How to Teach Physical Education: 15 Essential Tips for Current and Aspiring PE Teachers
Updated: 2 days ago
PE teachers have one of the most important jobs in our schools. PE helps kids grow, keeps them healthy and active, and teaches them important life skills. If you're a PE teacher or thinking about becoming one, this post is for you! I'll share 15 tips that will help you build a positive class, keep students learning, and keep everyone on task every day.
Quick Answer: To teach PE well, be organized with a clear plan, make lessons fun, set consistent expectations, and get to know your students. Stay positive, keep learning, be patient, use nonverbal cues, differentiate for every learner, promote lifelong movement, advocate for your program, stay visible, run school-wide events, and connect with other PE teachers.
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Here are the tips:
Tip 1: Be Organized and Have a Plan
Structure is key in PE. If you're hunting for equipment or getting sidetracked, students will tune out. Have everything ready before class starts, including PE equipment, teaching resources, and any digital materials. It keeps you on track and helps students get the most out of class time. If you're a new PE teacher, a good lesson plan will help you answer questions and keep your class running smoothly all year.
Tip 2: Make Your Lessons Fun
Students are more engaged when they're having fun. Every minute doesn't have to be a party, but look for ways to make your lessons active and enjoyable. There are tons of great PE games and activities that get students moving while they learn. Mix it up with different PE skills or creative movement each week. When students are having fun, they stay engaged and learn more.
Tip 3: Don't Be Afraid to Get Creative
There's no one right way to teach a PE lesson. Be passionate about what you teach, because if you're not excited, your students won't be either. Look for new ways to get students engaged, from online resources to in-person workshops. Don't be afraid to take risks and make mistakes. That's how we learn and grow, and it helps build your students' physical literacy, too.
Tip 4: Be Consistent with Your Expectations
Clear expectations for what students should accomplish and how they should act are a big part of a great PE program. Keep your expectations clear, short, and consistent. When students know what's expected, they're more likely to meet those expectations, and your classes run with more structure. My PE expectations and classroom management posts have lots of ideas.
Tip 5: Get to Know Your Students
This might be the most important tip on the list. It's hard to teach students well if you don't know them. Take time to get to know them as individuals and as a group. You'll learn how they learn best and what motivates them, which helps you plan lessons that keep their attention. Look for students who could use a little extra attention, and ask them to help you set up, move equipment, or handle everyday jobs. Build relationships with every student, not just the ones who shine in your class.
Tip 6: Be Positive and Have Fun
Positive energy is contagious. If you're having a good time, your students will, too. When you're excited about what you teach, your kids will be excited about it, too. When I was a student, I always had the most fun in classes where the teacher was enjoying themselves. It made me want to learn and join in more. Humor keeps things light, so try a joke of the day or a crazy outfit every now and then. Use music every day, too, to motivate students and help with transitions.
From My PE Classes
When my school reached our goal for the annual Jump Rope for Heart event, I dressed up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I rode a bike down the hallways with a little Toto in a basket while the students laughed.
Tip 7: Be a Lifelong Learner
One of the best things you can do to become a master teacher is to keep learning. That doesn't have to mean going back to school (though that's one way to do it!). Take professional development classes, go to workshops and conferences, read books and articles, and talk with experts in the field.
New PE teachers should also reach out to an experienced teacher for support and advice during their first year. My launching your career in PE and PE teacher interview posts have more tips for new teachers.
Tip 8: Be Patient and Understanding
Patience helps you understand and work with your students. Some students pick up new skills quickly, and others need more time. Kids learn in different ways, so be patient and find different ways to teach and present each skill. That way, everyone has a chance to understand and succeed. Students come from different backgrounds and have different experiences, so be open to hearing their stories. Let them know it's okay to make mistakes, because that's how they learn. A feelings poster is a great way to check in with students.
Tip 9: Use Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is one of the most powerful ways to get your message across. It includes your body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. When you use all three well, students understand what you mean. Many times, you can say a lot without saying a word! Watch how students react during a lesson so you can adjust as you go. Where you stand in the gym matters, too, so move to spots where you can see every student.
Tip 10: Promote Movement for Life
The benefits of physical activity are well known, and staying active for life matters. As PE teachers, we need to help students make fitness and creative movement a lifelong habit. Give students lots of ways to move in class, and encourage them to find activities they enjoy outside of school. That builds their physical literacy and gives them activities they can keep doing as they grow up.
