The on-going debate of dodgeball as an acceptable physical education activity seems endless. Reeducating physical education teachers toward current best practices has proven a difficult task. Many teachers continue to include dodgeball in their yearly activities and defend it as a curriculum choice by asserting that important basic skills such as…

Cup stacking has become commonplace in today's physical education nomenclature. Proponents make claims that cup stacking improves cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities. At physical education conferences, scores of professional physical educators eagerly watch cup stacking representatives construct and deconstruct a variety of pyramids…

Physical educators have at their disposal basketballs, jump ropes, cones and other types of equipment to assist student learning during physical education class time. Recently, a new product has been introduced to physical educators: cup stacks, which are cups made of thick durable plastic. They are intended to help improve ambidexterity,…

Is wrestling an appropriate activity to teach at the elementary school level? Based on the information presented in this article and this author's experiences as both a physical education teacher and a wrestling coach, the answer is Yes! Wrestling as a physical education unit can be taught in a safe and age-appropriate way. If taught correctly at…

Children come to schools each day feeling many of the stressors that would normally be attributed to adult experiences. At an early age, children are confronted with situations that may make them anxious or begin to doubt their self-worth. Teachers can help children learn to manage their stress by helping them become more aware of negative…

In today's world of accountability and litigation, physical educators face an everyday battle of defending the merits of their programs. While strong professionals eagerly promote their programs, many issues continue to reflect negatively on physical education, thus putting a damper on the physical activity of children. "Stings," characteristic…

This article describes strategies for implementing comic strips into physical education instruction and provides ideas on how to locate relevant materials. The author suggests that, rather than disregard comic strips as a silly form of artistic expression within the popular culture, physical education should consider embracing the medium as a way…

Learning a new skill, even a seemingly simple one, can be an overwhelming task for a beginner. A question often faced by the practitioner as a result is whether or not to break the skill into parts for initial practice. Skill complexity and skill organization interact to provide direction as to whether whole or part practice should be employed in…

This article describes how quality physical education can promote lifelong physical activity. One strategy for motivating students to be active is to get parents involved. Of the many possible sources of social support for children, parents are the most powerful. And, this remains true regardless of the age. This article provides strategies and…

Having a theme-based field day is a great way to get away from doing the traditional track-and-field type events, such as the softball throw, 50 yard dash, and sack race, year after year. In a theme-based field day format all stations or events are planned around a particular theme. This allows the teacher to be creative while also adding…

As children see the first snowflake fall from the sky, they are filled with anticipation of playing in the snow. The snowy environment presents a wonderful opportunity for presenting interdisciplinary activities that connect snow play, snow formation, and snow stories with manipulative activities, gymnastic balances, and dance sequences. In this…

The activity of tag may be one of the most widely played games in elementary physical education programs. It comes in many shapes and sizes and can be morphed to meet many needs. For example, tag is used as a general body warm-up for young children (Rosengard, Mckenzie, & Short, 2000), to teach chasing, dodging, and fleeing skills (Graham,…

The purpose of this article is to continue the discussion of "should we or shouldn't we?" Specifically, this article addresses whether or not young children need to spend time participating in static stretching activities during physical education class. Is it a worthwhile use of already limited time to ask young children to stretch? Do they need…

In this brief article, the author suggests some tips that can help teachers promote class activities by keeping parents informed on what is going on in class. Letters to the parents, monthly newsletters, and web pages are some of the methods described.

This part of the "Street Wise" series incorporates essential bicycle safety skills into a one week bike unit, designed for 3rd through 6th graders. These skills require much repetition and practice but can help children develop safe traffic behaviors that save lives, such as stopping, scanning, signaling, street crossing, and avoiding hazards.…