project for physical education

Using Project Based Learning in Physical Education

Project Based Learning (PBL) often seems best suited for academic subjects, and when it comes to physical education and play, it's difficult to see how PBL fits. But with a closer look at Gold Standard PBL , and some creative planning, projects have a place in the gym or on the ball field as much as they do in the classroom. Here are some ideas and tips.

Ensure that Physical Education Is Happening

One reason PBL is not often brought into PE classes is that it’s difficult to find a way to encourage physical activity while working on a project. It’s easy to think of projects about health and wellness that may connect to PE class – such as “create a plan for a healthy lifestyle” – but those do not typically involve actual physical activity. While it may require some creativity, it is possible to ensure students are getting physically active while problem solving, conducting inquiry, creating a product, and all the other elements of PBL.

In an article from Whole Child , Andrew Miller explained one way this could work. He presented a scenario where high school seniors were given the task of creating PE units for middle school students, with the goal of encouraging the seniors to apply concepts and strategies they learned in their own PE education to create an engaging unit appropriate for middle school students, similar to those the PE teachers themselves would create. As the students focused on effective solutions, they were required to perform the activities in their unit to ensure that exercise and play were encouraged and achieved, and to prove the units would provide an adequate level of activity.

Create a Compelling Problem or Question

The central focus of Gold Standard PBL is giving students a problem or question they have to answer through the project. The problem or question has to go beyond simple knowledge — it needs to require students to apply the knowledge they have gained.

In Miller's example, the high school seniors, through experience and instruction, knew what activity and play looked like. They were also provided instruction on standards from the National Association for Sports and Physical Education that showed measurable ways they could determine if physical activity and appropriate learning were taking place.

Keep the Task Open Ended

Reflection and student voice and choice are crucial parts of PBL. For a PE classroom attempting to include PBL, keeping the challenge or task open ended is essential; this is done best by asking students to craft something new. Instead of simply quoting back knowledge, they will be involved in inquiry and innovation.

Consider a unit that asks students to create a new game for the class. The teacher may have their students include a skill they’re working on to help them practice, such as dribbling the ball, cardio stamina or one of the NASPE standards. The students are then given free rein to experiment and create, designing a game that will incorporate the skill. The open-ended nature of the challenge makes experimentation natural. Similar ideas include planning and conducting an Olympic Games with original events, or designing and using a running course around the campus (or out in the community, if possible) with obstacles or exercise stations with varying levels of challenge.

Use Peer Feedback

Peer feedback works well in the PE classroom. In the example of a student creating a new game, the class can be asked to play the game. This gives the students more physical activity, and also gives the game's creator crucial feedback as to what works and what doesn’t. Revision, another important spoke on the Gold Standard wheel, is often necessary to perfect the game.

Know the Educational Goal

While the student's main goal is to create and present a product, the entire project needs to center on the unit’s educational goal. From the beginning, teachers should have a clear understanding of what they hope to accomplish through the PBL process, whether it’s meeting PE curriculum standards or seeing students excited and engaged by physical activity.

PBL is effective because it involves the students on a deeper level, providing them with real-world skills they can take into college and beyond. Both of these benefits make it worth considering as an addition to the traditional gym class.

Do you have ideas for projects in PE? Make a comment below!

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9 Activity Ideas for STEM in Physical Education

• Lauren Chiangpradit
• November 16, 2023
• Reviewed by Sean Barton
• Reviewed by Haley MacLean

Table of Contents

The Synergy of Movement and Learning

Physical education stem activities for elementary school, stem activities for middle school pe students, advanced stem challenges for high school learners, tech, tools, and resources for stem in physical education.

Integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) into Physical Education (PE) classes offers an innovative approach to education. In an era where sports statistics, science, and technology increasingly influence athletics, PE classes are uniquely positioned to blend physical activity with STEM learning and 21st century skills. This article explores how PE educators and facilitators can use STEM learning in their coursework. It also provides a range of curriculum activity ideas to get students at different education and skill levels engaged.

Research indicates that physical activity can significantly bolster cognitive abilities. When students participate in movement-based learning, they benefit physically and experience enhanced concentration, memory, and creativity. This cognitive boost is crucial for comprehending and applying STEM concepts, which often demand high levels of problem-solving and critical thinking. Active learning, where students engage in physical activities while learning STEM concepts, results in more profound understanding and retention of information. Integrating physical and mental challenges not only makes learning more enjoyable, but is more effective, as students apply theoretical concepts in practical settings, leading to better comprehension and recall.

Integrating STEM into elementary physical education presents a fantastic opportunity to lay the foundation for lifelong learning and curiosity in young students. Through these innovative activities, elementary school children can explore and understand key STEM concepts while engaging in fun and physical play. Each activity is designed to be not only educational but highly interactive and suitable for their developmental stage. Here are some engaging activities that blend physical education with STEM learning for elementary students:

• Jump and Measure: Students perform a variety of jumps – like the long jump and high jump – and measure their distances or heights. This activity introduces basic concepts of measurement and physics, encouraging students to understand how force and motion play a role in their physical activities.
• Geometry with Body Movements: In this activity, children use their bodies to create geometric shapes, either individually or in groups. It’s an engaging way for students to learn about basic geometry, spatial awareness, and symmetry. Teachers can challenge students to form complex shapes, enhancing their understanding and teamwork skills.
• STEM Soccer : In a lesson devoted to measuring throw-ins, students collect data in centimeters and convert their data to meters dividing by 100. Students then evaluate measurement systems to decide the best measurement size. This disguised learning,  interactive lesson is a great way for physical education teachers to add STEM into their PE classes.
• Weather and Exercise: Students observe and record weather patterns over a week and discuss how different weather conditions affect physical activities. This integrates meteorology into PE, allowing students to see the real-world application of science in their everyday activities.
• Heart Rate Exploration: After engaging in various exercises, students measure their heart rates to learn about the cardiovascular system and the science behind exercise. This activity not only educates them about their bodies, but about the importance of physical fitness in maintaining health.
• Playground Physics: Utilizing playground equipment, this activity allows students to explore concepts like gravity, force, and motion. They can experience firsthand how these physical laws impact their play and movements, turning the playground into a living laboratory.

As students enter middle school, their capacity for more complex and abstract thinking grows significantly. This developmental stage is an ideal time to introduce more intricate STEM concepts through physical education, enhancing their learning experience with practical applications. The following STEM activities are tailored for middle school students, offering a blend of intellectual challenge and physical engagement. These activities are designed to pique students’ curiosity in STEM fields through the familiar and enjoyable medium of sports and physical exercises. By participating in these activities, students not only deepen their understanding of STEM concepts, but learn valuable lessons in teamwork, problem-solving, and the practical application of classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. Here’s a look at some stimulating and educational STEM activities for middle school PE:

• Sports Statistics Analysis: Students gather and analyze sports statistics from games or physical activities. This teaches them about data collection, interpretation, and the importance of statistics in understanding and improving athletic performance.
• STEM Football: During a lesson in STEM Football, students collect and graph data of a controlled experiment by using a line graph. Students then explain the relationship between kinetic energy and mass by writing a claim evidence supported by evidence-based reasoning from class data. This lesson highlights the strong classroom connection between physical education and STEM learning, and how it can help create tangible examples for students.
• Energy and Movement: This activity focuses on the concept of kinetic and potential energy in the context of sports. Students explore how energy is transferred and transformed during different physical activities, such as running, jumping, or throwing a ball.
• Biomechanics of Sports: Here, students delve into the study of human movement and mechanics in various sports. They learn about the science behind athletic performance, injury prevention , and how athletes optimize their movements for maximum efficiency and safety.
• Mathletics Relay: A relay race where each leg involves solving a math problem before passing the baton. This combines physical fitness with mathematical skills, emphasizing quick thinking and teamwork.
• Technology in Sports Training: Students explore how technology is increasingly used in sports training and performance analysis. They might look at wearable tech, video analysis software, or other tools that help athletes improve their skills and coaches to make informed decisions.

