How to Motivate Girls in P.E.

Motivate girls to participate in physical education.

The physical fitness of young people is important to their development into adulthood. Girls often need a lot of motivation to get them involved in the physical education class. Girls who are overweight or seemingly do not have athletic skill should be able to participate without feeling hesitant or insecure about their fitness level. These girls can have a good experience in their physical education class with the right motivation.

Instructions

1. Show your class how much you enjoy physical fitness in your own life. Keep physically fit and be enthusiastic and excited about exercise during your class. Your students will not be motivated if they see that you don't love exercise. It is important to be a good role model.

2. Instruct your students to keep a journal during gym class of all of their progress in physical fitness. Students will record how many laps they were able to run, number of push-ups, sit-ups and other exercises. Girls can also track their diet by recording what they eat throughout the week.

3. Give your students a list of athletic activities on which they can check off what they are interested in. This will give you an idea of what activities your students will enjoy. Include competitive sports as well as activities such as hiking, canoeing, and skating for students who are intimidated by competitive athletics.

4. Play fun games with your students to make it enjoyable. Conduct a relay race, a giant tic tac toe game or other games that will take the competitive edge and intimidation off of a grueling volleyball or basketball game. Once the girls see that sports are fun, they will be more motivated to participate.

References

• PE Journal: Motivating the Non-Athletic/Overweight Girl
• Sports Media: Motivating Boys and Girls to be More Physically Active