This is such a busy time of the school year!! The past two weeks have been full of many different kinds of activities for all grades. Depending on the weather, classes have been going outside to use our outdoor spaces for PE classes. If weather steered us indoors, we had other fun things to do! Activities for Y5-5 have included:
- Mile Run Testing: This is a FitnessGram test to assess cardiovascular fitness. Grades 3-5 participate in this test. Spring second graders do this as practice for 3rd grade fall. Students with a previous fall score know their fall score prior to the start of the spring test, and have a goal of beating their previous time. (I pre-label the mile run bubble sheets with student names and previous mile run times. This gives more class time to the completion of the mile run.) We emphasize best effort during this activity. Students are encouraged to cheer each other on. Students hold a "bubble sheet", and receive a mark in each bubble corresponding to each lap. At the end of their mile (6 laps), I write their time on the bubble sheet.
- Half Mile Run: This is a lead-up activity for the mile run for K-2. During our time to complete a half mile, we emphasize best effort, moving the whole time, and fun! Students hold a bubble sheet, similar to the 3-5 sheet, but with only three bubbles. This helps students know exactly what to expect for the 3rd-4th-5th grade "Mile". =)
- Fitness Laps activity: Students run a lap and then stop to do an exercise. When finished with the exercise (they count their own repetitions), they do another lap. Exercises are posted on a cone near the starting area for reference, and are different for Y5-2 and 3-5.
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| Grades 3rd -5th Fitness Laps |
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| Young Fives - 2nd grade Fitness Laps |
- Hand-Paddle Play: Previously, we used a paddle with a bean bag to work on dexterity and eye-hand coordination. This week, some classes used their hand as a paddle. They experimented with things like:
- Let the ball bounce and then hit it against the wall. Hit the ball low/medium/high on the wall in front of you. Catch it with both hands each time.
- Try to hit it against the wall again when it bounces back!
- Try to hit the ball with your non-favorite hand.
- Two Square: Floor tape marks two square "courts" around the gym. Students played this game at the conclusion of class.
- Adapted from Landy & Landy, Ready-to-Use PE Activities for Grades 3-5.
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| Third graders playing two square. |
