5 Must-Haves for Elementary PE

Parachutes, cones, hula-hoops, more cones, poly spots, mats, the list goes on and on for what an elementary physical education teacher has in his or her equipment closets, but what would an elementary physical education teacher call their PE essentials?

I started my teaching career at the elementary level at Wakefield Forest Elementary School in Fairfax, VA teaching K-6 physical education, and I loved every minute!  Kids at that age love coming to PE class and being active and getting the wiggles out, and they love trying new things.  Thinking back to my time teaching and talking with my current elementary PE staff, I am going to give you my top 5 pieces of equipment that everyone should have in their closet.

1. Gymnastic Mats

GS85728 bonded TH

My top recommendation and the one item that I think is the most used would be quality gymnastic mats.  These mats are not used for just gymnastics but can be used for a variety of different activities, including circuit training stations, large group games such as island movers, and also for adapted physical education. 

I recommend a lightweight mat at the elementary level for ease of use, meaning that students can easily help move the mats.  Gopher has a great assortment of mats, with or without Velcro®, and different weight and foam density levels.  Our gym has the Gopher TumblePro® Varia™ 2” Triple-Layer Foam Mats and as a bonus, they are in our school colors! 

2. Cones

g 93074 rainbow smartholder cone
Rainbow SmartHolder Cones

My next recommendation is quality cones in a variety of sizes and functions!  I know this seems odd, but cones are a lifesaver for an elementary PE teacher keeping order and direction in his or her class.  I am including poly spots as a cone too because these are a great way to indicate where students need to be in the gym or outside at any given point in class.

When it comes to regular cones, I recommend different colors and sizes for use in a variety of activities.  And my best cone recommendation would be Gopher’s Rainbow® SmartHolder™ Cones.  These cones are fantastic for use in station work because of their design, which allows you to display a sign. Write on foam board or whiteboards and then prop them on the cone for students to follow. The SmartDoc Sign Holder serves a similar purpose.  Again, I know it seems odd to talk cones, but without them, it can tricky to organize your students and activities in class.

3. Media Player/Sound System

A good media player is another piece of equipment that makes my list.  The power of music in a PE class, especially an elementary PE class, is amazing.  Music can be used to start and stop any activity and is a great way to keep students on task.  And depending on the music you choose it can also be a great motivator.

It is also needed for those teachers that do FITNESSGRAM® testing.  Again, make sure you get a good system and also check to see if there is a sound system in your gym space as a possibility for class.

4. Student-Tracking Devices

Another must-have for everyone is some method for tracking students during class.  This can look different by school and even within classes.  Pedometers and heart rate monitors are both fantastic devices for teachers to use to track student output during a class and throughout a school year.  Personally, I recommend pedometers over heart rate monitors, especially at the elementary level because of their ease of use.  However, newer heart rate monitors such as Gopher’s Optic™ Strapless Heart Rate Monitors are a great tool that if you have the opportunity to use, go for it!  I am actually trying to get my hands on these and hope to do so very soon!  This particular heart rate monitor is a wrist band that sends data to a Hub™ point for easy data collection, without the use of a chest strap!  For me and my staff, the chest strap heart rate monitors are not worth the hassle, so this is why I want to test out the new Optic™ system.

g 76108 fitstepstream elemalt

If you are not up for heart rate monitors but still want a great method for collecting data on student performance in class, I strongly recommend the FITstep Pro Uploadable Pedometers or the FITstep Stream Pedometers.  I love pedometers for their ease of use and the data that we can collect.  Our students do a good job and at the elementary level, it is nice to have a pedometer that has several functions for different age levels.  For example, it is nice having the normal step count feature for K-2 and then slowly be able to introduce the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity feature for your 3-6 group.  Plus, with pedometers, you can cross-curriculum with Math and Social Studies!

5. Team Building Games & Activities

g 34516 objectretrieval 001 clean

My final recommendation would be team building games and activities.  Having the ability to have students be active and working together to a specific goal is a win-win situation!  There are a lot of ideas and many can be done using items you can find at school or home, and in some cases you can purchase different activities.  I have made my own buddy-walkers for students to use, and I have also purchased a couple of activities for team-building. My biggest plus to these activities is that it gets all students in the class involved and working together with no real winner, so you can take the competition aspect out of class.  One of my favorites is the Object-Retrieval Team Building System!

As an add-on to the list, if I can recommend some wish list items for you all, I recommend that everyone takes a look at the ACTION!™ Team Games by Gopher!  These are great activities that get students moving and have the opportunity to cross the curriculum!

I am hopeful this was a helpful list of PE essentials to those of you teaching elementary physical education, and trust me I know there are some must have’s out there that you have, so please share your comments and suggestions!  The more everyone shares the better as we will all have the chance to find something new!

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured Resources

Articles

5 Ways Small Sided Games Make a BIG Impact

Author: Jessica Shawley

A Brand New Tool for PE You Didn’t Know You Needed!

Author: Brett Fuller

5 Skill-Based Floor Hockey Games

Author: Michael Beringer

16 Parachute Team Building Activities

Author: Tim Mueller

Motivating Unmotivated Students​

Author: Dr. Robert Pangrazi, Jessica Shawley, and Tim Mueller

Promoting Activity and Success Through Adapted PE

Author: Dr. Robert Pangrazi, Marci Pope and Maria Corte

Bin Ball

Author: Randy Spring

Equipment

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Sign up to receive the latest physical education resources, activities, and more from educational professionals like you straight to your inbox!