Webquests for Physical Education

A webquest is a wonderful way to teach physical education while students learn through a guided online independent or group study activity. Webquests are designed to teach the subject matter while simulatenously exposing students to the educational content available through the internet. By guiding students to specific websites, students are protected while they are discovering the answers to the webquest in a sort of online scavenger-hunt. Webquests can be conducted on campus in the classroom or computer lab or outside of school for students who have internet access available at home.

Webquests for physical education can help students understand the benefit and value of physical education and exercise. A high school physical education webquest could be assigned by an English teacher encouraging students to write an essay on a particular element of physical education or by a health teacher hoping to inspire students toward greater physical activity or by a physical education teacher to augment classroom instruction. A physical education webquest offers students an opportunity to consider physical education from an academic perspective.

Webquests have a basic structure which can be applied to any subject matter. The following points are included in most webquests.

• Introduction - This tells the student a little about the subject of the webquest
• Task - This element describes the goal of the webquest. For instance, Finding 10 Facts about the Ancient Olympic Games.
• Process - This part offers a list of suggested websites where students can gather information and might offer questions that they should be answering. This part might also describe if the work is to be done individually or in a group.
• Evaluation - This describes to the student how the work will be evaluated.
• Conclusion -- This asserts what the students have learned in a general way.

Webquests do not have to include all of these steps. Teachers can adjust their webquests to meet the needs of the subject or the students.

There are a variety of topics that teachers might want to have students explore for a high school physical education webquest. Here are a list of topics with some links to related information.

• TheHealth Benefits of Jumping Rope
• History of Soccer in.... a particular location ie. United Kingdom or Brazil
• Why It Is Useful to Play Sports as an Adult
• History of American Football
• The Health Benefits of Jogging
• Pros and Cons of Jogging versus Walking
• The Social Benefits of Participating in a Group Sport
• An Exploration of Outdoor Sporting Activities such as hunting or fishing
• Examination of Childhood Obesity
• History of the Olympic Games (Winter or Summer or Ancient Games)
• The Health and Social Benefits of Joining a Gym
• Benefits of Using a Personal Trainer
• Exploration of Successfulness of Popular Weight Loss Programs

A high school physical education webquest should help students to grasp the value and benefits of physical education and inspire them toward healthy living.