Greetings Arizona Health and Physical Education Members! This week we have a special gift/resource for you to use in your classes right away! I hope you find it useful and something worth sharing! Let us know what you think!
Meet Artie Kamiya & Great Activities Newspaper 2.0 Great Activities Newspaper
Artie Kamiya is a longtime advocate, publisher, and innovator in the sphere of physical education (PE). He is the Editor & Publisher of Great Activities Newspaper 2.0, a digital revival of what used to be a print publication under his Great Activities Publishing Company.
His mission is simple but powerful: to provide free, high-quality, engaging content specifically for elementary and middle school PE teachers — sharing games, lesson ideas, book studies, energizers, and movement activities.
What is Great Activities Newspaper 2.0?
After decades of publishing print issues (1982–2020) under the original Great Activities Newspaper, Artie relaunched the project in fall 2025 in a fresh digital form: Great Activities Newspaper 2.0.
Some key features:
- Free digital magazine: designed for K-8 PE teachers, distributed nationally and internationally.
- First issue (Vol. 1, No. 1) released September/October 2025. Includes a wide variety of games, activities, “getting-to-know-you” options, energizers, and more.
- Collaborative/contributor model: teachers and PE professionals from different states (and even other countries) submit activities. You’ll find contributions from many people, each bringing something unique.
- State association support: as of the first issue, 19 State SHAPEs / AHPERDs are providing it as a free membership perk.
- Regular content types: lesson plans, games, stations (for holidays or themed days), energizers (short activities to get students moving), and cross-curricular ideas (infusing math, etc.).
Why It Matters
The relaunch to 2.0 is more than just changing format. Several reasons why it’s significant:
- Accessibility
By being free and digital, more PE teachers (regardless of district budget or location) can access high quality, diverse lesson ideas without cost barriers. - Community & Sharing
It fosters a collaborative community: educators share what works in their classes. This helps avoid reinventing the wheel and exposes readers to a broad variety of ideas. - Variety & Innovation
The variety of activities means teachers can choose things that match their students’ interests, and adapt for space, equipment, or other constraints. - Support for Teacher Growth
Having ideas like book studies, reflective pieces, and tips for class management or pedagogy adds value beyond just new games. It helps teachers grow their practice. - Relevance & Timing
Relaunching in the digital age (post-2020) makes sense: many schools, even when reopening in person, leverage digital tools. This format allows quicker dissemination, easier updates, and broad reach.
Highlights From the First Issue
To get a sense of what Great Activities Newspaper 2.0 offers, here are some activities & features from the inaugural issue:
- “Getting-to-Know-You Games” by Mic Seifert: fun, social games good for the start of school.
- Frisbee Mathematicians by Mike Bohannon: integrating academic content (math) into PE games.
- Veterans Day PE Stations by Pete Charrette: themed movement stations, combining physical activity and civic awareness.
- 60-Second Energizers by Dave April: quick, high-energy activities to re-energize students.
These show a mix: some are longer games or lesson plans; others are small, quick-win ideas one can drop into a class easily. Variety for different needs.
What Teachers & Schools Can Do
If you are a PE teacher, school administrator, or school district, here are some ideas for how to make the most of Great Activities Newspaper 2.0, and support its goals:
- Subscribe & share: Become or remain a member of your state organization for access to this FREE resource, read regularly, distribute among your PE staff.
- Contribute: If you have a game, idea, station, reflection: send it in. Being a contributor helps others and builds your own professional voice.
- Pilot activities: Try some of the energizers or themed stations, adapt them to your space, share results with colleagues.
- Use as professional development: Book studies, reflection pieces from the publication can be used in PLCs (Professional Learning Communities).
- Advocate for support: Encourage state PE associations or school districts to adopt the publication as a membership benefit or resource. That helps growth.
Final Thoughts
Artie Kamiya’s Great Activities Newspaper 2.0 is a terrific example of reviving a legacy PE resource in a way that fits our current digital era, while keeping the heart of what made it valuable: teacher-driven, practical, creative, inclusive, and fun.
For PE teachers looking for fresh ideas, community, and inspiration — this is something to keep on your radar. Over time, with wide adoption and contributions, it has the potential to be a central hub of free, dynamic resources that improve student engagement and teacher satisfaction.
Artie Kamiya has been gracious enough to offer this first issue of the Great Activities Newspaper 2.0 for free to all state organizations, and in turn Arizona Health and Physical Education is offering this wonderful resource free to everyone who clicks on our website. For future editions however, the newspaper will be available only to current members of our state organization through a members’ only portal. So, make sure you keep your membership current for this and other valuable resources!
Click below for your FREE copy of the first issue of the Great Activities Newspaper 2.0!
12.0 Artie’s 2025_SEPT_OCT_ (1)
Questions? email Jennifer Houston at houston@azhpe.org. ENJOY!!