High school students, with their advanced cognitive skills and heightened interests, are well-positioned to tackle complex STEM challenges through physical education. This section of the curriculum is designed to offer high school learners in-depth, hands-on experiences that combine higher-level STEM concepts with physical activities and sports. These advanced activities are not just about physical exertion; they require students to engage in critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative innovation. They provide an opportunity for students to see the real-world applications of the STEM knowledge they acquire in their classrooms, bridging the gap between theoretical learning and practical implementation. By participating in these activities, high school students can gain a deeper understanding of various STEM fields, such as physics, engineering, biotechnology, and environmental science, observing how these disciplines intersect with sports and physical fitness. Here are some challenging and intellectually stimulating STEM activities designed for high school learners:

• Physics of Sports Equipment Design: Students research and discuss the physics principles involved in the design of sports equipment. This can include topics like material science, aerodynamics, and ergonomics, providing insights into how equipment is optimized for performance and safety.
• Engineering a Miniature Golf Course: Students design and construct a miniature golf course, applying concepts of geometry, physics, and design. This project not only involves creativity, but a practical application of STEM principles by creating functional and enjoyable mini-golf holes.
• Sports Analytics Project: Students undertake a project to analyze a sports game using statistical methods and tools. This activity introduces them to data science in sports, teaching them how to interpret and use data to understand game strategies and player performance.
• Biotechnology in Athletics: This topic explores how biotechnology is used in sports, from equipment design to performance enhancement techniques. Students might study material innovations, genetic research in athletics, or the ethical implications of biotechnology in sports.
• Environmental Science in Outdoor Sports: Students analyze how environmental factors impact outdoor sports activities. They can study topics like climate change, pollution, and natural terrain, understanding the interplay between sports and the environment.
• Virtual Reality Sports Training: Students explore how VR technology is being used for skill development, strategy training, and injury rehabilitation in various sports by discussing the emerging role of virtual reality in sports.

Bringing STEM into PE classes effectively requires the right resources, including technology tools, educational kits, and comprehensive guides. Resources like the STEM Sports® kits provide ready-to-use activities that seamlessly blend physical education with STEM learning. These kits offer an invaluable resource for teachers looking to enrich their curriculum and engage K-8 students through a cross-curricular learning approach. For additional resources, tools, and innovative ideas, please visit STEM Sports® .

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Implementing PBL in PE Classes

Physical education performances and playing the whole game.

Many schools have been looking to implement project-based learning, or PBL, for improved student learning. In this instructional approach, students are first presented with a real-world problem or issue with the goal of crafting a solution or response. During the process of developing their response through questioning, research, ideation, and solution building, students develop a host of other essential life skills such as collaboration, leadership and project management.

PBL is a powerful approach to content learning, but does that mean physical education should jump on board as well? Here are a few things to consider.

Project vs. Performance

The vocabulary of project-based learning often gets in the way of using this approach in a variety of settings, especially physical education. PE is about activity and building movement skills with your body and brain, not sitting at a desk working on a project. An easy solution is to insert the word performance every time you encounter the word project . A similar terminology switch can be helpful in music and the arts too.

The language of performance-based assessments is a place to start. What can you ask students to do to demonstrate proficiency? This could be a performance or a product and oftentimes the lines are blurred. For example, acting for a video is a performance, making a speech to local business owners is a performance, even writing a letter to persuade local government officials is a performance.

PBL in the PE Classroom

According to the SHAPEAmerica standards, the goal of physical education is to "develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity."

While this goal certainly does not state one needs to meet standards with a project or PBL, it also does not state play basketball. But basketball is a part of many PE programs because it is a way to help students meet this goal, and more specifically:

• [demonstrate] competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.
• [apply] knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.

PBL offers similar opportunities.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were approved by all member nations in 2015. The 17 SDGs are designed to promote peace and prosperity for all people now and in the future. The third goal, Good Health and Well-Being is perfectly suited to the goals of the Physical Education Curriculum.

Specifically, SDG Goal 3 encourages the world to develop solutions that "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages." The wording of this goal opens up a range of possibilities for "products" that meet the goals of physical education as well.

For example, students in PE classes could:

• Develop fitness courses and signage for their school or community.
• Work with their food service department to design a healthy school lunch menu .
• Raise awareness and promote mental health.
• Use 3D printers to construct prosthetic hands for those who can't afford them.
• Develop PSAs to promote health and safety .
• Partner with a local sports team to apply their strategies to improving fitness community-wide.

Find Connections to Other Subjects

You might also connect fitness, health, and safety topics to learning in other subjects. For example, physics teachers at Dripping Springs High School in Texas asked students to help improve the free throw percentages of players on their basketball team. Students dissected a specific player's free throw shooting to determine if the issue might be trajectory or force, mapping out the parabola and making physics-based suggestions for improvement.

While this was a physics classroom, PE students can certainly benefit from using properties of physics to improve their own sports performance. Similarly, athletes benefit from knowledge of structure, function, body systems, and nutrition.

Students in history class at South Doyle High School in Tennessee noticed a lack of sidewalks in their community, impacting both safety and possibilities for active lifestyles. After a visit by a city engineer, students quickly learned about budgets and the criteria for constructing new sidewalks.

While PE needs to include physical activity and movement, tackling health requires skills that may not normally shine during a typical PE class. This allows many kids to participate in physical education classes in ways they wouldn't otherwise normally, forming better connections between students and valuing a range of skills for athletic and non-athletic students.

Use Big Ideas to Guide Instructional Design

Any great PBL addresses a big idea and involves an interesting question or challenge to drive student motivation and engagement. Start by considering big ideas and essential questions in physical education, like:

• How can you take care of yourself?
• What does it mean to be healthy?
• What motivates a person to be healthy?

Use the big ideas to drive instructional goals and help you develop more specific questions to drive student work. For example, the essential question of "What does it mean to be physically fit?" can be made into more specific and actionable driving questions like:

• How can I personally increase and maintain proper fitness?
• Can I design a game to make fitness or skill practice more fun?
• How can I motivate someone else to increase and maintain proper fitness?

Even better, kick off a unit by asking that question to students and let them come up with more specific applications and questions to drive their work, boosting motivation, engagement, ownership and responsibility.

PE Educators as PBL Leaders

Connecting PBL to the content area of physical education may not be obvious, but it is easy to connect the pedagogy of the PE teachers. I might even argue that many sites implement PBL in order to make core learning a lot more like the experience students have in PE!

PE teachers are uniquely qualified to support a PBL approach. Why? Consider David Perkins's statement, "You don't learn to play baseball by a year of batting practice." In his book, Making Learning Whole , Perkins describes the often " elementis " nature of academics, where students are taught individual pieces (rules, theories, and procedures) with the promise that they will learn them later in high school or college.

Physical education doesn't ask students to wait, students learn to play sports, not just develop specific sports skills. While students may practice skills, they are quickly applied and learned more deeply through playing the whole game and in doing so:

• make the game worth playing,
• provide obvious reasons to work on the hard parts,
• play out of town (use it in different contexts),
• help reveal the hidden game, and
• learn from the team (social, interactive, and interdependent).

Grant Wiggins words it similarly:

"In athletics this is very clear: the game is the curriculum; the game is the teacher. And each game is different (even as helpful patterns emerge). Knowledge about the game is secondary, an offshoot of learning to play the game well. As I learn to play, knowledge — about rules, strategy, and technique — accrues, but it is not the point."

This doesn't mean "gamify" the classroom, but being clear that the goal of classroom learning isn't knowledge about a subject, but using that knowledge in order to actively think like a mathematician, inquire like a scientist, or work as a historian.

Instead of asking PE teachers to implement PBL, consider asking them to coach and model a more performance-based approach to learning for the ELA, math, science, and social studies teachers working to take a PBL approach to learning.

In Conclusion

Before you ask physical education classes to implement PBL, consider the goals of PBL and the nature of physical education. By asking PE teachers to implement classroom projects, we can actually encourage them to move away from the student-centered, powerful nature of PBL by moving to an " aboutis " form of learning where students end up telling us about a sport without "taking part in the processes that created that knowledge."

PBL does, however, provide powerful opportunities for students to become physically literate, understanding the benefits of involvement in physical activity and understanding how it contributes to overall health.

by Melinda Kolk

Melinda Kolk ( @melindak ) is the Editor of Creative Educator and the author of Teaching with Clay Animation . She has been helping educators implement project-based learning and creative technologies like clay animation into classroom teaching and learning for the past 15 years.

