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    young smiling students participating in PE running activity outside on the grass

    Physical Education

    Spring Cleaning: Freshening up Your PE Activities

    Spring Forward

    It’s that time in the school year when teachers look for ways to keep students engaged, invested, and interested in physical education and activities. Whether you’re using spring to revisit and review PE concepts and activities from across the year or are introducing new ones, this is the perfect time to freshen up your content by following a couple easy steps and applying some simple changes.

    One Step at a Time

    Using the strategies of content analysis and development, you can put a fresh twist on existing games and activities to continue challenging each student to meet their full potential. Ready, Set, Step!

    Step 1: Content Analysis – What are the major parts of the game?

    Examine each PE activity to define its component parts.

    For example, what are the parts of a game of tag?

    • Size of playing area
    • Type of movement used (running, skipping, etc.)
    • Use of safety zones (base)
    • Additional movements (if tagged, you must… )

    Some common component parts of PE games include:

    • Required movements
    • Number of attempts
    • Time limits
    • How points are scored
    • Size and make-up of groups
    • Size of playing area
    • Equipment size and type
    • Number and size of goals

    Step 2: Content Development – How can I modify the game?

    Once you determine the parts of the activity, you can change or freshen up the activities by altering those parts. It’s important to note you may need to make the game more or less challenging to accommodate each student’s current skill, knowledge, and experience level.

    Get to Stepping

    Now it’s your turn. Apply the two steps above to freshen up your favorite games. Or better yet, involve your students by challenging them to engage in the two steps to create new versions of their favorite games. Let students share their ideas and pick the ones that have the greatest appeal. Now that’s definitely a step in the right direction!

    Shop Sportime PE


    Dr Scott Townsend

    Dr. Scott Townsend

    Dr. J. Scott Townsend holds a Doctorate in Physical Education Teacher Education with a concentration in Curriculum and Supervision. He has worked extensively with curriculum and instruction models, more specifically focused on sport education. Read more posts by Dr. Scott Townsend –>

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    Dr Derek Mohr

    Dr. Derek Mohr

    Dr. Derek Mohr, Professor in Health and Physical Edcuation at Appalachian State University, holds a Doctorate in Physical Education Teacher Education with a cognate in exercise physiology from West Virginia University. His focus area is in sport, activity, and fitness pedagogy. Read more posts by Dr. Derek Mohr –>

    Tagged With: Spring

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