Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

Teaching Literacy and Numeracy to Middle Years Students through the Health
and Physical Education Curriculum

By Lisa Johnson

Submitted as EDU5MTM Assessment 2, Part B

Due Date: 16th August 2016
Instructor: Anne Sparks
Word Limit: 1350-1650
Word Count: 1643
N.B Throughout this paper, there are references to specific sections of the
Australian Curriculum. To preserve word count, they are colour coded as follows:
Red = English
Blue = Mathematics

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

Green = HPE
The Australian Curriculum (AC) lists seven General Capabilities (AC,

2016a) that should be naturally integrated into every learning area wherever
possible. There has been some debate about how much school time should be
devoted to Health and Physical Education (HPE), with media reports often
suggesting that physical education uses funding and time that could be better
spent on improving more traditional academic areas, and that it should be the
responsibility of parents to ensure their children are physically active (WilsonHarris, 2016). However, research has shown that schools with a high amount of
HPE time produce students with the same standard of academic achievement as
schools with low HPE time (Dollman, Boshoff & Dodd, 2006). In fact, the vast
body of research on the subject suggests that teaching HPE in schools not only
increases physical fitness, but also has positive influences on concentration,
memory and classroom behaviour in other learning areas (Trudeau & Shephard,
2008). Additionally, HPE has been shown to correlate with greater academic
performance particularly in the specific areas of language and mathematics
(Correa-Burrows, Burrows, Ibaceta, Orellana & Ivanovic, 2014). With that in
mind, this paper will focus on strategies for integrating two of the AC General
Capabilities, Literacy and Numeracy, into the Grade 5/6 HPE learning area.
Part 1 Literacy in HPE
Literacy Strategy 1 Fact in Fiction
The AC recommends several ways in which Literacy can be integrated into
the HPE learning area. The first of these is by introducing specific terminology
used in HPE Contexts (AC, 2016b). One strategy for accomplishing this would be
to conduct a Fact in Fiction (FiF) writing activity (Mead, 2011). This activity
involves the teacher writing the first few paragraphs of a fiction story. The

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

students then take over, writing the rest of the fiction piece while including as
many facts from their topic of enquiry as possible. For example, Grade 5/6
students might spend a lesson developing a list of key facts and terminology
related to puberty (ACPPS052). They would then receive a FiF starter sheet (see
Appendix A for an example) to complete, challenging them to create a fictional
narrative while incorporating their applicable facts (ACELA1522)(ACELA1523)
(ACELA1512). This task is great for introducing and using specific terminology,
as one of the challenges of the task is to include and underline key words from
the learning area. It also lends itself well to differentiation, as students of
different ability levels could be given key words of varying difficulties for
inclusion in their response.
Literacy Strategy 2 Visual Text Response
A second strategy recommended in the AC for integrating literacy into the HPE learning area
is by encouraging students to critically analyse relevant texts (AC, 2016b). A good strategy for
bringing critical analysis into the HPE classroom would be a film critique of a sports-related movie.
By carefully selecting a movie (such as The Mighty Ducks [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104868/])
that covers issues such as growing up, identity formation, friendship and overcoming adversity in the
context of sport, this task can cover several elements of the HPE learning area (ACPPS051)
(ACPPS056)(ACPPS057)(ACPPS059)(ACPPS060)(ACPPS052). Ideally, the teacher would use a
lead in lesson to teach students about how to critically watch a visual text (ACELY1713) (and this
strategy would work best if taught in tandem with critical analysis lessons in the English learning
area). Students would be encouraged to take notes while watching the film. Class discussion would
revolve around the HPE criteria listed above, as well as developing and supporting arguments and
opinions based on the film (ACELY1709). The summative task for this strategy would involve
students crafting a written text response based on a critical analysis question (several different
questions to be provided by the teacher). These questions could be differentiated to allow students of

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

varying abilities to complete the same task. This strategy could also be adapted for different year
levels by selecting different sports-related issues films (such as Remember the Titans
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210945/?ref_=nv_sr_1]

for

older

students

or

Space

Jam

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117705/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1] for younger ones).

