The Physical Education pack for the 2nd grade created by Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) educational scientists and published by Šviesa publishing company has won a special jury prize in Best European Learning Materials Awards in Frankfurt Book Fair 2018.
The manual prepared by the researchers and teachers of KTU Faculty of Social Sicences, Arts and Humanities Irina Klizienė, Gintautas Cibulskas, Šarūnas Klizas with their colleagues Laima Buliuolienė and Laisvūnė Daukšaitė is focusing not only on sports hall activities, but also allows for a “natural” type of integration and active learning, building awareness, encouraging a sensitivity to nature and supporting healthy styles of living.
The physical education pack consists of three parts: textbook, activities book and teacher’s manual. Every part of the collection has its own function and is complementing the other two. The pack is a great help for teachers as it contains the plans for classes, the topics and concrete tasks for outside, sports hall and even classroom activities.
The teacher’s manual has a unified structure which makes it easy to use. The recommendations and advice are straightforward, and the digital version assists teachers in their planning and implementation activities. The material seriously takes account of intercultural awareness and sensitivity. Gender representation is balanced; the two characters featured in the textbook support this approach.
“Although the textbook is meant for physical education, we are also trying to integrate other subjects into the curriculum – Lithuanian language, culture and geography. Different activities, tasks and exercises can be used to connect all the different subjects. The primary school teachers are not specialised in physical education only, they are trained in teaching mathematics, native language and other subjects. Our manual helps them to focus more on physical education by providing detailed descriptions of lessons, extensive list of exercises and games and connecting them to the particular physical qualities of pupils”, says Klizienė.
The educational material is taking into account the biggest challenges of contemporary school life, such as bullying and lack of sufficient infrastructure. The authors of the educational textbook collection have also updated the information of physical achievements of children, which are different than years before, and adjusted the tasks and exercises accordingly.
The educational pack Physical Education 2 is already being used by more than 70 schools in Lithuania, and by individual teachers. The authors are planning educational packs for the 4th grade and pre-schoolers.
The Best European Learning Materials Awards are presented every year to high quality educational materials that have been produced in any country in Europe.
Frankfurt Book Fair is the main event of the publishing world, which is being visited by more than 7 thousand industry professionals from around the globe.
