Heart Rate Unit

So I feel like I keep stealing Alex's ideas, but they're really great. He had the idea on how to do our heart rate unit and still keep the kids' attention. Its really working out really well. We walk/jog for 5 minutes, then record our heart rate. Then, we go and do an activity we've already done in the past. We take our heart rate in the middle of the activity, record it, and then again at the end of the period/activity. So, we have a resting heart rate and 3 heart rates throughout the period. Its really going well and we keep the students interested throughout the entire period. Oh, and if you want to hear the beautiful sound of absolute silence. . .tell students to take their heart rate. Its amazing how quickly they get quiet and stay quiet.

On the first day, we introduced how to find and take their heart rate and introduce why cardiovascular fitness is important. On the second day we teach how to figure out the target heart rate zone, low target, high target, and why its important to stay in the zone.

Again. . .its great to see students doing well.

Oh, I also figured out during the 5 minute walk/jog. . .that happy people skip. Some students asked if they could skip and I said why not, they're moving, they're staying active, and it brings a smile to their face during fitness. But, did you ever notice. . .grumpy people don't skip, only happy people! :)

Garage Band is My Hero!

Ok, so because of this 'podcast' adventure I finally was able to figure out what this GarageBand program was on my Mac. Needless to say it is the best invention. . .EVER! Its amazing! Not only can you record podcasts and such and make your own music, but you can edit songs! For instance, I just moved Pink's song 'So What' over and edited out the one swear word in the entire song. Why do I care about one swear word? Well. . .it was the only word preventing me from playing the song in my classroom. Now, however, with a little editing help from my new best friend GarageBand, I edited out the one and only swear word and POOF!, its a good song to play in my classroom!!!

It truly is the little things in life. Oh my gosh, I'm so pumped!!!

PS - I realize there are edited versions, but now-a-days the edited versions still have profanity in them. So, I'm excited that I found a way around the unedited "edited" versions of the songs. Thanks, though Mike! I appreciate it!

Tests

So I finally gave my kids the football test on Thursday. Some did fantastic, while others completely dropped the ball. Its funny watching the freshmen, who have never had one of my tests, take theirs. They look at it like. . .whaaaaat?. . .she was serious when she said there would be labeling, true/false, matching, fill in the blank, etc. . .how do you guys set up your written tests?

Umm. . .

Does anyone else have those days when they are annoyed by everything? Perhaps I shouldn't be admitting that as a teacher, but I think part of being a decent teacher is realizing your flaws. I mean, I realize that I have to try to "step above" the crankiness and go on with my days. But, those little irritating things like whistling the same pitch over and over again, slamming lockers, whispering, all those things. . .some days its like they're magnified at least a hundred times. I guess in the end we're all human, even teachers. As much as I try not to have those days, they're going to happen. All I can do is learn from it and move on. It just comes down to a day with a short fuse.

Hopefully (well kind of) people could agree with what I'm saying. . .if not, I just seem like a whiny piece of crap! :)

Hockey

So, I'm beginning to think of my other favorite unit throughout the year, which is hockey. We don't teach hockey until the end of our year (when the playoffs are in full swing!!!), BUT I need sticks. Alex and I had the idea of just getting old regular wooden sticks to convert into PE sticks. Why? Well, we did it last year with a couple of sticks kids brought in. They worked WAY better than those crappy flimsy ones from any of the companies. All we did was cut off the blade if it was bad and replace it with one of those replacement blades. They worked wonders. I asked my hockey team I play for if they had any used sticks they were retiring to let me have them. So far, all I've gotten is a goalie stick. Some of the team uses wooden sticks, but mostly their of better quality. At any rate, if you know of anyone who wants to unload some of their old hockey sticks OR of any company willing to donate or make a cheap offer, please let me know. I'd definitely appreciate it!

Finally!

Alrighty then, we finally got to play an actual GAME of football. I realize that it seems I've been on this unit for awhile, but with the random 2-hour delay we had (church fire down the street) and so many other school day disruptions, our unit lasted longer than I wanted it to last. So, finally we are done with the football unit. My first period did the best with the actual playing. It was awesome though! We used flag belts and to see the girls running plays and playing defense and being successful with it was awesome! Some of the girls asked why we went over all this stuff for 2 days of actually playing. But, we had a team practice in there so the girls could get used to running the different passing routes and using the terminology to help them remember and make the game play more exciting. I replied to them with the question: "Do you think if we just jumped right into playing football, it would be as fun or would it be confusing and boring?" To which they replied (shockingly I might add), "Oh, I guess you're right. It would have been annoying if people didn't know where they were going."

So, even though it took longer than I wanted it to, the days of team competition was a blast! Woot. Woo.t :)

Proper Attire

So finally the fall weather is upon us and no matter how much I preach about bringing the proper clothing to class, I still get the student that is cold. I even tell them to bring a jacket, borrow a hoodie, or knit a scarf before coming to class because we ARE going outside regardless. I could understand if I taught elementary or even middle school (sort of) that they might not understand how to dress themselves accordingly. However, I teach high school and I have issues with students not being able to plan ahead or figure the weather out. Heck! just step outside! Anyone else find that students are sometimes incapable of bringing warmer clothes to class? Oh, and one of my favorites is when they tell me they're cold, so they're going to sit out of class. And, no matter how much I try to convince them that sitting out will only make them colder, they assure me I'm wrong. :) I do believe that's why I have found some gray hairs lately. Even though I voice my frustrations. . .I still love me job, let us not forget this fact.

