Week of 5/2 and 5/9: Fitness Testing & Centers

A kindergarten student made this for me.  :)  

Grades 3-5 Centers:

1.  Fitness Testing:  Flexed Arm Hang and Sit and Reach.  Students complete these tests with me, and then practice curl-ups on the mats.  For more information on Flexed Arm Hang and Sit and Reach testing, see my previous blog post (Sit and Reach) or the FitnessGram site.  

2.  Hula Hoops. 

3.  Jump Ropes. 

4.  Exercises:  jumping jacks, burpees, stretches, ski jumps, scissor jumps, push ups, ABC strong solders -- students choose which exercises to do at this center.  These exercises also help warm students up for the sit and reach test, as muscles are more flexible when they are warmed up!

FitnessGram reports for grades 3-5 will come home the last day of school, along with student final report cards.

Grades 3-5:  Curl-ups!  See the FitnessGram site for information on this test. :)  

Grades Y5-2 Centers: 

1.  Jacks:  Underhand toss and catch the jack back and forth with a partner.  Count how many catches you have in a row without dropping the jack!  Start over if one partner drops it. 

2.  Hula Hoops.  One hoop per person, choose between a large hoop or small one!  Have a contest with group members, roll it with a partner, jump through the hoop like it's a jump rope, or just plain hula hoop with it!  

3.  Jump Ropes.  Practice jumping!  Start with the rope behind you, swing it over your head.  Use your eyes to look 

4.  Balance boards.  Take turns balancing on the center of the balance board.  When you're finished, go to the other board to wait your turn (one board is slightly higher off of the ground than the other board, so I have students try both).  When you are up next, count to ten slowly so the person balancing knows when their turn is up.

Young fives learning how to participate at the balance board center.

Pathways/directions/statues warm-up:  Young fives

Underhand throw/catch the jack center:  First graders

Hula!  

Jump Ropes

Balance boards in action:  First graders

Grades Y5-2:  Hula Hoops and Jump Rope!!  

Week of 3/28: Ultimate and Centers

This week:
Upper Elementary:  Ultimate Frisbee!!  We will simply call our game "Ultimate", since 3rd and 4th graders play with a foam ball.  Fifth graders play with a frisbee.  We use simplified rules for all grades.

Ultimate Rules

1. Start play with a "throwoff" - similar to a kickoff.  A team starts with the frisbee or ball in their endzone.  They throw it toward the other team, who are also in their endzone.  Play begins from wherever the opposite team gets the ball.  
2. Score if your team completes a pass in defense's end zone
3. Dropped/incomplete pass --> turnover
4. No physical contact on defense, and must be 1:1 defense (no double/triple teaming) - depending on the class and how the game was going, defending the person with the ball/frisbee may or may not have been allowed.
5. No steps with frisbee or ball -- only pivot/pass when holding ball/frisbee

Classes are divided into four teams, and each team wears matching colored jerseys.  Two teams play 2-4 minutes at a time (depending on the length of the class - longer class = longer playing time), then we rotate.  Waiting teams stand along the side and watch the game, paying attention and standing up for safety.  We switch up who plays against who, and each class period, new teams are formed.  Students really enjoyed this game -- it's fun to see their competitive spirit!!

During this activity, we are working on many outcomes, based on the SHAPE America National Physical Education Standards.  Some targeted outcomes include:

• underhand/overhand throw
• passing with hands
• catching
• space awareness:  awareness of and practice with moving to open space
• strategies and tactics:  basic offense/defense concepts
• personal responsibility
• accepting feedback
• working with others
• following rules
• safety

Fifth graders starting the game with a "throwoff"

 

Lower Elementary:  Centers!  This week, continuing center-based work.  Centers included: 

1.  Dice fitness:  Roll a die, do the matching exercise.  (Same as last week's center!)
2. Bowling:  Throw (underhand or overhand) the jack to knock over the bowling pins.  
3. Hula hoop:  choose one hoop.  New this week, students choose between a smaller hoop or larger hoop. 
4. Underhand toss:  Toss the fish into his/her "pond" (tape target on the floor).  
5. Jump rope:  Practice starting with the rope behind you, swing rope over your head, step or jump (feet together!) over the rope.  

During these center activities, we are working on many outcomes, based on the SHAPE America National Physical Education Standards.  Some targeted outcomes include: 

• jumping and landing
• dance
• underhand throw, overhand throw
• jumping rope
• space awareness
• speed, direction, and force
• personal responsibility
• accepting feedback
• working with others
• following rules
• safety

Week of October 5, 2015

Here's a brief recap of the week of October 5, 2015.

Y5-5th grade PE:  Hula Hoops!!  We continued exploring with Hula Hoops.  Younger students continued exploration tasks and challenges with the hoops, and some classes had some partner time to try rolling the hoop to a partner.  Older students had more advanced tasks with the hoops, including partner rolling and backspin hoop tasks.

