Planning and Preparation Best Practices for Phys Ed
A couple of weeks ago I shared the news about the updated version of OPEN Phys Ed. Just because the site has been redesigned, that doesn’t mean your favorite older resources have gone away. As a case in point, take a look at the Tools for Planning & Preparation Best Practices page. Tools for Planning […]
OPEN Phys Ed Expands With an Updated Website
OPEN Phys Ed is a resource that I’ve highlighted a bunch of times over the years. It’s the website I’d be visiting every week if I was a physical education teacher. In fact, I like it so much I wore their t-shirt in my latest video about Strava. This morning I got an email from […]
Physical Education Activities for Pi Day
Pi Day is just one week away (as is the start of my new course). In recent years I’ve shared some video lessons about Pi Day and some hands-on Pi Day lesson ideas. This year I’d like to highlight some physical education activities for Pi Day. OPEN Phys Ed offers five free physical education lesson […]
Tools for Teaching Adventure – A New OPEN Phys Ed Resource
OPEN Phys ED is one of my favorite websites because they offer great lesson plans and other resources for getting kids active in more than just the traditional gym class activities of years gone by. OPEN Phys Ed emphasizes providing all students with ways to feel engaged and empowered in physical education classes. OPEN Phys […]
“Dad, It’s Still Autumn” – Corrections from My Daughters
Those of you who have been following my blog with regularity over the last couple of years have probably seen my informal series of posts titled Questions from My Daughters. Those posts have been about answering the questions that my daughters (now ages five and six) ask me. Questions like “what do worms eat?” and […]
Free Winter-themed Physical Education Lesson Plans
As I wrote at the start of this school year, OPEN Phys Ed is the resource that would be at the top of my bookmarks if I was a physical education teacher. One of the many things that I appreciate about OPEN Phys Ed is that there is an emphasis on lesson plans and games […]
Halloween-themed Physical Education Lesson Plans
Halloween is less than two weeks away. I don’t know about your students and children, but mine are very excited about it! That’s why I was excited to get an email from OPEN Phys Ed earlier this week that linked to more than a dozen Halloween-themed lesson plans for physical education classes. The collection is […]
Physical Education With a Halloween Theme
Justin Cahill runs a great blog called Keeping Kids in Motion. One of the regular features of his blog is a monthly thematic challenge. Those challenges are accompanied by printable calendars and handouts for teachers. The challenges for this month are Trick or Treat, Move Your Feet, The Pumpkin Dice Latte Challenge, and The Fitness Spooktacle. Trick […]
Free Webinar – Believe In You Student Leadership Program
Last spring I wrote about OPEN’s Believe In You Empowerment Program and its accompanying digital journals for students. Building upon the success of that program, OPEN and Varsity Brands has launched a new initiative called the Believe In You Student Leadership Program. The Believe In You Student Leadership Program is a twenty week program designed […]
Great Resources for Family Phys Ed Week
As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’m a big fan of OPEN Phys ED because they offer great lesson plans and other resources for getting kids active in more than just the traditional gym class activities that you and I did in school decades ago. OPEN Phys Ed seems to emphasize giving kids ways […]
Rhythm Fit – New Lesson Plans from OPEN Phys Ed
Last spring I highlighted OPEN Phys Ed’s National Field Day activities and lesson plans. For the new school year OPEN has published a new collection of lesson plans, activities, and videos for K-8 students. The new collection is called Rhythm Fit. You can access all of the Rhythm Fit resources right now with a free […]
A Whole Bunch of Resources for Learning About the Tour de France
The Tour de France begins tomorrow. Watching the race every morning for three weeks is one of the things I look forward to every summer. I also find that it provides some neat opportunities for science, health, and physical education lessons. Here are some of my go-to resources for teaching and learning about the Tour […]
Digital Empowerment Journals for Students
A few weeks ago I shared a collection of resources for fun physical education activities. That collection featured free resources for National Field Day organized by OPEN PhysEd. OPEN is a public service funded by Varsity Brands who also offers some excellent free resources for teachers and students. One of those resources is a program called […]
A Huge Collection of Resources for Fun Phys Ed Activities
OPEN Phys Ed is an organization that hosts tons of great resources for physical education teachers. Additionally, OPEN organizes initiatives to encourage students to participate in physical education activities. One of those initiatives is National Field Day. OPEN National Field Day is an initiative that runs through May and June. It has a social media […]