Literacy Strategy 3 Olympic Magazine
A final strategy recommended in the AC for integrating literacy into the HPE learning area is
by encouraging students to comprehend and compose texts related to HPE (AC, 2016b). A fun (and
highly topical!) way of accomplishing this in the 5/6 HPE classroom could be to create an Olympic
Magazine. The idea would be that each student would write a one-page article on something to do
with the current Olympics. Students would be encouraged to research different types of magazine
articles (such as editorials, advertisements, reports, interviews, etc) and then to produce a creative
page for inclusion in the class magazine (ACELY1714)(ACELY1715)(ACELA1522)(ACELT1618)
(ACELT1800). This activity highlights several elements of the HPE curriculum such as games and
sport, benefits of physical activity and lifelong physical activity. Utilising the Olympics is also a
great strategy for teaching about the importance of sport to identity, culture and community
(ACPPS058) (ACPPS059) (ACPPS060). Using a class magazine format allows students to engage
creatively with literacy and understand that literacy comes in different forms (such as written articles,
comic strips, illustrations, etc). It also gives students the chance to look through the magazine and
compare the different methods of expression used by their peers, which is an important literary skill
(ACELY1708).
Part 2 Numeracy in HPE
Numeracy Strategy 1 Analysing Athletics
The AC recommends several ways in which Numeracy can be integrated
into the HPE learning area. The first of these is by using calculation, estimation
and measurements in HPE contexts (AC, 2016c). This could be implemented
seamlessly while teaching movement concepts, strategies and physical activity

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

(ACPMP061)(ACPMP063)(ACPMP064)(ACPMP069)

through

school

athletics

day/sports day (or just as a class athletics unit if the school does not have an
athletics/sports carnival of some description). During the carnival, students
would track their times/distances/scores on the various events using tallies and
tables (ACMSP118)(ACMSP119). After the carnival, students would be given a
variety of appropriately differentiated worksheets that use their own results to
reinforce numeracy skills such as distance/time/speed equations and presenting
and interpreting data in graphs, tables and/or pie charts

(ACMNA123)

(ACMSP147)(ACMSP119)(ACMSP120)(ACMNA098) (see Appendices B and C for

possible examples). This integration activity has the added advantage of
allowing students to create and interpret a data set based on their own physical
activity. Using meaningful, personalised data in this manner has been shown to
correlate with more positive student attitudes towards numeracy studies (Ku &
Sullivan, 2002).
Numeracy Strategy 2 Spatial Reasoning
A second strategy recommended in the AC for integrating numeracy into the HPE learning
area is by teaching students about spatial reasoning (AC, 2016c). Research has found that spatial
reasoning is one of the mathematics strands that receives the least attention in formal instruction
(Sinclair & Bruce, 2014), which is another reason why integrating it into the HPE learning area is of
great importance and relevance. The graphic in Appendix D shows a number of activities that
incorporate spatial reasoning. A number of these, such as orienting, navigating and wayfaring, using
proportional reasoning and moving ones body in space lend themselves naturally to inclusion in the
HPE curriculum (ACPMP061)(ACPMP065)(ACPMP068). A specific activity to incorporate spatial
reasoning in HPE would be the Human Knot. In this activity, students stand in a shoulder-toshoulder circle and grab the hands of two different people standing across from them. When
everyone is holding two hands, the students have to untie the human knot in order to open up into a

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

completely untangled circle without anyone in the group breaking their grips. This task includes the
numeracy fundamentals of spatial reasoning and critical problem solving, as well as HPE elements of
teamwork and cooperation (ACPMP068)(ACPMP069) (ACPMP067). The spatial reasoning
component could be emphasized by having the group work in smaller spaces, on within different
shapes drawn on the ground, as they get quicker at untying the knot.
Numeracy Strategy 3 Interpreting Data
A final strategy recommended in the AC for integrating numeracy into the HPE learning area
is by encouraging students to interpret data related to HPE (AC, 2016c). Again, the Olympics
provide a great opportunity to integrate this numeracy element naturally into the Games and Sports
sub-strand of the HPE learning area. One strategy might be to have students graph the medal tally
each week and interpret the changes over the course of the Olympics. Alternatively, students may
each be given a particular athlete to track and present tables and graphs of their results for other
classmates to interpret. For a more hands on approach, students might graph their own performance
in PE each week, and interpret these graphs in comparison with the rest of the class (ACMSP118)
(ACMSP119)(ACMSP120). The teacher could provide questions to aid in data interpretation, such as
Are your 100m times better in morning or afternoon classes?. Responses to questions such as this
would require not only data interpretation, but also literacy elements of critical analysis and text
response (ACELY1713). The use of visual representations of data for analysis is particularly useful
in classes with a wide range of student abilities. Data representation and interpretation can be
differentiated both by the type of representation (for example simple tables for below 5/6 standard
(ACMSP096), side by side graphs for at 5/6 standard (ACMSP147) and dot plots for above 5/6
standard (ACMSP170)) and also the depth of data interpretation required.
Conclusion
This paper has outlined six ways in which the Numeracy and Literacy General Capabilities of
the AC can be integrated into the HPE learning area. The strategies and activities outlined above
serve to incorporate the literacy elements of subject-specific terminology, critical analysis and text

