Low Hanging Fruit – “the obvious or easy things that can be most readily done or dealt with in achieving success or making progress toward an objective” Merriam-Webster

 A new student asked me, “Why do you combine the stuff we learn in the classroom with gym games? That’s not what we did in our old school.”

After I thought about the simplest way of answering the question, my answer was, “It’s low hanging fruit.”

When I received a puzzled look, I had to explain what low hanging fruit was, and how that applied to the the question.

I told him, “Low hanging fruits are the easiest solutions that provide great results. If all the fruit on the tree are equal, you would want to pick the fruit closest to you before having to get the ladder.”

The low hanging fruit is integration in this metaphor. Integration does not require much to implement, but makes a very impactful change. The core tenets of physical education remain intact (and I believe are actually enhanced). By taking familiar games (they already love) and changing some rules, and tying game mechanics to classroom concepts, we have physical education lessons that teach the classroom curriculum as well.

I have done research that shows that classroom integration in PE significantly improves the students learning in the classroom. However, I believe that integration has a bigger net positive than just classroom improvement. I believe the student’s ability to make connections is enhanced. We do not go through life using one skill at a time, and school should not present learning in this way either. I also do not see any downsides for the students either. Integrating PE with the classroom curriculum is like a medicine with no side effects.

I have written several blogs on the benefits of integration. You can read them here, here, here, here, here.

If you want to read more on the data that supports integration, you can read them here, here, here.

Integration does not mean we are abandoning all the great things that traditional PE does. We still work towards:

Fine and gross motor skill acquisition

Learning the rules and strategies of different sports

Reducing stress and anxiety

Burning energy (which can aid in classroom concentration)

Having fun

Introducing healthy eating and exercise habits

Enhancing social and emotional learning

Building sportsmanship and camaraderie

When that student asked me, “Why do we do classroom stuff in PE?” before I could answer with my low hanging fruit metaphor, another student chimed in with, “Why not?”

 My thoughts exactly.

What do you think?