We all want to increase student engagement in any class right? As our students get older, we start to see a decrease in engagement, especially from females when it comes to physical education.
If you are a PE teacher like me, one of your daily goals is to increase student engagement in class, but you also want them to enjoy the activities they are performing.
Since I teach K-8th grade, I can only comment on what works for me in those age groups, but some of my tips can work for older grades as well!
Who Do I Teach:
I have approximately 750 students that go through my gym. From kindergarten to 8th grade and three different levels per grade, I teach a wide variety of kids, so of course every thing we do isn’t a one size fits all activity.
I see my every class on a three day rotation for 30 minutes, except for 7th and 8th grade. I see one 7th and one 8th grade class every single day for 12 weeks and then I get a new set of middle school classes.
Modifications and adaptations have to be made for almost every class. One class out of the 27 that I teach is set up completely different than the rest due to their behavior/skills and that’s okay! We figured out together what works for them to keep the atmosphere of the class positive and successful.
Below are some of the things I do that work specifically for me and my classes. Sometimes my ideas don’t work. But a lot of the time I am able to increase student engagement in class with some of the info below.
Try something new if you are struggling, but put your own spin on it!
Ditch the Seating Charts
For all but one of my classes, they come in to my gym and sit down where ever they’d like. Because I don’t do seating charts anymore, the students moral is better because THEY get to choose where they sit. If they want to sit near friends they can.
If they are having a rough day, I can see that just by the choice they make on where to sit. I’ll notice they aren’t siting near their usual crew and that lets me who I need to spend a little more time with through out class.
Over the last year, I have noticed the students quiet down and get ready for instruction SO MUCH FASTER when they get to choose where they sit. In recent years we would spend 5-10 minutes just trying to remember where everyone sits, or having to double check each row and student who are sitting in the wrong spot on purpose so they can sit by their friends, or trying to get the younger students to remember the random markings on the ground.
It’s annoying and impossible to not waste time when you have so many classes. As long as you remind your students to “make good choices” on where they sit it should eliminate a lot of wasted time which equals MORE ACTIVITY TIME! Therefore an increase of student engagement in class.
What About That One Class Who’s Routine Differs From the Rest of Your Classes?
Ahhh that one sixth grade class. Individually they are the most amazing kids, but together they are WILD. I struggled most of the year trying to figure out how to even have a productive PE class when I can’t get out a sentence without all of them talking over me, talking back, or yelling at each other.
I specifically made this one class a seating chart and spread them out across the whole gym so they were at least 8 feet away from anyone. It didn’t work.
Like I said before, all your classes are not a one size fits all deal. I went to their classroom and observed who they interact with each and their teacher during a regular school day, and what I noticed was that all they did was sit, and stay quiet, and write, and PE was something they looked forward to and needed.
I had an idea…
They did not need to go from sitting in the classroom to sitting in they gym to listen to yet again…more directions, rules and expectations.
I decided that when these kids come to me they immediately start running/walking around the gym. They need that 3-5 minutes to MOVE and TALK and even DANCE!!
I play a different but current song each time I see them on my sound system loud so they can hear and feel the beat, and I swear I have never seen kids happier to be running laps in my life.
I use my amazing UE Boom with mega bass to get my students pumped up to run or dance. Click the image to purchase and incorporate music to increase student engagement in your classes!
The speaker above ALWAYS helps increase student engagement in myPE class.
They get to move talk and dance with their friends or individually and that is all they want. Once the song is over, they immediately go to their floor spots where I explain the activity or sport we are playing in less that 2 minutes. I place their teams or groups on the overhead projector and set my timer for 3 minutes and let them know they should be engaged by the time my timer goes off. For this class: IT WORKS. Do we still have days we struggle, absolutely. But for the most part the kids get so much more time for movement and I can see a huge difference in their attitudes, and their relationships with me.
Station Work
When I first started teaching I didn’t do stations because I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time to set up or take down between classes. But I will never forget the first time I set up stations for kindergarten. It was a mind blowing experience. I actually remember the principal coming through my gym and complimenting me on how well every student is working.
Now in the beginning of the year (after rules/procedures, and team building activities) I do a stations unit. I teach all of my students the way we travel through the stations (it never ever changes. Always counterclockwise), and how to transition to the next.
All I have to say is “clean up and point” and my kids clean up their station nicely for the next group and take a knee while pointing to the next station they will travel to. This lets me know that everyone is on the same page and there is no chaos if half of my kids don’t know where to go. Once they are ready I simply say “go to your next station” and they know they can begin immediately.
What does the actual station unit look like?
I let them play with so many different types of equipment. I’ll set up soccer, hockey, basketball, cup stacking, scooters, jump ropes, hula hoops, animal walking card decks, throwing to a target, mats for dance or gymnastics and so many other random toys. It’s nice to see how excited they get to try different activities.
After two class periods of me picking the station they start at and who is in their group, I let them pick who they want to travel around the gym with. Some teachers might think “oh no, I will not let Timmy and Jimmy play together, because they are never on task or listening to instructions”.
Can you give them the option to work with friends?
You’d be surprised on how well they work together during activity time when they chose who they will work with.
Take it a step further and interact with them at a specific station, to build your relationship with them. When your kids respect you they want to be good for you. I have turned quite a few relationships around with this mindset, and I can happily say this has been my favorite teaching year.
Now that your students understand how your station procedures work you can start building them into your units. Basketball unit? Set up a day of basketball stations. Fitness Unit? Again set up a day or two of exercise stations. Make it fun for them. The goal is to promote long lasting healthy lifestyles right? Well it starts with you and how you set up their PE class, and I promise stations is a great way go.
