PE Teacher Assistant: Upper Elementary

At the recent Haisley Silent Auction, attendees had the opportunity to bid on a teacher experience with me.  The winners of these items (one 3rd - 5th grader and one K-2nd grader) have the opportunity to be a PE teacher assistant for one half day!

Ethan W., or "Mr. W" as the students called him, was my teaching assistant for the morning of Friday, December 12, 2014.  We began the morning with Mr. Weindorf's class playing Mat Ball.  Ethan helped with scorekeeping and sounding the whistle every time the ball reached the pitcher's hands or an out occurred.  This class was followed by Mrs. McGee's fourth grade class playing Mat Ball.  Kindergarten then arrived for their PE time.  Ethan called out the locomotor skills for warm up, led stretches, and even raced a student in ABC Strong Soldiers!  He then gave directions for Clean Out Your Backyard, and participated with each class during the games.

Thank you for your help today, Ethan!!  I hope you had a BLAST being a PE teacher -- I had so much fun having you help today.  My sincere gratitude to your parents who made this experience possible -- AND helped the Haisley PTO along the way!!!

1-5: Mat Ball Photos

Here are some photos of Miss Everett's class enjoying Mat Ball.  

Y5 and K: Ball Familiarization Lesson Photo

Here are photos from our first day of lessons on ball familiarization.  Students are rolling and moving the ball around their bodies in different ways, and then rolling the ball and catching it after it bounces off of the wall and rolls back to them.  

Y5 and K: Week of 12/8/2014

Ball Familiarization

Young Fives and Kindergarteners will be working with playground balls (aka kickball ball, bouncy ball) this week.  They'll be doing different exploration tasks with them, such as:

• holding the ball in different locations relative to their body (high, low, to the right, left, in front, behind, etc.) -- trying this with both hands and then with one hand, and the other hand
• making a bridge over the ball
• sitting down, "criss cross applesauced", with ball in both hands -- try to stand up without using hands to help or letting go of the ball
• rolling the ball around body parts while sitting/standing
• rolling the ball against the wall and catching it
• partner rolling tasks

Check the PE blog later in the week for pictures of students experiencing these lessons!!  

1st Grade and Kindergarten Humanities: Week of 12/8/2014

Months of the Year

We have started our first grade and kindergarten nutrition unit for health, and will continue learning about food groups next week.  I thought we should take one class period and learn the Months of the Year dance.  This is something we will practice and do throughout the remainder of the school year.  Learning something to music and with motions helps us learn it better, faster, and retain it longer.

Students can practice this at home, with or without the actual song we use at school.  The motions are just like the Macarena.  Here are the directions:

1.  January:  Put your right arm straight in front with palm down.
2.  February:  Put your left arm straight in front with palm down.
3.  March:  Flip your right hand over.
4.  April:  Flip your left hand over.
5.  May:  Touch one hand to the opposite shoulder.
6.  June:  Touch other hand to the opposite shoulder.
7.  July:  Touch right hand to the right side of your head.
8.  August:  Touch left hand to left side of your head.
9.  September:  Put your right hand on your left front hip.
10.  October:  Put your left hand on your right front hip.
11. November:  Right hand on right hip.
12.  December:   Left hand on left hip.

Grades 1-5: Week of 12/8/2014

Mat Ball!!  Grades 1-5 this week will play a game called Mat Ball.   This game is based on classic kickball rules, with a few changes.   One major change is that gym mats are the bases.

We decided one additional rule about home runs this morning.  Home runs:  Grades 3-5 only.  If a kicked ball hits the backboard/rim/net only of center hoop on opposite side of the gym (without touching ceiling!), that kicker gets a home run and all runners advance to home.

We start with students gathered to overview rules.  Then, we divide into teams.  I write the teams on the board and we keep score of runs.  At the conclusion of class, I take a picture of the scoreboard (including the teams).  This way, next class, we can easily pick up where we left off.

Students in my first two classes on Monday morning seemed to enjoy this game!  It is fast-paced, and fun for all!

Credit and gratitude for this game goes to Judy Hart, retired Logan Elementary PE teacher. :)

Y5-5: Week of 12/1/2014

Locomotor Go Fish:  This week, grades K-5 will be participating in an activity called Locomotor Go Fish (see previous blog post for activity specifics).  Students young and old enjoy this activity.  Students review locomotor skills (skip, hop, gallop, jump, run, walk) in a competitive activity.  The activity is a little like the card game Go Fish crossed with a relay race.

Young Fives will participate in a variety of bean bag, hula hoop, and low organization games.  These will include Bean Bag Helper, Musical Hoops, and Clean Out Your Backyard.  These games review and reinforce following basic game rules, locomotor skills, space awareness, and throwing/rolling skills.

Bean Bag Helper:  Each student balances a bean bag on their head.  They walk around the play area - without touching or holding onto their beanbag.  If their beanbag falls down, they are frozen.  Others who are not frozen can **carefully** bend down and pick up classmates' beanbags, place them in their hands, and then the frozen student is back in the game.

Musical Hoops:  This game is like musical chairs.  When the music is on, they move around the play area using different locomotor skills.  When the music stops, they have to find a hoop.  Different from musical chairs, they can share space in the hoop when the music stops.  They're "in" the hoop if only one foot is inside the hoop.  I usually stop the game with two hoops left.

Clean Out Your Backyard:  The gym is divided in half with cones.  The class is divided in half, and each team must stay on their half of the gym.  The foam balls are "trash", and nobody wants trash in the backyard!  In this game, they throw or roll the "trash" onto their neighbor's yard.  (I do mention that in real life, you should throw trash in trash cans!!)  Students are reminded of the elements of overhand throw/underhand roll/underhand throw.  No kicking or hitting the ball allowed.  Students encouraged to throw into open space.  Playing this game in young fives and kindergarten prepares students for Guard the Pin, the reward game day for grades 1-2.