i

Teaching Physical Education through

Cooperative Games

Marlena Kaiser & Megan Sherrick

California State University Monterey Bay

Ls 400

December 17, 2009

Dr. Scott Waltz

 Kaiser, Sherrick 2

Table of Contents

Backstory…………………………………………………………………………………2

Other Interventions……………………………………………………………………….5

Community Partner………………………………………………………………………13

Significance………………………………………………………………………………15

Assessment……………………………………………………………………………….17

Project Plans……………………………………………………………………………...19

Results……………………………………………………………………………………21
 Kaiser, Sherrick 3

Backstory
Growing up I (Megan) was constantly finding myself in school environments

where there was nonstop physical activity. Many of our history, math, and science

lessons involved physical activity. We did things such as going on the “Oregon Trail”

which meant that all of the fifth graders spent the entire school day walking through the

undeveloped land behind the elementary school while pushing shopping carts that were

decorated as covered wagons and dressed as pioneers. While on the trail we crossed

“rivers” (really a small creek that was in one of the fields) traveled through rainstorms

(which was really parents who sprayed us with hoses as we walked past the designated

houses) and conquered traitorous terrain (Taking a shopping cart off pavement is very

treacherous). When we made it to “Oregon” the day ended in a bar-b-q and hoedown

where all the fifth graders were required to square dance and line dance. This was by far

the most exciting and memorable activity of my entire school career (I remember more of

that day than my high school graduation).

It is through this and many other memorable classroom experiences I was able to

gain a stronger sense of community with my classmates, and from that found myself to be

more confident in school, as well as a better team member when it came to working in

groups. During our countless activities my classmates and I were never working alone,

and always involved in something that needed problem solving. During these days there

was never a day where we, as students, sat behind a desk for the entire day, we were

constantly outside moving about. As a student, I never questioned why we had to go

outside, whether it was for P.E. or a different type of lesson, I loved that I got to learn

outside. It is these lessons where I got to be active that gave me a love for learning.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 4

I never thought that these were unique experiences; I thought every child would

have had similar ones. It was not until I got to college and began taking my Liberal

Studies courses that I learned that my education was an exception. Then, once I began

completing my Service Learning and working in a classroom I saw the struggles teachers

are going through to get their students active. It was here that I realized how lucky I was

to have gotten the education that I did, because otherwise I know that I would have never

learned to enjoy school. Through this I have realized that I want to help children not only

have the ability to participate in the activity that they have been missing out on, but I also

want to try help students gain the same strong social skills that I was able to gain through

activity.

Marlena Kaiser, my capstone partner, was drawn to the idea of finding effective

ways of getting students involved in physical education from a different direction. While

my interest was sparked because of what had gone on in my days in elementary school,

Marlena’s interest was sparked because of what she saw in today’s elementary schools.

Here is her story: It took a while to ponder what I, Marlena, wanted to do for my capstone

project. I mulled over many possible topics because I was interested in quite a few

aspects of the teaching field. I finally thought of a topic and it sparked my curiosity more

than the other possible ones.

Last semester, spring 2008, I was in Kinesiology 374 and the lab. In this class we

were sent by Marcia Karwas to McKinnon Elementary School in Salinas—located in

Santa Rita Union School District—to do Physical Education with the students because

they did have a PE program. I found it disturbing that the children did not have any form
 Kaiser, Sherrick 5

of basic PE. Californians know—especially those in the education field—the budget

crisis has cut funding for many districts and PE has been one of the subjects to be left out.

We provided the closest activity that the children had to any kind of movement

and Physical Education and we were only there for 45 minutes every Thursday for 8

weeks. First we started with the 5th graders and then had the 3rd graders. These children

did not have a gym to be physically active in either so we completed exercising and

movement games outside in the cold and sometimes in the rain so whatever lesson plans

we had for the students we had to be creative. At the conclusion of the semester it was

apparent to me that the McKinnon students had developed a stronger sense of

camaraderie and community with one another.

As many people in the academia world know, the No Child Left Behind Act has

made PE a low priority as academics such as language arts and math have taken

precedence. PE and sports programs at schools have been cut from the schools’ itinerary

and have hurt the students’ health. For our capstone, we would like to explore innovative

and creative ways to assist teachers in effectively utilizing what little time they have with

their students for Physical Education.

