The Mandingo et. al article really reinforced a few key points for me. The first being that physical literacy has a variety of definitions and the geographic location of the person defining the term can play a part in that person’s thoughts on the topic. Physical literacies bring into question a person’s ability to perform in physical ways, but also requires concepts of the cognitive and affective domains. The physical, cognitive, and affective roles that a person must fulfill in order to demonstrate physical literacy can be altered greatly by the assessor, but all people are capable of achieving physical literacy.  

Physical literacies require a person to demonstrate a physical ability to perform a task. A print literacy may be a book while a physical literacy may be an action performed by the teacher. Using a print literacy, a student may be asked to read a page from book detailing how to throw a baseball. Using a physical literacy, a teacher may physically demonstrate how to throw a baseball while students watch. The biggest difference is that print literacies are written (a book, a poster, a pamphlet, etc.) whereas a physical literacy must be shown and observed (rather than read). 

Print and physical literacies are the same in that both must be interpreted and fully understood in order to be effective teaching and learning tools. A physically literate individual must be able to use a combination of print and physical literacies in order to learn physical education concepts. Both literacy types can be used in the P.E setting and they can even teach the same topic (like my example above about throwing a baseball). Both physical and print literacies can also include interactive components in which students can learn from the teacher and or other students while incorporating the given literacy. 

How can the concept of physical literacies support you in your work in physical education or dance? 

 The job a physical education teacher is to teach students how they can become physically literate individuals. This requires teaching using a variety of literacies including print, physical, and multimedia. Physical literacies are important to P.E because of how specific they are to the content being taught. It is common that in classroom subject areas print literacies are used because the nature of the content is written. In P.E the nature of the content is movement based, so physical literacies make sense to use as a demonstration to students of how they should be performing a movement or how they can work to accomplish a task. 

When teaching locomotor movements, it is common for students to become lost in the way their body moves. At a young age when fine and gross motor skills are still developing, students are usually unable to read detailed steps to performing a physical movement (print). Watching a video may help (multimedia) but the best way for most students at this stage to learn is through the physical literacy of demonstration. Either the teacher or a student who already knows the movement can demonstrate first hand for the students how the body should move while performing a locomotor movement. The teacher can show the students a movement and the students can mimic the movement. 

What will be your "text" and what will be your "literacy" engagement? 

The “text” will be a physical demonstration. The students while watch and interpret the teacher performing a locomotor movement. The “literacy” will be the student’s ability to mimic the teacher’s movement. Through trial and error and practice the students will interpret the text (demonstration) until literacy is reached (they can move like the teacher moves). 

            Mandingo’s article about Physical Literacies helped me to learn that there are so many ways to define physical literacies. Most of the definitions define physical literacies as a wide range of physical skills that help to develop the ‘whole child’ and allows them to move with confidence. With this definition as the main idea of what physical literacies are and other definitions going into specific aspects of physical literacies, I learned that many things in Physical Education and Dance Education can be considered physical literacies. In this article I also learned that it is not only important for students to know what the skills of physical literacies are, but they must also be able to perform these skills on their own in various situations. Without this they lack understanding of the skill and therefore cannot be considered physically literate. 

 

            Physical literacies are different from traditional print literacies based on their form and their relationship to the discipline. Traditional print literacies are actual pieces of text that include words on paper that a student must read to gain knowledge, while physical literacies are skills, actions, or concepts that are specific to a certain discipline and must be known in order to be able to take part in the discipline effectively. In dance, print literacies would be books, journal articles, websites, blogs, etc. about dance and physical literacies may include certain dance steps of a specific style of dance, understanding classroom etiquette in ballet, understanding how to dance through the space without running into another dancer, etc. 

 

            Physical literacies and traditional print literacies are the same in the way that they must be understood to make sure a student is able to apply what they learn. When working with both physical literacies and traditional print literacies a student must develop their own understanding and connection to what is being communicated so that when they are asked to demonstrate what they have learned from it they can do so with confidence. Both physical literacies and traditional print literacies can be used in a dance class to helps students to understand the same concept just in different ways, one through reading about it and another by observing the teacher’s actions. 

