On day 6 of EDU 255, we focused on using jump ropes and being very creative using them. We begin class with just jumping as long as we can with the jump rope, using different movements like jumping side ways, jumping forward and backwards, jumping while being low, and jumping with a partner. Using the jump rope required great coordination, flexibility, muscle endurance, balance, reaction time, and cardiovascular endurance. I tried jumping rope with two partners turning the rope, and me doing a jumping push up to get over the rope. It wasn't easy but of-course with some practice I would get it. Me and my partners were able to jump together with the rope while moving forward and backward and it was so cool. After all this jumping, Professor Yang instructed us to create a jumping sequence performance to a song "Move Your Body" by Beyonce, within our groups we created to be taped and put on youtube. This was a competition to see which group was the best at the most number of jumps, their rhythm, and how in sink they were with their group members who were the jumpers. Professor Yang gave us a lot of time to practice to get the jumps and rope swings synchronized with each other to the beat of the song. I think my group did a great job performing under the circumstances of not having a lot of practice. Other groups were very creative and we had a lot of fun with this. While other groups were performing, The TA's begin to teach us the dance moves to Beyonce's song and that was cool to learn. After everyone was filmed, we headed down to the classroom. We watched a film that I believe anyone can enjoy:
After watching that awesome video, Professor Yang did an overview of how to develop lesson plans for Physical Education; teaching us about Health-related fitness and Skill-related fitness components, and the NYS Learning Standards and NASPE Content Standards for P.E. Overall, today was a lot of fun using the jump rope in ways I never did before.
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Day 5 of EDU 255 was great!!! We got a second chance to improve on our 4 minute lesson from the skills we taught in the first day of class. I taught the football pass again and this time I felt more comfortable teaching than last time. Some positives from today's lesson is that I included a better introduction that got my classmates more interested in the skill I was teaching. I started with a great "hook", which was using two quarterbacks, Eli Manning from the Giants and Tom Brady from the Patriots, who will be playing in this years Superbowl. I thought this was great idea to use because these individuals are two elite passers who everyone knows from the NFL. Another good thing about my lesson today was that I incorporated safety tips to prevent any injuries and I spoke loud enough that everyone was able to hear me, even from far distances. On the other hand, some negative things about today's class was that when walking around to give feedback, I was talking to one side of the class and leaving my back turned to the rest. This is not good because when I actually start teaching, I will have to pay attention to all my students at the same time to notice any misbehaved children or any students slacking off during the lesson. If my back is turned I can't see what the other students are doing; so I learned that instead I should walk outside the practice area and give feedback to students while still paying attention to everyone else. But overall, I thought I did a great job today and I was very confident about today's lesson. Since day 1 of EDU 255, I have learned a lot from the feedback giving to me by Professor Yang and the TA's. I learned that I have to speak loud and with passion so that my students will be more engaged into my activities and any other physical aspects of life. I also learned that it doesn't take long to get students in P.E classes physically active. In 4 minutes, you can have your students sweating, tired, and have their heart racing. I thought the rest of my classmates did a great job teaching today, showing much improvement from Day 1.
On day 4 of EDU 255, we started our class with an instant activity of creating a big circle and someone going to the middle to show off some of their dancing skills to the music Mr. Yang was playing. Whatever the dance was that the person in the middle did, the whole class had to imitate the same dance and this was a lot of fun which got us more excited for class. Next we played a tag game that insisted of walking around with one tagger chasing everyone. If you were tagged, another classmate had to come over and say your name and the skill you taught and you had to say their name and skill they taught in order to be free again. It started off with one tagger and eventually became three to make it more challenging. We incorporated some other motor skills like skipping and galloping instead of just walking around to spicing things up. This activity was great for still getting to learn everyone names in the class and getting the heart pumping. We then stretched and Professor Yang led us into some yoga, which everyone is improving on their flexibility and balance from previous classes. After yoga, Mr. Yang sat us down to ask for some differences in his teaching compared to ours and some basic responses were that Mr. Yang incorporates a instant activity, a hook, and some safety concerns into his lesson that a lot of us don't do. After discussing our differences in teaching, we were assigned to a TA to work on our 4 minute lessons on Friday for Lab A2. In our groups we worked on our introductions, hooks, cues for our skills, some feedback, and closing statements that we are going to use on Friday for our lesson. Lastly, we ended class with a small activity that required us to work on projecting our voices as future teachers so we will be able to communicate with our students in large spaces like gyms and outdoor sports. We were split up into two groups, facing each other in two lines, and the activity was to say "Aint no bugs on me, Aint no bugs on me, There might be bugs on you guys, But aint no bugs on me". Whatever group said it the loudest and with power won the game. Both teams were pretty even in volume and this activity really helped me realize how loud I have to speak when teaching in a physical education setting or whenever I'm talking to a large group of people so that my voice will be heard. I'm an official Rockstar!!!!
