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The idea of actively involving children in the learning process can be beneficial for both teacher and student on a number of levels. Allowing students in physical education class to make choices has been incorporated into elementary-age teaching successfully. As a way to invite students to become more active participants in their learning, teachers can introduce them to a model called the "Colors of Competence in Competition" (CCC), which allows students to participate, track, and make decisions about their skill levels and the types of activities in which they participate throughout a unit. Students can identify their level of skill and competitive participation (beginner, intermediate, advanced) by using the CCC Guide (Tjeerdsma, 1995). This guideline provides a strategy designed for both students and teachers to track progress in skill attainment. Students becoming active participants and self-management skills in elementary education are crucial for sparking an interest in lifetime activity (Corbin, 2004). Overall, this guide can be tailored to the individual unit and can be considered a useful tool for both the students and the teachers in examining skill attainment. (Contains 2 tables and 1 diagram.)

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers structure class in elementary physical education and the impact their decisions have on the amount of appropriate practice students receive. Participants for this study were 10 third grade physical education teachers and their students. Each teacher taught two successive skill-related lessons of their choice that were at least 30 min in length. Nine randomly selected students were identified in each class. Videotaped instruction was coded for teacher and class variables and the amount of individual student practice. Overall, teachers in this study were efficient managers of their time and their students. As a result, students in this study received high levels of appropriate practice. In addition, a positive relationship was found between the number of tasks and the amount of appropriate practice students received, and time spent in games and lead-up games was related to inappropriate practice. The data also indicated that teacher use of initiation was positively related to the amounts of appropriate and total trials. When teachers had large groups practice, students had more inappropriate trials than when individual or reciprocal strategies were employed.