Good thinking! I hadn't thought about some students being able to use some of their physical capabilities. For instance, if they have a broken arm, they could still walk/jog the track, or around the gym, while others play volleyball or another sport they couldn't.

Victor, you say that you allow students with a medical condition, i.e. with a broken arm to participate in another form in PE class. Once we receive a dr./nurse note on a student's injury they are marked excuse and not allowed to participate until they are cleared by the dr./nurse. Depending on the severity of the injury and the length we set with up with an assignment.

Yes, getting notes specific to their capabilities helps so much with the problems of kids getting notes to "get out of" P.E. class. Most doctors will write that if they are being quick and the parents or the kids just want to get out of class. When you make them specify, it makes them realize that just because they have an injury, doesn't mean "life" stops! In my opinion, if they can walk from class to class during the school day, then they can walk during my class!

I agree that there are plenty of ways to get kids involved in class even if they have an injury. But as some people have already posted, a doctor's note totally excusing a student from PE means they are totally excused in my district. I have sent doctors notes in the past asking them to fill out a survey regarding which activities a particular student can participate in depending on their injury. Some doctors reply, some don't. Some get a bit irate that you are even questioning them. It's not their diagnosis we are questioning, but some of them get angry and send a "loud" letter response. So, when we can, we have students work on upper body stuff if they have a lower extremity injury, or vice versa.

In the past, my school has always had the policy that if the student has a doctor's note excusing them from P.E. for a broken bone (for example a wrist) that student could not participate in class and it was excused. The reason being was so that they would not do more damage to themselves and so that they would not accidentally hurt someone else with their cast. My new principal has them go ahead and try to participate if they are feeling well enough to do so.

If I taught students who were unable to participate in my PE class I would send them to the Media Center where students will complete assignments to demonstrate their understanding of physical education skills and content knowledge. I would assign these assignments by the week and collect them at the end of each week. I would be sure the assignments were valuable and applicable to PE, even in keeping them current with what the rest of the class is studying at that time. Hope that helps!

I teach high school students and when we have students out of class because of a medical excuse we give them a form for their parents or Dr. to fill out that asks what they CAN do. Options range from upper/lower body stretching, lifting, walking, biking, eliptical, yoga, and core. Now for students who can do nothing at all, we have them do packets that pertain to the sport we are doing so they learn the rules since they are still required to take the test. If they complete the sport/activity packet, then we will give them health and wellness ones to do. Most times after a day or two of packets, we get a not that says they can walk, ride the bike or something from our options list.

We do have some out for an extended period of time(surgery,mono,hospitalization) up to 2-3 weeks and I usually have them write a reflection about how important fitness is and related to what they are/did going/go through.

I think sometimes students are out on a medical note. I waive it to what the severity is. Also I have provided them with an alternate assignment like writing a MLA paper over a career in the sports industry other than a professional athlete.

When we have students out on a medical excuse, we ask their doctor to fill out a form stating what they can and can't do. This helps alleviate the "No P.E." note. Or if the injury isn't severe and the student can determine how much they can do, I tell them to get a note stating that they may "self-modify" based on how they feel. Most doctors haven't had a problem with this. In serious injuries in my department we send them to the library to complete current event assignments on health and fitness. In addition, when they are excused from contact sports, we have used the Wii fitness games and activities that enable them to modify the activity and to be away from the "contact" of other students who could make their injury/condition worse. I have very few students getting the "No P.E." notes anymore!

I have a medical assignment that I use in my classes in the case of an extended illness or injury. The assignment is for a 10 day absence. The assignment requires students to create a study guide, worksheet, quiz, character reflection, and court diagram of the current unit we are studying in class. So if a student is missing the golf unit due to injury, I will have them complete this medical assignment and use Golf as their unit. I have attached the assignment criteria to the Medical section of my webpage. If you are interested in viewing it or using it in your classes please feel free.

I think allowing them to create a character reflection and a study guide doesnt get them off the hook because they are hurt. Although the students probably dont like them, you are still engaging them although it is not physically. Giving them different options might make it easier because they feel like they have a choice in what they are required to do.

Depending on the grade level, you can have students do a research paper on the activity that you are teaching at that point in time. For my elementary school children I don\'t require them to do any type of written activity but when I subbed at the middle school and high school, those students would go to the library, research the sport and write a short paper on it. Things to include in this paper could be: date invented, where it was invented, what types of leagues/international competitions there are, hall of fame, popular players, etc. Also, have them create a few different lessons at their particular grade level.

Greetings!

Typically if one of my high school students is out due to a long term injury or excuse, I will still keep them engaged in the class. Depending on the severity of the medical exemption, the student can do modified versions of the activity through clearance of the doctor or will do an alternate assignment if that is not an option. For example, one of my 9th grade students was excused for having bad respiratory issues. She was required to create a powerpoint presentation of the history, rules, major players, different styles of play, court description etc to earn credit. During class, she was also a referee during matches! This reinforced the rules and allowed her to stay engaged in the class with her peers!

Depending on the injury, we may still allow them to participate. For example if they broke their leg, if their doctor writes a note allowing upper body exercise we allow them to go to the fitness room for PE credit. If they MUST sit out of class, we have them write a research paper on a specific sport. Sometimes we choose the sport for them or sometimes allow them to pick.Works out pretty well until its the last day before grades are do and I'm grading a ton of research papers because they turn them in at the last minute!