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• Project-Based Learning and Physical Education: An interview with Jordan Manley [Interactive]

[0:02] Aaron: Project-based learning, it seems to be all the buzz and education, but what is it really and how does it fit with physical education?

[0:35] Jordan: I am with Jordan Manley from the Steam Academy in Lexington Kentucky today, and I want to just introduce Jordan and talk a little bit about his PE Program, Jordan tell us a little bit about yourself.

[0:46] Well, I’m a Lexington Kentucky native, 29 years old, been married for five years and I have a 19-month-old daughter at home. I love you know just being active, learning new things. Recently I learned how to ski and I work as the health and physical education teacher at a project-based learning school called Steam Academy.

How to use project-based learning in physical education

[1:06] Aaron: So you mentioned project-based learning, can you describe how that fits into your PE philosophy and how it fits into the overall school environment?

[1:14] Jordan: We are a project-based learning school which means we have a focus on inquiry-designed learning. This model takes students away from the comprehension of concepts and has them dive deeper into the development of the skills so that they can comprehend any concept. We do this through lots of projects, there’s a lot of student choice involved. We might present one question and end up with 10 different answers to that question, depending on the class, whether it’s math, science, english, social studies or even the PE classroom.

[1:56] So the way that this fits in with my PE classroom is we have to ask ourselves what are the major concepts that we want our students to be able to understand? What are the major skills that we want our students to be able to understand to be able to do? We frame those within the context of an inquiry. Through that inquiry across a week or two weeks, students will complete some formative assignments here and there doing some research outside of class on their devices that are our school allows them to use, and then they present to us a product through a performance assessment.

[2:34] Within this performance assessment, I can assess whether or not a student has comprehended the concepts, but also if they’ve been able to apply these soft skills or success skills that so many schools talk about developing: leadership, communication, collaboration. So we allow that model to direct our working in PE so that students can get deeper learning rather than just the physical activity that happens in the class.

Project-based learning example

[3:06] Aaron: This is fascinating. So, can you give us an example of how this might play out in real-time and physical education class?

[3:13] Jordan: Sure, so one thing that I’ve done is I’ve given my students the task of game creation. This is something that we do as physical educators. Not only do we beg, borrow, and steal from other people on the internet, but we also force ourselves to iterate new ideas and create new activities in our classroom. So I give that task to my students, as well as a way of them demonstrating their learning and applying the content of the class. This can be used in modified sports games. I’ve done it before, where they have to create a fitness game and before they have to create their fitness game, I give them several examples of what a fitness game looks like. They have open access to all of the equipment in my closets, but the reason I like this is because not only are they applying the content knowledge of the PE classroom to the project that they are creating, it also forces them to work together in collaboration. They have to develop communication and leadership skills so these things happen naturally in anyway, but this is a way more direct way of teaching them that they have to work together if they want to produce something good.

[4:25] Aaron: Wow, thank you for sharing this Jordan and as you listen, we hope this generates some ideas that you can use project-based learning in your physical education classrooms. THRIVE

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Fitness Clipart FUN PACK! 110+ Unique Images | By AlgoThink

Complete Kindergarten - Grade 2 PE Games - Elementary physical education lessons

Full Year PE Lessons: TPT's Best-Selling Middle and High School PE Curriculum

BUNDLE: September Physical Education Soccer Frisbee Elementary and Junior High

Fast Food Nutrition Lessons for Teen Healthy Eating: 4 Lessons!

Mental and Physical Health for Elementary

Health & Wellness Presentation Assignment

Kobe Bryant Collaboration Poster

Sports Craft | Football Player | Super Bowl 2025 | Super Bowl Activities

Build Your Own Field Day! Project Based Learning (PBL) Print & Distance Learning

Philadelphia Phillies Phanatic Baseball Hat

Inquiry Based Learning Project: VAPING

Nutrition Project for Health Class with Learning Menu, Choice Board, and More

Summer Olympics 2024 Activity: Sports Torch Craft, Template, & Writing Prompts

Celebrity Mental Illness Research Project | Mental Health | Distance Learning

New Alberta Curriculum - Grade 6 Health and Wellness - Healthy Relationship Unit

Vaping 3: QR Code Activities- Smoking, Laws, Juuls, E-Cigarettes, Drug Addiction

Olympics Bundle: 5 Resources (Writing, Research, Word Searches, Commercial Skit)

The Mini-Golf Sculpture Project!

Genres of Dance - Intro Lesson and Digital Project for Distance Learning

Sports Craft | Basketball Player Craft | Sport Activities | Basketball Activity

The Health Triangle Lesson/Project- Basic Health | Physical, Mental and Social

Physical Education Create a Game Project | No Prep

High School Nutrition Project

New Alberta Curriculum - Grade 6 Health and Wellness - Safety Unit

Celebrity Graveyard Drug & Alcohol Death Project, Health, Addiction, NO-PREP!

Fitness Walking Unit for PE & Lifetime Fitness

Make a Tik Tok: Mental Health + Social-Emotional Learning | Social Media Project

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Physical Education PBL Unit and Design Thinking | E72

“ They went and asked for criticism from a classmate. That’s so huge. They’ve taken failure out, and they’re just looking to get feedback to revise the project. ”

The PBL Playbook Podcast empowers teachers and school leaders with examples from PBL classrooms, leadership inspiration, and practical PBL resources. Subscribe to the weekly podcast and visit WhatisPBL.com to get started on your PBL journey! Make sure you follow us on Twitter: @magnifylearning , #PBLPlaybook.

Jordan Manley from STEAM Academy in Lexington, KY is featured in today’s interview. This is his seventh year of PBL, and he went to Magnify Learning training right out of college. We spent an awesome week together. Jordan has always had a ton of passion. He teaches health and PE at STEAM Academy. It's a small school with around 400 students. Jordan loves stretching himself and working on new projects with the other teachers. 

Does PBL apply to courses like PE? Jordan gives a great example in how investigating the origins of pickleball was an exercise in design thinking. We also get to learn all about their project of designing better net games that made PE class more fun and interesting beyond having competitions and tournaments. Jordan breaks down the entire journey of making PE a better experience for his students.

*PBL SHOWCASE EPISODE 72 FULL SHOW NOTES

Resources & links related to this episode.

What is PBL?

Magnify Learning YouTube

Project Based Learning Stories and Structures: Wins, Fails, and Where to Start

Magnify Learning

Ryan Steuer Twitter @ryansteuer

Jordan Manley Twitter @STEAMWellness

[email protected]

Meaningful Physical Education (Pt1) – Drs ‪Déirdre Ní Chróinín‬ and Tim Fletcher – Meaningful Sport Series

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE PBL SHOWCASE COMING NEXT MONTH!

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• My learning

Using Project Based Learning in Physical Education

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• Pete Charrette

18 Top PE Activities for Dynamic Physical Education Classes

Imagine a classroom where every student is engaged, energized, and eager to learn. This isn't a fantasy—it's a regular day in a well-designed physical education program. Studies have shown that students who participate in regular physical activity exhibit improved attention, faster cognitive processing speed, and better academic performance overall. But the benefits of physical education extend far beyond the classroom walls, deeply influencing students' physical, social, and emotional health. Through PE, students learn the importance of staying active, working as a team, and setting personal health goals.

In the diverse world of PE, activities range from dynamic warm-ups that get hearts racing, to skill development movements that focus on precision and coordination, to small group games that teach the value of cooperation and spirited competition. They cater to warming up young muscles, developing essential motor skills, fostering teamwork, and improving overall fitness. But the benefits don't stop at physical health; these activities are instrumental in teaching students about cooperation, respect, and the value of setting and achieving personal goals.

My goal with this article is to equip PE teachers, professionals, and even classroom teachers with a diverse toolkit of PE activities. Whether you're looking to energize your students at the start of a class, build their fitness levels, or foster a spirit of teamwork, I've curated a list of 18 top PE activities, neatly categorized for ease of use. These activities are designed to be adaptable, ensuring that regardless of your students' ages or abilities, you can create a dynamic learning environment that motivates and inspires.

