Teaching Body and Space Awareness in Elementary Physical Education Using Integration of Core Content Subjects.

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Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance
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Teaching Body and Spatial Awareness in
Elementary Physical Education Using Integration
of Core Content Subjects
Nikki Hollett, J. Brandon Sluder, Sally Taunton & Candice Howard-
Shaughnessy
To cite this article: Nikki Hollett, J. Brandon Sluder, Sally Taunton & Candice Howard-
Shaughnessy (2016) Teaching Body and Spatial Awareness in Elementary Physical Education
Using Integration of Core Content Subjects, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance,
87:7, 31-35, DOI: 10.1080/07303084.2016.1202800
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2016.1202800
Published online: 22 Aug 2016.
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Nikki Hollett
J. BraNdoN Sluder
Sally tauNtoN
CaNdiCe Howard-SHaugHNeSSy
TEACHING BODY AND SPATIAL AWARENESS
Nikki Hollett (nlh0014@auburn.edu) is a graduate teaching assistant in
the School of Kinesiology at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. J. Brandon
Sluder and Candice Howard-Shaughnessy are associate professors in the
Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at Troy University in
Troy, AL. Sally Taunton is a graduate teaching assistant in the Department
of Physical Education at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC.
As children develop and reach milestones,
many vital skills must be taught in order for them
to grow as individuals. Body and spatial awareness
are learned concepts that generally start when chil-
dren are toddlers and are not usually completely
understood until the early school years (Boyer, Carlson, & Pasnak,
2012; Moore, Mealiea, Garon, & Povinelli, 2007). Studies on spa-
tial awareness (Brownell, Zerwas, & Ramani, 2007; Moore et al.,
2007; Piaget, 1952) have found that older children are more aware
of their bodies as they come to recognize themselves as an object
that can interact with other objects in the world. This involves the
process of learning self-awareness, which involves the individual
being aware of his or her body, the shapes he or she can make,
the transfer of body weight, and his or her location in relation
to other people and objects. By learning accurate spatial aware-
ness, the child is able to share space, move through space without
contacting another child, and develop awareness of the safety of
others (Graham, Holt/Hale, & Parker, 2013; Pangrazi & Beighle,
JOPERD 31
2012). Through physical education curricula and the emphasis on
skill development in the elementary years, children can improve
their body and spatial awareness in a school environment with
their peers. SHAPE America’s National Standards for K–12 Physi-
cal Education (SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical
Educators, 2014) have outlined standards that students should
meet developmentally. The standards relating to body and spatial
awareness state that each individual:
1. Demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and
movement patterns; and
2. Applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and
tactics related to movement and performance.
in Elementary Physical Education
Using integration of Core Content sUbjeCts

Fundamental motor skills, which include body and spatial aware-
ness, are a necessity in a child’s early life in order to assist in the
development of more complex skills. Pangrazi and Beighle (2012)
identified numerous themes that surround each aspect. Body aware-
ness includes skills such as balancing on dierent parts of the body,
making bridges with the body, taking flight, moving with the weight
supported on hands and feet, receiving and transferring weight,
stretching and curling, and taking weight on the hands. Spatial
awareness includes moving in general space, exploring personal
space, moving at dierent levels, and moving in dierent pathways.
Integration
In physical education the use of integration is a positive and
creative manner in which to present information (Sluder & How-
ard-Shaughnessy, 2015). It fits naturally into physical education
and allows the teacher to use a wide variety of subjects (Howard-
Shaughnessy & Sluder, 2015). Integration is a relatively eortless
process by which various subject areas are incorporated into the
physical education setting. Through collaboration with general
educators, physical educators are able to present information from
a dierent perspective that may benefit certain students who have
diering learning styles. The VARK model (Fleming, 2001) distin-
guishes four learning styles by which individuals prefer to learn
with: visual, auditory, read/write and kinesthetic. Typically, stu-
dents will learn the most information when their preferred instruc-
tional method is used by the teacher. They will also perform better
on assessments when questions are suited to their learning style
(Hsieh, Mache, & Knudson, 2012). In the physical education set-
ting, students who prefer the kinesthetic learning style will benefit
most by practicing or moving in real or simulated situations to
connect with the knowledge being taught.
