Specific Entry Competencies

In order to benefit from lessons on a daily basis, students need to display competency in locomotor, non-locomotor and manipulative skills. Students also need to understand basic social cues, and how to interact appropriately with classmates and peers when participating in physical activities. Students should have learned the basic locomotor and non-locomotor skills beginning in kindergarten, and then adding to those skills in subsequent grades; by 5th grade students should have a firm grasp of how to perform locomotor and non-locomotor skills, as well as basic manipulative skills such as holding and swinging rackets and bats, and kicking skills. Students are not expected to know technology related to P.E such as pedometers, heart rate monitors, compasses or GPS devices, however students are expected to know how to navigate webpages and utilize search engines, open and reply to email, and use other basic computer programs such as Microsoft word and Microsoft Excell. However, in my experience some students have had adequate exposure to these technologies so teachers need to provide step-by-step instructions or extra practice time before being required to produce a finished project or assignment.
At this age it is more difficult to get students motivated to participate in P.E lessons, especially the girls. Also, students are more prone to mood swings as the result of changes in their hormone levels; this means that a student who was enthusiastic about the lesson on Monday may reuse to participate without a lot of prompting on Wednesday.  Students  also  sometimes have to re-learn skills that they have previously excelled at due to physical changes such as larger feet, longer arms and legs, etc as the result of changes in the body due to puberty.  The positive side, is that students are more able to work in pairs or small groups on their own, and to "self referee" during game play. Students are also able to learn, apply and implement defensive and offensive strategies related to the different games and activities covered in class and extrapolate how those skills can be applied to daily, real-life situations.