 

            Dance is mostly a physical activity which therefore can be greatly supported through physical literacies. Many people would say that dance is not an ‘academic’ subject and shouldn’t be considered a class in public school because they are not doing as much reading and writing as other subjects do. Physical literacies help to demonstrate a different way of understanding, helping to distinguish someone who is literate in dance versus someone who is not. Physical literacies help make dance stand out from other subjects, while also showing its importance for life because it teaches skills that should be carried out for life. 

 

A lesson idea for implementing the concept of physical literacies in dance curriculum would be teaching a class how to do pirouettes in a ballet unit. When learning a pirouette, students have to understand the concepts of balance, turn-out, spotting, leg and arm positioning, and how the steps and action of executing a pirouette. A teacher would teach this physical literacy through demonstrating it and using verbal cueing so that the students know where their bodies should be place in each step of a pirouette, what muscles they will be working to help them maintain these positions, and what mental images they can use when performing the step to help them be more successful. 

 

The ‘text’ of this lesson will be the teacher’s demonstration and verbal cueing of the action of a pirouette. The ‘literacy’ engagement will include students trying to replicate a pirouette with their own bodies and apply what the teacher states about turnout, positioning, spotting, and the steps of the pirouette. Once they should this ability to perform a pirouette based on the teacher demonstration and cueing they then should be able to apply what they felt and learned in a combination later that involves a pirouette. 

This article went over new definitions for physical literacy and how each one can support the idea of what physical literacy really is. I learned about the clear connection between creative and social aspects in physical literacy after reading this article. While physical literacy means clear movement mastery in an activity, this article brought up the fact that it should also include how students can interact with each other, the environment, and be creative in their approach to the activity. Physical literacies are different from print in that there is no material to “read” and normal reading strategies do not apply. They are the same in the sense that they both require mastery of content and the ability to translate the themes into other aspects of life, including social, emotional, and creative. 

            A lesson idea for literacy in dance includes creating a dance based on ballroom-style “mail order dances” created by Arthur Murray, and then creating your own text for a mail order dance. Using a graphic provided by Murray, the class can collaborate to create a short dance sequence based on the text/pictures. Then, the class can break up into smaller groups, each with their own mail order dance. Working collaboratively, the groups can create their own short dance texts/graphs, and an interpretation of how to read it. They can then present these to the class. The text provided will be one of Murray’s mail order dances, plus the dances created by the small groups. 

How are physical literacies different from traditional print literacies? 

Physical literacies are a literacy where the student has to demonstrate or perform a skill or activity. For example, in a soccer unit for PE the students will be tasked to pass with the inside of their foot. To demonstrate they are physically literate the student will physically have to perform that type of pass.  Where as a print literacy is the ability to comprehend the actual text in a book or article. 

 

How are they the same? 

Print literacy and physical literacy may have differences in how you fundamentally assess the student’s literacy but what they both do is tell you have much the students are understanding the material you are trying to teach them. As we say in the PE program learning is complete when the students demonstrate confidence and competence, this holds true for both print literacies and physical literacy. 

 

How can the concepts of physical literacies support you in your work in physical education or dance? 

Physical literacies mean everything in my future profession. A large problem in PE is that the school board, parents, other teacher think we are glorified baby sitters and just roll the ball out and let the students play. If we can demonstrate through assessment that the students are physically literate based of SHAPE standards definition, we will have evidence that learning is being done in our PE class setting. Validity of our profession in the public schools is going to be huge for PE moving forward, if we make physical literacy our main priority, we will be fine. 

 

Briefly identify a method or lesson idea for implementing the concept of Physical literacies in PE Curriculum? 

The first method that comes to mind when implementing physical literacy in a PE class is the Tell, show, Do method. This method involves a teacher giving verbal instruction of the task, then the teacher will give a demonstration of the instructions, and finally the teacher will have the students go off and attempt the task or skill. You commonly see this through out the PE field, from experience this is how almost every instruction is performed in an elementary PE class. Often you can call on specific students to help demonstrate or even explain the task as most students learn better from other peers. 

