4th and 5th Grade: Goal Setting and the FitnessGram!

Standard: PE 4.4: Participates in criterion-referenced fitness assessments with close teacher guidance and supervision (Ex. FitnessGram) and determines whether he/she is within the healthy fitness zone.

Standard: PE 5.4: b.  Participates in criterion-referenced fitness assessments with close teacher guidance and supervision (Ex. FitnessGram) and interprets results of fitness testing by comparing their scores with health related standards.

Objective: Students will create an exercise plan for a fictional student that does not meet the necessary standard on the PACER portion of the FitnessGram test.  This will be done over a three week period.

Goal: Students will learn to plan goals and monitor their progress so that when they are out for spring break they can start their first week with their own plan to improve their individual scores.

Fitnessgram 15 Meter PACER Requirements

Points to consider when setting goals

Imagine you are a physical education teacher. It is your responsibility to help your students set goals for themselves based on their individual fitness levels.  Your task is to help Michael exceed the standard number of PACER laps.  Micheal is an 11-year-old male and can run 19 laps during the PACER test.  Because Michael is one of your students and you want for him to exceed the standard, you have to create an exercise plan that will help Michael's endurance level when running.



Please provide the following information on a separate sheet of paper:

1.  Is Michael in the Healthy Fitness Zone for PACER laps? Why?

2.  What are THREE important points for Michael to know about setting goals? (Refer to the "Points to Consider when Setting Goals" Link)

3.  Should you set new goals that are measurable and can be reached or set really high goals and work a long time toward meeting them?

4. Provide THREE activities that will help Michael improve his PACER score:
    1. ___________________________________
    2. ___________________________________
    3. ___________________________________

5.   Recreate the table below to map out your plan for Michael.  Using your knowledge of goal setting, fill in each day you are going to want Michael to practice, what you want him to do during practice and how long or how much time for each practice.

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
Run around block four minutes		Do Jumping Jacks for One minute

6. If you are planning on monitoring Michael's progress, what days would you do this?

7.  Reflect on the process of setting goals and how you could use what you learned from this WebQuest to set your own goals for the FitnessGram.

Dimension 1: Content Knowledge

Theme: How the World Works

Central Idea: Balance affects a variety of movements

Students will learn the importance of structure, balance and control through experience with pyramids and partner balances. 

Gymnastics Unit of Inquiry

The following pictures display the expectations of the students during this unit which were to perform skills and concepts that related to balance, movement and control. 

Each grade participated in age-appropriate activities that helped to develop the skills needed to successfully meet the Georgia Performance Standards.  

Connection to Real World:  

Each student was responsible for researching an Olympic gymnast from a country of their choice. The premise of the research was to help better their interview skills and also to heighten their interest in the sport of gymnastics.  They created their own questions and then researched the answers to their questions.  Once they completed their research, they represented that gymnast in a mock Olympic event where they created a routine that included five skills learned in the unit.  This routine was judged for:  form, control, flow, creativity and enthusiasm.

Collaboration Record Sheet 

Collaboration with Colleagues:

I make a point to connect my lessons with what is being covered in all classrooms.  This is indicated on my UOI.  For this particular unit, we concentrated on how we balance and transfer our weight with the different movements we make.  Doing this, helped me to introduce my next unit, which was the use of pedometers.

 

Dimension 3: Assessment Processes

Self Assessment:

 Students assess their own physical ability and set goals based on that assessment. To assist with this, students are required to maintain a calendar that charts their physical active after school. It has worked really well because the students see great deals of progress and are able to set higher expectations / goals for themselves.

They also self-assess their fitness level three times a year.  This process helps tremendously when determining if the student actually sees growth.  The self-assessment benchmark assists the students in determining if their goals were realistic ones, if they need to be adapted and also if they were successfully reached. 

Formal Assessment:

Their fitness level is assessed through the FITNESSGRAM.  This tool measures an individual's muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.

5th Grade Beginning of Year Fitness Assessment

They also self-assess their fitness level three times a year.  This process helps tremendously when determining if the student actually sees growth.  The self-assessment benchmark assists the students in determining if their goals were realistic ones, if they need to be adapted and also if they were successfully reached. 

Peer Assessment:

 

Below, students were required to work cooperatively in a group and peer assess.  This assisted the students with practicing patience and also building their communication skills.

Dimension 2: Teaching Methods

Evidence of higher order thinking skills:

Below are pictures of second grade and fourth grade students graphing their progress from their pedometers.  The students were grouped, based on ability, and are participating in  a competition with the rest of the school.

After each PE class, the recorder of each group records the individual progress on their group tracking sheet.  The group collaboratively adds the total number of steps of the group.  Once this is done, the progress of each group is graphed and then compared to the other groups.

The groups evaluate their progress and then set a group goal for the next visit to PE and work to accomplish that new goal.

Students work together to graph the progress made

Progress Monitoring: 

 Jump Rope Rubric

A rubric is used for peer assessment with their jump rope skills.  The peer assessment works so well in PE because there are so many times that students do not realize they are performing a skill incorrectly until they observe a peer doing it the proper way. They are assessing themselves at the same time and use what is learned to tailor their own experiences based on their own skill level.


