Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

A typical day in my class contains consistent activities, classroom monitors helping run the classroom and various opportunities for students to collaborate. In addition, physical education is an essential part of our day because my students release their energy and come in the classroom calmer and ready to learn. My biggest challenge to help them learn is their low motivation to learn and work habits. Soccer has given me a time of positive interaction with my class, decreased my behavior problems and a way to build trust amongst my scholars. At the end of the year I want them to be happy, responsible for their own learning and be the best they can be. My favorite quote is “Just do it”, and it relates to my project because if I’m going to develop their love for soccer and physical education, I have to decide to... just do it! We started doing soccer without fancy equipment or goals. We just did it with what we had, I brought cones and vests from home, my students bring their own balls and our principal donated big yellow construction cones to serve as goals. If I apply this “Just do it” mentality to every content area, I will have peace of mind knowing my students will have an opportunity to learn and a chance to reach their full potential.

Soccer has been a powerful motivator for my 5th grade students to improve their behavior and enjoy school.

My students who struggle in various content areas through the day, or are below grade level, thrive when we do soccer drills and scrimmage games. My school is a Title 1 school that serves over 500 students. Many students in my class had a reputation for misbehaving as they were often being sent out of the room, getting in trouble or not producing work through the years. This school year, their attitude towards learning has greatly improved. They trust that my love for soccer recognizes their playing abilities and has helped me build rapport as their teacher. They trust that just like soccer, what we do in the classroom is important for them to learn. Building a relationship with them creates a positive climate to have trust and commitment from all of us in the classroom.

My Project

Testing does not assess leadership, courage, self-discipline, reliability or humor. Sports like soccer gives my scholars the chance to show these traits many times. You should see the way my students huddle and make a game plan or the way they persevere in a challenge. In January, we had friendly soccer matches of 4th graders vs 5th graders. But now with these soccer goals, we can play more games and most importantly my students will take more pride in their class. If we had these soccer goals, we can have mini tournaments and invite other classes!

This project will help my classroom because being a team player will help my students be career ready in the future.

Regardless of the job they will have, getting along others and having good customer service is important. My students learn this life skill among others when they soccer drills and games. They have to trust that their teammates will make good passes, run after the ball and take shots on goal. Students have to learn that they have to communicate efficiently and be helpful. Screaming at their friends for making a mistake or not doing their job in the game will not help them better. They must learn to give positive feedback, cheer for one another, and be patient. Getting along is important because if you don’t treat others nice…they won’t want to play with you or work with you. Being a team player requires decision making, compromise and dealing with pressure. Furthermore, being a team player is a life skill they will need for the rest of their lives. This project will change my student’s lives for the better because it will reinforce the idea that they need to do what they love! If they continue practicing their skills and doing well in school they can be part of their high school and college soccer team. Being physically active creates a healthy lifestyle. It supports academic achievement because in high school and college, students need good grades and meet a certain grade point average. Soccer can be an entry point for higher education. Last, it will change their lives because it will encourage them to lead healthy lifestyles. During the fifth grade Fitnessgram, we learned that our bodies can perform many tasks when they are strong and healthy. The Fitnessgram is a test given to students in 5th, 7th and 9th grade and we did many tasks like; a mile run, pushups, curl ups, trunk lift and shoulder reach. Some health problems that can be prevented are heart diseases, osteoporosis and high cholesterol. Exercising helps us keep our bodies healthy and decreases our chances to get diseases.