Permission Slip

There are times during the school year when the students take a walking field trip to either Maplewood Playfield or the Cleveland High School track/tennis courts. If your child has your permission to participate, please download, sign and return the completed permission slip to me ASAP.

Walking Fieldtrip Permission Slip

Mr. Rittman's P.E. Page

2012 - 2013 School Year

2012-2013 Physical Education Schedule

Weeks Dates Activities
1 Sept. 4-7 Fun intro games
2,3,4 Sept. 10-28 Soccer
5,6 Oct. 1-12 Softball
7,8 Oct. 15-24 Football
9 Oct. 29-Nov. 2 Golf
9 Oct. 29-Nov. 2 Golf
10,11,12 Nov. 5-21 Basketball
13,14 Nov. 26-Dec. 7 Team Handball
15 Dec. 10-14 Hockey
15 Dec. 10-14 Hockey
15 Dec. 10-14 Hockey
16 Dec. 17-21 Christmas Games
17 Jan. 7-11 Winter Presidential Fitness
18 Jan. 14-18 Indoor Soccer
19 Jan. 22-25 Badminton
20 Jan. 28-Feb. 1 Basketball
21,22,23 Feb. 4-22 Volleyball
24 Feb. 25-Mar. 1 Football
25,26 Mar. 4-15 Ultimate Frisbee
27 Mar. 18-21 Golf
28 Mar. 25-29 Easter Games
29,30 Apr. 8-19 Softball
31 Apr. 22-26 Basketball
32, 33 Apr. 29-May 10 Presidential Fitness Test
34 May. 13-17 Omnikin Ball
35,36 May. 20-31 Tennis
37,38 June. 3-12 Class Choice

*This schedule is not set in stone (It sometimes rains in Seattle! So we may have to stay indoors on days when outdoor games are scheduled)

*We will also include non-sport games (Tag, Battleship, Capture the flag, etc…) throughout the year

Download 2012-2013 Physical Education Schedule (.pdf)

As a P.E. teacher, my ideas of how my class should be taught are slowly forming into what I think the best way a P.E. program should be run in order to maximize the success and enjoyment of the students. I would like to begin by telling you a little about how I run my P.E. classes, some of the activities we do, and why we do these activities.

BEGINNING OF CLASS


The 1st graders making sure all of their major muscle groups are stretched before every PE class.
P.E. begins the minute the children step foot into the gym. Each student knows they have a short time period (about one minute) in which they must change into their athletic shoes. The younger children then line up before they enter the gym, and the older students must run, touch the "Play Like A Champion Today" poster, and take their seat.

STRETCHING

After the students are seated, I make a quick observation to see if any students are absent and I note these absences. We have a couple of stretch routines that we cycle through. On some days I pick a student leader who leads the class in a stretch routine that I have made into a stretch card. Other days we spice things up with one of my many P.E. based CD's which leads the class with their stretching.

CARDIO


Running with the parachute for a cardio workout.
After our muscles are loose, we launch into the cardiovascular section of the class. I usually try to tie in a specific sport into the workout. For example, if we are in the football unit of P.E., I will incorporate running with the football or running and throwing the football with relay races. If we are in the soccer unit, the students are separated into groups and I have them use soccer balls and perform dribbling relays, which get the students ready to work on soccer skills and also gives them a cardiovascular workout.

If we are not playing a sport that can be tied into a cardiovascular workout, we do a variety of exercises. For example, sometimes I set out four cones in a large rectangular shape in the gym. I play music while the students perform different movements such as running, walking, race-walking, skipping, hopping, or running backwards. When the music stops the students are to freeze, while I instruct them in the next movement to be performed. My main goal for the cardiovascular portion of class is to give the students an enjoyable and sometimes competitive way to get their blood flowing. If I were to simply blow the whistle and have the children run back and forth, or run laps, I would be just as bored watching them as they would be running.

LESSON


Students pair up and line up across from their partner in basketball passing drills.
For our main section of P.E., I like to make sure the children have a solid grasp on the major sports such as basketball, soccer, football, softball, volleyball, badminton and ultimate Frisbee. I also like the students to have opportunities to play other games during P.E. that don't focus on the major team sports. I feel that games such as capture the flag, mat-ball (a fun version of kickball), sharks and minnows, battleship and galaxy ball can also reap some of the same benefits, such as a physical workout and team work skills, as do sport specific games like soccer or basketball.

GOALS FOR THIS CLASS

In this day and age of high tech computers and video gaming systems, it seems to me that children have become more accustomed to sitting at home playing their newest video game on a sunny Saturday afternoon than playing a pickup game at the park. My goals for my P.E. classes are to pack as much learning and physical exercise into their 30 or 45 minutes as I can. In order to insure the students are getting this workout, I must make sure the class moves along as planned as well as doing my best to make sure all of the necessary equipment is laid out prior to class and ready for the children to get to work.

I enjoy seeing a student walk out of the gym with sweat coming off of his or her head and a smile on their face. That shows me that they worked hard and had fun in the process. I try to be the most upbeat P.E. teacher I can while giving the children a good, hard, but enjoyable workout.