Scope and Sequence: How to Fit it All in
(Link to Podcast Episode)
Podcast Below: (itunes)
YouTube Show Below:
Resources/Links
“Take what works, trash what doesn’t”
Scope and Sequence depends on your situation and everyone has a different situation
Admit it: You can not fit it all in!
- First couple of years of teaching can be overwhelming. Once the career is established you begin to understand it is very difficult to fit in all the content. (First Year Teacher Tips)
- Have realistic expectations for yourself and your program.
- Start by looking at what is the most relevant thing for your students.
- Look at subjects that promote an active lifestyle and students can participate in everyday.
- Teach games and activities students can play everyday at recess.
- Next, find activities most of the students can play outside of class. These can be cycled from year to year based on schedule.
Why Teach a “Sport” Unit
- The way we may teach a “Soccer” Unit may be the exact same way you teach a “Kicking” Unit. We are still playing dribbling games like Soccer Noodle Tag, but we like to label it as “Soccer” because it gets more buy in from kids and also helps them build confidence in their skills as a “soccer player” not just a “good kicker”
- Age and developmentally appropriate activities are included, we just frame it as a sport to increase student recognition outside of class.
- Students can still practice the basic skills of the sport and still call it a sport.
- Relate the labels you may call the activities so students are aware of the activity outside of school.
Refer to Grade Level Outcomes
- Recommend looking at SHAPE America and State Level grade outcomes for ideas on what to include in the scope and sequence.
- Adjust your outcomes based on the time you see them and how long you have been at the school.
- Experiment and explore based on outcomes and hopefully the vertical alignment start to take form from one grade to the next.
- Converse and collaborate (if available) with other teachers to get ideas.
Survey Students to Discover Interest
- Surveying students interest can provide data to students as to why you are teaching a subject. Check out the End of Year Survey post for ideas (or you can check out the video below for a quick overview).
- Be proactive and do research on the interest of the community. Find out what leagues rec centers and YMCA’s are offering. This can be a good start to your curriculum design.
- Can also do a survey after teaching a lesson or unit so you can get insight on the level of interest students have in the content.
- Remember the main idea to build healthy and active students for a lifetime. “I want you to have the skills, the knowledge, and confidence you need to pursue any kind of adventure you want!”
- I like using the activity “Adventure BINGO” to present this idea to students during the first week of school
- Shout out to Joey Feith Adventure Pyramid for inspiration. Adventure is a great tool to “sell” physical education to my students. Always allows me to get back to the “why” or whole scope.
Everything is Fun!
- Any unit or lesson you plan make sure to include fun activities designed to motivate students.
- Our goal “Have Fun and Teach on” should be a model for success. If students are not having fun doing the activity then they will be less likely to practice on their own.
- Bring the energy and passion!
Recap Notes and Links
P.S. – Interested in seeing what each week or each unit of instruction looks like? Check out an overview of what my first 9 weeks usually looks like below:
- Week 1 – First Week of School Lesson Plan
- Week 2 – Team Building Game – Hula Hut Relays or Cross the River
- Week 3 – Four Square Training (for recess)
- Week 4 – 6 – Fitness Testing Unit
- Week 7 – 9 – From here on I just start plugging in units that fit in the calendar (as I discussed in the video) For an example of my unit planning process, check out my Gymnastics Unit Overview or my Jumprope Unit Overview.