Overall Reflection
Content area literacy can mean a lot of different things in health and physical education. In a health classroom it can include learning to read and understand food labels, scholarly articles, research studies, etc. Traditionally, physical education does not include much reading, however, things like exercise programing, as well as rules of sports can be literature helpful to physical education.
It is important to include literature in all content areas, as it aids in student comprehension. However, it may be more important in health and physical education for multiple reasons. One being that physical education is more hands on than any other content area, it may be beneficial to include literature for those who are not hands on learners. Another reason to include reading and writing would be to improve cross content learning. This has many positive effects, including increasing student learning, as well as improving relationships with other teachers.
Challenges health and physical educators may face when attempting to include more reading and writing in their lessons can be difficult. Some colleagues may see physical education as less critical than other subject areas. However, with millions dying each year because of preventable disease, health and physical education is incredibly critical. Furthermore, including literature in our curriculum displays a level of professionalism and brings accountability to our programs.
I thought this assignment was a great way of prompting us to research and show ways we can incorporate literature into our classrooms. Especially, in our case as physical educators, where reading and writing is far less common than other subjects. Making this assignment more essential to us, as we may not get as much training and experience as teachers in other content areas.