 Kaiser, Sherrick 6

Nature of the problem

Many elementary school teachers today have found themselves facing a serious

dilemma, a lack of ready to use curriculum for Physical Education. Since the institution

of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) there has been an aggressive push towards most

class time being spend on Math and Language Arts. This push is because students are

now required to participate in a series of standardized tests (STAR tests). The educational

reform called for by NCLB has left little hope for teachers to do their jobs effectively.

Teachers have simply become instruments of NCLB regulations that spit out the

information that they are told to and simply regurgitate to students the information they

required to know for a test at the end of the year (C. Dwyer, 2005). All subjects taught in

elementary school have also been given a set of standards that the curriculum must

successfully address, is these standards that determine what is included in the STAR

tests. There is one subject that is addressed in the standards that is not tested, Physical

Education. Since more and more pressure is being placed upon teachers to meet NCLB

mandates less time is being left for Physical Education (Smith & Lounsbery, 2009)

Since Physical Education is not a tested subject many feel that the standards do

not matter. Many teachers have gotten to the point where they are simply too warn out to

even teach physical education. Greta Dobie, a first grade teacher at Martin Luther King

Jr. School in Seaside, CA, expressed that due to the stresses of adhering to the standards

set by NCLB at the end of the day the last thing they have energy for is creating a

curriculum for a subject that is seen by the government as unimportant (personal

communication, September 25, 2009). Since Physical Education is not being tested it is

not seen as important and is thus falling lower and lower on a teacher’s priority list
 Kaiser, Sherrick 7

(Kaphingst, French, & Story, 2006). NCLB is cutting the time these, and most other

teachers, have to create a curriculum for Physical Education.

Another issue that arises from the curriculum aspect is that for every other subject

teachers are spoon fed a curriculum for a subject and required to follow it to a tee. Many

teachers have found ways to get their children active through an integrated curriculum,

which involves combining multiple subjects into one lesson. These educators feel that

this form of teaching addresses a wider array of learners (Hall, 2007). However many

schools in California have found themselves struggling with effectively teaching the state

mandated curriculum, let alone being able to integrate activity into those lessons.

Especially at King School, which is considered a low performing school and thus is

closely monitored by state officials to ensure that the school is attempting to raise its

Academic Performance Index (API). These officials walk around with their clipboards

checking off everything the school is doing, and if something does not perfectly match to

the state mandated curriculum the teachers are questioned about why they have chosen to

teach that specific way. This has made it hard for teachers to even try and integrate an

active curriculum into their classrooms.

Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between physical activity and

higher test scores (Stevens, Stevenson, & Lochbaum, 2008). While this study did not

focus on a structured Physical Education curriculum, the point of PE classes is to get

children active. If children are being active and can thus raise their test scores, why are

we stripping them of this opportunity? It has also been found that when students are

exposed to Physical Education in a school setting they are not only getting the chance to

be active, but also to effectively develop pro-social behaviors. As long as the activities
 Kaiser, Sherrick 8

presented to the students include behaviors such as cooperation, team play, self-control,

good sportsman ship, and critical thinking, students will be exposed to an environment

that will help foster these skills. These skills have been shown to appear in a classroom

setting during academic lessons (Eldar & Ayvazo, 2009). These skills are beneficial not

only for school children, but will also be greatly useful as these students travel through

life. Also with the acquisition of these skills the students will have more confidence in

working with one another, thus creating a stronger community within the classroom.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 9

Other Interventions

Many teachers understand the importance in teaching P.E. to their students on a

regular basis, however they feel intimidated by the mere thought of teaching the subject,

so they simply don’t teach it. In Australia teachers at eight different elementary schools

felt this same wryness when it came to their own teaching abilities. These teachers were

given cooperative games curriculum for teaching Physical Education to their elementary

age students. As far as this curriculum was concerned the teachers themselves did not feel

completely comfortable in teaching the lessons, and thus did not feel that they were fully

successful; however this experiment was not a failure. While the teachers my not have

felt success they did see that their students had improved their basic motor skills,

improved their self-esteem, interpersonal skills, and also improved their attitudes towards

physical activity. This study also found a direct correlation between a teacher’s positive

attitude towards teaching P.E. and student’s perceived success in the activity (Morgan &

Hansen, 2008). Just by knowing that their students were benefiting from this curriculum

the teachers realized that it was not their insecurities that mattered, it is the benefits the

students will gain from the experience that matters.

