Creativity through PE

This Foundation Subject can be well used with the help of other Foundation Subjects.According to the Rose Report:

"Subject disciplines remain vital in their own right, and cross-curricular studies strengthen the learning of the subjects which make up its content. From the standpoint of young learners, making links between subjects enriches and enlivens them, especially history and geography."
(Rose Report, )



The upcoming World Cup can be used a good opportunity to enhance the cross curricular learning.This following activities and lesson plans are prepared by http://www.kickitout.org and http://www.teachers.org.uk/ websites. As it is explained on the website;

The Football and Freedom learning pack is designed for teachers to use children’s interest in the World Cup to explore South Africa’s history, culture and context.

It is packed with activities aimed at 9-14 year olds which address many elements of the National Curriculum.

Football fan culture, carbon footprints and issues of equal opportunity, discrimination and human rights are covered. Football and Freedom also encourages schools to develop a longer term interest in South Africa through twinning.
The following ideas provide a useful starting point for a number of activities in the classroom that incorporate many aspects related to the teaching of citizenship.It also highlights how football can be used to explore a number of issues.

Starting out
A good starting point for any classroom work on anti-racism is to look at definitions of race, prejudice and discrimination

Race: A group of people connected by common descent

Racism: The word 'racism' comes from the word 'race'. Racism is the belief that people are inferior because they are of a different colour or come from another part of the world. Most commonly racism is prejudice backed up by power.

Prejudice: Is a judgement about something based upon ignorance, making up your mind before you have any facts.

Discrimination: Is when you treat someone differently because of the prejudices that you have about them.

Teachers may want to set some boundaries within the classroom when working in this area about acceptable language etc.

Teachers should ensure that discussions are carefully managed to ensure that a balanced view is given. All of those involved in these activities should be encouraged to listen carefully and sensitively.
(http://www.kickitout.org/390.php)

The website helps teachers to think creatively and take an oppurtunity from a daily topic and reflect this onto their teaching.This is a great way of making the learning more meaningful to the children.As it was mentinoed before; the creative approach is possibly the only way to distinguish thin line between purposeful learning and old fashioned one way teaching.

THE WORLD CUP AND SOME LESSON IDEAS:

The World Cup can also be a good oppurtunity to teach the children more about Geography. The stadiums that will be used for the World Cup are in the different parts of South Africa. Taking this oppurtunity, children can be encouraged to research these cities, their features or interesting facts about them. This can be shared with the whole class. As a part of a PE lesson children can have a World Cup Week where each class will have their own football team. These teams will be selected from same countries in the World Cup.


The World Cup gives the perfect backdrop to interesting and different PE lessons for the children to try. The school could have a World Cup Week where each class will have their own football team and they could compete against each other.

•These teams will be selected from same countries in the World Cup. Teachers should take advantage of this situation and should encourage children to choose less popular countries so that they can learn more about them.
•Each class will support their chosen national team. They will be asked to research and learn more information about these countries and share this information in a school assembly each week.
•The school hall will be prepared like a football stadium for assembly. In this way children will have the feeling of the real atmosphere.
•Children should be encouraged to dress up, paint their faces and create their own chants for the assembly. With the help of the teacher, these chants could be sang, at least in part, in their original language.

This is clearly a more interesting and exciting way of teaching Geography and for the children to learn the importance of having mutual respect for each other. This will also help them to have a better understanding of different cultures. As a part of these preparations, children will need to work as part of a team, researching information, pooling ideas, planning and delivering their chants.



Note:The pictures are from this and this source.