21 Activities and Lessons That Have a Winter Theme
Today is the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere. To mark the start of winter I’ve put together a list of twenty-one activities and lessons that have a winter theme. Snowy Outdoor ActivitiesI enjoy winter and my kids do too. We like to sled, ski, snowshoe, and just play outside in the snow. […]
My Updated List of Halloween-themed Activities and Resources
Halloween is just a couple of weeks away. My daughters are getting excited to wear their costumes (they’re going to be Winnie the Pooh and Tigger). Their excitement reminded me that it’s time for me to publish my annual list of Halloween-themed lesson activities and resources. This year’s list includes some of my old favorites […]
Plan Safe Routes for World Bicycle Day
Today is World Bicycle Day! By the time most of you read this I’ll be on my way to Kansas to participate in Unbound Gravel 200, a 200 mile bike race across gravel roads around Emporia, Kansas. You don’t have to punish yourself like I am this weekend to enjoy riding a bicycle. All you […]
Seven Apps and Sites to Encourage Healthy Diet and Exercise Habits
It’s that time of year when many of us have healthy eating and exercise on our minds. Even if you’re a regular exerciser like me, the December can be a tricky time to stick to good eating and exercise habits. The following apps and sites might help you get back on track. And if you […]
Get the Wiggles Out With Sworkit Kids
Sworkit Kids is a free app that I’ve been using and recommending for a few years. It provides prompts for one to five minute physical activities that kids can do in their classrooms or at home relatively small spaces. These activities are great for short brain breaks or to “get the wiggles out” during a […]
The Science of Cycling and the Tour de France
The Tour de France begins tomorrow, about two months after it was scheduled to begin. As an avid cyclist I enjoy watching it and I find that it provides some neat opportunities for science, health, and physical education lessons. Here are some of my go-to resources for teaching and learning about the Tour de France. […]
How to Collect and Organize Images in Google Classroom
A friend of mine who teaches phys ed had the idea to have his students submit pictures as evidence of doing phys ed activities at home. He asked me for advice on how to best collect and organize those pictures. I recommended posting the assignment in Google Classroom and collecting the images that way. In […]
A Halloween-themed Physical Education Program
In last week’s episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast I mentioned a great blog for physical education teachers. That blog is called Keeping Kids in Motion and it is written by Justin Cahill. One of the free resources available on his blog is Fitness is Spooktacular. Fitness is Spooktacular is a kids fitness challenge for […]
TeachPhysEd- A Great Library of Videos Demonstrating Phys Ed Lessons
TeachPhysEd is a website and YouTube channel maintained by Coach Benjamin Pirillo. On his YouTube channel Coach Pirillo demonstrates and explains activities for physical education teachers to use in their classrooms. I’ve watched half a dozen of the videos and have been impressed by his explanations of the rationale for the formatting of the activities […]
Dozens of Apps for Physical Education
Glide is in my top five favorite new tools in 2019. Glide makes it incredibly easy for anyone who can make a spreadsheet to make a mobile app. We had fun using at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp and many other people have shared their apps with me over the last few months. Perhaps […]
Plan Safe Running, Walking, and Biking Routes With Strava
Strava is an app that I use to record data about my bike rides and runs. There is a social component to Strava that lets you follow your friends and give them “kudos” for completing a ride or run too. You can use Strava without planning a route, but if you’re going to a new […]
Resources for Learning About the Tour de France and Science of Cycling
One of these two people has won a Tour de France Green Jersey. The Tour de France starts this coming Saturday. The race always ends in Paris, but it starts in a different place and takes a different route every year. This year’s course starts in Belgium. You can see the whole course here on […]
A Good and Free Summer Activity for Rainy Days
This afternoon I was talking with my childcare provider about activities for kids to do on rainy summer days. One of the things that I mentioned was going bowling. Doing that reminded me of a free program that I’ve been sharing almost every year since 2012 and has been running for a dozen years. That […]
How to Create an Activity Tracker With Google Forms & Sheets
Last week I gave a presentation at the MACUL Conference titled 5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons. One of the topics within that presentation is the idea of tracking time spent exercising or playing outside. One fairly easy way to do that is to create a Google Form that students or their parents […]