RipStiks…Oh Yeah, the Two Wheeled Skateboards
When I was in high school my cousin had a RipStik and I’d try to ride it and fail over and over again. But then one day it clicked. I wasn’t good at it, but I could ride for a short time on a smooth pavement and I remember the feeling of success I had. Then over the years, anytime I went to a sports store or a Meijers/Walmart I’d go to the toy section, pull out a RipStik and practiced riding them up and down the isles. I couldn’t really stear, but my balance got better.
Fast forward to last year. I was in Meijers with my boyfriend playing on the RipStik and it everything clicked for me. I realized I needed to raise money to buy my students these. And that’s exactly what I did. I planned a glow in the dark dance party for them where they could buy glasses, wristbands or necklaces and I raised enough money to get a class set of 20 and 20 brand new helmets. RipStiks were not bought from a single store. I bought them all on Facebook Marketplace and lots of them were brand new or in excellent condition.
Introducing the Ripstik:
Students were introduced to the Ripstiks in grades 3-8 by me riding them around the gym as they entered. They went crazy. They wanted to get on these toys so bad, so during my instruction there was not one single behavior issue. I let every single class pick their own partner, and showed them a quick how to video. For the first day, all students practiced was what I call “partner work”. How to be a good partner for your rider, and we just practiced traveling up and down in a straight line. Partners shared a helmet (unless they brought in their own) and a RipStick, even though I had extra.
On day 2 of every class, we practiced turning and acceleration with our partners. Everyone was to travel counterclockwise around the gym with their partners help. Day 3-6 was all practice and this is when students started to get the hang of it and travel on their own. The determination I saw from every single student was so powerful I sometimes get teary eyed talking about it. RipStiks are hard if you’ve never ridden one. But once you get it, its so much fun. All of my students tried to get to the point of riding with no partner (I had extra for students who progressed faster than others).
Behavior issues…NON EXISTENT
RipStiks cured all behavior issues during the unit. There was not one kid who did not want to ride, and the feeling of success took over them. They worked so hard to achieve something they never thought they could do. They never knew they wanted to RipStik.
This is by far the majority of my students favorite unit. I have had at least a dozen students tell me they are asking for RipStiks for Christmas, birthdays, or just because. Some students parents bought them one, and they’d bring it into my gym to practice. Other students would ask me if they could have the ones I bought, to the point where the school bought a couple and kids could purchase them in our schools reward program with the fake money students can earn for behavior, or grades. I take so much pride in the fact that my kids are getting physical activity outside of school, because of something they learned in my PE class.
YOU CAN DO IT
Any time I talk about my RipStiks to other PE teachers I hear “I could never teach that”. But I promise you, you can. I practiced so much before the unit, because I was nervous I’d fall during demonstrations or the kids wouldn’t get it, and I got much better.
I ride all the time now just for fun around my gym when I don’t have classes. It’s a great workout and extremely fun, but if you fear that you just wont get it, show the kids a video! There are plenty of videos online.
And once the students put on their helmets and get with their partner their only option is to try. They more than likely are going to fail a bunch of times, but if you let them figure it out on their own, the feeling of empowerment they will feel outweighs any nervousness you might have felt about not being able to actually teach your students how to ride.
Click the image below to get your hands on your students new favorite toy. This was the best way to increase student engagement in my PE class!
Make Connections and Build Relationships
Any good teacher knows that building relationship with your students takes precedent over any academics in the beginning of the year. You need to know who your students are so you can begin to understand the way they learn.
If you have this down, you’ll increase your student engagement in your class in no time.
When it comes to PE, this rule still applies. What do your students do outside of school? Who do they hang out with? What type of music do they listen to? Where are they from? What do they watch on TV? And what are their home lives like?
I have a student who I absolutely adore. He talks through half of my instructions, I have to tell him 15 times to do one simple task, and he’ll sometimes get into arguments with other students about trivial basketball or football games.
But he is such a good genuine kid looking for someone to appreciate him. From what he has briefly told me, he’s on the verge of being kicked out of his house to live with his grandmother, but she does not want the responsibility. He acts out, looking for attention.
Give him what he is looking for…in a positive way
I realized that he needed more of my attention last year. We’d talk, or he’d come visit me during one of his bathroom breaks, and I’d let him shoot a couple basketballs and then he’d be on his way back to class. It was 3 minutes out of my day that I made this boys day better.
When I had him for class and I saw him getting worked up and ready to fight (never physical), I would walk by and tell him to take a couple laps around the school to clear his head. When he’d come back we’d talk about his actions and I would always let him know I was proud of him for removing himself from an altercation.
He realized I trusted him, and I was on his side in life which made him want to do better for me. Was he perfect in my class? No. But he was a million times better for me, than his other teachers in the school which meant…MORE ENGAGEMENT in my lessons.
Sometimes if he got upset or frustrated during my class, he would ask if he could run laps around the gym while everyone else left. Of course he could! I didn’t worry about the next class I was about to have. The most important thing to me in that moment was my students head space, and I know he appreciated that. There is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t say hi to me in the hall or after school, and I am so happy we have the relationship that we do.
The 3 minutes that he visited my gym, or the 30 minutes he had me for class were probably some of his best times of his day. And it’s because he felt valued.
So can we increase student engagement in our class?
Absolutely!
As PE teachers we have the advantage when it comes to relationships. We are the fun teachers! Don’t get caught up in the bad behavior and the consistent punishments.
Change your attitude, and your students will change theirs. They are kids that haven’t figured out how this life works yet. Their hormones are running wild, and they are all trying to keep up with the “likes” on Instagram.
Make every class count with every student, try to understand who they are, and what they need. If these steps are met, you will have higher physical activity engagement throughout all of your students.
No comments! Be the first commenter?