Exhausted. . .

I just read a couple of people's blog about them extending themselves with school, classes, coaching, etc. etc. etc. I'm 25 and while other people have families on top of school, masters classes, and coaching, they can get it done and 99% of the time I feel like I'm just keeping my head above water. I have stuff written on calendars. I get home around 10:30 and I'm exhausted. Volleyball has finally ended, which is odd, but good, so I'll have a bit more time. I'm excited about the extra time, mainly because it comes at the end of the semester when everything is due. I think the saddest part is, that I could have SWORN that I wrote a blog yesterday. And, I look today, and I apparently am mistaken. I never wrote one. Or, it never saved. Oh, and the best is that I keep doing work, turning it in, and getting emails back that it won't open. Then, I go to resend it. . .AND IT IS GONE!!!! :( Just keep swimming. . just keep swimming. . .just keep swimming. . .it'll be over soon.

Data Analysis

We had an Act 80 day on Monday I forgot to mention. Interesting day actually. We basically looked at all the 4-Sight testing data from the past 2 years. Its obviously new to our district and we're trying to gather information about the students and this Act 80 was reserved strictly for incorporating the analyzed data into our own personal curriculum. I didn't have a difficult time trying to decide what our students needed help on or how I was going to incorporate it into my curriculum, it was how I was going to carry out the process. I saw we had issues in the open ended questions in math, therefore, I wanted to give a problem such as: Measure the area of a basketball court. What percentage of the court is covered by the keys on the court?

Here's the problem, the open ended question just turned into a geometry, algebraic functions, measurement, etc. etc. etc. problem. So, the one day lesson I was going to try to incorporate, turned into about a 4 day lesson. I talked to some of the math teachers and they said, unfortunately, the kids are not retaining lessons previously taught, whether the day before, the week before, or the year before. Therefore, without given formulas to use whenever necessary, they often find themselves stuck on a problem. Which, proved true when I did my heart rate lesson last year. It was just trying to teach heart rate, I found myself having first to teach simple functions like "foil" and such.

Are we expecting less out of our students and lowering our standards? I don't know. . .

Football Unit Revisited et al.

Sooo. . .its amazing what football does to people, especially females who never get to play it. We start simple with throwing and catching (its amazing how many people don't know how to throw either!!!). On top of that, we also started putting in passing routes as well. The girls responded really well to it and its exciting to see.

We started talking to our principal today about completely recharging our PE program. He was all for it and excited. We have such great support at our school from the administrators. We're definitely lucky. I'm excited for our meeting we set up and can't wait to get started on our "plan." The funny thing is, every time Alex and I start talking to someone about it, its like we're 5 years old talking about Christmas!!

Football Unit

This week I'm starting my football unit. Oddly enough, the girls really like this unit (for the most part). I try to teach them some terms that are most commonly heard when they're watching football on TV or on Friday nights. Also, we obviously go over positioning. The everyday PE lends itself well when doing units like this. I can spend much time (within reason naturally) on the unit and make sure I teach it well. Plus, if weather doesn't cooperate, I can always move the lesson back a day. Anyways. . .my point is that I'm excited to be starting the football unit. I think the only problem I'll run into is that since there is no separation between a 9th grade PE class and a 12th grade PE class, some of the girls will already have learned thee material last year. So, my question is this. . .what are some ideas that I could cut down on the repetition? Perhaps I can do peer groups. . .but. . .I don't really like that idea mainly because I have issues trusting that they'll provide the completely correct information.

Driver's Safety

This past week, one of our graduates from last year got into a serious accident. He was speeding, texting, and not wearing a seat belt. He was thrown threw the windshield and is in an induced coma in Pittsburgh. Eerily enough, he's in the same, exact room that one of our students was in last year. When they bring him out of the induced coma, he can move his arms and legs. His heart rate rises when familiar voices and faces are in the room. The fact that he's still alive and fighting, is an absolute miracle. He's an amazing kid (young man), and its just tough to see that happen.

My point is. . .hopefully our students realize the dangers of not only speeding; the importance of wearing a seat belt; and especially the dangerous combination of texting and driving.

Upcoming Week

I'm planning on continuing my Frisbee Unit this week. I used it as a "filler" before the big football unit. I went over throwing and catching techniques and have found that the girls are interested in Frisbee, but find themselves not wanting to partake in the activity because they're afraid of throwing and catching it. So, I spent a little bit of time on the throwing and catching aspects of it so they could get used to it a bit. We then went into Ultimate Frisbee, which is one of my all-time favorite activities! Some got into it, and others didn't. I found that when I participate, the amount and speed of the activity increases and when I don't, it just kind of fizzles and drags on. Anyone have any ideas on how to motivate the students when I can't be involved in every game? I keep thinking. . .music, shorter games with more opponents, dividing teams differently each time, etc.