5th graders roll the hoop to partners

5th graders have choice time at squad seats

Strong Soldiers:  One of our warm up exercises we use throughout the year for all grade levels is ABC Strong Soldiers.  For this exercise, students go into high plank (hands and toes on the floor, push-up position).  Then, students pick up one hand and touch the opposite elbow or chest with that hand.  Then do the same with the other hand, alternating.  The ABC part is how we often count - students say one letter of the alphabet with each touch of their hand, ending on Z.  This exercise help build core muscles, along with upper body strength.  It is a lead-up to push-ups.  If a student struggles with holding high plank, they can walk their feet in closer to their hands (allowing legs to help support the body).  

Kindergarteners working on Strong Soldiers

1st grade Health:  We concluded our Social and Emotional health unit with discussion of a decision making model, WIN.  This model uses a step-by-step approach to making decisions.  We went over some basic decision-making scenarios as a group using the model.  

W:  What happened, or what is the situation.  Think about what is going on.  

I:  Ideas to choose from (options for what to do).  Consider options that are safe, realistic, and match your values.  

N:  Now, Act!   Choose the best option for you and take action.  

Our next health unit will be physical activity and nutrition!  

K-1 PE, and 2-4: Hula Hoops!!

In Young Fives, K, and 1st grade PE, we have started our Hula Hoop fun!

1.  Warm up!  Ship to shore, or around the circles warm-ups, and our stretches routine.
2.  Learned/reviewed "badda-boom, badda bing".  These words are a signal to stop playing with the equipment (hula hoops in this case, but we will use this phrase with bean bags, and other equipment too!), sit down, hands in your lap.
3.  Each student gets a hula hoop.  When they return to their seat, they work on balancing the hoop on different body parts (head, back, arm, elbow, fingers, upper thigh, and more!).
4.  Exploratory movement with the hula hoops:  students are encouraged to try:

• standing inside the hoop, outside, to the front, right side, left side
• jumping into and out of the hoop
• hopping in and out of the hoop (also trying their non-dominant foot)
• hopping around the outside of the hoop (also trying their non-dominant foot)
• make a balance over your hoop or part of it
• make a balance with 2 parts, 3 parts, 4 parts, 5 parts of your body touching the floor
• lay on the floor and balance your hoop on your feet and hands, rock it back and forth
• make different body shapes with your hoop on the floor (narrow, curled up, wide, stretched, etc.)
• spin the hoop:  clockwise, counter clockwise, dominant hand, non dominant hand
• spin the hoop and run around it, trying to catch it before it falls to the floor

All of these exploratory movements with the hoop are suggested and demonstrated for students, and they have opportunity to try them.  They have so much fun with this!  And, during this fun lesson, students are working on many movement and spatial awareness concepts.  

Grades 2-4 also started Hula Hoops, in their second lesson of the week (first lesson for grades 2-4 was the half or full mile pre test -- and fifth grade only has PE once per week).  Grades 2-4 do the above activities more quickly than Y5, K, and 1st grade -- and they do some more advanced activities with spinning the hula hoops.  A favorite is spinning the hoop at their seat, leaving it spinning and running to touch one or more walls in the gym.  Then, returning to the (hopefully) still spinning hoop to scoop it up before it falls to the floor.  

4th graders:  spin - touch a wall - try to catch the hoop before it falls to the floor

Hula hoop activities adapted from Landy and Landy, Ready to Use PE Activities for Grades K-2, 1992.

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.

Upper Elementary: Week of 11/10/14

For grades 3-5, this week we're participating in a Rock-Paper-Scissors warm up.  Ask your student to explain the rules of this quick, low-organization game.

Following warm-up, we practiced building structures (we called them castles) from hula hoops.  This was a small-group challenge, and is quite tricky!!  The structures play an important role in a game, where students work on teamwork, underhand rolling, cooperation, and have fun in a competition to see who can win the most points!!

Hula Hoops

When most people think about hula hoops, they often think of hula hooping around the waist.  There are so many more activities to do with this amazing piece of equipment!  We work with space and body awareness (example:  stand behind the hula hoop, hop inside the hula hoop on your left foot), basic locomotor skills, and much more during these lessons.

One of the most exciting activities for students is spinning the hula hoop.  Students spin the hoop, leave it spinning, and challenge themselves to touch one wall.  They hustle back to their hoop to try to catch it before it is flat on the floor.  Students are moving in all different directions, so safety is important.  Reminders about personal space and watching out for others are always given immediately before this activity.  They love it and I love to see them succeed!!

Students at squad seats, in personal space, experimenting with the hoops.  

Spinning the hoops in place.  

More activities we enjoyed include using the hoop as a jump rope, bridges/balances over the hoops, and holding the hoops in different ways.  Hula hooping around arms or ankles are also fun to try!!

PHOTO: Hula Hoops

For the past two weeks, K-5 students have been exploring movements with hula hoops.  This included balancing over the hoops, using different pathways and levels, hoop spinning, jumping/hopping into and out of the hoops, and working with partners.

Here is a 3rd and 4th grade class experimenting with spinning, hooping, and rolling hula hoops.

Here is a first grade class doing balances and bridges over their hoops.