Hannah Anthes Lab B : Fitness Walking

WHAT: For Lab B my instant activity was "ultimate fitness." The idea behind this activity was to introduce fitness into a fun game that everyone could participate in. I researched what Fitness Walking was in order to gain an understanding prior to teaching. My main source of information was Wellness Walking Content Card. This is where the whole lesson of the day originated from. Before the instant activity began, I spoke about how in life we are to strive to make 10,000 steps a day. In the activity, each student was given a pedometer. Our goal was to strive for a 1,000 steps. If the goal was met, successful students were able to sign the "1,000 Step Club" board. In the instant activity, students were divided into two teams. The activity was similar to the classic game called "Rock, Paper, Scissors." The students were given three exercises to learn. This included, squat ( rock) pencil jump ( scissors) and jumping jack (paper). Each team came up with a sign that they were going to face off with. Both teams met at the center of the gym and faced off on my count of three. Whichever team lost the duel had to walk back to their base without being tagged by the other team. We played this until either one person was left for their team, or five minutes was up. The main focus was to get the students moving around, while at the same time cognitively thinking about a strategy to beat their opponent. That is what fitness walking is all about. Thinking, having fun, and getting active. I thought I did a nice job in the area of encouraging the students with a step count goal to reach. While teaching, I was better-spoken, which made the directions more clear for the students to hear. An area that I can improve in is adapting to smaller class sizes. Coming into today's class, I thought I was teaching at least fifteen students. For various reasons the number was smaller today. On the spot I need to be able to "Change the content of the task entirely by asking the individual students to work on something the whole class is not working on"( Rink 2010, page 144). I could have taken the instant activity and done the same exact exercises, only formatting it in a different way. An example of this small altering of the activity would be the game “Simon says.” That format would have helped the smaller size class still learn the material that was adapted to them and not a large size class. When there is a small class, the teacher has the more time and has the opportunity to give feedback and corrections to students. I learned that I need to take that opportunity when it comes.

                                          Here is a photo of me giving instructions to the class.

GUT: Before the class even got started I was really nervous. My hands got really cold and I felt really shaky. The class came in and I had to just take control of the situation. In my nerves I know I made some mistakes. For example, I did not really have the best introduction. I hit everything that was needed, but it was not fluent or done in an orderly fashion. I definitely doubted myself, especially when the students asked questions. To me that felt like an indication that I did not explain that task that they were about to complete well enough. In my mind I think the students might have been a little confused, and maybe needed me to slow down and break the chunks of information up. At the end of the lab, I did feel proud about two things. I made it through without saying "guys." I found other alternatives to addressing the class like “everyone,” “class,” and “students.” I also felt really proud about projecting my voice and having some power to it. That is one area that I am really weak in; I talk as if people are standing right next to me instead of fifteen feet in front of me. To be able to improve on that was a really big step for me.

SO WHAT: In today's lesson, the Fitness Circuit was the main focus . In the circuit were four different exercises (race walking, push-ups, sit-ups and tuck jumps) that would help a person build muscular strength for fitness walking. When writing the lesson, I planned how to modify each station to either increase or decrease the difficulty for the students." Many lessons need some modification for individual students, either because the students are working above their level of ability and are not successful at the task or because they are successful every time and are not being challenged" ( Rink 2013, 145). In the Pre-assessment, all the students checked off as being either medium or highly skilled in Fitness Walking. In each station I was able to evaluate the students and make adjustments if needed. For example, one of the students was performing the tuck jump very well. To challenge him, I told him to tuck jump inside of a hoola hoop. This would challenge him to work on stability. Another situation was where a student needed support to do sit-up, and I allowed for him to put his feet pressed against a wall to help him be able to execute the proper form of a sit up. I am learning that each student is going to be able to perform a skill at a different level. By being aware of this, I can use different modifications to keep the student engaged.

Watch my videos of Fitness Walking

 Here is Part 1 of lesson  http://youtu.be/mHOVJFgpXTo 

And here is part two .http://youtu.be/34w_EEW-ChA

NOW WHAT: In this lab I learned a lot about time management. As one can see in the video, I went over the time that was required. In my organizational skills I need to be more aware of the clock and how to transition from one activity to the next. In the future I need to recognize the ability of the students and realize that they may not need so much demonstration. If they need assistance I can spot it and apply a modification to help them gain success. For my next lab I need to continue to write out scripts and review the material. The more I read and practice the more confidence I gain.