BF PE, Yo!

I handed out the cooperative assessments this week. The kids seemed to responded really well to it. Alex and I like to ask the students what they think of different activities we do or the assessments, too. While some of the comments aren't helpful, I trust the opinions of some of my students and take some notes. Some students said they thought it was a different way to "test" and they liked it. Others were worried that even though I said to grade on performance and not the person (whether they like the person or not), they still felt like some people would sabotage their grade. I assured them I would be able to tell. Overall, the students seemed pretty fair while grading each other. The only problem we are finding is the amount of paper work that is involved in this process. Hopefully for next year, we can have an online assessment. . .hopefully.

Cooperative Unit

Since we have everyday PE for an ENTIRE year, we have the luxury of spending time on units we feel are more important. So, we took the time at the beginning of the year to focus on cooperative activities and developed a unit based on those. This past Friday was the last day of the unit and we had been trying to figure out how we would evaluate them on their unit. So, Alex came up with a brilliant plan of self and peer-assessments. I may or may not have stolen the idea from him (with his permission because after all the best teachers steal, right!?!?). Anyways, our biggest hurdle now is that it is taking an incredible amount of time to do these evaluations. Some students STILL don't know who everybody is in the class, so we had them stand up and be evaluated on paper. This allowed the face truly to be recognized with the name. I'm excited about how our new unit ended and the overall effectiveness of it. You'll always have those token students that could care less about what you're doing and are completely above working with other individuals, but, again overall. . .it worked really well!

5 or 10 Year Plan!

So Alex (my fellow PE collegue) and I had an epiphany of what we want to do down the road in our program. We read an article about what other programs are doing and had the "Why can't we do that" thought. So, we spent all of our lunch duty scheming and talking about what, how, and when we were going to change the whole thing around. Then, we started brainstorming and writing lists upon lists down: "Who to talk to," "What equipment we need," etc. Well, we first need to talk to our principal and see if he has any suggestions. I know our guidance department is a must to have on the team, so we already checked with him and he's on board (naturally, because he is a former PE teacher. . .in fact mine at a different high school and my coach!).

I don't know, I'm extremely excited about the process. I absolutely know and realize how much work it'll be and I think there will be a ton of hurdles to climb. But, in the end, it'll be worth it because we'll have an amazing program. Well, in theory we will and this will all happen. So, if anyone has any ideas or information or tips on ANYTHING or where to begin, that'd be fantastic!

Music in PE

You know, its funny. . .I absolutely LOVE music and the fact that I have the perfect classroom environment to use music in my classroom is awesome. I was sitting behind my superintendent at the preview show for the band this summer and the band started playing one of the songs I ALWAYS play in my classroom. Naturally, I said, "Oh, I love this song. We always play it in my class." Haha, she just about broke her neck turning around and looking at me as if I had gone and lost my mind playing music in class. However, I cooly and calmly assured her how much it adds to a classroom if its used right. Oh, and I didn't forget to mention I always check out the lyrics and what not to make sure its appropriate. But, seriously, it adds so much to an activity its amazing! And, it allows you to save your voice by using the music to start and stop activities for you, instead of yelling to get the kids' attention.

At various points in the school year, I ask each student what their favorite songs are, what kind of music they like, who their favorite artists are, or what random songs they would love to hear played. I try to find clean versions of all of them, and of course, I check out each songs' lyrics. The last thing I need are parents or school board members calling me in to discuss my song choices. It take a bit of time, but I'm willing to do it because a) it adds so much to a classroom and b) I love music :)

OH! Also, I usually do a fun segment on "TV Theme Songs" during the Fitness Center. Then, I go around and quiz the students on who can name the Them Song the fastest. Its pretty fun :)

I did find, however, that its difficult finding clean versions of rap or hip/hop tracks without suggestive lyrics in them. Rihanna is the artist that delivers the most for my playlists in school. She has great lyrics and great, uptempo beats. Oh, and I have found that oldies, are goodies and 90's music is awesome :) My students can't relate all that much to 80's music, but N'Sync, The Backstreet Boys, Criss Cross, B*witched, and some other one hit wonders are perfect for fun music! I have about 20 playlists now on my iPod specifically for school. I also have created Christmas playlists as well. Have I mentioned that I love LimeWire, iTunes, my iPod, and everything else I use in my class pertaining to music!?!? I do. . .

Let me know if you are in need of any good songs for your classes. . .I'll be happy to share my playlists or make you some cd's!

Sooooo. . .

So, I'm creating this blog because it is a requirement for one my graduate classes at Slippery Rock University. I am currently teaching high school girls' phys. ed. at Beaver Falls High School. I graduated from Mount Union College, where I double majored in Health and Physical Education. I minored in Multi-Age Education. I'm sure you're not at all interested in this part of me, but I figured that would be a good place to start.
Actually, the whole reason I decided to name my blog "Random Goodness" is because 9 times out of 10, I'm random. There is no reason to my random ramble sessions, so perhaps its a good thing I have a blog now.
Aaaaat any rate, my fellow classmates are harrassing me for typing too much, sooooooo, I'm done! :)
Have a great day and make good choices!