Interdisciplinary Teaching Through Physical Education » (1st Edition)

Theresa Purcell Cone has been a physical education and dance teacher at Brunswick Acres Elementary School in Kendall Park, New Jersey, since 1976. She is also a teacher and choreographer at the Princeton Ballet School. A past president of the National Dance Association (NDA), Theresa also authored Teaching Children Dance (Human Kinetics, 1994). She has received numerous awards, including the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Honor Award (1992); NDA's Presidential Citation (1996 and 1997); NDA's National Dance Educator of the Year (1989); and the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Temple University (1995). Theresa earned her master's degree in dance education from Temple.

Peter Werner is a professor in the Department of Physical Education at the University of South Carolina. He has more than 20 years of consulting experience with classroom teachers and physical education teachers on the topic of interdisciplinary learning. He also has written many articles, made several presentations at national conferences, written three books, and conducted inservice workshops on the topics of interdisciplinary learning and academic integration. The author of Teaching Children Gymnastics (Human Kinetics, 1994), Peter earned his PED from Indiana University. In 1996 he received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, from which he received his bachelor's degree.

Stephen L. Cone is an associate professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Rowan University in New Jersey. He has written dozens of articles for physical education publications, and he contributed a chapter on assessment to his wife Theresa's book, Teaching Children Dance. An American Council on Education Fellow in 1993-94, Stephen has held numerous leadership positions in HPERD organizations. He received a Presidential Citation from the National Dance Association in 1995 and the Honor Award from the Eastern District Association of AAHPERD in 1994. He earned his doctorate in motor learning and sports psychology from Texas A&M University.

Amelia Mays Woods is an associate professor of physical education at Indiana State University. She instructs elementary teaching majors on how to teach physical education, focusing on how to integrate movement with other subjects taught in the classroom. Amelia has written many articles on elementary and middle school physical education and has presented at state and national physical education conferences. A member of AAHPERD since 1988, she earned her doctoral degree in instruction and curriculum in physical education from the University of South Carolina.

Interdisciplinary Teaching Through Physical Education includes 20 complete, ready-to-use learning experiences and more than 150 additional ideas for developing learning experiences that integrate physical education with mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, and the arts.

Filled with theory and practical applications, the book makes learning more meaningful, fun, and rewarding for students by bridging the gap between physical education and other subjects. Teachers need to take advantage of opportunities to establish relationships between subject areas, and this book provides everything you need to engage students in active learning across the elementary school curriculum.

Part I presents the fundamentals of interdisciplinary programs. It identifies three interdisciplinary teaching models-connected, shared, and partnership-that you can use as guides for organizing your content, collaborating with others, and creating meaningful activities that impact student learning. You'll also find strategies for implementation, including ideas for getting started, selecting a teaching model, developing lesson plans, assessing interdisciplinary learning using alternative strategies, and building a support network.

Part II explains how to integrate physical education with five subject areas. For each subject area, you'll find a K-6 scope and sequence as well as detailed descriptions of four complete learning experiences. Teachers can use them exactly as they're presented or modify them to meet the unique needs of their students. Each learning experience provides the following information:

• Suggested grade level
• Interdisciplinary teaching model used
• Objectives
• Equipment needed
• Organization (individual, partner, small group, large group)
• Lesson description
• Assessment suggestions
• Key points to keep in mind when observing students' progress
• Ideas for changing the lesson
• Suggestions for teachable moments

You'll also find more than 150 ideas that you can use as starting points for developing your own learning experiences and a listing of valuable references for interdisciplinary teaching.