For grades K and 1, the jump rope assessment is completed by me.

Based on the results, more time is spent developing the skills taught or we move on to more challenging skills. This is based on the level of each individual student.  

If there are students who grasp the skills sooner, I pair them with other students and have them create their own partner jump rope skills.  This allows those students to apply what they have learned and  create something new!

Teaching Methods Continued:

My students set individual goals at the beginning of the school year.  Each student was required to work to achieve the goal.  Each month, the goal is re-evaluated and a new goal is set based on the results of the previous month.

Goal setting works WONDERS for my Level 1 learners.  Because the goals they set are monthly, it helps them to stay connected  to what they are trying to achieve.  What also worked for me was pairing my students when setting their goals because they were each able to assess the other.  This helped with my level 1 learners because his/her buddy would assist with making the goal realistic and attainable.  

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Jalen starts the school year with setting physical activity goals based on the results

Below is a picture of a student who achieved the desired tennis skills set by me.  She was paired with another student who had not yet mastered the skills and had the opportunity of applying what she learned and teaching others.  

Nzinga assists JaDericka in the proper way to hold a tennis racket

Dimension 4: Professional Growth

Reflection: A New Instructional Strategy 

At the beginning of the school year, I was determined to figure out a  way to become more confident with inquiry based instruction.  It has obviously proven to be a successful method of teaching and with its use, I knew I would become more effective.  

I was extremely uncomfortable when I first used this strategy because I have never observed it being done.  It was a slow process for us all but it was an awesome learning experience.  Their willingness to learn is what drives my instruction and is what assists me in being a more effective teacher.

My assessment of this strategy was purely through both experience and the observation of my students' ownership over what they were learning. They direct the instruction and I am merely there to provide experiences and guide them toward what they are expected to learn. Powerful.

Reflection: Most Meaningful Professional Experience 

The most meaningful professional learning experience this year, by far, has been participating in the CCLC.  It has been an amazing experience working with my colleagues and learning from each of them.  When I went into this, I did not realize how powerful and meaningful these practices would prove to be. I witnessed my colleagues stepping out of their comfort zones and showing their true self because we all realized that it is only then when you can openly welcome advice and assistance from others.  A bond was forged and we now better understand how much we can learn from one another.


Through this experience, I was given the opportunity to step into a leadership role that directly related to my passion, working with other stakeholders to determine the best way to teach each individual child.  The more we collaborate the more we can accomplish and with the assistance of the CCLC's effective resources it makes that realization more acceptable.

My love for teaching has grown tremendously.  I had no idea I would be able to accomplish as much as I have in one year.  It was the experience of the CCLC that opened my eyes to world of opportunity for educators and because of it, I am now a more confident educator and leader.  This experience serves only as the foundation of  my professional growth and with it, my experiences through teaching will only be that much brighter.

Dimension 5: Technology/ Multimedia

Evidence of use of technology specifically for differentiation:

The use of the computer and internet:

Below is an example of a research assignment the students completed using the internet. This activity was used in the beginning of the year during my Who We Are unit, Children and Smoking. It was in the form of a scavenger hunt which provided them with questions based specifically on what I wanted to them to learn. Doing this, provided the students the opportunity to freshen their internet research skills. The use of a scavenger was helpful because it allowed the students to take any route in finding the answers.

The use of the internet for research and exposure to content-related videos:

To introduce the stunts and tumbling unit, the students watched a video of the first African American Olympic Gymnast to ever win a medal, Dominique Dawes. Dominique was an inspiration to me when I was growing up as a gymnast and I was interested to see if my students would be able to connect with her just as I did. It was amazing to witness how interested they were in her, her family and her life. They were able to connect with her and were able to share stories that were similar to hers. They realized that if they set goals for themselves and worked extremely hard to achieve them that their lives would be just as successful. I WISH she could be here to talk with the students. That is the only thing that I think could have strengthened this unit.

Student-led research:

Students also were required to research an Olympic gymnast from a Country of their choice. They were required to set it up as an interview. They created their own questions to "ask" the gymnast. When their questions were approved, they then went to the internet and conducted research to find the answers to their questions. This proved successful because the students actually created the questions. They were able to tailor their research based specifically on their individual interest.

Dimension 6: Oral and Written Communication

Evidence of 2- way communication 

I am currently working with a parent writing three health grants.  This is communication proving that we are collaborating on this project in hopes to make our efforts more effective.

Outreach to Family/ Community Partners:

1.  Below is correspondence between myself and our American Heart Association partner.  The email is in relation to the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser that is currently taking place.

2.  Below is an email correspondence between myself and a Health MPowers representative.  The grant that we have with them has been extended an extra year because of our hard work and dedication in getting our children healthy.

3.  My Student Wellness Ambassadors have the opportunity to participate in a program with SODEXO this year.  The company is interested in building a partnership with the students who work as advocates for eating healthy and making healthy decisions.  This experience will allow them to sample a variety of foods that are in the process of being approved for our schools.  Along with this experience, they will take an etiquette course and eat dinner with stakeholders of our school.  

4.  My patrol officers were inducted October 13, 2010 by Lt. Yabuku and Investigator DL Dixon.  This is another example of the efforts I have put forth to establish a cooperative partnership with our community.