Feb 18th lab class

Today the school had something going on so we didn't get to have lab with the kids. Instead we went to D305 and learned some games that we could use with the students next class. My group had to come up with our own game to share with the class and we decided to teach chuck the chicken. Having us teach our peers i feel that it helped us get used to talking to a whole group at once. It will be different when teaching younger students but it definitely gave us an idea of what its like. By observing other students teach i also learned new ways in which to help give directions.

Lab Day 1

Day one at St. Marys was definitely an experience. The kids were really wound up when we got there and really wanted to play. The group that i dealt with most was the 2nd grade age group. We started off with some tag games to get the kids to start moving around. At first everyone was involved but after sometime a few of the students got bored with the activities we were doing and then sat out. Next we went down to the cafeteria for their snack. During snack time i play scrabble with Colin and Autumn. The kids just wanted to spell words so i would help them find the letters in the box so they could spell. After a while autumn got sick of scrabble and wanted to play something else. We then went and play go fish with another student named Luke. We played one or two hands and then time was up and we went back upstairs. Once upstairs it was almost a free for all. The students all went off and played whatever they felt like with some of the Cortland students. I played Pacman tag with Luke. The idea of the game was to stay on the lines of the basketball court and not get tagged by the Pacman, or tagger. I found it pretty funny because the kids would hop off the line if they were about to be tagged. Overall today's lab definitely helped me prepare for what i will be facing every lab class.

Should Dodgeball Be Taught In P.E.

Dodgeball is a sport that is widely known by students across the country. It has become a very controversial activity due to many of the negative affects of the sport. Dodgeball is an elimination game in which humans are the targets. When one is hit, they are out for the game. The issue with this is the fact that in a physical education class all students should be involved in order to be active. This elimination in the game causes students from participating if they are hit and become out. Another problem with dodgeball is that in some cases the "weaker" students may be picked on by the more "skilled" students. This is a problem because the students that require the most work are most likely out of the game first. By being out of the game first these students may get feelings of not being as capable as the other students which might lead to them not wanting to participate in the activity again. Although there some negatives to dodgeball there are also positives as well. Dodgeball is an activity which forces students to be active by using their balance, flexibility, spacial awareness, and throwing abilities. To avoid the negatives of dodgeball, one can create an alternative or variation to the game. One variation could be using targets set up between two teams on opposite sides of the gym. The object of the game is to be the team who hits the most targets. This variation can be used for younger ages so that everyone can be involved while working on the some of the same skills that are used in actual dodgeball. As the students grow older and become more mature they may be able to handle using human targets. In order to involve everyone the game must be adjusted in order to increase the participation. Dodgeball can be used in the classroom as long as changes are made from the stereotypical game to get rid of the negatives consequences.