A recent study conducted by Prithishkumar and Michael (2014)
found that students now have mixed preferred learning styles,
meaning that students may favor multiple learning inclinations
depending on the subject matter. A student may prefer the read-
ing or writing mode in a math subject, then shift to an auditory
mode when learning science. Depending on the type of learning
style displayed by the students involved, teachers should adjust
their instructional methods to serve the students’ needs. The lesson
plans in this article allow for teachers to incorporate more than
one teaching method and allow for multimodal students to thrive
in the integrated-type lesson.
Motor development has been directly linked to cognitive devel-
opment in a linear relationship through the use of intervention pro-
grams involving physical education and language or speech (Smith,
1989; Visscher, Houwen, Scherder, Molenaar, & Hartman, 2007).
Researchers have confirmed that by integrating physical education
with mathematics and writing (Banister & Harlow, 1997; Usnick,
Johnson, & White, 2003), art, social studies and foreign languages
(Barton, Kirby, Nazario, & Brooks, 2000), there is a positive and
meaningful eect on the students during their kindergarten and el-
ementary school years. A study by Derri, Kourtessis, Goti-Douma
and Kyrgiridis (2010) suggested that students who attended an
integrated physical education program had better results on reten-
tion testing on intellectual skills than those students who learned
the material in the typical classroom setting. This research suggests
that movement integration has a positive eect on linguistic capa-
bilities as well as motor development in young children.
It is developmentally appropriate to teach body and spatial
awareness in early elementary school. By integrating other subject
areas while teaching these skills, physical educators can encour-
age creative movement, play and enjoyment while also supporting
learning in other core subjects. Movement can provide learners a
much-needed break and allow time for exploration of informa-
tion they have been given (Jensen, 2000). The following activities
integrate other subject areas into physical education while teach-
ing body and spatial awareness for kindergarten through second-
graders. The activities were designed and implemented by preser-
vice teachers in a university methods class field-based experience.
Eective planning can ensure fun and can create a positive, safe
learning environment in physical education.
Integrated Lessons for Body and Spatial
Awareness in Physical Education
Lesson 1: Road Rules and Reading
Grade Level: K–2
Purpose: Students will follow road signs and move in space at dif-
ferent levels, in dierent directions, and in dierent pathways.
Standards:
• Reading: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.3 — Retell stories, includ-
ing key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central
message or lesson (National Governors Association Center for
Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Ocers, 2010b).
• Physical Education: S2.E2.1b — Travels demonstrating a
variety of relationships with objects (e.g., over, under, around,
through), and S2.E3.1a — Dierentiates between fast and slow
speeds (SHAPE America, 2014).
Objectives:
• Psychomotor domain: Travels in a variety of pathways
(straight, curved, zigzag).
• Aective domain: Stays in personal space while moving in the
activity area.
• Cognitive domain: Identifies rules and regulations of trac
and the road and dierentiates between fast and slow speeds.
Activity Description: All students will be given a colored hula-
hoop to wear around their waist, which they must hold up with
their hands. The hula hoops represent various types of vehicles:
Red hula hoops are fire engines, blue hula hoops are police cars,
yellow hula hoops are taxi cabs, and green hula hoops are cars.
Students will come up with their own story, in which they must tell
other students where they are coming from, where they are going,
and who they are visiting. In this teacher-directed activity, students
will wait for directions for how to move about the city. They will
drive until they come to a new sign, which will tell them the next
cue or direction to take. Students are expected to drive their cars
safely in their own personal space, not bumping into or touching
other cars. If a student is not a safe driver, then the “police” will
ask the driver to park his or her car in the “garage” for 10 seconds.
If a student bumps into another student, then they will need to take
the car to the “car shop” for 10 seconds. While students are driv-
ing around the city, the teacher will hold up a “stop” sign for cars
to stop what they are doing and sit down, a “slow down” sign for
cars to slow down their speed, and a “go” sign for the cars to drive
about freely in the designated area. Students may tell their stories
when they are close to other cars. Encourage students to use their
imagination with their stories and talk to as many peers as they can
about their stories. Music can be played during the driving time to
encourage activity (www.pecentral.com).
32 VOlumE 87 NumbER 7 SEPtEmbER 2016
© iStockphoto/MK2014

Cues/Directions:
• Drive your vehicle in a zigzag pathway
• Drive your vehicle in a curvy pathway
• Drive your vehicle up and down on a bumpy road
• Drive your vehicle in a forward, backward or sideways direc-
tion on the road
• Turn your vehicle to the right
• Turn your vehicle to the left
• Drive your vehicle at a low level
• Drive your vehicle at a high level
Equipment: One hula hoop (equal number of red, green, blue, yel-
low) per child, music, pictures of road signs (stop, slow down, go)
and of pathways (straight, curve, zigzag).
