One constant during my 30 years of teaching is that the break from school at the end of the calendar year – winter for me and summer for my Southern Hemisphere friends – comes at just the right time. Leaving for school in the dark, arriving home in the dark, the end of a long …
Continue reading Before the Year Ends: Twelve Months in Reflection
Every semester, after introducing the content of my sexuality education unit, I conduct an anonymous question activity with my sophomore health class. I ask them to ask questions they have about any of the content, but I also take this a step further. I ask them to suggest content that they think their peers definitely …
As the days get shorter and the air gets cooler, it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good documentary. This fall, I’ve pulled together a list of films and series that caught my eye. Some are brand new, others a few years old, but each one touches on themes of resilience, justice, identity, …
How good does it feel when someone tells you they loved something you created? Maybe it was a teaching idea you shared online, a presentation you gave, or even a simple resource that helped a fellow teacher. Those small words of appreciation can make your whole week. Now imagine all the creators, writers, and podcasters …
Continue reading Five Minutes That Matter: Support the Creators You Love
Every October, educators, health professionals, and communities mark Health Literacy Month which is a time to shine a light on the importance of understanding and using health information to make informed choices. At its core, health literacy is about more than reading a pamphlet or following doctor’s orders. It’s about giving people, including our students, …
Continue reading 5 Ways You Can Bring Health Literacy Month to Life
A recent Instagram post summarizing the 'impact of smartphone use on athletes' sleep and performance' caught my eye and got me wondering about the research that supports my internal suspicion that cell phones are harming the performance of athletes. As a coach and father of athletes, I was motivated to delve deeper into existing research …
Continue reading 5 Ways That Cell Phone Use Negatively Impacts Athletes
When I first wrote about using Hexagonal Thinking to help students explore the 10 Dimensions of Wellness, I shared how powerful it was to see them physically (or digitally) connecting concepts together. The beauty of the hexagon activity lies in the way students can literally move ideas around, discovering new links and debating which connections …
Continue reading Wellness Dominoes: the Ripple Effects of Wellness
Health misinformation is rampant on social media – here’s what it does, why it spreads and what people can do about it Media literacy is more essential than ever. Wanlee Prachyapanaprai/iStock via Getty Images Plus Author: Monica Wang, Boston University The global anti-vaccine movement and vaccine hesitancy that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic show no signs …
A few years ago, I came across an image that resonated with me. It showed how Gareth Southgate, then the manager of the England men’s soccer team, draws on a network of thinkers to help shape his decisions. Not just football minds, but voices from rugby, cricket, sailing, cycling, even the military. A deliberate mix …
If you're looking to create personalized music playlists that are perfect for your classroom, gym, or workout needs, then this blog post is for you. Regular readers of the site will know that I love music, have written about my love of music, and featured posts on how teachers are using music in their teaching …
This powerful guest post comes from Beatrix Hopkins, a junior student who asked if she could share her Junior Theme writing with me. Beatrix contacted me, saying, "I wrote about the use of deepfake generating technology to create sexually explicit images and videos, and the way that those technologies can be used to perpetuate violence …
It's time for my annual summer reading list, and unlike the the recent AI-generated Chicago Sun-Times list, all of these books actually exist and I have held in my hands! I've had a very full school year and the summer break provides me with a much-needed opportunity to slow down and find time to read. …
Back in 2017, I created an initiative inspired by my experiences as a teacher in a supportive school with forward-thinking administrators who encouraged my growth by sending me to professional development opportunities across the country. The more I traveled and presented, the more I connected with educators for whom professional development was a rare privilege. …
Ask a physical education teacher if they “teach gym.” You will often find an abrupt response, clarifying that they teach in the gym but they teach physical education. I mention this to get quickly to my point which is simply that words matter. In particular, vocabulary words matter. They do not matter as a random …
Continue reading What’s the Word? Vocabulary and Its Role in Your Classroom
Bringing the school year, and our 6th Annual #Microblog event to a close, the effervescent educator Chris Walker, AKA, @CoachWalk is back with another personalized message for educators. This one nudged me to reflect on the successes that my students and I have had together this year. Chris shares his #teachingreflection videos regularly on social media, and …
When I was a little girl, my grandpa was scared to teach me how to ride a horse. You see, I’m disabled. I have right hemiparesis—it’s like having the symptoms of a stroke without actually having one. Balance and coordination are a huge challenge for me. But with lots of persuading from my dad—and me …
I’ve been putting off writing this blog post. I’m confident in my teaching abilities, especially in my subject matter of health, and my ability to connect with my teenage students. Writing a short article is outside of my wheelhouse and my comfort zone; although I’ve written plenty of papers and short stories throughout my life …
In early 2023 our organization was contacted by the Physical Education and Sports Teachers Association of Zambia (PESTAZ) and were asked to help improve the quality of physical education in their country. One of the goals for the project was to provide equipment. This was a huge need for them as many of the schools …
Continue reading Crochet: Using Community Resources for Physical Education Equipment
In this guest blog post, Matt Hagedorn explores how AI is revolutionizing education, particularly for health and PE teachers. Drawing from his own tech-savvy background, he highlights six must-try AI tools that save time, enhance student engagement, and streamline lesson planning. I still remember the first time I held an iPhone. It wasn’t just another …
Continue reading The AI Assist: Powering Purposeful Teaching
With the SHAPE America National Convention almost upon us, I am launching a social media initiative that offers numerous advantages for both convention attendees and those engaging virtually on social platforms. The Inspiration Recently, on Instagram, I saw a series of posts from Adam Walker in which he asked attendees at his Podfest Expo session to record a short …
Continue reading Name It, Frame It, Claim It at #SHAPEBaltimore
#slowchathealth 