So, let's dive into this collection of engaging, dynamic PE activities designed to energize, educate, and inspire both you and your students. Together, we can transform the physical education experience, one activity at a time.

Click the link to skip to a section:

Section 1: Instant Activities

Section 2. tag games, section 3. fitness-based movement activities, section 4. pe equipment - skill challenges, section 5: pe stations, section 6. small group games.

Section 7. Final Thoughts

Instant activities are designed to energize students right at the beginning of a PE class, immediately engaging them in physical activity. These activities serve as quick warm-ups, helping to transition students from an academic mindset to a physical education environment with minimal downtime. The key is to captivate students' attention and get them moving as soon as they enter the PE space, setting a dynamic tone for the rest of the session. Instant activities work well with younger students that need quick and easy movement experiences to start their physical education classes.

Key Benefits:

Quick Setup:  Most activities require little to no preparation, allowing for immediate start.

Minimal Equipment:  Simplifies organization and facilitates a swift transition into physical activity.

Immediate Student Engagement:  Captures students' attention from the moment they enter the PE area, promoting enthusiasm and readiness for the day’s lesson.

Instant Activity 1: Four Corner Fitness

Overview:  Four Corner Fitness is a circuit-style activity that gets students moving around the gym's four corners, each corner offering a new exercise challenge. By incorporating varied locomotor movements for transitions, this activity adds an element of excitement and unpredictability, keeping students engaged and active throughout.

Equipment Needed:  8 cones, signs indicating exercises and locomotor movements (laminated for durability), stopwatch or timer.

Instructions:

Arrange 8 cones in the gym's four corners, placing two in each corner.

Attach signs to each cone - one sign for the exercise to be performed in that corner and another for the locomotor movement needed to get to the next corner.

At the start signal, students begin with the designated locomotor movement towards the first corner.

At each corner, students perform the indicated exercise for 20-30 seconds.

After completing the exercise, students proceed to the next corner using the locomotor movement indicated on the next sign.

The activity continues for 5-10 minutes, encouraging endurance and agility as students complete the circuit around the four corners.

Instant Activity 2: Sports Mania

Overview:  Sports Mania turns the gym into a dynamic playground where students practice transporting various sports equipment from one corner of the gym to the next. This activity is not only a lot of fun but also helps students familiarize themselves with different sports equipment and the basic skills associated with each.

Equipment Needed:  A variety of sports equipment (basketballs, soccer balls, beanbags, hockey sticks, paddleball rackets, scarves, beach balls, balloons, footballs), cones to mark the corners.

Spread assorted sports equipment in the gym's corners.

As students enter, they head to the nearest corner and select a piece of equipment.

Designate specific locomotor movements for transporting the equipment to the next corner (e.g., dribble basketballs, balance beanbags on the head).

Students continue moving equipment from corner to corner, experimenting with different items and movements.

Continue for a set time, encouraging students to try as many different types of equipment and movements as possible.

Instant Activity 3: Build it, Wreck it

Overview:  "Build it Wreck it" is an exciting and dynamic activity that encourages students to engage in various locomotor movements around the gym. The objective is to either set cones upright (building) or knock them over (wrecking), fostering a playful environment that promotes physical fitness and spatial awareness.

Equipment Needed:  20 – 50 cones (any size - different colors), music for cues.

Scatter cones randomly across the gym floor.

Assign students to "home teams" based on cone color and review locomotor movements and safety.

On the musical cue, students move to flip over opposing teams' cones while keeping their own team's cones upright.

A student cannot touch the same cone twice in a row.

The team with the most upright cones at the end of the set time wins.

Change the locomotor movement (e.g., hopping, skipping, sliding, etc.) every 1-3 minutes to keep the activity fresh and challenging.

Click the link to view this 25 Instant Activity Set on Cap'n Pete's website store  or here on Teachers Pay Teacher s .

Kids love tag games and they are a staple in physical education for a good reason. They combine the thrill of the chase with the benefits of quick sprints, agile dodging, and strategic play. By incorporating tag games (like bridge tag or blob tag) into your PE classes, you’re not just getting students to run around; you’re inviting them to think on their feet, work as a team, and develop a keen sense of spatial awareness—all while having a blast.

Speed and Agility:  Enhances quick movements and "on the fly" decision making.

Spatial Awareness:  Helps in understanding and utilizing space effectively.

Teamwork:  Strengthens cooperation among students.

Fair Play:  Promotes respect for rules and each other.

Tag Game 1: Fitness Collection Agency (FCA)

Overview:  Students work in pairs to collect, save, protect, and capture cones to their hula hoop (collection area), blending strategy with physical activity.

Equipment Needed:  6 dome cones or beanbags and 1 hula hoop per pair

Group classes in partners, each pair with 6 dome cones or beanbags and 1 hula hoop.

The dome cones or beanbags are placed inside the hula hoop.

Students decide whether they will be a collector or a protector.

On a cue (preferably music), collectors try to obtain as many cones as possible and return them to their collection hoop.

One cone at a time can be captured by a collector, and the protector's job is to tag players trying to get their cones, standing with both feet in the hoop.

If a student is tagged, they must return the cone, perform 5 or 10 pushups or jumping jacks off to the side, and then return to the game.

Tag Game 2: Safe Zone Tag

Overview:  Students aim to avoid being tagged by a yarn ball while traveling around the playing area in various ways. The game encourages agility, quick decision-making, and offers a fun, dynamic approach to tagging and dodging skills.

Equipment Needed:  4 – 8 hula hoops for safe zones and yarn balls for 20% of the students to use as tagging tools.

Scatter 4 – 8 hula hoops around the playing area as safe zones and distribute yarn balls to approximately 20% of the students, who will act as taggers. Switch taggers every few minutes to keep the game dynamic.

Review all locomotor movements and tagging safety with students before starting.

On a musical cue, all students start moving using a teacher-designated locomotor movement. Non-taggers aim to avoid taggers, using hula hoops as temporary safe zones.

Only one player can occupy a safe zone (hula hoop) at a time. If a new player enters, the one inside must leave immediately (first in, first out rule).

If two players enter a hula hoop simultaneously, both must exit.

Tagged students perform a designated task, like running a half-lap outside the playing area or doing a set exercises, before rejoining the game.

Tag Game 3: Predator Tag

Overview:  Predator Tag is an engaging game that simulates the predator-prey relationship, with students trying to tag or steal flags from their "prey" while avoiding their "predators." This game not only encourages physical agility and speed but also strategic thinking and teamwork.

Equipment Needed:  Scrimmage vests or belts with flags (or juggling scarves) in three different colors to distinguish teams.

Assign students to one of three teams, each identified by a specific color of scrimmage vests, flags, or juggling scarves, and have them scatter throughout the playing area.

Initiate movement with a teacher-directed locomotor movement, setting the game in motion. Each team has a specific target: Green tags blue, blue tags red, and red tags yellow, with each team being both predator and prey.

Introduce a variety of locomotor movements throughout the game to challenge different skills.

Players tagged or whose flags are stolen must sit or perform a designated balance/stretch/exercise in a designated holding area until a teammate gives them a high five, allowing them to re-enter the game.

Freed players can then rejoin the game, continuing to tag or avoid being tagged according to their team's role.

Check out this 25 Tag Game Set on Cap'n Pete's website store or here on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Incorporating fitness-based movement activities into PE classes is key to promoting a holistic approach to student health. These muscle strengthening activities, designed to also elevate heart rates and increase flexibility, go beyond the immediate fun and excitement to lay a foundation for lifelong health and fitness habits. By integrating these into your curriculum, you're not just teaching students how to move but also why movement matters for their overall well-being.

Cardiovascular Health:  Regular participation improves heart health and endurance.

Muscle Strength:  Activities target various muscle groups, enhancing overall strength.

Flexibility:  Encourages a range of motion, reducing the risk of injuries and improving performance.

Locomotor Movement:  Promotes fundamental movement skills, improving coordination and agility.

Fitness Activity 1: Pacer - Rapid Fire

Overview:   The PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) Challenge is a dynamic activity designed for large classes or groups, utilizing the classic PACER test format to enhance cardiovascular fitness. Participants alternate running between end and side lines of a court, ideally set at PACER distances of 15 or 20 meters apart, promoting endurance and speed.

