Two field day activities use homemade equipment to provide movement and fun. Super Kids Day is a 15-activity, individual versus individual event. Classic Games is a team versus team relay competition. For both field days, participation, rather than winning and losing, is emphasized so all students can feel successful. (SM)

Discusses ideas outlined in a recent report from the Council on Physical Education for Children on the importance of a success-orientated physical education (PE) program for elementary school students. Emphasizes the importance of (1) instructionally appropriate PE; (2) motor skill and movement concept development; (3) social and emotional…

Physical educators can use picture books with elementary students to introduce skills and concepts, stimulate creative movement, and integrate learning around themes. Books provide students the opportunity to better understand how movement relates to the world. The article looks at specific books, explaining how they can enhance learning. (SM)

Goodlad's domain concept was used to examine content in three physical education programs. Data were collected from documents (ideological and formal domains); interviews (perceived and experiential domains); and observation (operational domain). The ideological domain was found to be the most influential curriculum perspective in the programs.…

Results with 54 pairs of Slovenian students, matched for participation or nonparticipation in intensive sports classes in elementary school, indicate that a combination of flexible organization of academic work and intensive sports classes does not have a negative impact on intellectual, academic, or personality development. (SLD)

One strategy for enhancing cognitive outcomes in physical education (PE) is placing PE learning centers in elementary classrooms. The center should have games (e.g., board games, card games, and puzzles) that were created or modified to focus on PE concepts. The article describes two board games created for use in PE learning centers. (SM)

Describes how the Spectrum Teaching Styles can help physical educators develop an instructional environment that allows learners to meet the national content standards for physical education while providing learners with a quality educational experience. The paper discusses the development and use of the Spectrum and the development of…

Developed and calibrated health-related fitness portfolios for elementary students using the Rasch model, examining advantages and disadvantages. Physical educators graded the portfolios. Rating scores were analyzed using the Rasch model. Results indicate that using Rasch calibration, measurement problems related to conventional practice can be…

Dodgeball, whose object is eliminating opponents by walloping them with rubber balls, brings out some kids' competitive sprit and others' fear of recess. Schools in Utah, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania are banning the game from physical education classes because it promotes bullying and discourages some children from exercising. (MLH)

This special Kids Count report examines the well-being of Arkansas' children, focusing on opportunities for children for arts education, physical education, and recreation; the report also links statistics on education and aesthetics with students' reading scores. The statistical portrait is based on 23 indicators of child well-being in six…

In this article, the authors conducted a bit of action research. As a starting point, they gathered information from physical education majors regarding their knowledge of appropriate practices in elementary physical education as outlined by the Council on Physical Education for Children (COPEC). The authors constructed an 80-item survey from…

Teachers should not allow the current popularity of movement education to alter their approach to physical education without first considering the limitations as well as the merits of movement education. (RC)

This study examined the effects of high, mixed, and low rates of specified sequenced teacher behaviors (specific observation followed by reinforcement) engaged in by elementary school teachers on the academic learning time-physical education (ALT-PE) of students. The high rate was defined as teacher engagement in five per minute or more episodes…

Data from administration of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and the Cornish Test of Motor Planning were taken on 120 children (5-13 years old), 60 of whom had been classified learning disabled (LD). Thirty of the LD Ss had been assigned to adapted physical education. The study sought to do two things: (1) determine whether the…