Rituals & Rountines

The routines of a Physical Education class vary from teacher to teacher and school to school, and it is a critical element that teachers must pay close attention to. If the routine at the start of your class is for students to leisurely get dressed and then come out and stand around talking, what tone is that setting for the rest of the class? Does it send home the message that we are here to move and learn, or is it fitting the mold that PE is a social hour/recess? Far too long, has this been the case that teachers allow their students to waste precious time that could be spent warming up or participating in an instant activity.

Creating a routine that sets up the mindset that we are here to move is so important, because many Physical Education classes are so short to begin with. We need to make an effort to maximize any time that we have. It isn’t enough to just have something for the students to be doing when they come out, but it must be relevant and interesting. We want our students to be excited to come out and get moving right away.

Aside from preventing wasted time, we must have rituals that promote cohesion and positivity. Having students create squad or group warm-ups is a great way to build leadership roles and other important character virtues. We use these rituals to aid in the management of the class, because when the students have responsibility and clear guidelines, there is less room for interpretation and a decrease in off task behavior.