Module 1 analysis

One thing that I read about in the Woolfolk text in Chapter 3 was the importance of physical play and exercise.  This was especially interesting to me as a physical education major.  Recess, school sports, and lessons that include physical activity aid in the development of not only motor skills but also social and cognitive skills and the emotional well-being of students.  One study discussed in the Woolfolk text describes how students in Asian countries who are known to outperform US students on reading, science, and math tests, have more frequent recess breaks throughout the school day.  Another study showed that students age 8 and 9 who had a daily recess of 15 minutes or longer every day were better behaved in class than students with little or no recess (p. 77).  I believe schools have an important role in promoting activity as some students unfortunately do not have much physical activity at home at times. 

As a sub and going forward as a physical education teacher, I try to incorporate activity as much as I can into my classrooms.  For example, when subbing for kindergarten, I incorporate learning anatomy with a fun exercise.  I will have the students point out different parts of their body by telling them to put their hands to their head, toes, ears, knees, etc. and walking around the classroom while discussing what we are going to do next in the lesson plan.   Teachers can also incorporate scavenger hunts by, for example, having the students find all things that are square in the room.  This allows the students to still be learning while being active and breaks up the monotony of just sitting down at their desks.

Unfortunately, physical education is one of the first things to go in terms of budget, even though it can be an important thing that can benefit how the students learn.  Physical activity promotes the overall health and well-being of students at every age and grade level.   This is especially important as since 1971 the incidence of childhood obesity has doubled in every age group from 2 to 19.  Obesity not only has the obvious physical impacts on health but also affects children’s psychological development as well (p. 78).