A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog about why I don’t like to repeat sports, and it touched a nerve. I had 10x more views of the blog post than typical, and it stirred interesting debate on Facebook. Most people mentioned they observe similar behaviors when they repeat games, and either they try not to repeat games, or they don’t have a choice and must repeat. What I soon realized was that there was a caveat to most of the teachers who agreed with me:

 Most of these PE teachers had substantial years of experience.

 Where does that leave our PE teachers who don’t have 10+ years under their belt? New PE teachers literally cannot do different games every PE lesson, and it has nothing to do with how good of a teacher they are. It is literally a function of time. More experienced teachers have more games in their tool belt, and more tricks up their sleeve. The only way not to repeat games is to have more than enough games in the inventory. So, if you are a relatively new teacher and don’t have several hundred games in your repertoire, what are you supposed to do?

 If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, you already know that I am the biggest proponent for integrating the physical education with the classroom curriculum. A rich area for integration is what the students are studying in culture. Any time the students are studying a time period or group of people, there is instant potential for integration by studying sport. When I teach a sport, I absolutely repeat that sport for several weeks or longer, depending on how long they are studying it in the classroom.

 When I teach sport, as opposed to a game, so much more goes into it because we will examine cultural connections. Looking through the lens of human fundamental needs, we can see how sport can be involved in almost every aspect of the human condition. Religion, clothing, the environment, natural resources, food, war, architecture, cultural values, and more are all represented in sport. If you are interested in this topic, definitely read this blog that goes into more detail on this subject. Before we continue, let’s define the difference between a game and sport in the context of focus.

 The focus of games is that they first and foremost directly integrate with a lesson or concept from the classroom. They must teach physical skill(s), and may use game dynamics of already well-known common games or sports. A Montessori Physical Education game is a game I created that synthesizes lesson topics into well-known and popular game mechanics.

 The focus of sports is that they reveal aspects of a culture in a unique way. They teach the rules, strategies, and athletic skills of that physical activity. Sports are learned and played when the students study a people or culture. Sport is a part of culture, and can reveal ideas and sensibilities of how a people think and what they value as important in their society. The evolution of a sport can also reflect changes in society. I do my best to interpret the meanings, motivations, and history of a sport when I teach them to my students.

 Since we are going to play a sport for multiple weeks, we must learn the big picture, break the sport down into essential physical components, and then play the game again, this time investigating rules and strategies. We must scaffold the lessons so that the students skills increase, and that we provide an atmosphere so as many students as possible have some form of success during the game. Not everyone has to be the top scorer, but everyone should be equipped with the physical skills and knowledge to participate in the game. This is easier said than done, but I believe this needs to be the focus over maximizing the skill potential of only some students at the expense of others. Higher skilled athletes can always find a more competitive outlet outside of PE class; where as lower skilled students may only have limited exposure to an athletic skill or sport.

 Especially for older students, a big challenge is making the regression of skill work still feel engaging and rewarding to everyone involved. Each individual needs to feel like their practice is worthwhile, enhancing their current skill level, and that it is fun. One way to accomplish this is to “game-ify” drill work so that it becomes more entertaining, and encourages more repetitions of the movement or skill. This idea of “game-fying” concepts from the classroom is the secret sauce that makes the integration of physical education and the classroom curriculum successful.

 What’s funny is that for every reason I said Why I Don’t Like to Repeat Games, it is a reason why I believe you have to repeat sports. I want the novelty to wear off so we can dive deeper into the sport. While the students may not be learning something new from the classroom in PE, they will be learning more about the actual sport each PE class through more skills and strategies. Diving deeper into the strategy and gameplay of a sport may change a student’s feelings about a sport. Maybe the first time they disliked it because they didn’t understand the rules or they were not good at the necessary skills. With more exposure, they can understand the rules and gameplay, and if they improved their physical skills as well, they will feel more competent playing the game, which could equal enjoyment. If they were limited to that first non-pleasant exposure only, they would have not liked the sport ever. Sport can also be a healthy avenue to explore direct competition, which should not be shied (especially with older students), but needs to be handled correctly with planned exposure and an emphasis on sportsmanship.

 To summarize, I don’t like to repeat games, but I love to repeat sports. I believe that by alternating between the two, you get the best of both worlds. The best part is, if you are not sure when you are supposed to switch between a game and a sport, all you have to do is follow the classroom. If they are studying a science concept, play a science game. If they are studying a group of people, play their sport. As a PE teacher, this means that the scope and sequence of your year is already laid out for you. You don’t have to wonder what you will be doing year to year as long as the classroom curriculum is set before the beginning of the year. Your main job is to make sure you cover the essential skill and movement sets that your state may (or may not) require depending on your school. If you are a classroom teacher teaching PE, this means that you don’t have to wonder what to teach in PE class, because it will follow the curriculum you have built for the classroom.

It’s a win – win for everyone, teachers (classroom and PE) as well as the students.