Juggling Breaks and The First Days of School by Dave Finnigan, Educational Consultant 604 Front St. Celebration, FL 34747 "Juggling for Success"!, is a classroom based behavior management program designed to be introduced at the beginning of the school year. It is: Easy to initiate and administer; Supportive of existing curriculum; Of low cost to the school; Based on the best in educational theory, Best of all, "Juggling for Success"! does not take time, since it earns back minutes that are already being spent on behavior management. Introduction of the program in a classroom: On the first day of school the classroom teacher draws a small box in one corner of the blackboard, and says, “This is the box in which we will store our juggling minutes. Every check is a minute. I might put a check in this box if everyone is well behaved all morning, or if everyone turns in their homework on time, or if you walk to the library and back quietly, or if the cafeteria lady tells me you were really great kids, or just because I like you. You never know how a check might get into the box. It will always be a surprise. I'll never put one in if you ask for one.” “Once there are a few checks in the box, you get to decide when to spend them. Part way through the day I might feel you need a juggling break and I’ll call for a show of hands to see if you want to spend some of your juggling minutes. Then we’ll vote, and the majority rules. How you earn and spend your juggling minutes is up to you as a group.” “Whenever time is up and the juggling break is over, just put your desk bags away quickly and we’ll get back to work. You might even earn a juggling minute for taking a great juggling break, and getting back to work quickly.” “You keep your own personal juggling scarves in your desk bag. We’ll keep a chart on the wall to record our progress. Once you are a scarf Master Juggler you can put beanbags in your desk bag. When you become a Ball or Beanbag Master Juggler you get to help evaluate and promote the other students.” The levels of juggling and program administration: In each participating classroom a strip of black construction paper is put up on a wall. Every student’s name goes up on that chart on their own colorful “post-it” at an appropriate level, and moves up the chart based on juggling progress. This chart is replicated at a much larger scale out in the hallway or in the cafeteria. It needs to be put in a very public place to make the program work. Only your classroom teacher may advance you up the chart, although the training and testing can be done by Ball Master Jugglers, or above, who may be permitted to train, test and advance others up the chart. Every time a student moves up the chart, his or her name is read off during morning announcements. If announcements are televised, those who do exceptionally with juggling can “be on TV” in the morning for their fifteen seconds of fame. Standards of excellence: Requirements for becoming a Cascade and Master Juggler, and the Master Jugglers’ Pledge, are all printed on your desk bags which are available free from Sportime. To become a Cascade Juggler with any item, you only need to complete 25 throws and catches with the item. However to be a Master Juggler, you need to complete the following: 10 Throws and catches in cascade 10 Throws and catches in columns 10 Throws and catches in cascade 10 Throws and catches in reverse cascade 10 Throws and catches in cascade 10 Throws and catches with two in one hand 10 Throws and catches in cascade 10 Throws and catches with two in the other hand 10 Throws and catches in cascade For a total of 90 throws and catches without stopping or dropping. This article is continued in the next column (middle).

 

Thank-you for visiting the "Interdisciplinary PE" section on PELINKS4U. We hope you find this section a valuable use of your time. If you have teaching tips for successfully integrating PE with other classroom subjects at any grade level, please share them with us. Also, we would be happy to try to find answers to any questions you may have. Feedback, questions, and contributions will assist us in our quest to make this page beneficial to you. Thanks, Shaunna McGhie, Laurie Morley, Cindy Kuhrasch, Section Editors

Hot Ideas from PE Central

Clockwise/Counterclockwise Purpose of Activity: To teach the concept of moving in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction, and to tell time using addition and subtraction. Physical Activity Being Taught: Movement Concepts - Space Awareness. Suggested Grade Level:2-3 Math Munchers Purpose of Activity: The student will be able to identify the ones and tens values of a two digit number, while at the same time working on their chasing, fleeing, and dodging skills. Physical Activity Being Taught: Locomotor skills.

Featured Resources cont...

Juggling Breaks and The First Days of School by Dave Finnigan, Educational Consultant continued from left column. Once a student is a Ball Master Juggler, they must memorize (and abide by) the Master Jugglers’ Pledge which goes as follows: “A Master Juggler is courteous and polite at all times. We care, we share, and we believe in ourselves. We are always willing to help others improve their juggling ability. We never intentionally make someone miss or mess up their juggling pattern. We take pride in our accomplishments knowing it took listening to others hard work and effort to achieve our goals. Last but not least a master juggler has fun.” Anticipated Results: Teachers often find that their formerly most disruptive students, usually their physically active learners, become the monitors for the class, and help everyone else stay well behaved. It’s these kinesthetic kids who really want (and need) physical activity breaks. Earning Juggling Minutes becomes a game. The students are “training” the teacher to put checks in the box by their good behavior, just as much as the teacher is “training” the students to be focused and diligent and well-behaved and responsible. It becomes a goal of the students to be so good that they earn more minutes every day. Behavior is the responsibility of the students, taking away from the teacher her most time-consuming and difficult task, handling classroom disruptions. Juggling Instruction: The teacher does not have to even know how to juggle. The Jugglebug video series gives all the information that is needed to progress, and students will be their own best teachers, just as they instruct one another in other skill toys like the yo-yo.

High School Internet Activities If you are teaching at the high school level and you are looking for some supplemental activities for your students, this site offers five nicely integrated units of study. PE Related Books This site is an excellent resource! It contains an extensive listing of children's books that deal with topics related to PE including items such as baseball, winning and losing, the importance of trying hard, and many others. Great for introducing language arts into your classes!

Interdisciplinary PE Resources

WV Healthy Schools A Teacher Resource Corner This site provides a vast number of resource links for PE teachers. The WV Healthy School Highlights section offers many solutions for integrating physical education and activities into daily academic curriculum. More Great Classroom Resources Great Links, Reading Lists and More. Teacher Central Nutrition Explorations in the Classroom "Every month you'll find resources and activities here to help you teach students about nutritious food and choosing a healthy diet. Teaching nutrition has never been easier!" Power Up: From the Inside Out "Download these fun blackline masters for teaching nutrition to teens. The Power Up duplicating masters include fun facts about calcium in your diet, tips to keep feeling fit, benefits of being active and nutritious recipes to help teens power up!"

Archives

Please let your colleagues know about PELINKS4U, and remember you can catch up on a year's worth of news in our Archives.

Contribute YOUR Ideas

If you have ideas, comments, letters to share, or questions about particular topics, please email one of the following Interdisciplinary PE Section Editors:

	Cindy Kuhrasch
	Shaunna McGhie
	Laurie Morley

Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. ~ George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) ~