Equipment Needed:   The activity requires two sets of PACER lines or side/end lines on a basketball court and Fitnessgram PACER recording cues to guide the pacing of the activity.

Students are divided into groups at either the end line or sideline of a court, or at two sets of PACER lines.

After reviewing PACER instructions and emphasizing safe, straight-line movement, the activity begins with a starting cue (beep or bell).

The first group runs from one end line to the opposite on the cue, followed by the next group running from one sideline to the other on the second beep.

Groups alternate running back and forth, following the PACER beeps.

Halfway through, based on age group criteria (e.g., at 25 for 4th graders), groups switch from end to side lines to vary the running pattern.

To add variety, the type of locomotor movement can be changed for each run.

Fitness Activity 2: Fitness BLASTS

Overview:   Fitness BLASTS challenge students with task card activities that cover a broad range of health and skill-related fitness movements. Designed for small groups, this activity promotes teamwork, engagement, and offers a well-rounded workout experience as students aim to complete all exercises on a task card before moving on to the next one.

Equipment Needed:  Y ou'll need Fitness BLAST sheets with 4 to 8 varied exercises that include strength training and aerobic movements, laminating materials to ensure the sheets can withstand repeated use, and cones, hula hoops, or wall space to display the laminated sheets throughout the gym or classroom.

Divide students into small groups or pairs and assign them to start at a specific Fitness BLAST card.

Each group works through the exercises listed on their card, ensuring every member completes all exercises. Group members can perform different exercises simultaneously to finish faster.

After completing all tasks on their card, groups change Fitness BLAST task cards and resume movement performing different exercises on the next card.

Fitness Activity 3: Power Shuttle Fitness

Overview:   Power Shuttle Fitness is a dynamic activity that combines fast-paced shuttle relays with a comprehensive mix of exercises. Students will engage in locomotor movements, cardiovascular training, strength exercises, plyometrics, flexibility routines, and manipulative skills, all within a single, energetic session.

Equipment Needed:   The setup requires a designated area like a basketball court or field, with equipment for mid-point exercises including jump ropes, hula hoops, resistance bands, and balls. Cones or markers are also needed to delineate the start, midpoint, and endpoints of the relay.

Divide the class into small groups of 3-4 students, arranging them in lines at opposite ends of the court or field.

At the signal, the first student in line performs a teacher-directed locomotor movement towards the midpoint of the relay course.

Upon reaching the midpoint, they complete a predetermined exercise or movement, utilizing the available equipment.

After the midpoint exercise, they continue to the opposite end of the course and give a high-five to their waiting teammate, signaling the next person to start their relay.

While waiting, students on the sidelines engage in dynamic stretches, yoga poses, or balance exercises to stay active.

The activity is continuous, with teammates taking turns completing the relay and the exercises.

Here are 25 "Start Me Up" Fitness Warm up Activities on Cap'n Pete's website store  or here on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Skill challenges utilizing PE equipment are pivotal in developing a student's hand-eye coordination, balance, and fine motor skills. These challenges are not only about mastering the equipment but also about enhancing cognitive and physical coordination. By engaging in these activities, students learn to control and manipulate various tools, from balls and hoops to ropes, which contributes to their overall physical development and introduces them to a broad spectrum of sports and activities.

Key Benefits

Enhances Motor Skills:  Improves fine motor skills, agility, and control through targeted activities.

Coordination and Control:  Through focused challenges, students learn to manage their movements with greater skill and efficiency.

Introduces New Equipment and Techniques:  Expands students' experience and familiarity with a range of PE equipment, fostering a versatile skill set.

PE Challenge Activity 1: Hula Hoop Challenges

Overview:  This activity encourages students to engage in a series of personal challenge tasks involving twirling, spinning, and balancing with a hula hoop. Designed to be self-guided, it allows students to work at their own pace, promoting self-improvement and persistence in mastering various hula hoop techniques.

Equipment Needed:  A hula hoop for each student, or one hula hoop to share between two students if there are not enough hoops available.

Prepare challenge sheets that outline a series of tasks with the hula hoop. These tasks should become progressively more challenging, allowing students to advance at their own pace.

Distribute a hula hoop and a challenge sheet to each student. Encourage them to work through the tasks on the challenge sheet, which may include:

Twirling the hoop around their waist, neck, arm, one leg, and both legs.

Rotating the hoop on the ground like a spinning top and then performing various tasks while it rotates, such as touching the closest wall or holding a plank position.

Balancing the hoop on different parts of their body.

Walking through the hoop while it is on the ground.Introduce partner activities with the hoop for added fun and collaboration. These can include passing the hoop between partners without using hands or rolling the hoop and running through it while it is in motion.

PE Challenge Activity 2: Jump Rope Challenges

Overview:  Jump Rope Challenges offer students a variety of personal challenge tasks that involve turning and jumping over an individual jump rope. This self-guided activity is structured to allow students to progress at their own pace, fostering a sense of achievement as they develop and refine their jump rope skills.

Equipment Needed:  A short jump rope for each student, or jump ropes to be shared between pairs if there are limited resources.

Create challenge sheets listing a variety of jump rope tasks. Arrange these tasks in order of difficulty to provide a gradual learning curve.

Hand out a jump rope and a challenge sheet to each student. Guide them to start with simpler tasks and advance to more complex challenges. Task examples include:

Turning the rope in wide circles around the body above the head, known as the "helicopter," and around the waist, termed the "washing machine."

Switching the rope from one side of the body to the other in a swift motion, referred to as "Ninja," and performing a figure-eight motion, stepping through the loop in a "step-through" maneuver.

Basic jump rope skills like jumping forwards and backwards with both feet, hopping on one foot forwards and backwards, and executing a jogging step in both directions.

More advanced jump rope tricks such as the "skier" (jumping side to side), "bell jump" (jumping forwards and backwards), "spread eagle" (jumping with legs apart and together), "twister" (twisting the hips side to side), "scissor jump" (alternating front and back leg positions), and the "straddle" (jumping with legs wide and together).

PE Challenge Activity 3: Scarf/Grocery Bag Challenges

Overview:  Scarf/Grocery Bag Challenges present students with a unique opportunity to refine their hand-eye coordination through a series of tossing and catching tasks, simultaneously incorporating other movements. This self-guided activity is designed for students to progress at their own pace, encouraging persistence and skill development in various scarf and bag tossing techniques.

Equipment Needed:  Each student will need 1 or 2 juggling scarves or lightweight grocery bags. If resources are limited, these can be shared between partners.

Create challenge sheets detailing a sequence of progressively challenging tasks involving the scarves or bags. Ensure the tasks encourage students to develop their tossing and catching skills while also integrating additional movements.

Hand out a scarf or bag along with a challenge sheet to each student. Guide them to attempt the tasks listed, which may include:

Tossing and catching the scarf or bag straight up and down, and across the body in a "rainbow toss."

Performing specific actions before catching, such as tossing the item and then touching their shoulder, foot, the ground, or spinning around.

Tossing and catching the item with added challenges, like clapping, sitting down, tossing under their leg, lying down, or rolling before the catch.

To incorporate social interaction and teamwork, introduce partner activities. These could involve tossing and catching between partners, mirroring movements, or creating a sequence of throws and catches to perform together.

Check out this Super Challenge Series- PE Skills Edition - 26 Challenge Sheet Set on Cap'n Pete's website store  or here on Teachers Pay Teachers .

PE stations are an excellent way to organize physical education classes to maximize student engagement, skill development, and participation. By setting up different stations around the gym or outdoor area, students can rotate through a variety of activities, each focusing on different physical skills or challenges. This format not only keeps students active and reduces downtime but also caters to diverse interests and skill levels within the class.

Diverse Skill Development:  Each station can focus on a different skill, ensuring students receive a well-rounded physical education.

Engagement:  With multiple activities happening simultaneously, students are less likely to become bored or disengaged.

Personalized Learning:  Stations can be tailored to challenge students at their individual skill levels, promoting personal growth.

Station Activity 1: Cup Stacking

Overview:  Cup Stacking is an engaging and dynamic station activity designed to improve students' motor coordination and speed. Tasked with the rapid construction and deconstruction of stacking cup pyramids, students engage in a playful yet challenging exercise that enhances dexterity and concentration.

