Riley Turgeon

KIN 526
Proactive Assignment A
September 21, 2020

Orientation Background
The orientation I am creating is designed for general physical education at the elementary
level and for Adapted Physical Education at the elementary level. At the beginning of each
school year, the first couple weeks of class will focus on going over expectations, consequences,
and all of the different routines and managerial tasks of my class. I will have a big poster up on
equipment cart of the class expectations, and we will go over the class expectations to ensure that
the students understand and know them. We will also do this at the beginning of each class
period for the entire school year so the students are constantly reminded of what is expected of
them. During the first class, I will send home a letter to each family introducing myself and the
class expectations and consequences. I will have the students bring back a signed form to ensure
that they went over it with their parents/guardians. During the orientation week, I will remind the
students that physical education is just like the rest of their classes, and it is not just time to mess
around and play with their friends. I’ll inform them that they will get graded on their effort and
behavior, and that the main goal of physical education is to improve their motor skills and fitness
levels, as well as to have fun. I will also go over important safety protocols in my orientation. In
addition to the class expectations, I will inform the students that it is extremely important to wear
safe and comfortable clothing and shoes on the days they have physical education.

Expectations
The following list of expectations will be posted in the locker rooms, in the gym, and on
the equipment cart that I will have with me during each lesson:
1. Respect myself, others, and the equipment
2. Actively listen and follow directions – “One Mic”
3. Keep all body parts to myself
4. Try It On
5. Try my best
6. Have Fun
The reason I will have it posted multiple times is because I want the students to constantly be
reminded of what the expectations are in my class, and I want them to understand that they
are expected to follow them no matter where they are during my class. The first expectation
is the most important to me, and is pretty self-explanatory. When the students are in my
class, they must have the utmost respect for not only themselves, but also for their
classmates, teachers, paraprofessionals, and the equipment. This means acknowledging and
respecting everyone’s differences and ability levels, encouraging others to do their best, and
making sure the equipment is well taken care of so we can continue to use it for a long time.
The second expectation, “actively listen and follow directions,” is also very important to
ensure students safety and to make sure students are paying attention and learning. My cue
for that expectation will be “One Mic,” which is short for one microphone. This is to remind
the students that during instruction time, there is only one mic in the group, therefore only
one person should be speaking at a time, and everyone else should be listening to that person.
I like to use this cue because it is a quick and fun way to ensure that each student is listening
 and giving the speaker their respect and attention. The third expectation is “keep all body
parts to myself.” This expectation is also very important when it comes to safety and
respecting others. The fourth expectation is “try it on.” This is another fun and quick way to
ask my students to try each game or activity that we play, even if they do not want to or are
too scared/nervous to try. The fifth expectation is “try my best,” which is just a short and
simple way to ask the students to always put their best foot forward while in my class. The
sixth and final expectation is “have fun.” This is a great way to finish the expectations on a
positive note and remind the students that the goal is always to have fun, and as long as all
expectations are followed, that will happen.

Consequences
If I want my expectations to be effective, I need to ensure that my consequences are
connected to the behavior the students exhibit. The consequences must also be consistent and
implemented immediately after the behavior occurs, and they must be given to students who
exhibit both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors (Lavay, 2016). Positive consequences will
be given to the students/class as a whole when they follow the class expectations. Individual
positive consequences include high fives, verbal praise/positive feedback, and class dollars that
can be redeemed at the classroom store once a month. Class-wide positive consequences are
made up of a star chart where the class as a whole can earn up to three stars each class period.
Three stars means that all expectations were met by the entire class; two stars means that four of
the six expectations were met by the whole class; one star means that two of the six expectations
were met by the whole class; and zero stars means that one or fewer expectations were met by
the whole class. Each time the students reach a new milestone on the chart (25, 50, 75, 100,
etc.), I will reward the class with free play, or their favorite group game at the end of the next
lesson.
Negative consequences will be given to students when the expectations are not met. The
continuum of negative consequences is as follows:
1. A verbal/non-verbal warning is given to the student, and I remind him/her of the
expectations.
2. The student will be asked to sit out from the activity for a short period of time, where
they will reflect on their behavior. I will have a short discussion with them once they
are ready to come back to the group, and I will ask them what they are going to
change to ensure that the expectation is met.
3. The student will be given a corrective behavior slip that they must fill out, turn in and
discuss with me before the next class period (3rd-5th grade)
4. A phone call and email home to parents/guardians to get parents involved in the
discipline and make them aware of the continued misbehavior. The phone call is to
have a conversation with the parents/guardians, and the email is just to have a paper
trail.