The idea of children improving or learning pro-social behaviors through Physical

Education is not a new philosophy. For decades educational researchers have been

studying the effectiveness of the development of pro-social behaviors through a physical

education curriculum rich in cooperative games, and cooperative learning. Pro-social

behaviors include: getting along with others, respect for peers, positive effective

communication, offering encouragement, appreciation for team members, compromising,

cooperation, problem solving, and critical thinking (Eldar & Ayvazo, 2009). All of these
 Kaiser, Sherrick 10

traits help students be constructive members in the classroom community. The

environment created through physical education activities and games provides a place

where students can individually test these behaviors so the appropriate action(s) for the

behavior is developed.

Many different studies have shown that cooperative learning is one of the most

effective ways of teaching Physical Education. When students participate in Physical

Education that has a curriculum it has been shown that students will show an

improvement in their pro-social skill (Solomon, 2007). Effective implementations of

cooperative learning activities by a teacher are achieved by addressing, at the start of the

planning process, what the objectives of the game/activity are. Teachers must choose a

game that addresses the pro-social behaviors that the teacher wants the students to

develop (Dyson & Rubin, 2003). One must keep in mind that just because the game calls

for teams it does not, however, mean that the game will foster cooperation skills.

Cooperative learning encourages positive independence through having students

work in groups that have tasks or roles that correlate with one another. These tasks are

what create a cohesive and effective team among the students. The roles students receive

help students become accountable for their actions during the activity (Dyson & Rubin,

2003). Cooperative learning forces students to not only be team players but also makes

them accountable for their individual participation, and fosters positive social interaction

skills.

Since cooperative learning uses small groups and focuses on positive interactions

between students. Researchers have found that when implementing the cooperative

learning style into a curriculum it is most successful when the students start out in pairs.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 11

This helps students to adjust quicker when they begin to work in larger groups (Dyson &

Grineski, 2001). A study conducted by Polvi & Telama also showed that these pro-social

skills were better developed when the students were working in groups or pairs; also it

was found that the students were more successful in the acquisition of these skills when

they did not choose their own groups (2000). This forced children to work with people

other than their “best friend.” This new partnership put students into a somewhat

unfamiliar situation, thus forcing them to learn how to work with new people. The more

people a child is required to work with the more comfortable they become with working

in groups, and better they are at cooperating with others.

In today’s elementary school classrooms students are rarely given the opportunity

to assist in their own learning. One study took cooperative learning and added the teacher

into the idea of cooperating with the students. In 1997, Solomon looked at the affects of

student input on P.E. lessons and activities. When students were asked to help modify or

develop an activity for the P.E. lesson they begin feel that they are appreciated members

of the classroom community. The sense of appreciation the students felt helped them

become more motivated. This involvement in the activity also led the students to become

more independent. The next step was students were given the opportunity for self-

direction, this showed researchers that the students were more likely to continue using the

pro-social behaviors that they had developed. These actions in the classroom help

students gain a stronger sense of ownership over the pro-social skills they have acquired

(Solomon, 1997). For once students have gotten the opportunity to develop these social

skills with little adult intervention, rather than simply having an adult figure tell that that

this is how they are expected to act.

 Kaiser, Sherrick 12

The ability of the student to be involved in the planning and execution of his/her

physical education lesson/activity is also addressed in Polvi & Telama’s study. Polvi &

Telama found that when students participate in cooperative learning through games they

will develop stronger pro-social behaviors when the teacher is only moderately involved

in the activity. It was seen that in this case students had to rely mostly on one another to

successfully complete the game as well as to problem-solve when an issue arose (2000).

Since students are left to complete the game on their own they feel that the teacher trusts

them to effectively achieve the tasks asked of the. This feeling of trust helps foster the

student’s feeling of independence, thus leaving the students with a stronger sense of

confidence when it comes to working on their own or with groups in the classroom.

The benefits of developing stronger pro-social behaviors through cooperative

learning in P.E. have also been shown to appear outside of the school setting.

Observational studies have shown that children who participate in cooperative games in

the classroom increase the amount of spontaneous cooperative behavior they participate

in the classroom and on the playground and during free times. Young students who

participate in cooperative games are more likely to share things such as candy and toys

with other students and friends (Orlick, 1981). This study was preformed on Kindergarten

students, however if a child learns how to share and is willing to share at a young age

they will be more likely to share as they grow.