Equipment Needed:  Each student, pair or small group needs 9 plastic cups for the station activities.

Each student, or students in a group station, begins with 9 cups.

The task is to build three pyramids, each consisting of three cups.

Once the pyramids are constructed, students must then de-stack the cups back into single stacks as quickly as possible.

Introduce a competitive and self-improvement element by having students time each other's upstack and downstack process, encouraging them to improve their speed with each attempt.

Increase the challenge for by having them create different pyramid configurations or by increasing the number of cups per pyramid.

Station Activity 2: Ball Handling Skills

Overview:  This station focuses on enhancing students' ball handling skills through diverse and engaging exercises, aimed at improving coordination, dexterity, and ball technique mastery.

Equipment Needed:  Basketballs or playground balls suitable for the age and skill level of the students.

Students begin with overhead taps to develop hand control and fluid motion.

They practice the rainbow toss, moving the ball in an arc from one hand to the other across the body.

They circle the ball around the waist, then legs, then head, maintaining grip throughout.

They perform a figure 8 dribble between the legs to boost coordination.

They try spinning the ball on one finger for balance and focus.

Students are encouraged to invent and try out their own ball handling exercises.

Station Activity 3: Javelin (Pool Noodle) Throw

Overview: The Javelin Throw station uses pool noodles to safely introduce students to the track and field event, focusing on developing throwing technique and upper body strength. It incorporates a friendly competitive element as students strive to achieve the farthest throw.

Equipment Needed:  This station requires one pool noodle, a designated line for students to throw from, and an optional measuring tape for recording distances.

Students line up behind a set throwing line.

Taking turns, they throw the noodle as far as they can, focusing on proper form to mimic a javelin throw.

After each throw, distances can be compared to encourage a bit of friendly competition among participants.

Encourage each student to aim to beat their own personal best with each subsequent throw, fostering a sense of personal achievement and progress.

Click the link to view this large grouping of PE Stations: Triple Pack Bundle- 132 Movement, Skill and Sport Zones on Cap'n Pete's website store  or here on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Small group PE games provide a unique opportunity for students to engage in more intimate and cooperative/competitive gameplay (i.e. small group crab soccer vs. regular soccer). These games are designed to enhance teamwork, communication, and social skills, as well as physical abilities. Small group settings allow for more individualized attention from teachers and can be particularly effective in developing specific skills or concepts.

Teamwork and Cooperation:  Students learn to work together, developing social and cooperative skills that are essential beyond the PE class.

Focused Skill Development:  With fewer participants, games can be tailored to target specific skills or areas of improvement.

Strategic Thinking:  Engaging in games that require strategy encourages students to think critically and make quick decisions.

Small Group Game 1: Pin Ball

Overview:  Pin Ball is a dynamic team PE game where players collaborate to toss a foam ball or flying disc to knock down the opposing team's bowling pin situated at their court's end. The game emphasizes essential physical skills such as throwing and catching, fostering teamwork and strategic play.

Equipment Needed:  Each small group needs one ball, which can be a yarn ball, foam ball, or Frisbee. The playing area or court is marked off with 4 cones or gym lines. At each end of the court, place 2 hula hoops, and within each hula hoop, set up a bowling pin or an empty 2-liter bottle to serve as the target.

Game Instructions and Rules:

Two teams are spread out each within their court section, with 3 vs. 3 or 4 vs. 4 being optimal team sizes.

The game starts with one team holding the ball, aiming to pass it along their court and shoot to topple the pin within the opposing team's hoop.

Players in possession of the ball are restricted from moving with it but may pivot and take one step towards their aim (either a teammate or the pin), without progressing up the court.

Only "complete" passes allow a team to maintain possession. If the ball hits the ground, the opposing team gains possession from that spot.

Physical contact is prohibited in the game, especially on defense.

A team earns 1 point by successfully making passes that lead to a shot knocking down the opposition's pin.

The game is played for a predetermined duration or until a team reaches "10 points" first.

Small Group Game 2: Rescue Me

Equipment Needed:  For "Rescue Me," you'll need several balls such as footballs, Nerf balls, and Frisbees for each playing group. The playing area is outlined with cones or lines to mark playing areas and end zones, accommodating small groups of 12 – 16 players or 6 – 8 per team. Balls are evenly dispersed on both sides of the playing area, which is divided by a mid-line with two end-zone lines set approximately 30 to 50 feet apart.

Teams divide their members, positioning half on their side of the playing area and the other half behind the opposing team’s end zone.

The objective is to "rescue" teammates from the opposite end zone by throwing them a ball that they must catch completely in the air.

Once a player in the end zone catches a ball, they must throw it back across the mid-line to their teammates in their home playing area.

A player is considered "rescued" if they make a successful catch in the end zone and then throw the ball back across the mid-line to be caught by a teammate in their home playing area.

Rescued players join their team and continue playing in the home court/field, aiding in the rescue of the remaining players.

The game continues with balls not caught being thrown back to either playing area, and the process repeats.

Victory is achieved when all members of a team have been successfully rescued.

Small Group Game 3: Catch Ball

Overview:  Catch Ball is a team game where groups work together to make a playground ball bounce twice within the opposing team's court, emphasizing skills in both throwing and catching.

Equipment Needed:  Each small group of 8 to 12 students needs one playground ball. Court boundaries can be marked with gym lines or small cones indoors, or playground chalk for outdoor play. Two square or rectangular courts are set opposite each other, with a serving line marked at the back right corner of each court.

Players distribute themselves within their court.

The game initiates with a serve from the back right corner into the opposing team's court. The serve must cross the mid-line.

The goal is to have the ball bounce twice within the opponent's court. A ball that bounces once or is dropped and then bounces once before being caught remains in play.

If a ball is thrown to the opposite side, bounces once, and then exits the court bounds, the serving team earns a point.

Should the ball bounce twice in a team's own court before crossing over, the opposing team scores a point. The serving right rotates through each team member after each point.

While the ball is live, players may pass it among teammates before it crosses to the opposing side. However, if it is dropped and bounces twice, the opposing team scores. The ball is allowed to bounce once during live play.

Teachers or student referees are advised to vocally count "ONE" upon the first bounce as a reminder to players.

Here are 25 "Dynamic" Small Group Breakout Games/Activities on Cap'n Pete's website store  or here on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Final Thoughts

Wrapping up this journey through a diverse array of PE activities, it’s clear how vital variety is in our physical education curriculums. Each activity presented not only serves a broad spectrum of interests and learning objectives but also highlights the flexibility and innovation essential in meeting our students’ diverse needs. From the instant energy boosters to strategic tag games, and from skill-sharpening challenges to collaborative small group games, our mission remains steadfast: to nurture comprehensive physical and social skills that empower students for a lifetime.

I invite my fellow PE teachers and professionals to see these activities as gateways to inspiration, learning, and adaptation. With a dash of creativity and some thoughtful tweaking, you can customize these activities to fit various ages, skill levels, and equipment availabilities, ensuring every student finds their stride.

Most importantly, physical education plays a pivotal role in fostering a lifelong appreciation for health and fitness. By creating an environment where physical activity is both fun and rewarding, we’re setting the foundation for our students to lead active, healthy lives long into the future. Let's continue to be inventive, engaging, and supportive, showing our students the boundless possibilities that physical education offers.

A Cool Free Resource!

Do you need some FREE PE skill-based challenge visuals? Do you need an organized task sheet set that has top of the line graphics and font? If so, Cap'n Pete's Power PE has you covered! Each task sheet consists of 6 manipulative skill-based challenges (1 sheet for beanbags, balloons, hula hoops, jump ropes, playground balls, and juggling scarves) that progressively get more difficult as the students work through the tasks. !

Fill in the form below to download this FREE Super Challenges - PE Skills: Visual Card Set with 6 task cards designed exclusively for working on manipulative skills during PE or in the classroom as a brain break or movement energizer!

This fun set of super challenge visuals was designed to be implemented with a wide range of ages.

Need a Large C ollection of Skill-Based Activity Visuals?