Routines/Managerial Tasks

Entering and Exiting/Attendance

When the class arrives at the playground, they must stay in their lines with their teacher
until they make it to the activity area that I have set up. Once they arrive, I will ask the students
who are quiet and ready for class to jog a lap around the track and the head to a poly spot of their
choosing. On their way to the poly spot, the students will put a check next to their name on the
attendance sheet. Once students are at their poly spots, I we will go over the class expectations
that are on the poster in front of the class. At the end of class, I will ask the students who have
properly put any equipment they were using away to go back to a poly spot for our
closure/checks for understanding. When it is time for their teacher to bring them back to the
classroom, I will call the students who are quiet and ready to return to class to line up with their
teachers.

Initial Activity
The first activity of each class will always be jogging a lap around the track. I have them do this
for a couple of reasons. First, it is a part of their warm up, as it helps to get their bodies moving
and their blood flowing to all of their major muscles. It also serves as a way to get some of their
energy out so they are more focused and ready to listen to instruction.

Equipment Set Up/Distribution/Collection

I will always make sure to have all of my games/activities set up prior to the students
arriving. For any games that require balls, bean bags, frisbees, etc., I will make sure that they are
already distributed at the game areas, and that the proper amount of equipment is there. Each
ball will be placed inside a hula hoop or on a cone so that they do not roll away into other
games/activity areas. Before assigning students to an activity area, I will choose one student per
area to be the “captain” of that area. They will be in charge of distributing/collecting the
equipment in their area at the beginning and end of the session. Any time that I am giving
instruction, I will have the students put the equipment down so they are not distracted and can
actively listen.

Signals
I will use a variety of call and response signals as attention getters for my students. Some
examples are clapping in different beats/patterns and having the students imitate the beat. I will
also use different call and responses for my students. For example, I will say, “one, two, three,
eyes on me” and the students will all say “one, two, eyes on you!” Another call and response I
use is “Macaroni and Cheese” and the students all say “Everybody freeze!” My favorite attention
getter to use is saying “If you can hear my voice, touch your…” and I give them different body
parts to touch. I continue this until I see that everyone is following along with the instructions. I
like this one because it is a great way to get the class’s attention in a fun way, and also teach
them anatomy at the same time.
I also use my whistle for different signals as well. Whenever I blow my whistle twice, the
students know that means to start an activity. When I blow my whistle three times, they know to
freeze and take a knee. If anyone ever forgets, I make sure to tell them “Three, take a knee!”
When I blow my whistle continuously, that means its time to clean up the activity area and give
the equipment to the captain, and wait to be called back to the poly spots.

Transitions
I also have some fun and simple ways to have my children safely transition from game to
game, or from one area to another. After blowing my whistle three times for them to take a knee,
I will instruct them to rotate or move to a new area by using different locomotor skills, or by
walking like different animals. It is a fun way to work on locomotor skills or to let the kids be
creative and get some extra energy out, and it ensures that the students are not running or
pushing their peers while transitioning.

Organizing Partners, Groups, or Teams

There are many fun and simple ways to organize students into pairs and groups. One way
is a whistle mixer. However many times I blow my whistle, the students have to get into groups
of that number. I will do this for multiple rounds until I have the students in correctly sized
groups. Another strategy I like to use is to have students pair up based on shoe/shirt color, birth
month, favorite color, etc. These are both quick and efficient ways to get students into
pairs/groups randomly, so that they are with different peers each time.

Closure/Checking for Understanding

At the end of each class period, I will have the students return to the poly spots for the
closure. I will use this time to check for the students’ understanding of what we learned in that
lesson. I will also use that time to go over the class expectations and see how many stars the class
earned as a whole that day.

Conclusion
Although I am not implementing this orientation program currently, I have used all of
these strategies and procedures at some point in my teaching career, and they have all been
effective and successful. I firmly believe that spending the extra time going over expectation and
consequences and practicing all of the different routines and managerial tasks is absolutely
necessary to running a successful physical education program. The first year I worked in an
elementary school, I did not spend the time to proactively work on expectations and routines, and
I had a really hard time with classroom management. I ended up having to stop my instruction in
the middle of the school year to implement these strategies, which took longer than it should
have and was much harder than it needed to be. Planning and executing a proper orientation into
your physical education program is just as important as the content and curriculum that you are
teaching throughout the school year. By being proactive, I am able to set my students up to be as
successful as they can possibly be in my class.
 References

Lavay, B., French, R. and Henderson, H., 2016. Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity Settings.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
 Corrective Behavior Slip

NAME:____________________________________________DATE:____________________

What are our 6 classroom expectations?

Please name and explain the class expectation(s) that you did not follow.

What will you do differently in the future to ensure that you do follow the expectation(s)?