 

What will be your “text” and what will be your “literacy engagement” 

The text in physical education would be the instructions and demonstrations and the literacy engagement is the actual application of the students performing the skill based off the “text”. 

Discuss what you learned about Physical Literacies from the Mandingo, et. al article 

·        I learned that there are always going to be many definitions of physical literacy, but they all have common themes. Physical literacy is more then just the standard definition of literacy. Physical literacy consists of print and nonprint. There’s more to just being able to read the print. It is important to read the situation and be able to respond quickly and correctly. 

How are physical literacies different from traditional print literacies? 

·        I believe traditional print literacies is all about reading the text/print and being able to take that knowledge and use it to answer the question/etc. In English class we were taught how to answer the questions by looking at the text and putting what’s in front of us together. With physical literacies, its more about thinking for yourself then traditional where its question and one answer. Ex. in soccer when you are faced with a defender, you have many options on what you want to do. You can pass, fake, stall, etc. 

How are they the same? 

·        They both require deeper thinking. You need to be able to take the knowledge you have, think, and apply it to the situation. Without the knowledge, you cannot read the situation/question and answer it/respond to it. If you cannot read a text passage, you cannot obtain the knowledge and information from it to answer questions. If you cannot read a situation, you cannot obtain the knowledge and information from it to respond to it. 

How can the concept of physical literacies support you in your work in physical education of dance? 

·        It can be used as different types of teaching methods. You can use both to help guide students to the right answer/direction instead of giving them the answer. Ex. You can use non print by showing an example and having students be able to distinguish good form vs bad without print. You could write 5 statements on the board about kickball and they can write down the right/wrong statements.  

Briefly identify a method or lesson idea for implementing the concept of Physical Literacies in Dance and/or Physical Education curriculum. 

·        You can use the print and non-print to teach the locomotor skills. You can start by showing videos/gifs of the skills with a paragraph next to it describing what is happening. You can then demonstrate good form and form that needs work and have the students write down whether it was good or needs work and why. You could even have them peer evaluate and explain why the attempt was good/needs work 

What will be your “text” and what will be your “literacy” engagement? 

·        Text is the gif/paragraph (print and non-print) and the engagement will be whether the student will be able to write down and explain why the form was good/needs work. They could also help demonstrate to students who they are evaluating who need some guidance. 

 

I was able to better understand the true definition of physical literacies.  I also feel more knowledgeable of why we should be using physical literacies within all classrooms and how it can improve the success of our students.  By allowing students to experience physical literacies, they will be able to comprehend more thoroughly and then feel more confident in whichever subject area they are learning. 

 

Physical literacies involve a person either demonstrating or verbally walking someone through a given task or action.  A traditional literacy could be a comic with steps illustrating how to do a tendu in first position, using written steps to guide/ teach.  Physical & print literacies are similar because they both require a relatively deep explanation in order for the ‘student’ to comprehend and embody that new learned knowledge. 

By using physical demonstrations with students in the gym/ dance studio, I think there is then a better appreciation, relationship, and understanding among the students and teacher.  As some teachers will just sit and call out orders, there Is a sense of disrespect or “lesser than” coming from the teacher.  By actively participating with the students, there is a sense of collaboration and excitement that leads to overall success. 

Briefly identify a method or lesson idea for implementing the concept of Physical Literacies in Dance and/or Physical Education curriculum. What will be your "text" and what will be your "literacy" engagement? 

An idea for a lesson inside of my dance studio (classroom) would be teaching a class how to use their spot.  Using ‘spot’ is a skill used in (almost) every dance class and involves many steps; using proper alignment of the body, correct arm placement, whipping your head, engaging your core, etc.  As a dance teacher I would be able to teach this using physical literacy.  I would be the “text”, physically demonstrating each of the steps/ concepts necessary to spot correctly as well as verbalizing my movements as I present them.  The “literacy” engagement would consist of the students following my given steps/ criteria and practicing to use their spot. 

