University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks Graduate Research Papers Student Work 1997 Strategies for Sprinkling Spice on an Elementary Physical Education Program: Thematic Instruction Comes to the Gym! Kristine Lee Whitcher University of Northern Iowa Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Copyright ©1997 Kristine Lee Whitcher Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Whitcher, Kristine Lee, "Strategies for Sprinkling Spice on an Elementary Physical Education Program: Thematic Instruction Comes to the Gym!" (1997). Graduate Research Papers. 1816. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/1816 This Open Access Graduate Research Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Research Papers by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Strategies for Sprinkling Spice on an Elementary Physical Education Program: Thematic Instruction Comes to the Gym! Abstract The purpose of this project was to identify curriculum design strategies that would assist elementary physical education teachers in producing thematic units for elementary physical education classes. Strategies for integrating curriculum were identified in the literature then used to create and implement a thematic physical education project. Specific strategies were explained in detail through examples associated with the project. The strategies demonstrate that thematic instruction can successfully meet the needs of many children, invite new learning, and will assist teachers in coordinating themes with elementary physical education classes. A school-wide Olympic Fest was the culminating event of this project.