With students back, and classes in full swing, it is easy to forget yourself in the day-to-day business of planning, instructing, and assessing children. But don't forget to share the magic of what you are doing in the classroom with those who don't attend!

As Physical Educators, we are the only people in the school who have the means and the expertise to teach students in all three domains of learning: psychomotor, cognitive, and affective. It takes a great deal of energy to develop learning activities that integrate those areas, and although children will present their learning to parents, as teachers and community members, we must take time to educate others as well.

Here are a few ideas for program promotion:

	Take pictures of what happens in class, and post them in a public area.
	Create an interactive bulletin board that teaches about motor skills and/or the concepts you are currently teaching.
	Develop a PowerPoint presentation of your class, and loop it to run continuously at the next Parent-Teacher conferences.
	Set up an integrated target toss game at Parent-Teacher conferences, and invite parents (and kids) to play.
	Write an editorial for the school newspaper on some of the current happenings in your classroom.
	Upload pictures of your class and/or special event to the school website, or better yet, create a PE program area on the school website and keep it current. (Have a tech-smart student help).

Cindy Kuhrasch
Interdisciplinary Section Editor

Physical Educators are extraordinary in many ways, not the least of which is that we can teach to all three educational domains in one lesson! While this page is dedicated to the integration of cognitive content into movement activities, it is also important that we recognize the many ways we strengthen student's affective skills as well. Here are just a few learning activities that incorporate social skill development.

CIRCLE TOSS

Students form a circle and create a "looks like and sounds like" chart for good throwing and catching. Have students stand and take turns tossing to players around the circle one at a time. Before each throw, players should say the name of the player, and look to see that they are watching.

After a player has caught and thrown a ball, they should sit down so that everyone gets a turn. (The teacher should be the first and last person in the sequence.) Have players remember who they threw to. Repeat the sequence, but add items. In addition to going over your class rules, you want to set a routine for the year. The following lessons are great for presenting your class rules, or setting other classroom management routines.

COOPERATIVE BALL TOUCH CHALLENGE

Give the class one ball, and tell them that they are to figure out a way for all players to touch the ball one at a time, using as little time as possible. Allow for brainstorming, and facilitate the discussions if necessary.

HELLO

Discuss good manners, and how important they are for all people. Discuss things that they can say if they were to meet someone for the first time. Have players spread out all over the playing area. On "Go!" players try to "meet" as many people as they can. Players may be eliminated by the teacher if they are impolite. Have players try to greet every player in their class. This activity is great as an icebreaker, especially at the beginning of the year.

NAME GAME

Each student writes his/her name on an index card. Students then exchange cards 3-4 times so that they don't know who has their card. Students place the cards all around the playing area and return to a starting point. On the teacher's signal, the students run out and turn over cards to try to find their own. After all students have found their cards, play again, but have students call out the name on each card that they find. Players are encouraged to listen as they look for their cards.

FRISBEE SPELLING
Grade levels: 2nd - 7th

Activity: Take about 40 index cards (could also use Frisbees) and on one side write a number from 1 to 10 and then 20, 30, 40, and 50. Scatter the cards (Frisbees) all over the gymnasium floor, number side down. Place the children in squad order, about 6 different squads, and place a hula hoop in front of each squad. When they are ready, write a number or a math problem (grade appropriate) on the black board or a poster board. For example, the number "45" or "40 +5." On command, the first student from each squad runs out, brings a card (Frisbee) back, and places it in the hula hoop on the floor and tags the next student's hand. The 2nd student in line repeats the procedure.

Objective: The object is to get the numbers in the hoop to add up to the correct solution. If the cards (Frisbees) brought back exceed the correct answer, the next person in line can take one back with him/her and exchange for a new one.

Alternative Activity: This is can also done with spelling words (appropriate word lists can be obtained from classroom teachers). With this activity, if the card (Frisbee) that is turned over is not needed for the word, it is not brought back but rather turned back over and left on the floor. The student runs back to his/her squad (empty-handed) and tags the next person to go. It would be good to write down 6 different words... one for each squad to spell (all the same length in letters). Thanks to Dr Woolard!

GET RID OF IT!

	Create two equal teams.
	Give each team paper, and have them use the paper to make a set of word cards. Write one word on each piece of paper. Some words for this game might be field, pie, by, night, cry, copy, nice, piece, tree, bee, reply, decide, recite, wide, heater, cider, sea, see, space, crazy, place, happen, sudden, happy, hope, rode, funny, silly, over, candy, baby, babies, lady, bitter, climb, find, wind, center, circus, ape, ate, make, cake, fight, flying, tiger, bacon, ice, cane, baseball, playground, witness, stripes, camp, need, circle, square, enter, desire, scout.
	Use blue note cards to make a set of questions. The sample questions below will help get you started.
	Which word contains a long i sound?
	Which word contains a long e sound?
	In which word does the letter c sound like s?
	Which word contains two syllables?
	In which word does the letter c sound like k?
	Which word contains a silent e?
	Place the question cards in a large bag.

Playing the Game

	Distribute an equal number of word papers to each team. Three works well for the first game.
	Have students spread the cards out on their desks so that they can read them easily.
	Choose one student to shake the bag of question cards, draw a card, and read the question.
	Students who have a word paper that fits the description balls up the paper and throws it at a "garbage basket," a basket in the middle of the playing area.
	The first team to get rid of all cards is the winner.

