching/Sharing/Communicating I was able to raise funds through donors choose to help motivate my students in class. I was able to get 3 iPads to use in class and also to help aid me in presenting information to my students and communicate with parents. I have only started to scratch the surface on what students can use with the iPads and hope to come up with more ways to incorporate them. Projector I have been able to get a projector from our technology department to use in class. It has been one of the greatest assets to use in class this year. Creating gifs, google slides, and Plicker questions to use almost daily. I would not have originally ask for one, but this year was about getting out of my comfort zone and taking risks. Taking that risk has help motivate my students to be more active, but also motivate myself more to get creative to teach them different ways. National Standards This school year, I focused more on the National Standards instead of my state standards. Not to take anything away from the State Standards, but I dove more into the National Standards for the different skills for the grade levels. Next year, I am planning on combining the National Standards and my State Standards together in an effort to give more feedback in my lessons. ClassDojo ClassDojo was a huge success for me to help with keeping track of student’s skills and feedback for parents and also report cards. Being able to share and communicate with parents was an aspect that I have always struggled with in my previous 12 years. This year, I had more conversations with parents about my program and also gave them “sneak peaks” in class with videos shared on ClassDojo. Plickers/Plagnets Such an easy and instant way to assess students on the different skills or knowledge of what was discussed in the lessons. I also like using it for survey questions about different topics and voting on different activities. I also started using it with students to help keep track of different levels or progressions in the activities. More Reflecting on Lessons I have spent more time this school year reflecting on my lessons than I did in the past 12 years. I put more thought into WHAT I was teaching, WHY I was teaching that skill, and HOW will they know they learned it. The hardest part was coming up with WHY I was teaching it, but plan to look more in depth this summer in creating a sheet with the various activities and the WHAT, WHY, and HOW. Connecting with Other Phys Ed teachers State/National; Twitter One of the best things I took away from this school year was connecting with other Physical Education teachers/leaders from Illinois. But it does not stop there, it extends around the country and world all thanks for the courage to sign-up on Twitter. Twitter has been the BEST professional development someone can learn from. There are so many quality Physical Education teachers on twitter who share much of what they do and it is free! They all gave me the courage to stand up for my program and encourage me to do what I have always thought I should have been doing. I thank all those who shared with me, as I share with them. This past month has also been extremely difficult for my family and myself. We recently lost my father-in-law suddenly and unexpectedly. It has taking my attention away from the ideas and things I have been doing with my students. We should never take things for granted and spend as much time with family as you can. People always say they take a break from work and take time for themselves, and this is true. Not only should you take time for yourself, but also take the time to appreciate the loved ones around you! You do not know what tomorrow may bring and should cherish every moment that you can. - Matthew Holben (@holben_pe) * Always a BIG shout out to all of YOU, who have shared their ideas, lessons, videos, conversations for not only inspiring me to become a better professional, but others as well!
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AuthorI am a Physical Education teacher starting my 14th school year. I have been at the same school all 14 years. Starting this blog as a new project to share my thoughts and ideas. Archives
August 2019
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