Adapted Physical Activity

As a future health and physical educator, having knowledge about adapted physical activity is so important to make your classroom inclusive and accessible for ALL students! During my undergraduate degree I was able to work heavily in this topic and learn many things I want to share with you today. 

When it comes to adapting physical education, many think, "Do I have to change the entire lesson for one kid's needs?". The answer to this is you are not changing the entire lesson, but adapting the rules, equipment, or environment to allow ALL students the opportunity and chance to reach the objectives of the lesson's standards. 

When creating adapted physical activity modifications you look at three key areas. Including changing the rules of your activity, the equipment used, or the environment to ensure that everyone has equal chances to learn. 

For example, you are introducing a volleyball unit to your entire PE class and you have one student who has a visual impairment. Instead of having this student sit out and complete a different activity, you modify the entire lesson so they can be a part of it! Modifying rules: Allow unlimited touches when volleying the ball back over or allowing students to stand closer when serving the ball. Modifying equipment: using a brightly colored ball that can be seen easier or using a larger sized volleyball (included a photo below!) Modifying environment: adding brightly colored tape on the volleyball net to help identify its location. 



I hope you learned something new about APA today!

Comments

  1. Sam VerrettJune 13, 2025 at 6:12 AM

    Great post! I definitely agree about the need for inclusivity and adaption for all students. As a math teacher, I never really thought I would have to do much adaption to my teaching and boy was I wrong! I have had to adapt several times to meet my students needs and it is so rewarding when they are able to sit there and learn because sadly, many teachers simply did not want to modify or change their plans for just one student. We all know teaching is try it, fix it, and retry it! Thanks for sharing!

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