Charlotte
Pickle's Teaching Philosophy
The President’s Council on Physical Fitness
and Sports printed a statement that said, “It
is just as important to grow up fit as it is to grow up smart.” Proverbs
22:6 says “Train up a child in the way
he should go, when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Both
of these statements emphasize what I believe to be true about
physical education. Teaching the “whole” student
is not only mental training but also social, emotional, and
physical. Our program is not all about sports anymore. We
introduce activities that students’ can participate
in for life. It is not about athletics, it is about
being active. I want our students’ to enjoy physical
activity, and what it takes to stay fit, so that they can
continue to enjoy physical activity on into adulthood.
P.E. Program
at Amory Middle School
We received the Project Fit Program at
just the right time. We were doing what we felt we
needed to, to support our philosophy, but we needed more
incentives and a new approach. We have been doing Fitnessgram
Fitness Testing for several years but the charting
of their progress, putting their names on the wall for reaching
higher levels, giving certificates and ribbons encouraged
more participation and harder work to get to the next level. Our
students’ fitness
levels indicated tremendous improvement.
Our fitness level for upper body strength was
extremely low. The outdoor equipment gave us the proper
means we needed to increase these levels. The students’ did
not realize they were working on this until we tested their
upper body strength and the results showed improvement. The
students’ wondered how they had gotten better and we
reminded them of the activities that emphasized it, and they
too were amazed.
We were amazed at how hard the students will
work for cups to build a pyramid or to build a track. The Indy
500 indoor/Outdoor Cup Build is an activity the students
love and it is a great activity for working on strength building
and endurance levels. Incorporating Ten
dollars and a Bone and Ten
dollars and a Meal are just a couple of the students’ favorite
activities. We have also played this by letting the
teams do the activities to collect as much money as possible
until the bank goes broke. They love this, and the
winning team will then "bail the bank out”. Another
favorite is Indoor Soccer Battleball. It
is a high cardio activity with the best part being the students’ never
get out. Basketball Blitz is also a favorite. We
also use this as a lead-up activity for the annual “Hoops
for Heart” competition to raise money for the American
Heart Association. We also support the Jump
Rope for American Heart Association by encouraging jump rope activities.
 
Thanks to Project Fit we have added Hubba
Hubba Hula Hoop competition as well. Before receiving the
heavy hoops, our students’ thought hula hooping was
too “elementary” for them. However, the
heavy hula hoops added excitement. We had a contest
where eight boys and girls tried to break the national record. We
had a girl, who was able to do that by hooping 5 hours, 54
minutes, and 58 seconds. Her record has since been
broken, but we have several who are looking forward to trying
to beat the national record again.
 We have the “Smile Mile” club for
students’ who can jog a mile without stopping or walking. We
give ribbons or certificates, and they get to sign the Smile
Mile chart. We have “Level” clubs where
the Pacer Challenge encourages individual achievement to
get to the next level. The students’ sign their
name on the level chart and try to continue moving up to
the next level. The basketball pacer is a fun
team activity to build endurance level. We give certificates
to the winning teams and they are posted on our “Wall
of Fame.”
Every student eventually gets their
name on the wall or a certificate on the wall. This can be
through team activities, individual accomplishments, or for
being a respectful, cooperative student. Recognition
has added excitement to our program.
 Examples of activities beyond physical education
programming that we have had are a synchronized basketball
dribbling team. They performed at various clubs in
our town and at half time of the basketball games at the
high school. We have a fitness room that is open for
our students’, their parents, and faculty that has
pieces of equipment that takes them through a 30 minute circuit
providing a complete workout when completed. This year
our classes have access to an outdoor walking track that
they are also able to use after school hours. Students
and their parents are taking advantage of this as well.
Lesson Plans
Basketball Pacer
Equipment: CD player; pacer CD; Measuring
tape to mark off a 20 meter area; Cones; a basketball for
each team (usually no more than six teams)
Skills: Builds aerobic endurance; encourages
control dribbling; helps teach pacing skills; supports teamwork
and cooperation.
Activity: Mark off a 20 meter course with
cones. Divide the class into teams with no more than six
on a team if possible. Three from each team will get on one
end of the course and three from the same team will get on
the opposite end of the course directly across from their
teammates.. One basketball per team and all on the same end
of the course in the hands of the first one in line. The
CD will provide a 5 second countdown and instruct students
to begin. Students will dribble the basketball across the
area and hand the ball to their teammate in line and then
go to the end of the line. At the sound of the beep, the
second teammate with the ball will dribble across the course
to the next teammate and hand them the ball and go to the
end of the line. Students who do reach the opposite end 0f
the course by dribbling before the beep are out and will
sit down. The last team standing wins.
Break the Bank
This is just a spin-off of 10.00 and a Bone. Instead of
earning money to buy bones, the students will perform the
activities to earn money to put under their team cone. They
earn a dollar for each activity. When the instructor says, "The
bank is broke! We need a bail out," each team will count
their money to see who has earned the most. Each team will
then return their money to the bank to bail the bank out..
Acknowledgements
Our program would not be as successful as it
is without the support of our principal, administration,
and former nurse. They have been instrumental in moving
our program ahead of others. Because of their leadership,
the drink machines at our school are just water and juice. Students’ are
encouraged to carry bottle water with them throughout the
day so as to be hydrated. When the temperature is above
90 degrees our students are given bottle water to drink on
the bus ride home. Our food coordinator has been instrumental
in leading this as well as revamping our lunch program to
include less fried foods, introducing our students to healthy
snacks to bridge the gap between breakfast and lunch and
providing materials and websites to incorporate education
in classrooms.
I would like to thank Blue Cross Blue Shield. Their
mission is to “improve the health and wellness of all
Mississippians.” This goal is reflected in the
money that was given to bring the Project Fit Program to
our state. We have seen good results and a lot of improvement
in our students’ health and fitness.
I would like to thank the Project Fit trainers
for coordinating and demonstrating the activities. Their
advice and continued support has been instrumental in jump
starting our program. I feel because of Project Fit
that I am a better teacher and that our students have a better
understanding of how to be fit for life. |