Safety Considerations: Ensure students do not run into each other;
encourage students to drive forward so they know where they are
traveling.
Integration:
• Reading: Students will read the signs to know what to do
next. The students will also tell a story to explain their route and
travelling plans.
• Body and spatial awareness: By using the hula hoops, stu-
dents are able to establish their sense of personal space in compari-
son to other people. Students will learn to recognize the area they
take up and the space in which they are able to drive their vehicle.
By challenging students to not bump into each other, they learn to
be cautious and become more aware of their surroundings while
participating in the activity.
Lesson 2: Growth of Plants
Grade Level: K–2
Purpose: Students will learn the concept of seeds and the growth
of plants — what plants need to grow, what can aect growth, and
what kinds of pests there are.
Standards:
• Science: 1.7. — Identify components of Earth’s surface, in-
cluding soil, rocks and water (National Governors Association
Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Ocers,
2010a).
• Physical Education: S2.E2.1b — Travels demonstrating a va-
riety of relationships with objects (SHAPE America, 2014).
Objectives:
• Psychomotor domain: Uses foam noodle safely to knock the
ball (seed) out of the hula hoop.
• Aective domain: Stays in personal space while moving in the
activity area.
• Cognitive domain: Identifies what aects the growth of plants
(pests: insects, worms, opossums, rabbits).
Activity Description: The teacher will first do a demonstration on
the growth of a plant. He or she will explain how to plant a seed
(foam ball) into a pot (hula hoop) and how the seed needs water,
soil and sunlight to grow. The students will also need to identify
dierent pests (foam noodles) that eat plants or aect the growth
of the plants. Students will be divided into two teams. Team 1 will
be on one side of the gym, and team 2 will be on the other side of
the gym. Foam balls will be spread out in the play area, along with
noodles and six hula hoops. The hula hoops represent the “pot of
soil” for the seeds. The teacher should designate one team to be the
“plants” to help seeds grow: this team is in charge of putting seeds
(balls) into their pots (hula hoops.) The other team are the “pests”
that destroy the seeds: they must use the noodles to eat the seeds
from the pot (hit the ball out of the hula hoop). The teacher allows
the game to continue for a few minutes, and then switches the team
roles to keep students interested. Ensure there is a review at the end
of the lesson so that students can identify what makes plants grow
and what kind of pests can aect plant growth.
Equipment: Hula hoops, foam balls, halved foam pool noodles
Safety Considerations: Students are not allowed to slide to grab
foam balls. Students are not allowed to hit other students with the
noodles.
Integration:
• Science: Students will learn what aects plant growth and
what plants need to grow.
• Body and spatial awareness: Students will demonstrate
knowledge of their surroundings to include their body in space in
relation to other objects.
Lesson 3: Land and Water
Grade Level: K–2
Purpose: Students will use locomotor movements to move in a va-
riety of directions to land masses and bodies of water.
Standards:
• Social Studies: 1.8. — Identify land masses, bodies of water,
and other physical features on maps and globes (National Gover-
nors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State
School Ocers, 2010b)
• Physical Education: S2.E2.1a — Travels demonstrating low,
middle and high levels.
Objectives:
• Psychomotor domain: Performs dierent locomotor skills to
move to a certain location
• Aective domain: Stays in personal space while moving in the
activity area
• Cognitive domain: Identifies two of four land masses/bodies
of water (lake, beach, island, mountain)
Activity Description: All students will start in the middle of the
room, with the four cardinal directions (north, east, south, west)
on a sign in a hula hoop at each appropriate place. Before the game
starts, the teacher will explain what the directions mean and how
to use them, then will ask the students to all point to the north,
then to the east, then to the west, and finally to the south. Each
hula hoop will also have a laminated picture with the name of a
land mass or body of water. There will be all four land masses and
bodies of water (lake, beach, island, mountain) at each location
(north, south, west, east). The teacher will show the students each
picture and will ask them to identify dierences between them.
The game will involve students performing a locomotor movement
(e.g., skip) to a direction (e.g., east) or body of water (e.g., lake).
The teacher will give students a specific task each time and will
continue for each direction and land mass; for example, “please
skip toward the east to go to the lake.” The teacher can instruct
students to travel low, medium or high. The teacher may also use
dierent colored pinnies to split the students into groups going to
dierent destinations. Students must work together to maneuver
through everyone to get to their designated hula-hoop.
