Greetings from Ms. Loftus. I hope you hear about our fun and interesting Physical Education
lessons each week.
Growth Mindset: At Burning Tree, we have 3 P.E. rules: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
Whether or not a student is a beginner, intermediate, or advanced athlete, s/he is expected to
play hard. Just to expand on this a bit: The only way to learn movement is to do it! I strive to
help kids develop a “growth mindset.” That is, great athletes, inventors, even Presidents are
not afraid of failing. We learn from our errors, adjust, and improve. Please encourage your
child to embrace new challenges!
If you find that for some reason your student isn’t having fun in P.E., please ask him/her about
it. I often stop by the lunch room and this might be a good time for a student to share their
thoughts with me. Of course, emails are always welcome too. [email protected].
Curriculum: The charts that follow indicate the MCPS MP3 topics by grade. This is a brief
overview and it does not mean that other activities are not also included in classes. Just like a
student first learns letters, then words, then sentences, paragraphs, and essays, P.E. students
learn basic skills (skip, zigzags, throw and catch) and then use them in more complex ways. P.E.
classes will always be movement based. Your child’s P.E. class however, may not look like the
“gym” classes of old. The three measurement topics for the year are: Movement, Fitness, and
Personal/Social Responsibility. The MCPS website can provide more detail.
Kindergarten
Topics/Units
Assessments
Marking Period 3
Promotion of Fitness
IRG and/or OR
(cardio and muscular strength)
Jumping and Landing
TO
(two feet and one foot patterns)
Balance - Static
TO
Sideways Rolls
TO
Grade 1
Topics/Units
Assessments
Quarter 3
Jumping and Landing
TO
(two feet, one foot, and combination patterns)
Jumping Rope
TO
Goal Setting
IRG and/or OR
Balance – Static and Dynamic
TO
Sideways Rolls/Weight Transfer
TO
Grade 2
Topics/Units
Assessments
Quarter 3
Muscles and Fitness
TO, WR, IRG and/or OR
Jumping Rope
TO
Balance – Static and Dynamic
TO
Weight Transfer
TO
Grade 3
Topics/Units
Assessments
Quarter 3
Rules for Social Movement
TO, WR, IRG and/or OR
Movements in Sequence
TO
Balance, Rolling, and Weight Transfer
TO
Grade 4
Topics/Units
Assessments
Quarter 3
Rules for Social Movement
TO, WR, IRG and/or OR
Movements in Sequence
Observation: Partner Dance
Balance, Rolling, and Weight Transfer
Observation: Gymnastics Routine
Grade 5
Topics/Units
Assessments
Quarter 3
Conflict Resolution
TO, WR, IRG and/or OR
Creative Dance
TO
Balance, Rolling, and Weight Transfer
TO
Code
Assessment Type
Explanation and examples
TO
Teacher Observation
Teacher observes student performing
during regular lesson.
IRG
Individual response in
group setting
Examples:
OR
Oral Response
WR
Written Response
a. Students sit with eyes closed or in a
circle facing out. Teacher reads
statement and each student
responds with either a “thumbs up”
(True) or a “thumbs down” (False)
b. Students sit with eyes closed or in
circle facing out. Teacher reads
selected response question. Each
student responds with fingers to
indicate choice 1, 2, or 3.
In a one-on-one setting, student verbally
provides answers to questions. (with or
without word bank, picture bank)
Paper and pencil assessment.
Short duration (5-10 minutes)
Examples:
a. circle correct answer (selected
response)
b. fill in the blank (with or without
word bank)
c. Open response (Sentences, lists,
pictures)