Basketball Basics: Y5-2

This week, Young Fives, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders are working on basic basketball skills using playground balls.  Students worked on dribbling:  stay low, keep the ball close, eyes out, soft hands.  Students will also practice rolling, chest passes, and bounce passes to wall targets.  With partners, students will practice these skills.  We will also review some exploratory movement tasks with our playground balls.

First graders at work.  This student is trying to clap as many times as possible before catching the ball.  

First Graders practice rolling

Kindergarteners practice bounce passes

Basketball Golf: Grades 3-5

This week, grades 3-5 are working on basketball skills through an activity called Basketball Golf.  Imagine golf scoring combined with basketball shooting.  Lines are taped on the floor near different baskets, labeled #1-18.  The lines are our "holes".  Students are in partners, and take turns shooting from the "holes".  Scoring partner records how many shots it takes for their shooting partner to make a basket from a hole.  The maximum score on any hole is five.  Students are encouraged to use proper shooting technique, with the BEEF acronym to help with form:  Balance, Eyes, Elbow, Follow Through.

"Hole" #18

Basketball Golf Scorecard

5th Graders Playing Basketball Golf

5th Graders Playing Basketball Golf

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!!  

Being prepared: Incentive program grades 1-5

Grades 1-5 have an incentive program to be prepared for PE class.  If the entire class is prepared for PE class, the class earns a star.  To earn a star, everyone in the class must have on appropriate gym shoes (rubber sole, covered toe, covered heel), and all jewelry (dangling earrings/necklaces/bracelets/watches most commonly) removed when class begins.

Once the class earns four weeks of stars, they earn a game day!  The game day is scheduled as it works for our PE schedule.  Classes sometimes have to wait to have their game day happen - but we record when the game day actually happens, and they continue earning stars toward their next game day each class.

For grades 1-2, the reward game is Guard the Pin.  Grades 3-5, the reward game is Pins and Baskets.  Gym setup and many of the basic rules are the same for both:  the gym is divided in half with cones.  The class is divided evenly into two teams.  Players may not cross the center line of the gym.  The goal of the game is to knock over the other team's pins.  First team to knock over the other team's pins wins that round.  Each pin can have one pin guard, who must stay standing and may not touch the pin to stop it from falling or hold it up.  Players may only roll or throw the ball -- no kicking or hitting the ball.

For Pins and Baskets, if a team makes a green $$money ball$$ basket on the center hoop only (without crossing the center line), they can reset all of their team's pins.

Many ask:  isn't this just dodgeball?!?!?  No, it isn't.  We don't ever play dodgeball or games where humans are targets.  Students are aiming at the pins, and pin guards are only volunteers.  I explain to students that the best success I've had (and I've played this game A LOT) is with rolling the ball and knocking it against the back wall to hit the pins.  :)

Most students seem to love this game, and I enjoy participating with students when I can.  This game also works on overhand throwing, rolling, and space awareness.  For first graders, this is one of the first games we do following "Clean Out Your Backyard" (which they LOVE!!!).

A third grade class enjoys a game of Pins and Baskets

K-2: Overhand Throw

This week, grades K-2 are working on the overhand throw.  (See my previous blog post for how grades 3-5 practiced the overhand throw!)  We use most of the same underhand throw centers to practice overhand throw.  This helps minimize time spent explaining center rules since students have already experienced the centers once before.  As with underhand throw, there are three throwing practice centers and one fitness center:  jumping/jumping rope.

We break the overhand throw into three parts:  T, step, throw.

• T:  make your body into the shape of a T, with throwing hand back and opposite hand pointing toward the target. 
• Step:  step with your opposite foot toward your target. 
• Throw!  Bring your arm OVERHAND and release the ball or beanbag!  

Students practice saying the keywords several times.  Then, they watch me demonstrate the throw while they say the keywords.  Students then practice throwing with no ball -- while saying the keywords, and then finally, have the opportunity to practice at centers.  

This is the poster we use for keywords.  

In the background, students partner throw back and forth.
In the foreground, students jump: jump rope or ski jump at the fitness center. 

A student overhand throws with enthusiasm at the throw bowling center. 

Students line up to throw at our shape wall targets. Targets are bigger for lower elementary students. 

More wall target practice.  

With our centers, there are targets - but we emphasize form over accuracy at this point.  Many students step with their same foot (instead of their opposite foot) -- and lining up into a "T" helps minimize this.  

K-2: Underhand Throw

Grades K-2 are working on the underhand throw.  We break the skill into three parts:

Important vocabulary for this skill includes:  opposite foot, release, and follow through.  These ideas are important and relevant to many fitness and sports activities, and resurface during many future lessons and activities.

I demonstrate the underhand throw several times, and have students watch my demonstration for different important points.  Students repeat the key words (Step, Swing, and Point) several times, and then practice the motion without the ball or bean bag.  Finally, they have practice time with the object at their own target.

For the first day of practice, the target is a rectangular brick along the outside edge of the gym.  Each student has their own target.  Students take three steps out from the wall, turn around, and underhand throw to their target.  I circulate checking for opposite foot and basic parts of the skill, giving feedback to each student during practice.

For the second day of this topic, centers are used for practice.  Students have a variety of high and low targets at each center.  Center descriptions are posted on the wall, and are described and demonstrated before students begin rotations.

