Background Information : The Combination Class Essay

Lean your left ear toward your left shoulder...return to center...and move your right ear toward your right shoulder...then return to center.

Everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Those with disabilities are no different they just have a different set then everyone else. I chose this project topic because in 5th and 6th grade I was part of a program called Peer Pals. Once a week during recess I volunteered in a special needs classroom. This work opened my eyes to the world of special needs and Peer Pals is one of the things I miss about elementary school. I realized that I needed to continue helping the special needs community. No solutions presented themselves and then one day the solution stared me in the face from it’s home in the Reston Community Center Program Guide. “Volunteer at the Adapted Aquatics Class,” I had found a solution to my problem.

The combination class that I chose to teach this lesson consist of eight boys and six girls, ranging in ages from fourteen to twenty. All attend Jefferson High School in Los Angeles Unified School District. All have varies disabilities ranging from mild to moderate autism, to Down syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy that ranges from mild to severe with two students in wheel chairs. Generally, all students are excited and willing to participate in most activities. Their present level of fitness is average and are able to perform most locomotor skills at a developing level. Because of the diversity in character and disabilities, it gives me the opportunity to create a lesson that will enable them to be successful by learning from the many ability levels. In addition, all paraprofessionals are willing to contribute to the student’s success by guiding them in the right direction and enforcing rule violations.

1 Hold your left / right arm at your side and bend your elbow as much as you can using your left / right arm muscles.

Kettlebell swings work both your quadriceps and your shoulders along with your glutes, calves and lower back. Position yourself over the kettlebell with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and push your butt backwards as you grab the kettlebell with one hand. Forcefully swing the kettlebell between your legs and use your hips to reverse the direction and force it back out. Repeat for your desired amount of reps and then change arms.

Choose a current issue to research that can be related to providing quality physical education at the elementary school level. Some examples of issues might be childhood obesity, budget constraints, family / home environment, nutrition, prenatal care, lack of medical care or other factors that either offer an advantage or disadvantage to a child’s motor development. Review

Stand up straight with a dumb bell in each of your hands. Curl the weights in both hands upward while tightly contracting the muscles in your arms. Lower the weights to starting position. Perform 15 repetitions.

During guided practice students will work in groups as the teacher walks around monitoring group work. At this time student’s will receive more individual instruction if needed. Students will work in groups to summarize (using their own words) by identifying the beginning, middle, and end of the third mini story provided.

Once questions are answered and all students feel comfortable moving forward then give introduction of the lesson activity.

Meeting all of the needs of students today is a challenging task, especially in physical education with students that have special needs and physical limitations. All students today have a right to participate in physical education classes and schools have a responsibility to ensure everyone is given the opportunity (Aiello, 2014). Adaptive Physical Education class offers a great opportunity for those with limitations to be in a safe environment and participate just like the rest of the students (C. Curtis, personal communication, May 6, 2014). Schools must be compliant with a certified adaptive physical education teacher leading a class as they are trained in conducting a class. With proper implementation of an IEP (Individualized Education Program ) and

Jumpstart Academy is a program designed to keep children active and healthy, while providing them with the necessary fundamental movement skills needed to excel in sports and games. I was delighted with my involvement in this program as it was very much exciting and exhilarating to see the younger generation evolve as not only athletes but also as members of the community. My goal within the program was to provide the youth with opportunities to achieve success through physical literacy. On a weekly basis, we would start off the day with a warmup activity to ensure the body and mind is prepared for the upcoming exercises. Each week was divergent from the previous one as there was a new fundamental skill to focus on. For example, week 2 would

Teaching preschool gymnastics at The Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta I have worked with children ages one to five years. Some of the children I teach have varying disabilities, including ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. For the past couple years, I have been teaching a little girl named Rheagan that has spina bifida and bilateral clubfoot. When I first started teaching Rheagan she was two years old and had never touched a piece of gymnastics equipment. She would spend the entire hour crying because she was so scared. After working with Rheagan for a couple of weeks she no longer cried, she even crawled through a tunnel for the first time. Now, Rheagan is five years old she can climb to the top of the stall bars, crawl across the foam pit, and do a

Some of the children are from the special educated school next to the Project Ride, and the others are from the metropolitan areas. All the children like to ride on the horseback, and they keep come in a period of time that they know the organization well. The instructors there are well-educated and trained that they tried to promote children’s skills on physical, emotion, and social functioning based on the children’s special needs. Project ride provide horseback riding to children with special needs that they arrange two to three children in a lesson every half hour. What I notice, the instructors are most likely to have children to practice their cognitive, motor, language skills. The cognitive lesson activities are usually matchings, grocery shopping, and holiday events; it also involves with the language skills that children need to tell what they find, or the first letter of the character. The motor skills lesson activities are usually balancing, pitching, throwing the ball or sand bags into barrels or rings. Every child has their favorite activities. For example, I have twin boys in my volunteer hours. One boy is emotional that he always comes in and says he is not riding that day. however, when he knows there is ball pitching, he is exciting and changes his mind. He finishes the other tasks in short time; when it comes to the basketball section, he always tries to find a comfortable

Walk your left hand slightly forward and bring your right hand to your right hip, stacking your right side body over your left side body so that you face the right side of your area. Your body should form one straight diagonal line from the top of your head to your feet.

Forward and pull abdominals in and keep your lower back slightly arched. You want to