THE "PYRAMID-BASED" APPROACH
PROGRESSIVE CURRICULUM

Primary Level (K-Grade 2)

We start in building a solid foundation at the primary level. Teach children body control, body awareness, loco motor skills, rhythm skills, and object control (manipulative) skills, and give them plenty of time to practice. Students should start to understand that activity has an effect on the body (e.g., the heart beats faster and muscles get tired but stronger). We should expose students to fitness testing and practice the various tests, but we do not need to keep track of their scores yet. At this age level we can use loosely organized games to help children practice basic body control and various skills as they learn that activity can be fun. Any equipment used should be age appropriate, for example, when teaching throwing and catching, use soft, colorful, large balls to start. We might even use balloons at first. Rackets and bats should be an appropriate length and weight.

Following is a sample of what our K-2 curriculum might look like:

Primary Level Curriculum

1.         Organization and rules for participating in physical education

2.         Team building

3.         Practice of Physical Fitness testing

4.         Fitness activities and concepts

5.         Identifying body parts

6.         Running, personal space

7.         Jumping, skipping, galloping

8.         Throwing and catching

9.         Kicking and striking

10.        Rhythmic activities

11.        Jump rope

12.        Body shapes

13.        Educational gymnastics

14.        Loosely organized games or small-sided games

15.        Manipulative games

16.        Fitness concepts

Upper Elementary Curriculum (Grades 3-5)

For successful participation in the middle school curriculum, students will need to have acquired some skills at the upper elementary level, including locomotor skills, object control (manipulative) skills, and rhythmic skills. In addition, students should receive an introduction to sports through use of small-sided lead-up games and other sport-related activities that promote the use of skills and tactics in a developmentally appropriate manner. The skills theme approach advocated is an excellent approach.

Students should also begin learning the basics of health-related fitness and should be introduced to fitness testing, with an emphasis on using the tests for educational purposes. We can introduce fourth and fifth grade students to pedometers, heart rate monitors and other technology and equipment.

We teach classes in a manner that emphasizes that activity can be fun and that students need to participate in a way that displays personal and social responsibility. Personal and social responsibility should be a lesson focus throughout the year. Following is our upper-elementary curriculum might look like:

Third and Fourth Grade Curriculum

1.     Team building

2.     Fitness concepts or Presidential Physical Fitness Testing with focus on aerobic fitness

3.     Invasion games

4.     New or wall games

5.     Target games

6.     Fitness concepts or Presidential Physical Fitness Testing (with focus on muscular strength and endurance)

7.     Striking or fielding games

8.     Fitness concepts or Presidential Physical Fitness testing (with focus on flexibility and maybe introduce body composition)

9.     Rhythms

10.   Tag Games

11.   Field days and special events

Fifth-Grade Curriculum

1.     Team building

2.     Fitness concepts or Presidential Physical Fitness Testing, (with focus on overall health-related fitness)

3.     Soccer lead-up activities and games

4.     Touch football lead-up games

5.     Volleyball lead-up games

6.     Basketball lead-up games

7.     Jump Rope Skills

8.     Frisbee Unit

9.     Hockey Skills

10.   Aerobic fitness unit

11.   Muscular strength and endurance and flexibility unit

12.   Softball lead-up games

13.   Track and field events (developmentally appropriate approach)

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Middle school is a vital transitional period. We need to help our students build on the basics that they learned in elementary school and prepare them to begin making choices in high school. Therefore, we should provide middle school students with a variety of physical activity experiences so that they can discover which activities they most enjoy (and would most likely continue to participate in as adults).

Students should also learn the skills and tactics necessary for successful participation in a variety of activities and sports. In particular, students should now be learning how to use skills and tactics in combination, in small-sided and some full-sided games.

Health-related fitness concepts and benefits should also be stressed as part of the curriculum at the middle school level. Students should now be gaining the knowledge that they will apply in the ninth grade. Fitness for Life course and in the electives that they will take in 10th through 12th grades.

At the middle school level, fitness testing should begin to move from teacher assessment to self assessment. We should expose students to technology, such as pedometers, heart rate monitors, fitness testing software and fitness equipment.

We should emphasize that physical activity can be enjoyable and social. Research has consistently shown that the middle school level is a time when many previously active children become more sedentary. We don't want to lose them to computer games, television, and hanging out at the mall. Therefore, expose students to the benefits of activity, which at this age includes having fun with friends, feeling and looking good, and being more independent. Although teaching long-term health benefits is important, those benefits tend to be less meaningful to middle school students.

In addition, we should teach personal and social responsibility in physical activity settings to prepare students for appropriate participation in high school. An excellent approach is to offer a unit on team building at the start of each year in the middle school and then reinforce the learning throughout each year.

Our middle school curriculum might look something like the following, although the selection of specific sports and activities will need to be based on our facilities, equipment, teacher expertise, scheduling and other factors.

Sixth-Grade Curriculum

1.     Team building

2.     Presidential Physical Fitness testing (pretesting)

3.     Touch football

4.     Soccer

5.     Fitness walking and jogging

6.     Volleyball

7.     Strength and conditioning (weight training and flexibility)

8.     Basketball

9.     Aerobic conditioning

10.   Presidential Physical Fitness testing (post-testing)

11.   Softball

Seventh-Grade Curriculum

1.     Team building

2.     Fitness concepts (with focus on technology)

3.     Presidential Physical Fitness testing (pre-testing)

4.     Flag football or soccer (advanced)

5.     Fitness walking, jogging, or running (advanced)

6.     Strength and conditioning (weight training and flexibility)

7.     Basketball (advanced)

8.     Floor hockey

9.     Aerobic conditioning

10.   Presidential Physical Fitness Testing (post-testing)

11.   Softball (advanced)

12.   Tennis

13.   Golf

Eighth-Grade Curriculum

1.     Team building

2.     Presidential Physical Fitness testing (pre-testing, self assessment)

3.     Fitness concepts (program planning)

4.     Team sports (select one: touch football, soccer, or Ultimate)

5.     Individual activity (select one: walking, jogging, or running)

6.     Team sports (select one: basketball, volleyball or floor hockey)

7.     Strength and conditioning (weight training and flexibility)

8.     Individual and dual sports (badminton)

9.     Aerobic conditioning

10.   Presidential Physical Fitness testing (post-testing, self assessment)

11.   Team or individual dual sports (select one: softball, tennis, track and field, or golf)