When putting academics into your physical education lessons, be sure to maintain the integrity of the movement skill that you are teaching. It is easy to lose the movement skill practice when adding other content. Truly great integrated activities combine movement and cognitive skills, and maybe affective skills, together in a meaningful activity. Below are a few examples.

Speed Math: The object of this game is to help children improve on math skills while working on tossing and catching skills. This game requires blown up balloons or juggling scarves. Participants toss balloon or scarf in the air. Volunteers asks individuals a speed math questions, depending on age that players must answer, before catching the object. (i.e. addition for 1st-2nd, subtraction, addition, and multiplication for 3rd-5th).

Dice Math: Roll number cubes, or use pairs of numbers. Jump or bounce ball that many times high/low, in place/moving, fast/slow. Read "My Little Sister Ate One Hare" or other counting book.

Animal Math: All practice animal imitation walks. Place cones with animal pictures around perimeter of open space. Assign 3-5 students to each cone. Make up animal stories for children to act out. Example: 5 fish were swimming in the pond. 3 frogs jumped in too. (How many animals all together?) Each frog ate a fish and hopped out to a log in the sun. How many fish are left in the pond?)

Cooperative Math Hoops: Sets in hoops with groups. After all players explore manipulating hoops, place hoops on ground and travel around until stop signal. Listen to number of players that must get in each hoop. Teacher specifies how many players will get out & stand next to hoop. How many in? How many out? (also body parts) Example: 4 players in each hoop. Put 3 feet outside. How many feet in, out, all together?

Math Movers: Arrange 10 numbers on cones around perimeter. Do locomotor movements, or kick paper balls to the numbers. Using 10 number cards, a student draws a card, then teacher adds, "go to the number that is 3 more than___, etc.

Math Bowling: Roll or throw balls at targets. 6-7 stacked juice cans/group allow for creative targets. How many standing? How many knocked down? How many all together? Draw the results, write the number sentence, or tally results after taking a turn.

Geometry March: March a study in directions to the music "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" forward 8 counts, backward 8 counts, right 8 counts, left 8 counts, diagonal right forward 4 counts, diagonal left forward 4 counts, backward 4 counts, in place 4 counts.

When incorporating Social Studies into your physical education lessons, focus on the following areas: geography, history, famous Americans, Government, Economics, The World, States and Regions, and Maps and Globes. Use concepts such as customs and cultures from around the world, Olympics history, modes of transportation, and map reading.

Below, I have listed a variety of activities that you can use to easily incorporate Social Studies concepts into your Physical Education lessons.

North, South, East, West

The teacher discusses the purpose of a compass, and how to determine the direction of North. Someone from the group is asked to select an object that lies directly north, or you can place a cone North of the class. Then the group decides where South would be and a cone is placed there, and the same is done with East and West.

Everyone assembles in the center of the playing area. The leader calls out 'North,' 'South,' 'East,' or 'West,' and everyone runs around the object that lies in that direction. The variations can include different locomotor skills while moving around the cones.

Include the directions of NE, NW, SE, SW. Pose questions instead of calling out points of a compass. What direction does the sun rise? What direction does the sun set? What direction is the ocean? What direction is a state? A river? A local landmark?

Volunteerism

Discuss the value of volunteerism to a community. Choose a game or activity in which you need a scorekeeper for each team. Create two equal teams, and ask each to send a volunteer forward to be a scorekeeper. Give each student the chance to volunteer if s/he chooses. After the activity, discuss how it felt to volunteer for a team as well as the value of his/her actions for the team as a whole. Discuss volunteers that they know in their community.

Civil War

Have players select partners, and give each player 3-5 bowling pins or cones. Have players sit about 10 feet apart from each other, and set the pins up in front of them in any way they like. The pins represent forts or strongholds that they have in the Civil War. Have one player represent the Confederates, and the other the Rebels in each pair. Give each set of players a ball, and let them take turns rolling the ball at the pins of the other player. The first player to knock down all of their opponent's pins wins. Reset the pins and try again.

Collect a State

Have players find a place along the outside of the parachute. Give each player a number between 1-4. Place index cards with the names of each of the states on them on the floor under the chute. On "three!" the players lift the chute above their heads while the teacher calls out a number 1-4. The players with that number try to run under, collect as many state cards as they can for their team, and run out before being touched by the chute. If they are touched, they must return all of the cards that they collected. After all of the cards have been collected, count them to see which team has the most.

Body Shapes - Have your child use his or her body to create the shapes of letters and numbers, or of geometric forms such as triangles, circles or squares. These shapes can be created in a standing position, or with the child lying on the floor. For fun, see if the two of you can create shapes together.

Body Writing - Ask your child to write letters and numbers, or draw shapes and pictures, in the air. This can be done with the hands, feet, elbows, the head, or any other body part that your child chooses. For added enjoyment, allow the child to hold a crepe paper streamer in one hand while writing and drawing. This activity is great for developing hand-eye coordination.

Copy Cat - Have your child face you and copy your simple movements such as stretching high, circling your head, or swaying from side to side. Then let your child take a turn to being the leader. It's nice to do this activity to slow, relaxing music. Playing Copy Cat will help your child to develop visual-spatial awareness.