Strengthening a student’s pro-social behaviors through physical education is an

effective way of teaching these skills, especially if the alternative way of teaching is

simply telling a student how they are supposed to act, then disciplining them when they

do not act as expected. Providing students the tools to foster their own pro-social
 Kaiser, Sherrick 13

development provides the student a greater sense of responsibility for his/her own

actions.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 14

Community Partner
As we began looking for a community we immediately thought of Greta Dobie

who had worked with service learners in previous semesters. Greta, a graduate from

California State University Monterey Bay and now a teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. K-

8 School in Seaside, California, teaches a combined class encompassing kindergarten and

first graders—in total Greta has 31 students in her classroom. As a teacher, Greta feels

immense pressure to use what she calls “spoon fed curriculum” which includes Language

Arts, Math and English Learning Development. The “spoon fed curriculum” laid in place

from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) must be accurately followed with out exception

because the school is under district supervision as the students’ test scores are not

improving enough for the school to raise their Average Performance Index (API) scores.

When we asked Greta about how her class fulfills their Physical Education

requirements she responded by saying that the teachers are burnt out and instead of doing

organized activities the teachers tell the students to go outside and have recess or run a

lap. The little time given for the students to be active is used for the teachers to take their

much needed only break of the day. The students have 20 minutes a day 4 days a week

for PE; however, the students are not given any organized activities to do in that time

frame which is caused by the teachers feeling worn out from more pressure towards

completing academic standards that the students are tested on than PE which the students

are not tested on.

As we talked with Greta we found out what she needs and what she wants to help

address the issue of teachers needing help for organized PE in spite of feeling tide down

with “spoon fed curriculum” and district pressure on their backs to raise the school’s API
 Kaiser, Sherrick 15

scores. Greta asked us to put together 5-10 PE activities that her combined class could do

together at the same time that includes: problem solving, interaction with others, social

skills, and cooperative learning. For ease of use and time efficiency, Greta also requested

that these activities could be done with little equipment or equipment that they already

have to keep cost and maintenance low as well.

In working together with Greta on this project our goal is to help teachers give

their students quality Physical Education. We also hope to ease the feeling that teaching

quality Physical Education is a difficult or impossible task because of the pressure from

NCLB standards, the time frame, raising API scores, and from the district supervisors

threatening to install completely new faculty. In return, we will benefit from these efforts

of working with a community partner because we will be teachers someday facing the

same challenges that they are today.

 Kaiser, Sherrick 16

Significance

Through out our careers here at CSUMB we, as Liberal Studies students, have

constantly been asked to think about how we can change the world of education for the

better. The many challenges that are presented to teachers by NCLB are what have

pushed for the lack of Physical Education in elementary schools. It is this lack of activity,

and thus the limited opportunities students get to further develop their pro-social skills,

that we wish to address and change with this capstone project. While the ideal solution to

this problem would be new legislation, and could have been a possible capstone idea, we

feel that our efforts would be better served developing something for the teachers to use.

This eagerness to specifically help teachers stemmed from the idea that we have been

exposed to many different styles of teaching that are not addressed in public education.

Since these different philosophies are fresh in our minds we can more easily pull from

them in order to accomplish our goal of effective Physical Education.

Our main goal for our capstone project is getting students to be more active

during the school day through Physical Education. This lead us to the creation of a ready

to use, standards based, set of activities. This project will make the teacher’s work

experience easier and more efficient in terms of teaching PE and time; however, the

students will receive benefits, aside from more physical activity, through this project. The

activities that will be used will focus on assisting children in further developing positive

social skills. These skills include, but are not limited to, cooperation, critical thinking,

good sportsmanship, encouragement, and sharing. The fostering of these skills do not all

require a child to be moving, however the use of games is a very effective and efficient

way to address all of these skills at one time, and it promotes students to be physically
 Kaiser, Sherrick 17

active. This process of teaching students these certain skills makes them feel that they are

developing them all on their own, instead of the teacher simply telling them how to act.

When students recognize their own agency by feeling that they are the ones in charge of

their own development of these skills they are more likely to take responsibility for them,

and therefore use them.

This project brings a unique aspect to the conversation because those who are

pushing for and researching cooperative learning in Physical Education are not making

their curriculum accessible to those interested in the topic. The whole point of what we

are doing is not only to bring awareness to the issue, but also to present our curriculum to

educators who feel they will use and benefit from our work. As future teachers it is

necessary for us to understand that if a resource is beneficial to us it is beneficial to other

teachers as well, and as the saying goes “sharing is caring.”

 Kaiser, Sherrick 18

Assessment

Our assessment method is to have a discussion; based on broad interview

questions, with the classroom teacher, Greta Dobie, to see what she feels is working for

her students and what is not. We also plan on talking with the three students that Greta

has observed as having benefited the most from the P.E. games, as far as pro-social skills

are concerned, as well as the three students that she has observed that have benefited the

least from these games.

