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PHYSICAL EDUCATION STANDARDS

1. Demonstrates competency in many movement forms and proficiency in a few movement forms

The intent of this standard is the development of movement competence and proficiency.  Movement competence implies the development of sufficient ability to enjoy participation in physical activities and establishes a foundation to facilitate continued motor skill acquisition and increased ability to engage in appropriate motor patterns in daily physical activities.  The development of proficiency in a few movement forms gives the student the capacity for successful and advanced levels of performance to further increase the likelihood of participation.  In the primary years students develop maturity and versatility in the use of fundamental skills (e.g., running, skipping, throwing, striking) that are further refined, combined and varied during the middle school years.  These motor patterns, now having evolved into specialized skills (e.g., a specific dance step, chest pass, catching with a glove) are used in increasingly more complex movement environments (e.g., more players or participants, rules, and strategies) through the middle school years.  On the basis of interest and ability, high school students select a few activities for regular participation within which proficiency will be developed.  In preparation for adulthood, students should have acquired the basic skills to participate in a wide variety of leisure and work-related physical activities and advanced skills in at least two or three areas.


2. Applies movement concepts and principles to the learning and development of motor skills

This standard concerns the ability of the learner to use cognitive information to understand and enhance motor skill acquisition and performance.  This includes the application of concepts from disciplines such as motor learning and development, sport psychology and sociology, biomechanics, and exercise physiology.  Specifically this would include concepts like increasing force production through the summation of forces, effects of anxiety on performance, and the principle of specificity of training.  Knowledge of such concepts and practice applying these concepts enhances the likelihood of independent learning and therefore more regular and effective participation in physical activity.  During the lower elementary years emphasis is placed on establishing a movement vocabulary and initial application of introductory concepts (e.g., force absorption, principles governing equilibrium, application of force).  Through the upper elementary and middle school years an emphasis is placed on applying and generalizing these concepts to real-life physical activity situations (e.g., managing stress, effect of growth spurt on movement performance).  During the high school years the student should possess sufficient knowledge of concepts to independently and routinely use a wide variety of increasingly complex concepts (e.g., performance trends associated with learning new motor skills, specificity of training).  By graduation the student should have developed sufficient knowledge and ability to independently use their knowledge to acquire new skills while continuing to refine existing ones. 


3. Exhibits a physically active lifestyle

The intent of this standard is to establish patterns of regular participation in meaningful physical activity.  This standard should connect what is done in the physical education class with lives of students outside of physical education.  While participation within the physical education class is important, what the student does outside the physical education class is critical to developing and active, healthy lifestyle.  Students are more likely to participate if they have had opportunities to develop interests that are personally meaningful to them.  Young children should learn to enjoy physical activity.  They should participate in developmentally appropriate activities that help them develop movement competence and they should be encouraged to participate in vigorous and unstructured play.  As students get older the structure of activity tends to increase and the opportunities for participation in different types of activity increase outside of the physical education class.  Attainment of this standard should develop an awareness of those opportunities and encourage a broad level of participation.  Cognitive understandings develop from an initial awareness of cause and effect relationships between activity and its immediate and identifiable effects on the body to an increased understanding of the role of physical activity on the physiological body, social opportunities and relationships, and emotional well being; and a comprehensive perspective on the meaning of the idea of a healthy lifestyle.


4. Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness

The intent of this standard is for the student to achieve a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.  Students should be encouraged to develop higher levels of basic fitness and physical competence as needed for many work situations and active leisure participation.  Health-related fitness components include cardio respiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition.  Expectations for students’ fitness levels should be established on a personal basis, taking into account variation in entry levels, rather than setting single standards for all children at a given grade level.  For elementary children, the emphasis is on an awareness of fitness components and having fun while participating in health-enhancing activities that promote physical fitness.  Middle school students gradually acquire a greater understanding of the fitness components, how each is developed and maintained, and the importance of each in overall fitness.  Secondary students are able to design and develop an appropriate personal fitness program that enables them to achieve desired levels of fitness.  The student thus should have both the ability and willingness to accept responsibility for personal fitness leading to an active, healthy lifestyle.


5. Demonstrates responsible personal and social behavior in physical activity settings

The intent of this standard is achievement of self-initiated behaviors that promote personal and group success in activity settings.  These include safe practices, adherence to rules and procedures, etiquette, cooperation and teamwork, ethical behavior in sport, and positive social interaction.  Achievement of this standard in the lower elementary grades begins with recognition of classroom rules and procedures and a focus on safety.  In the upper elementary levels, students learn to work independently, with a partner, and in small groups.  In the middles school, students identify the purposes for rules and procedures and become involved in decision-making processes to establish rules and procedures for specific activity situations.  High school students initiate responsible behavior, function independently and responsibly, and positively influence the behavior of others in physical activity settings.


6. Demonstrates understanding and respect for differences among people in physical activity settings

The intent of this standard is to develop respect for individual similarities and differences through positive interaction among participants in physical activity.  Similarities and differences include characteristics of culture, ethnicity, motor performance, disabilities, physical characteristics (e.g., strength, size, shape), gender, race, and socio-economic status.  Elementary school students begin to recognize individual similarities and differences and participate cooperatively in physical activity.  By middle school, students participate cooperatively in physical activity with persons of diverse characteristics and backgrounds.  High school students are expected to be able to participate with all people, recognize the value of diversity in physical activity, and develop strategies for inclusion of others.

 

7. Understands that physical activity provides opportunities for enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and social interaction

This standard is designed to develop an awareness of the intrinsic values and benefits of participation in physical activity that provides personal meaning.  Physical activity can provide opportunity for self-expression and social interaction and can be enjoyable, challenging, and fun.  These benefits entice people to continue participation in activity throughout the life span.  Elementary school children derive pleasure from movement sensations and experience challenge and joy as they sense a growing competence in movement ability.  At the middle school level participation in physical activity provides important opportunities for challenge, social interaction, and group membership, as well as opportunities for continued personal growth on physical skills and their applied settings.  Participation at the high school level continues to provide enjoyment and challenge as well as opportunities for self-expression and social interaction.  As a result of these intrinsic benefits of participation, students will begin to actively pursue lifelong physical activities that meet their own needs.