Coaches, Coaches, Coaches

I always knew that I wanted to coach and collaborate with coaches. However, as an athletic coach, I never thought that I would be collaborating with academic coaches.

These are the women who provide the support and encouragement that I need as a new teacher.

The top photo is Faye Jackson, the district math coach, and my mentor. The second is Cindy Griffin, the district literacy coach. I collaborate with both of these ladies.

In the picture with Ms. Jackson, we are finishing up on post-observation of my teach. I need to work on Domain B. I don't joke a lot. With kids this age, without structure they can get loud and off task. So I am looking for ways that I can include a little humor without disruptions. When I was reviewing he rules of soccer, I used a power point that included animated graphics. Also, I ended with a picture of David Beckham. I asked the kids if they knew who this was. A couple said, "you." So I took that opportunity to have a little fun. My other problem with B is calling the kids by name. Of course, I am getting better, but I have 360 kids that I see once a week for 40 minutes. It is a challenge.

She has really helped me find things such as policies, emergency drills, etc. She has given me great strategies incorporating technology into my PE classes. She suggested the power point. She encouraged me to get the Wii.

I told her that I had to do a book talk on a trade book. I didn't even know what a trade book was. Well, she did not either, but she told me to talk with Ms.Griffin, the literacy coach.

Ms. Griffin is pictured in second photo. I met with her and told her that I had several book talks to do using trade books that were appropriate to my classes. She was great. She told me that there was a book room off the library that contained trade books arranged by subject and grade level. She also helped me pick out several. We also talked about how I could encourage literacy in my PE classes.

Wii Fitness for PE

All the rain has put my PE classes in the gym. We are getting ready to learn the game of volley ball. My PE classes are only forty minutes. That really isn't much time. The teachers bring them to the gym, and at the end of each class I walk them back to their classrooms. It seems that we just get started when the period ends. The thing that I really like about the elementary kids is that they always want to participate.

The Arkansas standards require that teachers of K-6 students can not teach over 500 students. JBE has 815 kids. These classes come to PE on a rotating basis. I teach 3 classes a day which equates to 15 classes a week. I have 360 kids. The biggest problem is learning their names.

Note the circles on the gym floor. Each student is assigned a circle. When they come into the gym, they go to their circle. It really organizes the class. I also collaborate with Coach K who teaches the other 25 classes. We are working on the President's Fitness Challenge. In December, we plan to asses the students using the President's Fitness Challenge rubric. Basically, we coordinate our lessens.

I was able to get the Wii sports games and the Wii fitness. I am getting it set up. The kids are very excited and are looking forward to using it. I think it will be a good way to incorporate technology.

Sam's Blog

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