For many students, PE class can feel like a chore – the same drills, repetitive games, and a focus on competition that may not resonate with everyone. But PE can be much more! It can be a space for joy, discovery, and the development of essential life skills. Here are some ways to transform PE into a subject students genuinely look forward to.
Embrace variety and choice
- Offer a diverse menu: Move beyond traditional team sports. Explore options like dance, yoga, martial arts, or fitness circuits. This caters to different interests, abilities, and learning styles.
- Student choice & ownership: Involve students in activity selection. Brainstorm ideas, conduct polls, or create rotating stations with various activities for them to explore. This fosters a sense of ownership and engagement.
Make it fun and interactive
- Incorporate games & challenges: Introduce games that reinforce skills while keeping things exciting. Gamified learning encourages participation and makes even repetitive exercises enjoyable.
- Technology integration: Utilise fitness trackers, interactive games, or educational videos to add an engaging element and connect with students’ digital world.
Making it relevant
- Connect to real life: Show students how the skills they learn in PE translate into real-life situations. This could involve discussing the benefits of lifelong fitness or demonstrating how various sports use different skills.
- Career connections: Explore careers related to physical activity, from sports medicine to fitness training. This broadens their understanding of the diverse roles that movement plays in society.
- Student-led activities: Allow students to take the lead by organising mini-tournaments, demonstrations, or peer-to-peer instruction. This fosters leadership skills and a sense of ownership.
Using online PE resources to support
The PE Office provides engaging lesson plans and schemes of work that can raise the enjoyment of the PE lessons you deliver. A comprehensive assessment framework and banks of videos of elite athletes performing skills can engage your students to achieve the very best in PE. Take a look at the resources on offer here, email mail@peoffice.co.uk or call 01909 776900.