If we simply go and observe the students during their twenty-minute P.E. time we

do not have sufficient time to see if our project is effective. However, since Greta

interacts with her students for an average of seven hours per day, five days a week, she is

best suited to inform us as to who is getting the most out of these P.E. games and who is

not. This dialogue with Greta will give us the information needed to see whether or not

what we have presented to her and her students is actually beneficial when implemented.

In our second step, starting a discussion with the specified students, we feel that we will

gain a sense of what is engaging them and what is not. If one of the students who is

identified as not benefiting from the games tells us that he/she doesn’t like them because

they all have running, we can then see one way to engage more students based on student

feedback (granted we would not eliminate running altogether, rather try to include more

games that do not require running). This is just another way to foster the children’s

feeling of being in charge of their own pro-social development.

As far as the future of the project is concerned by adding new games to engage

more students, or deleting games that are not effective we will be increasing and refining

the amount of ready to use P.E. games available to Greta and her fellow
 Kaiser, Sherrick 19

Kindergarten/First Grade teachers. Not every student is the same, nor is every class, so

with the addition of more, diverse and effective games Greta will be able to choose the

most successful games for her students each year.

 Kaiser, Sherrick 20

Project Plans

Project Description

Through this project we hope to not only get children more active during Physical

Education periods, but we also want to foster the student’s pro-social development

through appropriately chosen P.E. games. This project is set up to help ease the stress a

teacher feels in relation to creating an effective physical education curriculum. Through

easing a teacher’s stress and anxiety we hope to help the teacher come to feel that P.E. is

not a low priority subject, and can be fun to teach and a great way to engage with

students.

Deliverables

We will create a set of 11 cooperative P.E. games appropriate for children in both

Kindergarten and First Grade. These games are intended to not only get the students

active and moving, but each game also meets at least four California Physical Education

standards for both kindergarten and first grade. Each of these games were chosen because

they are not only appropriate for ages 4-7, but also can be played at one time with a large

class (Greta Dobie’s class has 31 students). These games are also appropriate for a twenty

minute P.E. period, and require little to no extra equipment, to help limit prep time for the

teacher.

We will create reference cards for each game. These cards will include the title and

description of the game, standards addressed, and materials needed. All of the materials

will have a specific reference color insure easy identification and organization for the

teacher. Of the 11 games the only materials needed are hula-hoops, beach balls,

beanbags, music player, and numbered index cards. These cards will not only give the
 Kaiser, Sherrick 21

teacher easy access to the rules and materials needed for the game, but can also be used if

there is a substitute teacher, since the children will most likely know how to play the

game the substitute will have the same set of directions to understand the game that the

students used. Also if a teacher is asked what standards the game addresses the teacher

can just show the person asking about the standards the back of the card where all of the

standards addressed will be listed.

Timeline

Oct 18-24: Find/Create 5-10 cooperative P.E. games that include: Cooperation, critical-

thinking, and other pro-social skills.

Oct 25-31: Talk to Greta and get her opinion on rough draft of game list

Nov 1-7: Revise game list (if needed)

Nov 8-14: Go to king school and help teach/observe some of the games

Nov 15-21: Make game cards/packets (Packets will include materials needed for the

games)

Nov 22-28: THANKSGIVING BREAK

Nov 29-Dec 5: Make Capstone Poster.

Dec 6-12: Regain sanity before Capstone Fest

 Kaiser, Sherrick 22

Results

In the time we spent observing Greta’s P.E. class, we watched the students play

Upside Down Cycling and Line up by Numbers. Upside Down Cycling is an activity that

requires two students to lie on their backs, place their feet together and work together in a

cycling motion making sure that their feet never separate. This was the first time the

students were asked to participate in Upside Down Cycling. At the beginning, the

students had a difficult time assessing the force needed to effectively work together to

create a cohesive rhythm of movement with one another. As the ability of the students to

create this rhythm progressed Greta presented the students with the challenge of working

together to move their feet to the rhythm of music. We observed that this activity came

more easily to some students than others at the same in some pairs only one child was

actively “cycling.” In addition, we noted that when Greta introduced the music some

children had an increased sense of rhythm than with out the music and for these children

the activity appeared to become easier. At the end of this activity not only did we

observe the physical skills of each child improve we also saw the cooperation among

partners strengthen.