If you're looking for several skill-based activity progression visuals to use in your classes that incorporates a variety of PE equipment , look no further! Cap'n Pete has the ultimate PE skill-based resource - PE Activity: Super Challenge Series- PE Skills Edition.  The packet is made up of 26 individual challenge visuals; one for each letter of the alphabet.!

Each task sheet consists of 6 manipulative skill-based challenges, that progressively get more difficult as the students work through the tasks. These challenges can easily be utilized by a physical education or classroom teacher to provide students with a quality, manipulative skill-based, highly engaging LEARNING experience they will absolutely LOVE! The Super Challenge Series sheets are “Kid-Friendly” (incorporating a Super Hero theme) and the set comes complete with a detailed activity plan and optional incentive tickets for completing each challenge sheet.

The challenges were designed to use typical PE equipment that includes activities using; beanbags, hula hoops, jump ropes, balloons, juggling scarves, paddles, rackets and playground balls. Students can work on their own, in partners or small groups to attempt the self-guided/paced progressions.

You can download them from either of the following platforms: Cap'n Pete's Power PE Website   or Teachers Pay Teachers- Cap'n Pete's TPT Store

• Activities and Games
• Warm-Ups & Instant Activities
• Stations and Circuits

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Promoting Quality Physical Education Policy

What is qpe.

Quality physical education (QPE) is distinct from physical education. The main differences relate to frequency, variety, inclusivity and value content. Quality physical education is about peer-led learning and rounded skill development which can enhance educational and employability outcomes.

It is also about whole body health which includes physical and psycho-social wellbeing. QPE supports students to develop the physical, social and emotional skills which define healthy, resilient and socially responsible citizens. QPE is a core component of UNESCO’s new sport programme, Fit for Life .

Why is it important?

Physical activity declined by 41% during the pandemic. Physical inactivity already contributed to 5 million premature deaths annually pre-COVID.

Mental health has worsened amongst students over the course of the pandemic according to 70% of 450 teachers and 95% of 12 young leaders polled by UNESCO

UNESCO data indicates that 89% of 117 countries report that PE is the same for girls and boys. In addition, 82% of PE teachers have seen COVID-19 negatively impact participation, particularly amongst girls and children with disabilities.

The QPE tools

How we & partners are driving positive change.

UNESCO developed a QPE resource package in partnership with the European Commission , International Bureau of Education , International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) , International Olympic Committee (IOC) , Nike , the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) , UNICEF , and the World Health Organization (WHO) ,  which benefitted from the input of more than 50 organizations and individual experts, from all world regions.

This package includes:

Qpe policy project, driving the change in-country.

The QPE Policy Project was implemented, using the QPE resource package, to practically support countries to revise national physical education (PE) policies to be inclusive and child-centered . The project was implemented between 2016 and 2018 in four pilot countries: Fiji, Mexico, South Africa and Zambia .

“Participating in the Quality Physical Education Policy Project gave Zambia a strategic opportunity to strengthen and systematize cooperation between national sport, education and health ministries. This was the first time these inter-connections between sport, education and health policies have featured explicitly in a national policy document.”

The QPE Policy Project has been described as “one of the most remarkable and significant global initiatives in Physical Education of the last century” by independent experts.

All countries engaged in the pilot developed new policy instruments to support quality provision and achieved high levels of stakeholder cooperation which significantly enhanced the inclusivity of the process.

Global, multi-stakeholder partnerships are necessary to achieve sustainable development. The outcomes of the QPE policy project reflect the success of this partnership compact approach to sport-policy design. We hope it is used as a model to strengthen inclusive and participatory approaches in other sectors also.

• In Fiji , 1,390 students, 330 teachers and 990 parents from 197 schools were engaged in the development of a series of consultations and workshops. This resulted in Fiji’s first ever PE policy.
• In South Africa , 27 researchers were engaged in a high-quality desk review and national situation analysis which drew on 9 provincial reports. These documents “provide an excellent basis for future policy development and policy revision exercises”.
• In Mexico , process highlights include inter-ministerial collaboration and the systematic engagement of diverse stakeholder groups including the Ministries, international organisations and representatives of more than 30 civil society organizations, universities, academic experts in a range of disciplines related to physical education, health and education. This resulted in an inter-ministerial QPE policy strategy in Mexico.
• In Zambia , a National Stakeholders Workshop was held targeting national media engagement in the project, as well as a broad cross-section of other stakeholder groups. This resulted in an inclusive QPE Policy Implementation framework in Zambia.
• Drawing on interventions in pilot countries and recommendations from QPE resources, Kazakhstan and Kenya embarked in the policy revision process on a self-funded basis culminating in the adoption of a new, inclusive physical education policy.

Fit for Life will expand the scope and scale of the existing work undertaken in QPE.

Data-driven approach

With inputs from a compact of international partners, UNESCO administers a unique QPE survey and compendium of indicators to assess quality physical education policy and practice, and to address basic data gaps on PE.

The Ministerial-level QPE survey captures data at the policy level from its Member States, and the School-level QPE survey collects data from physical education teachers on PE provision.

The 2021 edition of the survey gathered data from 117 countries and 2101 PE teachers around the world, and was implemented in partnership with the International Federation of Physical Education and Sport (FIEPS).

To evaluate the specific impacts of the pandemic on PE provision, as well as on the physical and mental health of students and teachers, a COVID-19 top-up dataset gathered insights from 450 PE teachers globally. Complementing the survey data, 12 young leaders were engaged in an action-oriented focus group to discuss findings and propose solutions.

Findings from the survey and focus group will operationalised via Fit for Life .

How can YOU get involved?

Join UNESCO and international champions in promoting and disseminating resources and data #Active4Life #QPEforLife #FitForLife

Collaborate with UNESCO to advance knowledge, share data and good practice, support a specific project within the Fit for Life flagship

Provide critical funding to support advocacy and activity implementation

For more information please contact Nancy McLennan

Related items

• Social and human sciences
• Gender equality
• Guidelines and tools
• Policy Advice
• Programme implementation
• Physical education
• Girls education
• Educational quality
• Quality of life
• Skills development
• Health policy
• Mental health
• Social inequality
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Physical Education

Physical education is the foundation of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program. 1, 2 It is an academic subject characterized by a planned, sequential K–12 curriculum (course of study) that is based on the national standards for physical education. 2–4 Physical education provides cognitive content and instruction designed to develop motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors for physical activity and physical fitness. 2–4 Supporting schools to establish physical education daily can provide students with the ability and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime. 2–4

There are many benefits of physical education in schools. When students get physical education, they can 5-7 :

• Increase their level of physical activity.
• Improve their grades and standardized test scores.
• Stay on-task in the classroom.

Increased time spent in physical education does not negatively affect students’ academic achievement.

Strengthen Physical Education in Schools [PDF – 437 KB] —This data brief defines physical education, provides a snapshot of current physical education practices in the United States, and highlights ways to improve physical education through national guidance and practical strategies and resources. This was developed by Springboard to Active Schools in collaboration with CDC.

Secular Changes in Physical Education Attendance Among U.S. High School Students, YRBS 1991–2013

The Secular Changes in Physical Education Attendance Among U.S. High School Students report [PDF – 3 MB] explains the secular changes (long-term trends) in physical education attendance among US high school students over the past two decades. Between 1991 and 2013, US high school students’ participation in school-based physical education classes remained stable, but at a level much lower than the national recommendation of daily physical education. In order to maximize the benefits of physical education, the adoption of policies and programs aimed at increasing participation in physical education among all US students should be prioritized. Download the report for detailed, nationwide findings.

Physical Education Analysis Tool (PECAT)

The  Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) [PDF – 6 MB] is a self-assessment and planning guide developed by CDC. It is designed to help school districts and schools conduct clear, complete, and consistent analyses of physical education curricula, based upon national physical education standards.

Visit our PECAT page  to learn more about how schools can use this tool.

