Welcome!

We are excited about your interest in taking this online course from PE Central. Below you will find a brief course description, the instructor's biography, and course FAQ's. We estimate that this course will take 10 hours to complete. Once you have completed it, you may request the 10 hours towards your teacher licensure re-certification. You can also purchase one CEU upon completion of the course. More details below about this.

We know you will find this course valuable and enjoyable. If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].

Best of Luck!
PE Central and Human Kinetics Professional Development

Target Audience

This course has been designed for all physical education teachers, as elementary, middle, and high schools are able to plan a field day or similar all-day sports-based event. For this course, students focus on understanding the importance of a field day, the components and considerations that go into the planning and execution process, and all the documents to make field day come to life. This includes walking away from the course with a complete, proven system for efficiently and effectively planning a field day that shines. Our instructor is here to help you throughout the course.

Course Purpose

The purpose of this course is to walk the student through the process of understanding all the nuances that go into planning and executing a successful field day that is exceptional. This course aims to teach students the process of planning a field day from start to finish. This includes the planning process, communicating to stakeholders involved, choosing a theme, choosing activities, when to take what steps, and what documents to use in the process. This course is designed to show students exemplar field day videos and planning documents, which will allow students to create their own field day planning guide that can be used through the duration of their career in any teaching situation.

Course Description

Field day is an exciting time of the year for everyone involved in the process. Students get a day or more to enjoy game play with friends, parents get the chance to be a part of their children’s special day, the community has a chance to support the school, its students and teachers, and teachers enjoy a day that is interactive and fun. However, planning such an event is not as easy as it sounds. Most physical education teaching programs and student teaching experiences do not instruct physical educators how to plan a field day.

Unfortunately, many physical education teachers learn how to plan their first field day by trial and error. And when a teacher must change schools, or the school they work in changes in some way, the physical educator must adjust the field day accordingly. This course teaches physical education teachers, or those responsible for planning a field day, how to plan a field day that goes off without a hitch. This course is built around a proven system that covers every portion of field day planning from A to Z. Students will learn how to plan a field day step by step. Included in the course are all necessary instructions, documents that can be re-purposed, videos, exemplar planning packets, themes, activities, and many other valuable resources. The student taking this course will walk away with a plan of their own they develop using the information laid out in the course that they can use and repurpose throughout their teaching career for many field days to come. This is a practical and hands-on course.

Course Goals

On completion of this course, physical educators will be able:

• To identify the importance of a field day for the school and community
• To understand the components, steps, and methods involved in planning a field day
• To understand the components, steps, and methods involved in proper communication with all stakeholders involved in a field day
• To understand the components, steps, and methods involved in executing a field day
• To understand useful indoor and outdoor activities for a field day
• To evaluate exemplar field day planning strategies, games, and informational packets
• To create a field day planning guide
• To reflect on the experience of completing the field day planning guide

Standards

This course addresses the following standards:

Source: SHAPE America National Standards for K-12 Physical Education (2016).

Standard 1 - The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.

Standard 2 - The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.

Standard 3 - The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.

Standard 4 - The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.

Standard 5 - The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Planning and executing a field day involves student participation during many phases of the process, including the students’ actual participation in the field day itself. This means that students are going to touch all five of the national standards during participation in the field day planning process and participation in the day itself.