The PE Literacy Playbook

Over the last several months, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time working directly with teachers—presenting at conferences, having conversations in hallways, even hopping on video calls to talk through this crazy little idea I’ve become pretty proud to champion.

And I’ll be honest…

When I first started this journey—not just pursuing academically rigorous PE in my own classroom, but encouraging others to do the same—I had a pretty good sense of what would land with people… and what wouldn’t.

There were ideas I felt confident the general population of physical educators would accept and appreciate.

And then there were others…

The ones I was convinced would get shut down immediately.

So it’s been incredibly encouraging—honestly, a little surprising—to see how many teachers have been open to this kind of work. At the very least, I’ve seen thoughtful, caring educators open their minds… and maybe more importantly, their hearts… to adding new tools and skill sets, all with the same goal: better serving their students.

The Concern That Keeps Coming Up

Out of all the conversations I’ve had, one concern shows up more than any other when we start talking about adding literacy and higher-level thinking into PE:

Grading.

And I’ll be honest again…

My initial reaction is usually to laugh.

That’s the thing holding you back?

But the more I’ve sat with it, the more I’ve come to understand it.

I’m not here to climb up on a soapbox about how hard teaching is—or compare one content area to another—but I do think it’s worth acknowledging something:

There is a physical element to teaching PE that most other content areas don’t carry in the same way.

For those of us who are truly teaching—moving, demonstrating, engaging, managing, coaching—the job is taxing. And I completely understand why the idea of going home to a stack of writing assignments feels overwhelming.

Especially when your brain immediately jumps to something like:

“Wait… am I grading this like an English teacher now?”

You start picturing yourself at your kitchen table at 9:47 PM…

Red pen in hand…

Rubric pulled up…

Looking for thesis statements, transitions, citations…

MLA format??

Like we didn’t all just learn that in college, memorize it long enough to pass a paper, and then immediately clear it from memory to make room for squat cues and warm-up routines.

That hesitation is real.

But here’s the good news:

It doesn’t have to be that complicated.

Let’s Paint the Picture:

You did it.

You gave your students a writing-based assessment.

And to your surprise… more than just your usual two or three “school-first” students actually turned something in.

Now here comes the moment of panic:

“I’m not an ELA teacher…”

You’re right.

And you’re not supposed to be.

Support Literacy… Don’t Become the ELA Department

This is one of the most important shifts to make:

Your job is not to teach literacy.

Your job is to support it.

That means giving students opportunities to practice the skills they’re learning in their ELA classes—through the lens of physical education.

And if the task is designed well, something powerful happens:

The literacy work they’re doing… is also working for you.

What You Actually Need to Look For

Let’s say your students wrote a creative piece about a volleyball match.

Yes—they were practicing writing.

But from your perspective as a PE teacher, the real question is:

Do they understand the vocabulary? (pass, set, hit) Do they understand when and why those skills are used? Can they accurately describe what’s happening in the game?

Or maybe it’s a basketball unit:

Do they understand when to shoot vs. pass? Can they explain spacing, timing, or decision-making?

That’s your lane.

And here’s the part I think a lot of teachers need to hear:

That doesn’t take four hours to assess.

You don’t need to become the grammar police.

You don’t need to break out MLA guidelines like it’s freshman comp.

You don’t need to sit there debating comma usage like your old college professor.

You gave them the opportunity to practice those skills.

Now you evaluate what matters for your classroom.

Did they use the vocabulary correctly? Did they demonstrate understanding of the skill or concept? Did their response show thought and effort?

If the answer is yes…

You did your job.

Final Thought

When we overcomplicate grading, we create barriers that don’t need to exist.

But when we simplify it—when we stay in our lane as physical educators—we unlock something powerful:

Students get to practice real academic skills…

in a space where they already feel comfortable and confident.

And in return, we get a clearer window into what they actually understand about movement, strategy, and performance.

That’s not extra work.

That’s better teaching.