In the game Line up by Numbers the teacher is to place a series of numbered

cards at the end of the playing area. Each child runs down and picks up one number.

Then, the children work together to arrange themselves in numerical order. As we

observed we noticed that Greta decided to handout the numbered cards to the students

instead of having them run to get them. Having the students run to get the cards was the

main activity component thus; the children were not as active as we intended them to be.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 23

Like Upside Down Cycling, the students improved with repeated attempts and displayed

positive social skills by helping each other find their appropriate location in the line. In

the first attempt of this game there was one student that tried to simply place each student

where they needed to be as the rest of the class stood around and waited for her

instruction (she clearly has a dominant personality and is a natural born leader). In the

second attempt of this game we saw the students work cooperatively to accomplish the

goal of putting themselves into numerical order. During this attempt we would hear some

students call out statements like “ten, you go here!” or “you go by nineteen and twenty

one!” We also observed students approaching their classmates to ask for help if they

were unsure about where to stand. Greta incorporated a stop-watch to time how quickly

the students could get into the correct order. The first attempt took 4.17 minutes and the

second attempt took 2.31 minutes. When Greta pointed out that they accomplished their

goal more quickly when they worked together as a class the students became excited and

seemed to take more pride in accomplishing their goal. Some of the students even asked

to keep their numbers since they had done so well.

In our discussion with Greta, she told us that she wished to wait until after Winter

Break to introduce Getting Together and Fish Gobbler. She made this decision based on

the complexities of these games and the feeling that the class is not fully comfortable

with each other until the second half of the school year. Greta also expressed her

intention to allow the “student of the day” to be responsible for choosing the P.E. game

for the day as a reward for the good behavior. Although we did not intend for this to be

an aspect of our project, we feel that this is another good way to reinforce the

development of positive pro-social behavior which is a main focus of this project. Greta
 Kaiser, Sherrick 24

expressed to us how our P.E. packet has reduced her stress level concerning creating

effective P.E. lessons for her students due to its easily accessible format. Greta felt that

some of the games she tried were “train wrecks” at first, but reassured us that once the

students fully understand the games they will be successful.

Looking back, we feel that our project as a whole was extremely successful,

however, we feel that if Greta had access to our packet at the start of the school year her

students would have benefited a great deal more and we would have been able to observe

over a longer period of time thus, giving us more opportunities to see the students pro-

social development and increased activity. If we had more time we would have been able

to asses more than just two games and even observed some games on more than one

occasion. Originally, we had planned on interviewing three students to assess the games,

however, due to our project’s time constraints, and their limited exposure to the activities

at the conclusion of our project we were unable to conduct these interviews. We also

wanted to conduct an informal discussion with Greta Dobie, as a check in evaluation, as

well as a formal interview to see how she feels her students are benefiting from this

project, as well as what she feels we could change. While we were able to have the

informal conversation with Greta, we realized that since the students have only been

exposed to these games for three weeks a formal interview evaluation was too premature

to conduct at this time.

From our observations we learned that it is imperative to strictly follow the

instructions of the game because even the slightest divergence from these instructions can

greatly alter the effectiveness of the game. We learned that how students are lead in a
 Kaiser, Sherrick 25

classroom is often an indicator of how they will function during any activity. We saw

this through the somewhat chaotic nature of Greta’s classroom. When she instructed the

students to clean up their desks many of them appeared to be more concerned with

running around the classroom than following instructions. When the students went

outside to play Line up by Numbers it seemed as though it took a longer amount of time

to get the students’ attention than to explain the rules or even play the game. However,

we sympathize with Greta in our understanding that this chaos stems from the stress that

she feels due to the many regulations of NCLB.

 Kaiser, Sherrick 26

References

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physical education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance, 22(2),
28-30.

Dyson, B., & Rubin, A. (2003, January). Implementing cooperative learning in

elementary physical education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, &
Dance, 74(1), 48-55.

Dwyer, C. A. (2005). Measure and Research in the Accountability Era. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates Inc.

Eldar, E. & Ayvazo, S. (2009, August). Educating through the physical. Education &
Treatment of Children, 32(3), 471-486. Retrieved from
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Hall, E. M. (2007). Integration: Helping to get our kids moving and learning. Physical
Educator, 64(3), 123-128. Retrieved from
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Kaphingst, K, French, S, & Story, M. (2006). The role of schools in obesity prevention.
The Future of Children, 16(1), Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3556553

Morgan, P. J., & Hansen, V. (2008). Physical education in primary schools: Classroom
teacher's perceptions of benefits and outcomes. Health Education Journal,
67(197), 196-207.