Staying active for life is a big goal of a quality PE program. It connects to SHAPE America's Standard 4: Develops personal skills, identifies personal benefits of movement and chooses healthy opportunities for movement.* When students learn this early, it can stay with them for life.
Tip 11: Differentiate Your Instruction
Differentiating means adjusting how you teach so every student can learn at the right level. That might mean giving different levels of support, using different equipment, or changing your lessons to meet every learner's needs. Depending on each student's skill level, you can change the activity or the equipment so they're more successful. My diversity and inclusion post has more ideas.
Many kids learn best when they can see what they're learning. Use visuals with graphics to help them understand your message. Differentiating can be hard, but remember that every student learns differently. When you adjust how you teach, you give every student a chance to succeed and can make a real difference in a child's life.
Tip 12: Advocate for PE and Your Program
Be an advocate for PE and your program. Share why PE matters with the people who make decisions about school programs, like administrators and school board members.
Work with parents and community members to share how physical activity helps students learn. Use visuals on your walls and bulletin boards, like my Pointing Out PE poster, to show off your program. You can also work with other teachers to make sure PE is valued in your school. My PE advocacy post has lots more ideas.
Tip 13: Be Visible in Your School
Take an active role in your school community! Speak up for your program in your building. Go to school events, get to know all the staff and administrators, and be a resource for students and parents. If your school has a morning news show, go on it to share what's happening in PE or report on school-wide events. Make friends with the custodians, cafeteria workers, and PTA volunteers. They can make your job so much easier! To build interest in your program and raise money for equipment or events, try partnering with local businesses.
Tip 14: Organize School-Wide Events
School-wide events are a great way to get to know your students and build interest in your PE program. They also give first-year PE teachers lots of hands-on experience. Field day is a great example, with different grades having fun in activities around the school. Events like field day build community and help your program shine.
To get more parents involved, try a Family Fitness Fun Night. It's a great way for kids and parents to exercise together. You can also organize events like the Kids Heart Challenge, Exceptional Children's Day, and before- or after-school running and walking clubs. Events like these are always a hit and get kids excited about being active.
Tip 15: Connect with Others in PE
There are lots of ways to connect with other PE teachers. Join professional organizations, go to conferences, and read professional journals. Try team-teaching a workshop in your district or at a conference. You can also connect on social media and join PE groups on Facebook.
Networking with other PE teachers is so valuable. It helps you keep up with the latest ideas and research, and you'll find mentors and colleagues who can help you throughout your career.
Final Thoughts
There you have it: 15 tips to help you succeed as a PE teacher! These tips will help you build a fun, engaging class for your students and become a valued part of the PE community. Remember to stay connected with other PE teachers, advocate for PE, and get involved in school-wide events. Most of all, have fun teaching PE and watch your students grow! Starting a new year? Check out my back to school in PE post.
Thanks for reading! I hope these tips help you in your PE career. If you have other tips, please share them in the comments below! If you're a current PE teacher, I'd love to hear what works for you and what doesn't. We can all learn from each other.
*National Physical Education Standards are used under license from SHAPE America. © 2024, SHAPE America, https://www.shapeamerica.org/. All rights reserved.
Need Resources?
Do you need a simple way to advocate for PE and share the benefits of physical literacy? Here's a free one to help!
Fill out the form below to download a FREE physical literacy poster that shares the 7 key benefits of being physically literate with students, families, and administrators. The PE Poster: Benefits of Physical Literacy is kid-friendly, easy to read, and can be enlarged to poster size for your gym. It comes in English and Spanish, in 5 color schemes.
If you're looking for a way to show what your students are learning all year, I can help! My Physical Education I Can Statements: 6 Set Visual Bundle is a great way to get students talking about what they're learning in a clear, easy-to-read visual format.
You can find them in my TPT store:
Elementary/Middle School: PE I Can Statements 6 Set Bundle
High School: PE I Can Statements High School 5 Set Bundle
These colorful visuals make great posters and help students connect with the standards-based outcomes you want them to learn in your daily PE lessons. The statements are short, to the point, and POWERFUL! They're a great resource for new and veteran teachers alike.
About Pete Charrette
Pete Charrette is a National Board Certified physical education teacher and former Georgia PE Teacher of the Year with more than 30 years of experience teaching elementary PE. He is the creator of Cap'n Pete's Power PE and has developed more than 1,000 PE and health resources used by teachers around the world. Pete loves helping PE teachers build programs their students enjoy.