• CDC Monitoring Student Fitness Levels1 [PDF – 1.64 MB]
• CDC Ideas for Parents: Physical Education [PDF – 2 MB]
• SHAPE America: The Essential Components of Physical Education (2015) [PDF – 391 KB]
• SHAPE America: Appropriate Instructional Practice Guidelines for Elementary, Middle School, and High School Physical Education [PDF – 675 KB]
• SHAPE America: National Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes for K–12 Physical Education 2014
• SHAPE America: National Standards for K–12 Physical Education (2013)
• SHAPE America Resources
• Youth Compendium of Physical Activities for Physical Education Teachers (2018) [PDF – 145 KB]
• Social Emotional Learning Policies and Physical Education
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Guide for Developing Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs . Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2013.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School health guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity. MMWR . 2011;60(RR05):1–76.
• Institute of Medicine. Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2013. Retrieved from  http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18314&page=R1 .
• SHAPE America. T he Essential Components of Physical Education . Reston, VA: SHAPE America; 2015. Retrieved from   http://www.shapeamerica.org/upload/TheEssentialComponentsOfPhysicalEducation.pdf  [PDF – 392 KB].
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance . Atlanta, GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health and Academic Achievement. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2014.
• Michael SL, Merlo C, Basch C, et al. Critical connections: health and academics . Journal of School Health . 2015;85(11):740–758.

Healthy Youth

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Assessment is essential and integral to effective teaching and learning in PE as it provides information on students’ strengths, weaknesses, and educational requirements, which informs future planning and teaching [ 1-9 ]. Assessment is also vital for the provision of grades (achieved and predicted), informing others of attainment (parents, teachers etc.), and is used to judge the effectiveness of teachers and the school [ 7, 10 ]. Moreover, feedback from assessment has been recognized for increasing pupil motivation and engagement, and helps create a positive learning environment [ 11, 12 ].

In PE there are many modes of assessment but for the purpose of this article we will focus on the most significant modes (formative and summative) and reference systems (criterion, norm, and ipsative).

Formative assessment has been described as ‘ongoing’ and takes place during teaching-learning situations in PE. It is important as it involves providing pupils with constructive feedback, diagnosing future learning needs, describing students’ progress, and determining their strengths and weaknesses [ 2, 3, 4, 13, 14 ]. It has also been closely related to ‘Assessment for Learning’ and has been commended for its emphasis on describing progress, identifying pupils’ needs, planning for next steps in learning, and providing vital information for summative assessment [ 1, 15, 16 ].

Summative assessment is an overall assessment which takes place at the end of an interval, unit, key stage or year. It has also been described as ‘Assessment of Learning’ as it provides a synopsis of students’ levels of attainment at the end of a specified interval, and is used to provide examination grades [ 1, 2, 7, 9, 15 ]. Summative assessment has been asserted as the ‘systematic recording of the pupil’s overall progress and achievement, and is made up of a series of formative assessments’ [ 3 ].

As previously mentioned, there are three reference systems that have been used for assessment in PE, these are: Norm Referenced; Criterion Referenced; and Ipsative Referenced assessment [ 1, 2, 7, 17, 18 ]. Norm Referenced assessment is when students are compared with one another [ 7, 18 ]. This form of assessment has been regarded as ‘group centred’, as comparisons within the group are made to establish how successful the pupil is in relation to others of the same age [ 2 ]. However, Norm Referencing assessment has been criticised, as the goal for learning is a moving target due to other pupils’ performances determining the standard of learning [ 18 ]. This can be detrimental to students’ self-esteem, as when pupils progress to ‘above average’, it is at the expense of others who become ‘below average’ [ 2 ]. Additionally, dependent upon the ability of the class determines the students’ attainment, as in a high calibre class pupils may receive on average a lower mark, compared to a mediocre class who receives on average a higher mark [ 17 ]. Notwithstanding, Norm Referencing has been deemed inevitable, as it is used in public grading systems, and for selecting pupils for school representation and teams [ 2 ].

Criterion Referenced assessment is comparing pupils performance to a predetermined criteria or standard [ 2, 7, 17, 18 ]. For example, in the UK the National Curriculum’s attainment targets/level descriptors, GCSE’s, A Levels, and other national governing body awards are all examples of Criterion Referenced assessment since students’ performances are judged based on established criteria [ 7 ]. Criterion Referencing is ‘activity centered’ assessment, as all students can potentially achieve the target, eliminating comparison with others, thus promoting collaborative learning as pupils are working together towards a common goal [ 18 ]. Criterion Referenced assessment should not to be viewed in conflict with the other referencing systems, but rather to be used in conjunction with them [ 2 ]. Therefore, the advantage of Criterion Referenced assessment and set standards is that it provides educators with a more accurate measuring stick to assess pupils learning, and provides details of the additional work students must complete to reach the next level of achievement [ 18 ].

Ipsative Referencing assessment compares a pupil’s current performance with their previous performance in the same activity [ 2, 7, 17 ]. Ipsative Referencing is regarded as ‘child centered’, as pupils focus on beating their previous achievement, which is useful for recording learning and progress [ 2, 7 ]. This form of referencing promotes a mastery climate, again eliminating comparison with others, which enhances pupils’ self-esteem, motivation, and accountability [2]. Furthermore, Ipsative Referencing provides a foundation for self and teacher assessments in Records of Achievement [ 2 ].

In conclusion, Norm, Criterion, and Ipsative referenced assessment should not be viewed as mutually exclusive, as they are all beneficial for supporting students’ learning when employed together. It is expected that all PE teachers implement a range of assessment methods in every lesson, as it helps teachers and pupils to progress in their teaching and learning. For assessments to be managed efficiently and effectively, it is important for the criteria to be precise, clearly identified, and related to each other [ 2 ]. Moreover, to develop appropriate and reliable assessment criteria calls for dedicated and devoted teachers, who possess strong observational skills, detailed knowledge of activities and their techniques, and can make sound judgements of pupils’ ability [ 2, 8, 19 ].

• Piotrowski, S. (2000) Assessment, Recording and Reporting. In, Bailey, R., and Macfadyen, T. (Eds) Teaching Physical Education 5-11. London: Continuum. pp. 49-61
• Carroll, B. (1994) Assessment in Physical Education. Burgess Science Press: Basingstoke.
• Mawer, M. (1995) The effective teaching of Physical Education. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. pp. 229-248
• Bailey, R. (2001) Teaching Physical Education: A handbook for primary and secondary school teachers. London: Kogan Page. pp. 137-152
• Coates, B (2001) Assessment Planning for KS3 PE. Cambridge: Pearson Publishing. pp. 1-13
• Walker, D., (2001) Assessment, Recording and Reporting of Pupil Attainment in Physical Education – A Voice form the Real World. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 32(4): pp. 24-25
• Macfadyen, T., and Bailey, R. (2002) Teaching Physical Education 11-18. London: Continuum. Pp. 75-89
• Lockwood, A., and Newton, A. (2004) Assessment in PE. In Capel, S. (Eds) Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A companion to School Experience. Second Edition. Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer. pp.165
• O’Neill, J., and Ockmore, D. (2006) Assessing pupils’ learning. In Capel, S., Breckon, P., and O’neill, J. (Eds)A Practical Guide to Teaching Physical Education in the Secondary School. Oxon: Routledge. pp. 133-143
• Peach, S., and Bamforth, C. (2003) Tackling the problems of Assessment, Recording and Reporting in Physical Education and Initial Teacher Training 2: an update and evaluation of the project and recommendations for future good practive. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 34(1): pp. 22-26
• James, A.R., Griffin, L., and Dodds, P. (2009) Perceptions of middle school assessment: an ecological view. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. 14(3): pp. 323-334
• Koka, A. and Hein, V. (2006) Perceptions of teachers’ positive feedback and perceived threat to sense of self in physical education: a longitudinal study. European Physical Education Review. 12(2): pp 165-179
• Morley, D. and Bailey, R. (2004) Talent Identification and provision in PE – A strategic approach. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 35(1): pp. 41-44
• Strand, B.N., and Wilson, R. (1993) Assessing sport skills. Leeds: Human Kinetics
• Williams, A. (1988) Teaching Physical Education: A Guide for Mentors and Students. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. pp.67-78
• Giles-Brown, L. (2006) Physical Education Assessment Toolkit. Leeds: Human Kinetics.
• Piotrowski, S., & Capel, S. (2000) Formal and Informal Modes of Assessment in Physical Education. In: Capel, S., & Piotrowski, S. (Eds.) issues in physical education. London: RoutledgeFalmer. pp. 99-115