The ABCD's of Physical Education

I remember an instructor in my undergraduate degree led us on an hour-long hike with a giant moose antler on his pack. He never referred to it, but everyone knew it was there. It was a mild distraction at the beginning of the hike but eventually we could see that it would have great significance to the lessons that were being taught that afternoon. As the lesson was wrapping up we could easily find the answers all had to do with the giant moose antler he'd been carrying that day.

Every time our students at PHS walk into our gymnasium they are often caught gazing up at the words, 'The ABCD's of Phys Ed' above our doors. Little do they know (unless they have begun to read this blog) that these words are a giant moose antler being carried from lesson-to-lesson, ever so visible and soon to carry a lot of meaning.

Alberta Education has set a small list of General Outcomes for the Physical Education program - simply stated, the ABCD's of Phys Ed. It's these outcomes that our students walk by everyday.

Activity

Students will have an opportunity to develop skills through various activities that are relative to their age. It's here that we set the foundations of movement for our students and teach them to draw upon their 'toolbox' of skills participating with confidence and competence in games and activities.

Benefits Health

We all know that being active has health benefits, though this is something that we might take for granted. Likely few of us reading this can actually identify a point in time when we learned the relationship between health and activity. Imaging if we could say that this is a concept we were very familiar with in Kindergarten or Grade 1? Now imagine the impact this early knowledge could have on the lives of children.

Cooperation

One of the hardest skills for many young children to learn is how to interact positively with others. My belief is that if we can provide a variety of situations, a variety of partners and a variety of circumstances for activity we can foster and develop an understanding of positive social interactions. Sure, we ask children all the time to 'get along' or to 'take turns', but unless this is experienced through explicit instruction it can easily be misunderstood.

Do it Daily ... for Life!

It is important to understanding that the common definition of literacy (reading, writing, speaking and listening) is starting to expand. Physical Literacy is the ability for someone to move with confidence and competence in a variety of activities. As a child if we don't develop the skills to throw we will likely not participate in activities that involve throwing. The same can be said for running, catching, swimming and the like. Being able to perform a variety of basic skills as a child will increase our likelihood of being active as we grow older. When is there a better age to instill a love for an active and healthy lifestyle!

Thanks for reading!

-CFM