The Physical Education "VIP" Plan

 

A Versitile, Inclusive and Practical Lesson Plan Design
The Physical Education "VIP"  Plan
 
by Pete Charrette
Cobb County Schools
 
 
Introduction and Rationale
 
Practicing physical education teachers are currently using a
wide variety of designs and formats in which to develop their
daily lesson plans. Some use planning tools such as generic
lesson guides, teaching planners, and web created electronic
plans that are clearly developed for other academic areas.
Others have learned to create their own type of design
which is better suited to the subject matter and variables
that characterize a typical physical education lesson. When
shared, these types of "self-created" lesson plan designs can
be beneficial to other practicing physical education teachers,
giving them ideas and tools for structuring their future
lessons.
As an experienced physical education teacher, I too have
utilized a number of lesson planning designs and formats.
Over the years, many of these designs have fallen short of the
mark as a practical guide for my daily lessons. Some of the
plans lacked the detail I needed to adequately describe my
lessons while others required too much time to be a sensible
answer for my planning needs. My dissatisfaction in the
available options for lesson planning facilitated a personal
investigation for a better and more sensible method for
class preparation. During this search, I sought out solutions
from other physical educators and consulted with teachers
in additional areas of education. The investigation yielded
valuable information that I used to create a practical lesson
plan format that I and a number of other physical education
teachers in our state are currently utilizing.
 
Developing the Plan
Developing a comprehensive and practical lesson plan format
to be used consistently in a physical education program is
not an easy task. Our diverse subject matter, multiple age
and skill levels, fluctuating weekly schedules, and numerous
instructional situations make structuring a useable plan
difficult. In recent years, we have also seen an influx of
educational growth and training concepts in our schools
such as "Backwards Design", and "Curriculum Mapping",
which are geared towards the academic classroom. These
educational models have now worked their way into the
"specialist" teaching areas such as physical education, art
and music. With these new concepts and the emergence of
the Georgia Performance Standards, our administrator's
expectations have changed in the way they view our teaching
practices and how we create and present our daily lesson
plans. All of the above factors have influenced the creation
of the Physical Education VIP Lesson Plan format which
is highlighted on the following page.
 
Beneficial Qualities of the Physical Education VIP Plan
 
There will never be a perfect planning tool for teaching
physical education. However, there are some factors that
make using certain lesson plan designs more attractive
than others. For a lesson plan format to be valuable for a
practicing physical educator, it must have the ability to be
versatile, inclusive and practical? The plan should be easy
to use, detailed in nature, and it must have the flexibility
to be applied in a number of situations. The questions and
responses below explore how these qualities are validated
using the Physical Education VIP plan and provide accounts
of how the plan can be used for your physical education
program.
 
How is the Physical Education VIP Plan Versatile?
The Physical Education VIP design can be used in a number
of ways and for a variety of purposes. Since it is a Microsoft
Word document, the titles, text box sizes, text color, headings,
and subheadings can easily be modified to fit your style,
needs and administrator's expectations. The number of text
boxes provides ample space and flexibility to incorporate a
number of educational mandates.
 
The Physical Education VIP plan can be used for the
following purposes:
 
1.    As a unit guide. The template can be used to list a
general outline of the standards, tasks and assessments
that would take place within a single unit of study. This
method works well for seeing a 2 or 3 week time period
on a single page document. This "big picture" technique
helps you clarify what you want your students to achieve
by the unit and what tasks and activities will help them
reach this goal.
 
2.    As a "grouped" lesson guide. The template can be used
to "clump" 2 or more lessons together within a single
unit. This type of planning works well when you are
unsure of exactly how much you can accomplish within
a single class period. It also works well if you have
outdoor and indoor activities planned and the weather
does not cooperate. Many physical education teachers
see their students a set number of times a week which
makes "clumping or grouping" lessons in a weekly
format a more realistic and optimal method. Provisions
can be made to identify how far each class has progressed
in their "instructional activities" in the main body of the
lesson plan.
 
 
3.    As an individual lesson plan. The template can be used
 

 for an individual physical education lesson, incorporating
a number of designated grade levels. Since many lessons
can be taught to more than 1 grade level, the plan can
provide the essential criteria for multiple levels and also
identify changes and modifications per grade within the
same plan.
 
