Do you teach students with a variety of abilities? This session is for you! We will be sharing how to help students of all abilities move to music, build strength and flexibility while also building confidence and friendships. This session will also provide ways for your students to be creative and collaborate with others while having fun and making lasting memories! You will leave this session inspired and with tools to implement movement for all that is fun and engaging!
This presentation will explore a dynamic range of fitness equipment that can enhance physical education instruction for middle school and high school students. Participants will gain practical insight into how tools such as body bars, balls, BOSU balls, resistance bands, foam rollers, porcupines, balance boards, yoga wheels, and Pilates equipment can be thoughtfully integrated into lessons to promote strength, coordination, balance, flexibility, and overall physical literacy. The use of varied equipment is consistent with the broader goal of delivering high-quality physical education experiences that engage students and support meaningful movement development.
Attendees will leave with fresh ideas for creating more engaging, developmentally appropriate, and motivating learning environments for students of all ability levels. This session is designed to provide educators with effective strategies and adaptable equipment options that can help make fitness instruction both purposeful and enjoyable while supporting active participation and lifelong wellness.
HEAD over to this active session to keep an EYE out for new ideas! You will get a LEG up on how to integrate science into elementary physical education. You won't have to give up an ARM and a LEG to help your students explore the impact of movement on the HUMAN body! Make no BONES about it, you'll leave able to create engaging lessons from the HEART!
During this activity session, participants will engage in a variety of cooperative physical activities utilizing easily accessible materials and equipment (lots of use of noodles and balloons). Session participants will explore various ways to manipulate noodles, balloons, and foam coated balls through cooperative learning physical activities. Presented activities are designed to be delivered in a way that is very friendly to learners of various abilities. For example, use of visual aids and brief verbal instructions to help make learning more comprehensible for multilingual learners. Aspects of the meaningful physical education framework will be explored by seeking out the appropriate level of challenge for certain activities. Formative assessment and reflection opportunities via Kagan learning structures will demonstrate how to provide all students to simultaneously engage in meaningful use of listening and speaking skills. All presented activities will be aligned to the 2024 national physical education standards.
Move beyond the "stick-figure-on-a-whiteboard" era and explore how Various AI tools can create high-quality, customized instructional aids in seconds. Whether you need a step-by-step visual of a skill or a modified activity diagram for inclusive PE, AI is your new teacher assistant. Participants are encouraged to bring a mobile device.
Ball State Basics is a high-energy session led by Ball State seniors preparing to enter the teaching profession. Participants will experience engaging, easy-to-use activities that seamlessly integrate standards-based instruction, assessment, and grading in secondary physical education. Leave with practical strategies, ready-to-implement lessons, and innovative ideas that keep students accountable and having fun while meeting learning outcomes.
Undergraduate Coordinator for Physical Education and Health Teacher Education, Ball State University
Andrea McMurtry is the Undergraduate Coordinator for Physical Education and Health Teacher Education at Ball State University and a PhD candidate in Educational Leadership. A former Indiana and Midwest District Physical Education Teacher of the Year, she spent 20 years teaching and... Read More →
Friday November 6, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EST Court 2
Come one, come all! Let’s dive into a variety of student favorite physical education activities designed to maximize engagement in movement and minimize verbal instruction. Throughout this session, participants will engage in physical activities that engage the body and mind through cross-curricular content. Participants will also engage in small group discussions in the form of Kagan learning structures.