JOPERD 33

34 VOlumE 87 NumbER 7 SEPtEmbER 2016
Definitions:
• Lake: Body of water surrounded by land
• Beach: an area of sand or small stones beside the ocean
• Island: Piece of land surrounded by water
• Mountain: Very tall, natural place on land, higher than a hill
Equipment: Hula hoops, signs (directions and land masses), topo-
graphical map (or picture) to illustrate a lake, beach, island and
mountains
Safety Considerations: Warn students about running into each
other.
Integration:
• Social studies: Students will learn the dierence between a
lake, beach, island and mountain. They will also learn the cardinal
directions.
• Body and spatial awareness: Students will perform locomotor
movements while utilizing spatial awareness and acknowledging
other students using the same space.
Lesson 4: Math Relay
Grade Level: K–2
Purpose: Students will use dice to practice addition and subtrac-
tion while working through a challenging obstacle course.
Standards:
• Math: CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.C.5 — Relate counting to
addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2; Na-
tional Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council
of Chief State School Ocers, 2010c).
Figure 1.
Obstacle course: Scatter equipment throughout a
specic area to challenge students to
avoid touchingequipment.
• Physical Education: S2.E2.1a — Travels demonstrating low,
middle and high levels, and S2.E2.1b — Travels demonstrating
a variety of relationships with objects (e.g., over, under, around,
through; SHAPE America, 2014).
Objectives:
• Psychomotor domain: Travels demonstrating low, middle and
high levels, while demonstrating a variety of relationships with
objects
• Aective domain: Works cooperatively with a partner
• Cognitive domain: Adds two numbers from two dice
Activity Description: Students will be placed into eight relay
teams. The number of teams can be altered depending on the
number of students. Teams will be set up opposite each other,
so there will be four games going at once, with two dice in hula
hoops in the middle. Two students will run (or perform a des-
ignated locomotor skill) to the hula hoop, and each rolls a die.
The two students must work together to add the two numbers
together to find the sum. For example, if one student rolls a 3 and
the other student rolls a 2, the students will add the two num-
bers together to get 5. Both students must then go through the
challenging obstacle course without touching any piece of equip-
ment to get back to tag the next person. The challenging obstacle
course in Figure1 involves an area of space in which equipment
is scattered around the area. The obstacle course will be in a small
section of the gym, away from the other activities to ensure safety.
Students must use their spatial-awareness skills to avoid touching
the equipment. To add variety to the game, change the task to
subtraction.
Equipment: Hula hoops, dice, cones, pool noodles, tunnels and
balls as obstacles
Safety Considerations: Dice must remain in the hula hoops at all
times.
Integration:
• Math: Students will recognize the higher number of the two
dice, as well as practice addition and subtraction.
• Body and spatial awareness: Students will practice body
awareness and spatial awareness as they work their way through
the obstacle course while ensuring they do not touch any of the ob-
stacles or other students. Students will have to realize where their
body is in relation to other people as well as equipment.
Reactions to the Integrated Physical Education
Lessons
The students seem to enjoy all of the activities. Through ob-
servation, the students enjoy playing these games, participating
in all of the activities, and reviewing information learned in the
classroom. The lessons made learning fun for the students. The
games were not only informational, but they were fun, so stu-
dents who may not necessarily enjoy strenuous activity enjoyed
the lessons. The students who may not specifically like physical
education seemed to participate, cooperate and interact more with
their peers. These lessons worked well with groups of 20–25 stu-
dents. They were designed for first grade, under the guidance of the
first-grade teachers who provided the physical education teachers
with materials they were currently working on in the classroom.
However, lessons can be modified based on the grade level being
taught. Due to the success of these lessons and positive feedback

JOPERD 35
from the classroom teachers, les-
sons are currently in the works for
all grade levels in the elementary
school used in this article.
Conclusion
Integration and collaboration
between teachers can reach more
students on a deeper level. Physi-
cal education is the ideal setting
for teachers to use physical activ-
ity to help those students who may
be struggling in the classroom to
make knowledge connections. In-
tegrating subjects also allows for
more communication and cohe-
sion among teachers in a school
setting, which encourages more
time to be focused on the students.
Rairigh and Townsend (2001) ex-
plained that collaboration can
be successful through eective
communication between teach-
ers, planning with familiar grade
levels, and integrating subjects in
a fitting way. The diversity and
variety of physical education les-
sons create more interest in the
students and help them learn ma-
terial in a fun way.
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© iStockphoto/MorePixels