Orlick, T. D. (1981). Positive socialization via cooperative games. Developmental

Psychology, 17(4), 426-429.

Polvi, S., & Telama, R. (2000). The use of cooperative learning as a social enhancer in
physical education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 44(1), 105-
115.

Smith, N.J, Lounsbery, M. (2009). Promoting physical education: the link to academic
achievement . Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance, 80(1), 39-43.

Solomon, G. B. (1997, May/June). Fair play in the gymnasium: Improving social skills
among elementary school students. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, &
Dance, 68(5), 22-25.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 27

Solomon, G. B. (2007, Fall). The promotion of sociomoral growth through physical

education: Field testing of a curricular model. Physical Educator, 64(3), 129-141.

Stevens, T. A., To, Y., Stevenson, S. J., & Lochbaum, M. R. (2008, December). The
importance of physical activity and physical education in the prediction of
academic achievement. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(4), 368-388. Retrieved
from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=afh&AN=35130781&site=ehost-live
 Kaiser, Sherrick 28

Appendix
 Kaiser, Sherrick 29

Fall 2009
Liberal Studies Capstone Festival

By
Marlena Kaiser & Megan Sherrick

Reference

• Blue Cards are for rainy day options.

• Equipment in red means you need beanbags.
• Equipment in green means you need music.
• Equipment in orange means you need beach
balls.
• Equipment in purple means you need
number/alphabet
cards
 Kaiser, Sherrick 30

Partners

Equipment
A stereo and CD or other way of playing music

Directions
1. Four-year olds start this game by holding hands with one partner.
When you play the music, the children run, hop, skip, or twirl around
the room or play area while linked with a partner.
2. When you stop the music, they “freeze” where they are.
3. Start the music again to “freeze” the children, letting them skip
around the room again with one or more partners. They often end up
linked to make partners.

Partners

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.3, 1.10, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4
First Grade: 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 &
5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (p. 12).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 31

Fish Gobbler
Equipment: None
Directions
1. When the caller (also known as the fish gobbler) shouts, “ship,” all the
children run towards the wall to which the caller points (wall number
one).
2. When the caller shouts, “Shore,” the children quickly change
directions and run toward the opposite wall (wall number 2).
3. On the signal “Fish gobbler,” the children drop to the floor on their
bellies and link arms, legs, or bodies together with one or more
friends.
4. The fish gobbler moves around the room with arms out stretched like
a big bird or manta ray swimming towards the other players but not
touching any of them. The children are all “safe” as long as they are
physically linked together with another child, or “fish.”
5. Once the fish gobbler sees that everyone is linked to one or more
partners, the signal “Rescue” is called. At this moment all the children
jump to their feet, join hands, and yell, “Yay!” raising their joined
hands over their heads. The game continues until they children are
tired or are ready to move on to another game.

Fish Gobbler

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.10, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3,
5.4 & 5.5
First Grade: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for

everyone. (pp. 40-41). Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 32

Human Bridges or Tunnels

Equipment
None

Directions
1. To play this game, half of the children make a human bridge with their
arms, feet, or bodies, and the other half of the children crawl
through the opening they have made.
2. To make a hand bridge, partners begin by making two lines facing each
other. They then lean toward each other, grasp hands, and make a
tunnel. This can be done on the knees to make a low tunnel.
3. To make a foot bridge, partners make two lines facing each other.
They then lie down on their backs (or sit down) and raise legs so the
bottoms of their feet are supported by the bottoms of their
partner’s feet. This forms a low V-shaped tunnel.
4. Once the bridge is constructed, the other half of the children crawl
through. Then they switch roles—the crawlers become bridge
builders, and the bridge builders become crawlers.

Human Bridges or Tunnels

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.10, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 &
5.5
First Grade: 1.1, 1.2, 1.6, 2.2, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (pp. 34-35).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 33

Freeing Your Friends

Equipment
One beanbag for each child

Directions
1. This is an active game of helping. All the children begin by moving
around the gym or play area at their own pace, each balancing a
beanbag on his head.
2. Change the action or pace by asking the children to move faster, skip,
hop, go backward, go slower, turn around, and so on.
3. If the beanbag falls of the child’s head, she is frozen and must remain
motionless. Another child can pick up that child’s beanbag and replace
it to free her, with out losing his own beanbag.
4. At the end of the game, ask the children questions such as “How many
of you helped your friends?” “How many times did you help your
friends?” “How did you feel when you helped someone else?” “How did
you feel when someone helped you?”

