A Peek Inside Grade 6 PHE
As a Physical Health Education Teacher, Ms. Sarice Kent-Grebski knows the single, scariest word for most teenagers: dance. Dance teaches movement, rhythm, collaboration and balance – it’s an important part of students’ physical education! – but Ms. Kent-Grebski gets it. It can be awkward. That’s why during students’ movement composition unit they learn other ways to move, ways different than dance.

Tasked with choreographing their own routines, groups learn and can include “any type of movement” in their final assessment. Students explore many styles of dancing – like traditional, or cultural, or hip hop – as well as other fitness-based movements. In a brand-new workout, they even explore a combination of the two.

By exploring movement in lots of ways, every student can find something they like and their comfort, interest, and excitement about physical recreation grows.

Pound Fitness is a “high-energy workout” combining creativity, rhythm and strength. Ms. Kent-Grebski found this new workout at a conference over the summer and, after just one session, was sure her students would love it. “It was fun,” she remembers, “it was high-energy and a great workout.” She knew Pound Fitness would be the perfect complement to students’ movement composition learning. She researched, planned, and found a local instructor. Then, she launched it in class. Students were a bit nervous at first, but once they got into it, got moving and got involved, that nervousness faded away.

For Ms. Kent-Grebski, that’s exactly the point; she hopes to offer her students as many positive experiences as possible. By exploring movement in lots of ways, every student can find something they like and their comfort, interest, and excitement about physical recreation grows. By learning lots of ways to move, students’ final assessment also becomes more unique to them. A collaborative piece, assessments can include any style of movement or dance – it’s up to them to decide! “Students love to create things from scratch,” Ms. Kent-Grebski nods. Students learn to collaborate and incorporate everyone’s strengths. “When students don’t have to follow instruction,” she concludes, “they make decisions and explore… and that’s when learning happens.”