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Rita Aspen's Teaching Philosophy

With the growing numbers of young children who are inactive and obese, motivating students to become life long participants in some form of physical activity is my number one goal. I teach a variety of fitness games, sport lead-up games, dances, aerobic activities, yoga, and simple games that the children can play at home. The games are all success oriented to insure that the students will want to participate. I also keep the students informed about activities that they can sign up for with the Parks and Recreation Department in our county.

Using the President’s Council Physical Fitness Test, I assess the fitness levels of all the third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Patches are awarded to all students who make the National or Presidential levels. We use the Project Fit Course and the various activities listed above to help the students improve their scores.

In addition to physical skills, we emphasize teamwork, respect, and good sportsmanship. Those displaying these qualities are given a tally mark each week on the Character Counts wall. When a student has ten tally marks, he/she earns a trip to the treasure box and a note goes home to his/her parents. This helps to improve social skills so that each child can be fit inside and out.

Program and Activities

Future Olympians
Students who hold the records for the Presidential Physical Fitness Tests are displayed on this wall.  The tests include the Mile Run, Pull-Ups, Shuttle Run, Sit and Reach, and Curl –Ups.

Great Wall of Strength!
Students will be tested on the Sit-Up Station and the Modified Pull-Ups Station on the Project Fit Course.  If a student can do 25 or more sit-ups or modified pull-ups in one minute, he can sign a brick. The bricks will go on the bulletin board.  If a student doubles the required number, a star will go by his name on his brick.

Inventive Running
Students who do not walk their laps during P.E. classes are rewarded each nine weeks. They run for approximately 3 minutes.  They receive a shoe clip for each nine weeks they accomplish this.  If they go the whole year without ever walking their laps, they earn new shoe laces. Students who can run the mile without walking are rewarded with an additional shoe clip and their picture is displayed above the running wall.

How Rita has used the PFA Program

Chart and Challenge
Using the Chart and Challenge concept, I conduct a before school Fitness Challenge Club. Students come into the gym before school each week for 7 weeks and try a different challenge. I have an entry, mid, and high level for each challenge. The challenges include: the Monkey Muscles (rope/pole climbers), Hula Hoopers (using the heavy hoop), Turtle Hurdlers, Pacer Racers, Football Frenzy, Smile Mile (how much of the mile you can do without walking), and Jumping Jack Rabbits (rope jumping). I put their names on charts if they make the entry, mid, or high level in each challenge and the charts are hung in the entry to the gym.

The Smile Mile challenge came from an existing program we have where the students are rewarded if they jog or run their required number of laps each week without stopping to walk. This was created to help motivate the students to jog the whole mile. I took pictures of the students who were able to run the whole mile and put their pictures on the Running wall. To motivate the students further, I conduct a one mile fun run for the school in the spring.

Our World Famous Jumpers wall highlights the students who can do jumprope tricks. There are seven jump rope tricks this year, one for each continent. If 4th and 5th graders can do a jump rope trick 25 times in a row, their name goes on the sheet displayed under that trick. Second and 3rd graders write their names on the sheet if they can do the trick 20 times in a row. First and Kindergarten names are written on the sheet if they can do the trick 10 times in a row. A star by someone’s name means they doubled the required number of jumps.

Students who hold the records for the Presidential Physical Fitness Tests are displayed on the Future Olympians wall. The tests include the Mile Run, Pull-Ups, Shuttle Run, Sit and Reach, and Curl –Ups.

The Character Counts wall displays the names of all the students in the school. If students follow the rules and display good character traits in PE class (respect for others, good sportsmanship, etc.) a tally mark goes by their name on their class sheet. When they get 10 tally marks, they earn a trip to the treasure box.

PFA Fitness Cup Building
Using the cups, I conduct different challenges here and there throughout the year, such as hitting a badminton birdie, catching and throwing a football, doing the basic step in Tinickling, doing toe taps on a soccer ball, etc. The challenges are either skill or fitness related. The students LOVE creating buildings or sculptures with the cups they earned.

Project Fit Course
The classroom teachers use the Project Fit Course each week. I conducted an in-service for them after school at the beginning of the first year we had the equipment, to show them the proper way to use the stations. Each 2nd-5th grade teacher was given a score sheet and asked to record the scores at one station each week until all stations were done. These scores were posted in the gym. The teachers did this in the fall and in the spring the first two years that we had the PFA equipment. The students were able to see improvements that they made. I gave out the Project Fit Ribbons and Certificates to any student who achieved a high level score at three or more stations. We also have established school records for each station for boys and girls.

This year I am assessing the students on two of the PFA stations: the modified pull-ups and the sit-ups. The teachers are continuing to take their classes out on the course each week. They practice the activities at all of the stations. When I assess the sit ups and modified pull-ups, I am having the students sign their name on a brick if they can do 25 of each. We are using these bricks to build the Great Wall of Power in the gym...

Core Curriculum
I use many of the activities in the Core Curriculum Book and those that I got from Amanda (Shoe) Martin. These include the Tennis Ball Warm-Up, Aerobic Bowling, $10.00 for a Bone, Hoop Dribble/ Bump, Beat the Ball Covey Style, PFA Bunko, and many of the chart and challenge ideas.