Attention Grabbers in PE Class

What's up PE Nation,
I used to struggle getting students' attention. On this episode I share a collection of my favorite signals that keep the gym buzzing with energy and focus. From the age-old whistle to innovative clapping patterns, discover how these methods can transform your teaching approach.
Hear about the importance of practicing these signals from day one and how they vary based on the age group. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a newcomer to the world of physical education, my journey to streamline and perfect student signals will provide valuable takeaways. Join me to enhance your PE classes with effective communication strategies that work.
Take care,
Dave

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:11

Hello and welcome to the Super Size Phys Ed podcast. My name is Dave and today I want to talk about my best PE signals as far as getting students ready to go, ready to learn, ready to listen and ready to start your day, or, if it's the middle of a lesson, same thing, the best PE signals I have. So let's go, all right. Welcome in PE Nation. So I have a confession. I often struggle with signals in PE. I have too many of them, honestly. My goal is to get these down to like one or two, but I'm gonna give you eight. I'm gonna give you eight signals I use from time to time it also depends on the age of the students but eight of my best PE signals and they're really good. I just want to kind of get them down to like a couple. You know what I'm saying. So let's make this a boomer. Let's go with number one, all right.

Speaker 1: 1:19

Number one is using a whistle. Now, it's not my favorite is using a whistle? Now, it's not my favorite, but I definitely use it. Now I'll use a pattern with it. Um, kind of like do, do, do, do, do and they'll clap, kind of thing. Um, or I'll just blow a whistle and let's say, you know everybody hands on your head or hands or knees, something like that. I try to get away from the whistle a little bit. There's a book I'm reading. It's a coach K? Um, coach Krzyzewski's book, um leading with the heart, and he mentions how he doesn't like using a whistle because it's not as personable. Now, in fairness, he had a lot less students than me or less players when he was coaching, but I don't know, there's something about that. I was like I don't know, I'm trying to get away from it. You know what I'm saying, but it's okay. I'm using my whistle, especially in the field when people are far away, kids are far away. So I'm using the whistle. I try to blow in patterns or, like I said, you know hands or knees, hands on your head, something like that, where they're, they're ready to go and hopefully they're attentive. I recently got an electronic whistle. This year I haven't used as much as I wanted to. It's kind of bulky and I'll put in my pocket and I got enough stuff in my pockets so I don't use it as much, but it's kind of fun just to have an electronic whistle, I think. So that is number one. It is the use of a whistle, all right.

Speaker 1: 2:47

Number two is clapping in a pattern. So, just like whistling in a pattern, I might clap in a pattern like this and the kids will go, or I might mix it up, kind of thing, or that was kind of fun. I don't usually clap on this show, so that's pretty cool. So, clapping in a pattern, and the kids know that, and we practice this in the beginning of the year, by the way, practice all these in the beginning of the year, the first week of school, first day of school. It depends on how many classes you have, kind of thing. But it might take a couple days to get this down. But I'll practice this Like, okay, go ahead and talk about your summer, and then when I clap, you clap and you sit crisscross applesauce and ready to go. So I'll let them talk for a minute and they'll clap, and then they'll clap and they'll be sitting properly and eyes on me. So that goes with the whistle, it goes with everything I'm saying here. It's just we have to practice, practice, practice and that is that is the way to go. That is number two and that is clapping in a pattern, okay.

Speaker 1: 3:55

Number three is a Kagan strategy. If you don't know what Kagan is. I even talked about it in my jigsaw classroom episode, but saying freeze please is definitely a Kagan thing. I learned from the instructor. It's like a cooperative learning thing I took that we all had to take. So that's Kagan, and he just raised his hand and I've done this before and just say freeze please, and the kids have to raise their hand and that's it. We have to practice that, though, because they don't always do it. Or some people say give me five. They put their hands in the air and the kids have to give him five. I mean, just put your hands in the air and you're quiet within five seconds. Now I like this, but I kind of phase this out, because what I noticed is the kids actually the teachers act like this as well. At staff meetings, the principal put their hand in the air, say give me five, let's put their hand in the air, and half the people put them in the air and half won't. It's kind of like that with students. So I don't know. It's not my favorite one. Again, I used to use it all the time, but I'm just kind of not as much on that one, but I still think it's a good one, if you're consistent. I think maybe I wasn't as consistent, but also kids are like oh, do I just put my hand in the air? So that's number three, though that's Freeze, please.

Speaker 1: 5:05

Number four is power teaching. Now, I really like this. I learned about this through a podcast I did a long time ago and someone told me about this I think it's Chris Biffle was the name of the instructor online and it's called again. It's called Power Teaching. Just look it up on YouTube if you want to check it out. It's really good. If you want to check it out, it's really it's really good. So, and a lot of kids know this already. So I think some teachers must do this.