On day three of EDU 255 we begin class with a warm-up of throwing the Frisbee around to a partner using different throws we learned from last class. After the warm-up Professor Yang explained what today was, which is the Chinese New Year; he gave us a brief overview of the history of the Chinese culture and taught us how to say "Gung Hey Fat Choy". Professor Yang then split the class up into groups of four, two on offense and two on defense, and told us we had to play keep away for 20 seconds hard and rest for 10 seconds for 4 minutes straight. This game required great endurance, speed, strategy, skill,and teamwork. Me and my partner Trisha did a great job working together using our endurance from track to out work our opponents who were very tired and out of shape. Next, Professor Yang conducted us into some yoga to recuperate from the last activity, working on more flexibility, balance, and strength. After yoga, the class was then put back into the same groups we had for the first activity, and this time we had to pass the Frisbee around to each other with no defender, for at least 5 passes, while walking to score a goal at 3 different goals. As we played, we implemented the fake pass and added a defender to each goal to make it harder to score. There was a lot of traffic during the game due to the fact that all the groups were passing their Frisbee at the same time and in the same space; but my group was able to score at will. Lastly, we went to a classroom to go over the syllabus and what Professor Yang requires from us for this semester. I notice that the way Professor Yang teaches is different from the way I teach. One difference is that he uses music that everyone enjoys for his signal for attention which very unique because most P.E teachers use their whistle for signaling. Another difference is that he always explains the safety of every skill and activity which is very important for young students, where some future teachers like myself forget to remind their students and peers of the safety concerns required for every lesson. Everyday in 255 gets better an better!!!!
On the second day of EDU 255, we started the class with Frisbee tossing between partners of the same color penny that the TA's handed out to us. We then begin to incorporate different throwing motions like over head (hammer), non dominant hand, side throw and etc. I really was impressed when a classmate name Emily was able to throw the Frisbee using a bounce pass which was cool to watch. After working on new throwing motions with the Frisbee, we went into mini Ultimate Frisbee games, first with no defender, then eventually we played keep away with a TA and Professor Yang. This mini game was a lot fun and I didn't realize how much it made me sweat. To give us a break from running around, Professor Yang decided to play "concentration", which is a great cognitive game that shows students some blind-spots in their memory about certain things they usually don't think about; we use specific topics like colors, sports, and football teams. Next we adventured into some yoga that was great for my balance and flexibility as track runner, and trust me it wasn't easy at all. The last activity we did was "The Name Game" with one of the TA's also name Eric. I was fortunate enough to be towards the beginning of the big circle, but it was a great ice breaker game to get to know everyone's name and the skill they taught on the first day of class. From today's class, I know this is going to be a fun semester and with great people to experience it with.
On the first day of class, Professor Yang had split the class up into two groups and everyone for each group had to teach a 4 minute lesson to their group they were assigned to. He gave us the option of using a basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, or no equipment to teach this 4 minute lesson. I was second to go from my group and I taught a lesson on throwing a football correctly using 4 cues; for a right hand person, 1) left shoulder faces target, 2) left foot step towards target, 3) high release ball over right shoulder, and 4) follow through. Everyone in the class did a great job even if though it was the first class. I think blogging is interesting because it shows other people what we're doing everyday in class and it could be helpful in the future as a teacher. I'm anxious about what PED 255 has to offer to further my learning in being the best educator I can be.
My vacation was very exciting, getting to see all my family and friends. Just spending quality time with my family during the holidays was a blessing, and I'm so grateful to have a great family. My break was cut short due to my dedication to the sport of track & field, and I came back to Cortland on January 3rd to put in some hard work with some teammates to prepare ourselves for the upcoming seasons.
Image via Wikipedia
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On day three of EDU 255 we begin class with a warm-up of throwing the Frisbee around to a partner using different throws we learned from last class. After the warm-up Professor Yang explained what today was, which is the Chinese New Year; he gave us a brief overview of the history of the Chinese culture and taught us how to say "Gung Hey Fat Choy". Professor Yang then split the class up into groups of four, two on offense and two on defense, and told us we had to play keep away for 20 seconds hard and rest for 10 seconds for 4 minutes straight. This game required great endurance, speed, strategy, skill,and teamwork. Me and my partner Trisha did a great job working together using our endurance from track to out work our opponents who were very tired and out of shape. Next, Professor Yang conducted us into some yoga to recuperate from the last activity, working on more flexibility, balance, and strength. After yoga, the class was then put back into the same groups we had for the first activity, and this time we had to pass the Frisbee around to each other with no defender, for at least 5 passes, while walking to score a goal at 3 different goals. As we played, we implemented the fake pass and added a defender to each goal to make it harder to score. There was a lot of traffic during the game due to the fact that all the groups were passing their Frisbee at the same time and in the same space; but my group was able to score at will. Lastly, we went to a classroom to go over the syllabus and what Professor Yang requires from us for this semester. I notice that the way Professor Yang teaches is different from the way I teach. One difference is that he uses music that everyone enjoys for his signal for attention which very unique because most P.E teachers use their whistle for signaling. Another difference is that he always explains the safety of every skill and activity which is very important for young students, where some future teachers like myself forget to remind their students and peers of the safety concerns required for every lesson. Everyday in 255 gets better an better!!!!
