Hello, everyone! I'm Sarah Fuller, and today I want to discuss successful tips and tricks in a straightforward activity that I often employ in my adapted Physical Education (PE) classes. These classes typically consist of students in self-contained or non-integrated settings, each with their unique abilities and needs. Creating a single lesson plan with a single objective rarely works for all students in such diverse classes. Therefore, I'd like to share a tip and a strategy I use to craft effective lesson plans that cater to all my students.
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When your class isn't going as planned, it can be stressful. You may feel like you're not meeting your students' needs, and the teaching aides might be wondering what's happening. It's crucial to be well-prepared with lesson plans that you know will benefit all your students, so no one is left behind or unchallenged.
The key to success, in my experience, is to start by identifying the student with the highest needs and determining what they can successfully engage in. Once you have this information, you can build an activity around it. One of the simplest activities I begin with is "pick up and put in." It might not sound like traditional PE, but it serves as an excellent starting point.
Once a student masters this basic skill, you can gradually increase the complexity. For example, if a student is working on grasping, "pick up and put in" can involve them picking up an object and placing it into a container with some assistance, gradually moving towards more challenging variations like tossing or even passing to a partner.
Let me share an example from my current class. I have a student who is working on grasping. For them, "pick up and put in" is ideal. They can pick up an object, and we assist them in placing it into a container, which is a significant achievement for them.
Conversely, I also have a very athletic student in the class who needs to be challenged. For them, I introduce a story element to the activity. The story is shared with all students, but I know this particular student will excel at balancing objects on a shovel or a scoop. We might even use broom pans from the Dollar Tree. The challenge for them is to balance stuffed animals on their shovel or broom pan and transport them to a designated area, simulating the idea that these animals have escaped from the zoo, and we need to return them to their cages.
To make it more challenging, we might assign colors to specific animals and cages, so the students need to match them correctly. This adds an extra layer of complexity to the task, keeping it engaging for all students. This activity typically lasts about five minutes, but it's a valuable segment where we can focus on individual skills.
To sum it up, my main piece of advice is to start with the student with the lowest skill level and build the activity up from there. Ensure that the activity is meaningful and achievable for that student, and then gradually introduce more challenges to meet the needs of every student in the class, including the most athletic ones. This way, everyone participates, feels successful, and gains a sense of independence.
That's all for today! Please, as I mentioned earlier, don't forget to subscribe, like, and share your own strategies for self-contained or non-integrated small groups in adapted PE in the comments below. Let's continue sharing valuable information and supporting each other in this important field of education.