Speaker 1: 5:33

So, instead of me blowing the whistle or saying freeze, please, or give me five, I'll say class, and they'll say yes, and I'll say class, class, they'll say yes, yes, or something like that. I'll say class, I'll say yes, it's just about. You can mix it up. And then there's other things to it. You could say there's teach okay. If you want to teach something, be like you know, clap it, hey, I'll clap again. Ready, here we go, Teach, and they'll go okay. So there's things with power teaching I really like, and saying the class, yes, is really good. I usually do that with the fourth and fifth graders. I'll say class, class, yes, and I'll say show me hands and eyes. That's another thing. Show me hands and eyes and they'll sit properly, or sit up and put their hands together and say hands and eyes, and they'll be ready to go. So I like that. That's number four. Look it up, it's power teaching, all right.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Number five is just use music on and off, and I do this especially on the free days, on fun Friday, where I'll tell them okay, the music's on, that's your chance to go to the bathroom, get a drink, you know, kind of do what you got to do. When the music's off, you are listening to me, you are not getting. Are it's time for instruction? So music on, music off, is definitely the way to go. I don't use it all the time. Um, a lot of games I will play. I do have music on and off, but it's not all the time. So it's, I can't use it every single day all the time. So, um, but a lot of people swear by it. They do it all the time. So definitely use music Either way. Use music, but make sure on means something and off means something.

Speaker 1: 7:16

Number six I use this on the field a lot. It's take a knee. I feel like a football coach or something. Hey guys, take a knee. But that's what I use, and I do use that in flag football, by the way. I coach. So if I need the students, if they're playing a game let's say like capture flag or crossover, some big game and I want to tell them, you know, have them talk about a strategy, or tell them you know what I've seen, um, things they can do better things they can work on, things they can talk about, I'll have them come over a former group and take an E. Be like talk about. I'll have them come over a former group and take a knee. Okay, we're taking a knee and I'll take a knee with them and talk to them. But at least people aren't wandering, they're listening, hopefully, kind of thing. So take a knee is a good one. You could use that in the pavilion or a lot. I know a lot of you have basketball or your own gyms, so you can use that as well there. So take a knee. It's number six, so you can use that as well there. So take an E. That's number six, all right. Number seven and eight.

Speaker 1: 8:13

I do a lot with the younger students. Number seven is countdown. So if I need them, especially when they well, definitely when they clean up I'll count down from 10. But you know, slowly I'll be like 10, 10, nine. All right, hurry, get your water bottles, get your dots. Eight, now, let's just keep going.

Speaker 1: 8:32

And by the time I get to one, they know that I'm going to hand out the dice at the end of the day for points. Kids love to roll the dice, by the way, even just for fun. The kindergartners don't even know what it's for, they're just like I want to roll the dice, so countdown is really good. Or I'll just put my hand there and say, okay, you need to be just even the bigger kids. You need to be to your dots in five seconds and I'll just count down Again. Count slowly. Five, then four, just count it down. And they understand that If you're in a gym and you have a screen, you can do a timer, 30-second timer. You got to get to your dots or do whatever you got to do. So counting down is powerful. And that is number seven.

Speaker 1: 9:16

Number eight and the final one is match me and that is my go-to with kindergarten through third grade. Now I've done it with fourth and fifth, just because they know I've done it in the past, and sometimes I just do it by accident or whatever. But this is I'd say it's mainly K through three, maybe fourth grade, and I'll just say match me. And they have to do what I'm doing. It's real simple. I'll put my hand in the air, match me. Then I'll do like a unicorn, I'll put my one finger up or I'll do a shark. You know, hand on my head. I'll do a moose, I'll do Macarena, things like that, and I'll do a mousse, I'll do macarena, things like that, and I'll just have them match me.

Speaker 1: 9:51

And even with kindergarten I'm like okay, I want to see if you're the match me champions of the world. Let me see if I can beat you. I'm going to do it super fast. And they match me and they're all quiet and they have to work on it. At the very end I put my hands together, crisscross applesauce, and so Match Me is awesome. It really is. It's definitely one of my favorites.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Like I said, I do it all the time with my younger students and that's number eight. Let's use that, use that Match Me. It's awesome. And now it is time for your cowbell tip of the day. All right, so your tip of the day is to use something. You should have a PE signal, a signal to get your class quiet and listening and ready to learn. That could be anything. It doesn't have to be one of these eight. These are just my favorite and, by the way, if you have another one, let me know, email me.

Speaker 1: 10:51

My information is in the show notes. I'd love to hear about it. I'm always looking for something new. The one I just shared with you matched me. I learned from a classroom teacher at my former school. I just saw her doing it with her class as she was leaving. I'm like, oh man, that's cool. And she showed me like oh right, I leaving. I'm like, oh man, that's cool. And she showed me like oh right, I got to do that in PE. And even the whistle pattern. I learned from a football coach that came into our school and he blew the whistle in patterns. I'm like, oh, I'm taking that, I'm stealing that. So there's always great ideas out there. Definitely, let me know and I'll give you credit. I promise I'll give you credit. I promise I'll give you credit. I'd love, I'd love to hear about it, though. I mean it's really cool. I'm always looking for good ideas, new ideas, but you should have something to get the kids attention. So that is your cowbell tip of the day.

Speaker 1: 11:50

Thank you everybody for tuning in. I really do appreciate it, as always. Go to supersizefizheadcom for more information or reach out to me through my email. It's in the episode notes. And definitely join the newsletter. It's Five Boomer Friday. I put out every other week of things I think are awesome New books, new documentaries. Well, they don't have to be new, but cool things I've seen and teaching strategies that have been working for me and could work for you. So definitely join that conversation, join the newsletter. The link is in the episode notes. With that PE Nation, have a great day, week, weekend, whenever you're listening to this, and let's keep pushing our profession forward. Thank you.