More Than Just a Game

Teaching confidence, collaboration, and kindness through sports in grades K-3

Throughout the school day, you might see students taking off on a one-mile run, tossing foam balls across the gym in a friendly game of dodgeball, or yelping in excitement when they’ve been tagged on the playground. To an observer, these activities might look like fun—and they are. But the intention, planning, and skill-building behind them runs much deeper. At Mark Day School, every student in grades K-8 has P.E. every single day. In addition to the physiological benefits of physical exercise such as improved heart health and decreased depression and anxiety, we know based on widely published research that physical activity has positive effects on academic learning. A research article titled “Aerobic Fitness is Associated with Greater White Matter Integrity in Children” published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience states that “...children who are more fit have more white matter in their brains than those who aren’t as fit. The areas of the brain where more white matter was observed are important for attention and memory, and are critical for linking different parts of the brain together.” For these reasons and more, it is important for students to move throughout the day—not just at recess and lunch but also in a more structured setting that allows for additional skills to be developed. Robert Bowers, Lower School P.E. teacher, uses fun games to teach both basic motor skills and social and emotional literacy (SEL) skills like collaboration, good sportsmanship, and growth mindset. “In class, I

disguise skill-building in the context of games,” he says. “During one game, for example, students will learn proper technique for throwing and kicking while also learning how to communicate with teammates.” These multidisciplinary lessons start as soon as students come to class and begin their warm-ups. Usually involving a tag game, warmups are meant to improve students’ cardiovascular system and spark peer-to-peer communication. A popular warm-up game is sprout tag. In this game, everybody is “it” and tries to tag other players with two fingers on the arm. If a student is tagged, the student is “out” and must sit on the ground until the person who tagged them gets out. If two students tag each other at the same time, they play roshambo to determine who gets out. Robert enjoys seeing the progression as students move through the grades. “At first, there are a lot of disagreements and trying to play around the rules,” he says. “But as students play more and more, they get better at communicating and being a good sport when they’ve been tagged. They learn to figure it out among themselves and take responsibility for following the rules.” Another game, new this year, is called battleship. In this game, gymnastics mats create a wall in the center of the gym floor, dividing the class into two teams. On each side are 20 randomly placed bowling pins. Each team throws foam balls over the wall to try to knock down the pins, without knowing exactly where they are. If a player catches one of the balls thrown over the wall, that student has the opportunity to run a full lap around the court and in doing so, can catch a glance at where the other team’s pins are located and relay that information back to the team. In the context of this game, students practice handeye coordination and motor skills, continuously move their bodies, and must work together to determine strategy. Robert’s favorite part of this particular activity is that the lap running around the gym is actually a reward, one that puts that team at a significant advantage. Just like learning any new skill, frustrations pop up along the way, and “failing” is an important part of the process—especially when it comes to introducing hand-eye coordination and basic motor skills to younger kids. Robert says that kindergarteners in particular can get quite frustrated when trying new activities. “When we do jump roping, for example, they can only do one or two at first,” he says. “When they get upset, we focus on modifying the activity to allow for smaller successes until they are able to gain more skill.” Keeping a good attitude and learning how to persevere through frustration are skills that will benefit students outside P.E. class, too. Celebrating the smaller victories was also the inspiration for an end-of-class activity called Highlights. Every day, students in K-3 P.E. have the opportunity to compliment their classmates.

In class, I disguise skill-building in the context of games. During one game, for example, students will learn proper technique for throwing and kicking while also learning how “ to communicate with teammates.”

They can give each other a shoutout for improved athletic ability, cooperation, or kindness—anything they noticed about their friend they thought was noteworthy. “This activity emphasizes how good sportsmanship can make you feel,” says Robert. It also serves as an incentive for students to continue working together and being kind to one another. They recognize that it feels good when they are mentioned in a highlight, and when they offer a highlight for someone else. Robert’s favorite moments are those “aha” moments when students achieve a goal after working hard. “When we started our running program in the fall, the kindergarteners and 1st graders were reluctant to do it at first,” Robert shares. “But now it’s cool to see kids come up to me after class and say they didn’t stop once while running. They realize that the more they do it, the easier it becomes. I like to repeat that comment back to them so they understand that it also applies to the next activity.” He encourages his students to continue working out over school breaks and explains that if they are consistent, they will see tremendous success and improved endurance. By the time students reach the end of 3rd grade, Robert’s main hope is that they enjoy physical fitness. He expects their cardiovascular system to be a fair match to those of 4th graders, who run every day at the beginning of their Upper School P.E. classes. To prepare them for these more physically demanding classes, Robert increases the length of their runs and tag games progressively throughout the year. “Towards the end of the year, they don’t realize they’re running 15-30 minutes in class,” he says. Robert’s hope is that his students are developing a lifelong love for fitness. “I want them to have a positive association with exercise,” he says. “I love seeing them enjoying P.E. and progressing athletically.”