Avery Reynolds 1st period

“Everyone Gets To Play, Learn”

January 17, 2019

Summary: In this article it explains the Adaptive Physical Education class, called “Unified
Sports”, at an elementary school. It is open to all students, but models’ events and activities done
in the Special Olympics. In this class the students learn fitness and wellness skills. There are 16
students who have special needs, and each have a general ed peer mentor. In the class they do
team sports such as basketball, soccer, softball, etc. When they do team sports there are a mix of
general students and students with special needs on the same team. The purpose of this class is to
involve all students and get special students the interaction, with kids who do not have
disabilities, that they need.
Connection: For my semester project, I am covering the topic of Adaptive PE and Physical
Education for Special Needs. I will be expanding on why special needs students need physical
education and what activities help them the best. This connects to my project because it is a great
example of what elementary, intermediate, and high schools should offer. In the article it says,”
People in the general population play basketball or softball with people who have special needs,
so they all play together on the same team, whereas most of Special Olympics is all the players
have special needs.” This shows that students with special needs need interaction with general
population students. This also connects to my project by touching base on the importance of
physical education for children with disabilities. Overall, this article is great to read for someone
who wants a better understanding of the benefits of adaptive PE.
Response: When I was reading this article, I was very intrigued about how general population
students and special needs students are intermixed together. Personally, I think this benefits both
types of students. I thought having a general ed student as a mentor for the special needs student
is a great concept for both sides. Also, the quotes/ interviews from the students and teachers were
very positive towards this idea. Throughout the article I was curious as to what activities this
class did specifically. It states that,”…physical education class modeled on the Special Olympics”
which demonstrates that they are using techniques from the Special Olympics which can be very
beneficial. At my mentor, our PE activities are obstacle course based which the kids love but I
am excited to share this article with them to get some new perspectives.

MLA Citation:

Wohlrabe, Brooke. “Everyone Gets to Play, Learn.” It Is Far from Certain That Court Will

Overturn Roe | News, Sports, Jobs - Fairmont Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2019,

www.fairmontsentinel.com/news/local-news/2019/01/17/everyone-gets-to-play-learn/.
Avery Reynolds 1st period