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

composition/comprehension, as well as the numeracy elements of calculation, estimation and

measurements, spatial reasoning and data interpretation, into the HPE
curriculum. In doing so, this paper has demonstrated how Literacy and Numeracy transcend the
traditional English and Mathematics subjects, and can be integrated seamlessly into other learning
areas in order to give students a cohesive and enriching learning experience.

References
Australian Curriculum. (2016a). General capabilities introduction. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/overview/introduction
Australian Curriculum. (2016b). Literacy in the learning areas. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/literacy/introduction/in-thelearning-areas
Australian Curriculum. (2016c). Numeracy in the learning areas. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/numeracy/introduction/in-thelearning-areas
Correa-Burrows, P., Burrows, R., Ibaceta, C., Orellana, Y., & Ivanovic, D. (2014). Physically active
Chilean school kids perform better in language and mathematics. Health Promotion
International, 10(1). doi: 10.1093/heapro/dau010

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

Dollman, J., Boshoff, K., & Dodd, G. (2006). The relationship between curriculum time for physical
education and literacy and numeracy standards in South Australian primary
schools. European Physical Education Review, 12(2), 151-163. doi:
10.1177/1356336X06065171
Ku, H. Y., & Sullivan, H. J. (2002). Student performance and attitudes using personalized
mathematics instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(1), 21-34.
doi: 10.1007/BF02504959
Mead, D. (2011, December 13). SOLO taxonomy, planning and progress [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://pedagogicalpurposes.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/solo-taxonomy-planning-andprogress.html
Sinclair, N., & Bruce, C. D. (2014). Spatial reasoning for young learners. InCite as: Liljedahl, P.,
Nicol, C., Oesterle, S., & Allan, D.(Eds.). (2014). Retrieved from http://www.pme38.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/05/RF-Sinclair-et-al.pdf
Trudeau, F., & Shephard, R. J. (2008). Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and
academic performance. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical
Activity, 5(1), 1-10. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-5-10
Wilson-Harris, N. (2016, July 3). No time for PE Students focused on exams after ninth grade, says
Reid. The Gleaner. Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20160703/notime-pe-students-focused-exams-after-ninth-grade-says-reid

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

Appendix A
Example Fact in Fiction Starter Sheet for the Muscular System. Retrieved from
http://reflectionsofmyteaching.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/secret-soloist-part-2.html

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

10

N. B. This worksheet is differentiated for at-standard performing students. Easier/more difficult

sheets on the same theme could be created for students of varying abilities.
Appendix B
An Example Distance/Time/Speed Worksheet for Athletics/Sports Day Analysis in HPE. Retrieved
from http://www.matpullen.com/numeracy/numeracy-pe-tech-help/

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11

N. B. This worksheet is differentiated for below-standard performing students. More difficult

sheets on the same theme could be created for students of varying abilities.

Appendix C
An Example Event-Specific Worksheet for Athletics/Sports Day Analysis in HPE. Retrieved from
http://www.matpullen.com/numeracy/numeracy-pe-tech-help/

Running Head: NUMERACY AND LITERACY STRATEGIES

N. B. This worksheet is differentiated for at standard performing students. Easier/more difficult

sheets on the same theme could be created for students of varying abilities.

Appendix D
Examples of Activities that Require Spatial Reasoning. Retrieved from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/LNSPayingAttention.pdf

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