Spencer Regan 

What I learned from Physical Literacy for Educators by James Mandigo. 

As I read through the article, there are many different definitions of Physical Literacy as there is a wide spectrum of opinions. A few focused on key movements and skills. A few emphasized the knowledge of maintaining physical activity for better success in life. Another was to make people comfortable moving in a wide variety of physical activities. As I can agree with all of these definitions as they are important, we just need to include the physical aspect. Making sure there’s a difference between literacy and physical literacy as there is a difference. Including psychomotor, cognitive, and affective into your activities is important for your student’s to be ‘physically literate’. 

Then we look at Whitehead’s characteristics of physical literacy, as they all look familiar and standard. Focusing on ability and motivation on our movement potential to contribute to life and how there’s different potential for every person. How not everyone will learn the same and how you need variety based on culture. Being comfortable and confident in challenging situations, being able to read the physical environment and adapting to possibilities. Being aware of self and others through nonverbal communication. Finally, the ability to articulate the essential qualities that influence the effectiveness of his own movement performance and understands principles of embodied health. These characteristics make complete sense to me as these were most of the definitions from other educators. 

I also noticed the characteristics of a quality PE program as PE is not only about physical literacy. As these characteristics are not new to me, some are more important than others and may be more essential than physical literacy although it may connect to physical literacy. The ones I would examine are an emphasis on fun, enjoyment, success, fair play, self-fulfillment and personal health. As those are quite essential some literacy, mostly print, can become boring for students as they read all day in other classes. PE can be an outlet to relax and enjoy some physical activity. I should also emphasize that students come from different cultures and backgrounds as it’s important to have variety of literacy, instructions, and levels. I think finally considering what PE emphasizes, living a healthier lifestyle. Focusing on helping the students understand why we try to live healthy and the consequences if we don’t. 

 

I was able to better understand the true definition of physical literacies.  I also feel more knowledgeable of why we should be using physical literacies within all classrooms and how it can improve the success of our students.  By allowing students to experience physical literacies, they will be able to comprehend more thoroughly and then feel more confident in whichever subject area they are learning. 

 

Physical literacies involve a person either demonstrating or verbally walking someone through a given task or action.  A traditional literacy could be a comic with steps illustrating how to do a tendu in first position, using written steps to guide/ teach.  Physical & print literacies are similar because they both require a relatively deep explanation in order for the ‘student’ to comprehend and embody that new learned knowledge. 

By using physical demonstrations with students in the gym/ dance studio, I think there is then a better appreciation, relationship, and understanding among the students and teacher.  As some teachers will just sit and call out orders, there Is a sense of disrespect or “lesser than” coming from the teacher.  By actively participating with the students, there is a sense of collaboration and excitement that leads to overall success. 

Briefly identify a method or lesson idea for implementing the concept of Physical Literacies in Dance and/or Physical Education curriculum. What will be your "text" and what will be your "literacy" engagement? 

An idea for a lesson inside of my dance studio (classroom) would be teaching a class how to use their spot.  Using ‘spot’ is a skill used in (almost) every dance class and involves many steps; using proper alignment of the body, correct arm placement, whipping your head, engaging your core, etc.  As a dance teacher I would be able to teach this using physical literacy.  I would be the “text”, physically demonstrating each of the steps/ concepts necessary to spot correctly as well as verbalizing my movements as I present them.  The “literacy” engagement would consist of the students following my given steps/ criteria and practicing to use their spot. 

Susie had some good points about the definitions of print vs nonprint literacy as both are important in a students’ learning. That its more than just reading, but to read the situation and being able to respond to the reading. She explains that print is about taking that knowledge and using it to answer something else. Yet with physical literacies, its about thinking individually about possibilities that can occur in the environment. As they both require you to think more deeper into the situation, you need to be able to take the knowledge you have and apply, without the understanding, you can not perform to be successful. Also using different types in your lessons to include variety for the students is so important.