Wall targets are created with tape.  They are different shapes: pentagon, hexagon, triangle, and rectangle. These labeled targets reinforce geometry and math concepts learned in the classroom.  

Bowling pins (3) are the target for this center. Students love to hear them clatter to the floor when they hit the target!  

Hula hoops on the floor are targets for this center.  

An additional fitness or activity center is also used for this lesson, and may include jump rope, hula hoops, balance boards, or balance beam.  During this centers activity, I choose one center and give focused feedback to each student during their time at that one center.

PHOTO: Upper Elementary Overhand Throw Post-Test

Upper Elementary students continue with centers.  This week, we're post-testing the overhand throw.  Fifth graders assessed partners, along with my assessment of each student.  When students assess each other, they learn the parts of the skill better, too.  Assessing one another also helps reinforce one of the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations for Physical Education: "Students will apply knowledge of the critical elements of movement concepts while performing the ... overhand throw in controlled settings." (K.MS.05.03, http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/K-8PE_313769_7.pdf)  Rubric items included:

• Side-on to target
• Non-throwing hand points at target
• Opposite foot steps forward
• Weight transfer from back to front
• Follow through in target direction

Centers for this week included:  

• Target post-test
• You choose!  throwing station (Students chose, with a partner, which object to throw back and forth.)
• Feedback/water station (students wrote down two things they enjoy about gym class and one thing they would like changed, then had the opportunity to get a drink of water)
• Fitness testing practice:  Flexed Arm Hang and Sit & Reach

Below is a picture of the objects at the You choose!  throwing station:

Foxtail, CatchBall (the giant jack), Particle Ball

PHOTO: Lower Elementary Playground Ball Games

Lower Elementary
Grades K-2 continue experiencing playground ball activities.  This week, we'll try two games:  Tip the Pin and Tunnel Ball.

• Tip the Pin:  Class is divided approximately in half.  Each team has a pin in the center of a circle.  One person is the pinguard.  The pinguard tries to keep the pin from getting knocked over.  Those on the outside edge of the circle use their hands to roll the ball to try to knock the pin over.  Strategies include quick passes to teammates along the edge of the circle and then a quick pass to the pin to try to knock it over.  Teamwork and cooperation are emphasized.  

In these photos, a second grade class plays Tip the Pin:

• Tunnel Ball:  The class is divided approximately in half.  Each team stands in a single file line.  The person at the front of the line (Leader) starts with the ball.  On the start signal, the Leader passes the ball to the person behind them (in a prescribed way) until the ball reaches the last person.  The last person in line then runs to the start of the line and becomes the Leader.  Everyone shuffles back one place, and the new Leader passes the ball behind them until it reaches the last person, and so on.  The game continues until the original Leader is back in her/her starting position at the front of the line.  Depending on the class, we may do this as a race, or we may do it as a cooperative activity with no emphasis on doing better than the other team.  Variations:  Change the way students pass the ball.  Ideas:  over their head with two hands, between their legs on the floor, between legs off of the floor, to the side at their waist, over/under:  over one person's head, under next person's legs.  

PHOTO: Overhand Throw Practice, Ball Skills, ACT WISE

3-5:  This week, 3rd through 5th grade continued overhand throw practice.  Students experienced three overhand throw-focused centers, and one fitness center.  Specific feedback was given to each student during these rotations to encourage progression.

When any class experiences centers, each station is described and/or demonstrated.  Questions are answered as a group, and signs with each station's directions are posted to remind students of  expectations.

Centers are described and photographed below.

Throw Bowling.  Stand at the tape line and overhand throw to knock pins over.  Set pins up for the next student in line.

A fourth grader prepares to overhand throw to knock the pins down.  

Target Practice.  Stand at the tape line and overhand throw at the snowman target on the wall.  Watch your partner to check their form:  T, Step, Throw.

A fourth grader throws at the snowman target.

Jump Rope.  One rope per person, both hands on the handles (no helicopter).  Watch your personal space!

Two third graders jump rope.  

Foxtails.  Hold the ball to throw, keep away from the ceilings and baskets.  Try to catch the tail to challenge yourself!

A student prepares to catch the foxtail ball.  

K-2:   Kindergarten through 2nd grade continued with ball skills.  We experienced more bouncing and rolling tasks, both individual and partner.

Health:  The 3/4 split classes and fourth graders practiced putting ACT and WISE together, our models for "What to do when something bothers you" and "Decision-making".

PHOTO: Ball Skills Grades K-2

For lower elementary, this week's focus was ball skills with playground balls.  Each student had their own ball for this week's classes.  Lessons focused on guiding students to experiment with holding, rolling, and bouncing the ball in different ways.  Ideas for movements included:

• holding the ball with two hands and one hand in these ways: 
• in front, in back of your body
• to the right, to the left
• low, high
• rolling the ball around self while: 
• sitting criss-cross-applesauce
• sitting with knees to chest
• standing with feet together
• standing with feet apart, in a figure 8 pattern
• bouncing the ball and: 
• clapping once, twice, three times, four times before catching
• touching one or more body parts before catching
• turning around before catching

Second grade students roll the ball around themselves while sitting criss-cross-applesauce.  

First grade students experiment with bouncing the ball and clapping before catching it.  



First grade students roll the ball around each foot in a figure-8 pattern.