Planning Physical Education Units

Changing the "Culture of Games": "...​This "culture of games" exists in our physical education history and will exist in our physical education futures unless we are prepared to acknowledge that it exists and take steps to create better physical education experiences for our students...."​
SHAPE America Appropriate Practices
  • 3.1.1 The physical education curriculum has an obvious scope and sequence, based on goals and objectives that are appropriate for all students and that are derived from national or state standards.
  • 3.1.2 The physical educator includes motor skill development, physiological and biomechanical concepts, health-enhancing physical activities that lead to a physically active lifestyle, and opportunities to develop appropriate social behaviors.
  • 3.1.3 Instruction follows a scope and sequence that is designed to scaffold prior learning and develop mature forms of skills and strategies.
  • 3.1.4 Teachers design progressions that allow students to build on previously learned content and skills, by focusing on lifetime activities.
  • Revisit content throughout the year.
DIAMOND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: A K-12 ROAD MAP FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION
​The diamond conceptual framework helps illustrate the progression of skills and concepts taught in physical education, which are guided by national and state standards and research on physical activity and physical education. 
  1. Students should first learn the fundamental skills needed to be successful in physical activities (physical literacy), just as they would need to learn the alphabet before learning to read.
  2. Next they should experience a variety of activities with the goal of finding a few they enjoy; we wouldn't want them to go through life thinking the only way to stay healthy and fit is by running, playing basketball, and lifting weights.
  3. Lastly, students should become proficient in a few chosen activities with the hope that they will continue to participate in them throughout their lives. 
Diamond Conceptual Framework for physical education
Click to Enlarge
NATIONAL STANDARDS AND GRADE LEVEL OUTCOMES
Grade Level Outcomes - Apps
PHYSICAL EDUCATION'S "HALL OF SHAME" ACTIVITIES
Hall of Shame characteristics
Click to Enlarge
Here are additional characteristics listed in the Physical Education "Hall of Shame" articles that we omitted from our table and the reasons why:
  • Requires little training or pedagogical skill to teach - Complexity of a task does not relate to its quality.
  • Overemphasis on and concern for fun; Does not address the proposed student learning objectives; Lack of emphasis on teaching motor skills and lifetime physical activity skills - A standards based program negates this issue​.
WHY DODGEBALL IS AN INAPPROPRIATE ACTIVITY
DESIGNING STANDARD BASED UNITS
 
**Select standards/outcomes based on the developmental level of the students (which may differ from their grade level)
​and include additional learning objectives to meet the needs of your students and community.**
DESIGNING STANDARD BASED LESSONS
Key Questions from Instructional Models for Physical Education, 3e (Exhibit 6.7, p. 147), by Michael W. Metzler. Copyright ©2011 by Holcomb Hathaway.
​ 
Below is a video on how to create standards based lessons from Terri Drain. Also see this video and this article for examples of a standards based lessons.
​
UNPACKING STANDARDS
​Standards and student learning outcomes are often comprehensive. After reading each Standard/Outcome, ask yourself “What do my students need to know and be able to do to meet this Standard/Outcome?” The table below shows how many student learning outcomes can be created from one Psychomotor Standard. Find more information on unpacking standards from The Physical Educator.
Picture
Click to Enlarge
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND DOMAINS OF LEARNING ​
Below are examples of student learning outcomes for the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains of learning. The purpose of the taxonomies below are to make it easier to sequence learning tasks in a logical order of difficulty. For more information see our ​Domains of Learning and Writing Learning Objectives page. 
Click Photos to Enlarge