Freeing Your Friends

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.6, 1.8, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4
First Grade: 1.3, 1.4, 2.3, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (pp. 24-25).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 34

Beach Ball Keep-Up

Equipment
One beach ball for every two children

Directions
1. The children pair up, and each pair is given a beach ball. Their first goal is
to see if they can throw or tap the beach ball back and forth to each other,
with each partner catching and throwing or hitting the beach ball once. This
introduces the idea of a common goal and the importance of taking turns.
Then ask the players to see if (or how long) they can tap the beach ball back
and forth without letting it hit the floor or ground. This introduces the idea
of a collective goal. If the beach ball touches the floor, they just pick it up
and begin tapping it back and forth again. Kids love to do this simple
cooperative activity.
(This game can also be played by kicking a ball back and forth)

Beach-Ball Keep Up

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.8, 1.12, 1.14, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4
First Grade: 1.6, 1.10-1.18, 2.5-2.13, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 &
5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (p. 15).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 35

Upside Down Cycling

Equipment
None

Directions
Students lie on back and touch bottoms of partner’s feet. Do
simultaneous cycling action first in one direction then in another

Upside Down Cycling

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.3, 1.4, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1
First Grade: 1.5, 3.1, 5.1

Luvmour, J, & Luvmour, B. (2007). Everyone wins: cooperative games and activities. (p. 20).
Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 36

Getting Together

Equipment
None

Directions
Count off by ones, twos and threes. Everyone walks around shaking
hands with whomever they meet. Ones shake hands once, twos give
two shakes, and so on. When they find someone with the same number
they hold hands until all of the same numbers are joined.

Getting Together

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.10, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4
First Grade: 1.2, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Luvmour, J, & Luvmour, B. (2007). Everyone wins: cooperative games and activities. (p. 84).
Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 37

Line Up by Numbers

Equipment
A series of numbered/alphabet cards

Directions
Place a series of numbered cards at the end of the room. Each child
runs down and picks up one number. The children then work together
to arrange themselves in numerical order. Or children can use the
letters printed on the back of the number card to put themselves in
alphabetical order.

Line Up by Numbers

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.10, 2.2, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4
First Grade: 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 2.2, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 &
5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (p. 65).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 38

Simon Says No Elimination

Equipment
None

Directions
Two games of Simon Says begin simultaneously, each with a leader who
performs carious movements that children try to mimic when given the
command “Simon says do this.” However in this version when the leader says,
“Do this,” with out first having said “Simon Says” any child who follows
merely transfers to the other game joining the next Simon Says. There is no
exclusion, only movement back and forth between two parallel games.

Simon Says No Elimination

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 &5.5
First Grade: 1.1, 1.6, 1.8, 2.1, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (p. 23).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 39

Cooperative Musical Hugs

Equipment
A stereo or other way of playing music

Directions
1. Play energizing music or sin an uplifting song while the children skip
around the room or play area.
2. 2. When you stop the music each child quickly teams up with someone
else in a hug.
3. The kids skip around again (with partners if they want) when the
music continues.
4. The next time the music stops at least three kids hug together. As
the game goes on, they make a bigger and bigger hug until finally all
the children squish together in one massive musical hug.

Cooperative Musical Hugs

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.10, 1.16, 2.3, 2.2, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 & 5.4
First Grade: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.4, 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (p. 44).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.
 Kaiser, Sherrick 40

Beach-Ball Balance

Equipment
One beach ball per two children.

Directions
Two children share one beach ball, trying to hold the ball between
them with out using their hands. Ask them to see how many ways they can
balance the beach ball between them (head to head, side to side, back to
back, and so on) and to move around the room holding the ball in different
ways. With the ball balanced forehead to forehead they can both try to
attempt to bend forward to touch their knees, squat down and so on.
Children can also attempt to step through a hanging hula-hoop or obstacle
course while remaining connected by the beach-ball. They can also try and
balance tow or three beach balls between them or balance the ball in groups
of tree and four and so on.

Beach-Ball Balance

California State Physical Education Standards met:

Kindergarten: 1.1, 1.8, 1.10, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 & 5.5
First Grade: 3.1, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 & 5.6

Orlick, T. (2006). Cooperative games and sports: joyful activity for everyone. (p. 17).
Champaign, Illinois: Pantheon Books.