Six Educational Activities That Have a Super Bowl Theme
The Super Bowl is this weekend. My prediction is that the Patriots will win. I’m guessing that my American readers have a student or two who has an interest in the game too. Try one of the following resources to turn your students’ enthusiasm for the Super Bowl into a fun lesson. NBC’s Science of […]
Take Your Class On a NFL Virtual Field Trip
The Super Bowl is happening this weekend. If your students have an interest in football, you might be interested in a virtual field trip that the NFL and Discovery Education are hosting tomorrow. NFL Play 60 Kids Day Live is happening tomorrow at 12pm Eastern Time. The free virtual event will take kids on a […]
Common Craft Offers a Great Guide to Understanding the World Cup
Like many Americans, I don’t really understand soccer so when the World Cup rolls around every four years I have to refresh my memory about the game. Fortunately for me, as they did four years ago, Common Craft has released an updated guide to understanding the World Cup. Common Craft’s Soccer Guide was made for […]
To Geography and Beyond With Google Maps & Earth
I loved Google Earth since the first time I used it. And I have enjoyed teaching it to many teachers over the last decade. That’s why I’m excited to offer To Geography and Beyond With Google Maps & Earth. This course will meet on three Thursday afternoons starting on November 30th. In addition to social […]
Every Kid in a Park – Free Admission to National Parks
In yesterday’s week-in-review post I mentioned that I hope my daughter grows up to enjoy the great outdoors as much as I do. Then almost as if she was reading my mind, my sister tipped me off to a U.S. National Parks program called Every Kid in a Park. The program offers free admission to […]
10 Apps & Sites for Promoting Healthy Eating and Fitness
In all of my Best of the Web presentations I try to present resources for a wide variety of classroom settings and subject areas. Health and physical education resources are always included because of my personal interest in the field as well as its importance in giving students lifelong skills. Here are ten of my […]
How Igloos Can Keep You Warm – And Winter Phys Ed Activities
How an Igloo Keeps You Warm is a new video from It’s Okay To Be Smart. The video does a great job of explaining how an igloo provides insulation and stays relatively warm when people are inside it. The video also explains the engineering concepts used in the creation of a strong and warm igloo. […]
5 Tools to Help Keep Your Students and Yourself Active & Healthy
The new school year always feels like a new calendar year to me as many students and teachers have “resolutions” for the new school year. If one of your resolutions for the new school year is to keep yourself or your students active and healthy, the following free resources are for you. GoNoodle is a free […]
Keep Kids Active With GoNoodle or Sworkit Kids
GoNoodle is a free service that is designed to promote physical fitness in a fun environment. GoNoodle features tons of free videos that lead students in short, 2-5 minutes, exercises. These are fun exercises like dancing that can be done in your classroom or at home with parents. GoNoodle provides an online environment in which […]
Sugar Scanner Shows You How Much Sugar You’re Consuming
Over the years I’ve shared a bunch of resources addressing the topic of sugar consumption. Some of those resources include a video about why we crave sugar, how sugar affects the human body, and how much sugar is present in commonly consumed beverages. Last night the developer of another resource on the topic of sugar […]
How to Create a Biking or Walking Route Map in Google Maps
On Saturday morning I rode in a charity bike ride in my community. That ride was well mapped and planned thanks in part to Google Maps. If you want to create a biking route map or walking route map, follow the steps that I outline in the video embedded below. Applications for Education Warm weather […]
MoveIt – A Chrome Extension to Keep You Active
MoveIt is a free Chrome extension that aims to help you avoid sitting in front of your computer for too long. At intervals of your choosing MoveIt will prompt you to get up and complete a short exercise. You can set the intervals to be as frequent as every five minutes or as infrequent as […]
10 Apps, Sites, and Lessons for Promoting Health and Fitness
In all of my Best of the Web presentations I try to present resources for a wide variety of classroom settings and subject areas. Health and physical education resources are always included because of my personal interest in the field as well as its importance in giving students lifelong skills. Here are ten of my […]
Lots of Lessons About Winter Weather
Conditions at my house on Tuesday. A large winter storm is in the forecast for later this week in the northeastern United States. If you like snow, this is a great forecast for you. If you hate snow, the snow is still coming. I subscribe to the philosophy that you should make the most out […]