4.    As a separate activity or game plan. The template can
be slightly altered to include headings such as "game set
up and procedures" and "instructions for game play" to
provide a single document plan that outlines any of your
large group games requiring specific directions for play.
This type of plan works well with large group games that
may be played within a specified unit or may be "stand
alone" games that are used to develop skills and increase
the fitness levels of your students between units or at
specified times of the school year.
5.    As a special event plan. The template may also be
modified to become a general guide for special events
that are sponsored by the physical education department
at your school such as Jump Rope for Heart, Field Day,
Walk mania, Relay for Life, etc.
 
How is the Physical Education VIP Plan Inclusive?
The   Physical   Education   VIP   design   is   comprehensive
and includes a number of text boxes with headings and
subheadings   that   correspond   to   the   physical   education
planning and structural procedures. The plan incorporates
a wide variety of critical lesson plan components which
includes the following:
Lesson/Unit Title
Grade level(s)
Overview and purpose
Learning outcomes
Materials/resources
Essential questions
Instructional activities
Movement components
Header and footer tags
 
Week # & day
Unit Focus
Standards addressed
Modifications
Safety concerns
Assessment methods
Fitness components
Closure items
 
Although the essential components of a comprehensive
plan may differ somewhat from county to county or state
to state, the headings listed above correspond with most
current   fundamental   requirements   and   can   easily   be
adapted to fit any educational needs. Within each text and
heading box, a physical education teacher can adequately
describe the elements that make up the lesson or lessons.
A teacher's personal style for describing the lesson can
include bullet form information, numbered sequential steps,
coded information (as in listing standards addressed) and/or
paragraph descriptors for instruction. Coded information can
be used to address the NASPE, state or county standards and
the full documents can be attached in a lesson plan book or
portfolio.
 
How is the Physical Education VIP Plan Practical?
The Physical Education VIP lesson plan format has a
functional   design   that   places   a   great   deal   of   pertinent
information on a one page document. The ability to see, in
detail, the entire lesson, grouped lessons or unit plan makes
physical education instruction easier. The informational text
boxes within the plan can simply be adjusted to fit the needs
of any physical education teacher. There are a number of
practical advantages to using the Physical Education VIP
Plan that include:
 
1.    The ability to share information with other colleagues,
student teachers and administrators using a professional
and comprehensive lesson design.
2.    The ability to create, save and print lessons as a single
page document or grouped together in electronic folders
for combined units of study.
3.    The ability to reuse and easily adapt the individual
plans from year to year or semester to semester.
4.    The ability to compile a professional working portfolio
using the VIP plans combined with state  and national
standards, grading procedures, behavioral plans, student
modifications and class roll sheets.
5.    To ability to consistently and easily document student
assessment in every lesson by utilizing the "Assessment
Methods" checklist provided at the bottom of every VIP
lesson plan
 
The Physical Education "VIP" Plan
The plan on the next page illustrates a single, non-jumping
(individual jump rope) lesson for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade
students.   The   "coded"   standards   represent   the   newly
developed Georgia Performance Standards for Physical
Education which will be implemented by our state during
the 2009 and 2010 school year.
 
Conclusion
As professional educators, it is important that we continually
strive to improve the methods and practices we implement
in our daily classes. Our proficiency in lesson planning has
a direct correlation to our ability to provide positive and
successful classes for our students. Clearly, there is no perfect
format for developing and showcasing our lesson plans.
Each of us has a unique teaching situation and our planning
methods and needs vastly differ. It is important however, that
we decide upon a professional and comprehensive lesson
plan design such as the Physical Education VIP plan if we
desire to enhance the credibility of our field and strengthen
our individual physical education programs.
 
 
 
Pete Charrette was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario
 
Canada and has a bachelor's degree from the University of
 
Ottawa and Queen's University. He has a master's degree in
 
education from Georgia State University and a specialist in
 
education degree from the State University of West Georgia.
 
He recently obtained a National Certification in early and
 
middle school physical education. Pete has been a physical
 
education specialist for 20 years and currently teaches at
 
Pickett's Mill Elementary School in Cobb County, Georgia.
 
He serves as a collaborative teacher with the Kennesaw State
 
University Health and Physical Education Department and
 
was recently appointed to the GAHPERD Executive Board
 
as the Public Relations Coordinator. If you would like some

 

electronic examples of the Physical Education

GAHPERD.org