This week for the Featured PE Teacher section on the PE Central Facebook page, the spotlight is on Nicki Case:

About Nicki Case:

I am a Physical Education teacher at Marion Elementary School in Marion, KS. I teach 223 students in grades K-5. This is my 5th year teaching PE. I taught 6th grade for 20 years before that. During the first 5 years of those 20 in the classroom, I also was their PE teacher.

 

 

 

 

Random Acts Of Kindess & Fitness Unit:

The unit I taught back in February had to do with being Heart Healthy, so a lot of fitness type activities. The school also focused on Random Acts of Kindness for the entire month. Instead of a fitness challenge, we are did a Random Acts of Kindness challenge. Students were excited about the change. Lessons included:

• What’s Your Name – using a list of letters/activities – spelling their names, then spelling specific words that have to do with being healthy, being kind, or Valentine’s Day.
• Mission Possible – a fitness station day that coincides with an activity that the counselor is planning in the classrooms. The Mission Impossible theme song played in the background and students completed the activities listed at each station. When the song ended, they rotated to the next station with their group. There were 6 stations.
• On Valentine’s Day, students received a Valentine with a number and a specific exercise/activity on it. Theycompleted the activity and then traded cards with a friend and repeated until time was up.
• Tabata Training Day – stations are set at cones around the gym in the shape of a heart. Music played with the tabata timer and students traveled around to the different stations as the timer went off.
• Fit Dice – students had the Fit Dice sheet telling them what exercise to do and how many dice to roll to see how many reps they needed to do for the given activity.

Focus for 2017:

Our school theme this year is being a TEAM – so that fits well with almost everything we do in PE. Last year’s theme was Super Heroes, so I tried to create units with that in mind.

Favorite Lesson Plan/Unit:

My favorite unit (the kids too), is our Board Game unit, which we did for the last two weeks in January. We play things like Fitness Chutes & Ladders, Fitness Jenga, Battle Ship, Hungry Hippos, Playing Cards Fitness, Tic Tac Toe or 4 on the Floor (like Connect Four).

What is your favorite part about being a PE teacher?

I enjoy getting to work with ALL of the students in the school, not just a specific class. There are so many students who struggle in the classroom or are having difficulties at home, but seem to forget many of those things when they walk through the door and can just focus on themselves or the activity of the day.