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5 top tips for a fun and engaging PE lesson 

Active Schools

Whether you’re a teacher covering PE lessons or a coach just starting out in your career, this short blog aims to give you some useful tips to deliver a world class PE lesson.

 

1. Be enthusiastic

Enthusiasm is essential for a successful and enjoyable PE lesson. Even if you lack confidence in what you’re delivering, children will mirror the attitude you display which can have a significant effect on the lesson. Having a bubbly disposition and a “can do” mindset are crucial. Simple actions like grinning and demonstrating that you are having fun will circulate to everyone in the room. This includes not only children but also teachers or other individuals, who might be present during your lesson.

 

2. Keep explanations short and sharp

Make sure you keep explanations short and to the point – this allows the children to stay focussed on the learning objective. Try to divide the lesson into 80% physical activity and 20% explanations of the lessons learning goals. Avoid using complicated terminology, as this can often confuse the children and lead them to lose interest.

 

3. Getting to know and understand the children

For children, something as simple as knowing their names goes a long way (especially if they’re not your usual group or class). By remembering their names, they feel as though they are being recognised as an individual. Every child has a unique way of thinking, acting, and communicating which means it is crucial to get to know how they respond to instructions and how they take in information during a lesson.

 

4. Preparation

Failing to plan is planning to fail, so be prepared for your lesson. If you have equipment to hand and if it fits within the PE session, USE IT! A child will naturally be more eager to use cones or any other equipment if they can see that the session has already been prepared with everything laid out. Bringing this energy to the beginning of the lesson will help to set the stage and it gives the children something to look forward to. If you set it up in the middle of the lesson, you’re wasting time and losing the engagement between yourself and the children.

 

5. Be fun but fair

Above all else, be yourself and enjoy it. If you’re having fun and feeling passionate…the children will too! Always try and keep a balance of ‘being fun’ and ‘being fair’. This means that you can have a laugh with the children and keep building on your relationships, but make sure that at the beginning of the lesson, the children understand the expectations you have and the objective of the lesson. Having an emotional but human connection with them will encourage them to be playful and enthusiastic, and your PE lessons will have a beneficial effect on both the relationships with the class you are teaching and the rest of the school.

 

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