Category Archives: 1-2nd Grade

May 4 2013

Shipwreck!

We have been working on throwing and catching in 1st and 2nd grade.  This creative story and game made practicing the skills fun.

Set-up:

Make a big rectangle using cones or poly spots.  This is the ship.

Throw 8-10 hula hoops around the ship — about 4 paces away.

Place a bin of soft yarn or foam balls on the “ship”.

I had all the students sit in the cone box for a story.  I told them they were on a ship, but in a minute a big storm was going to hit and most of them would be knocked off.  They would need to swim quickly and climb on an iceberg (hula hoop) because the water around them was full of hungry sharks.  I demonstrated that those sailors still on the ship would need to save their friends by throwing them a life preserver (yarn ball).  If the ball is caught you can reel your friend in with the imaginary rope tied to the life preserver.  If the ball is not caught, it must remain in the water.  I note that the water also has some friendly and brave dolphins who will retrieve the lost life preservers and bring them back to the ship.

I then send all the students to stand in a hoop (several can stand in the same one).  I then designate 3-4 children to stay on the ship and be rescue sailors and 3-4 to be dolphins.  The sailors then begin tossing balls to their friends in the hoops.  Once these students are pulled on board they can help with the rescuing.  The dolphins run around and retrieve lost balls so the ship doesn’t run out.  You can add a timer, if wanted, and see if all our friends can be rescued in one minute before their ice berg melts.

The children love the imagination of the game as well as getting lots of throwing and catching practice.  A round just takes about a minute, then I scattered them in hoops again and start over.  They loved it!

Apr 29 2013

Frisbee Tag

My 3rd and 4th graders have been working on frisbee skills.  We worked on backhand throw and 2-hand clap catch.  We spent the bulk of class practicing with a partner using a regular plastic frisbee.  I ended the lesson by switching to some foam frisbees and playing this game:

“It” has a foam frisbee.  Have one “it” per every 5-7 players.  ”IT” backhand threw the frisbee to try and hit another player.  If a player was hit, they became “it”.  The game was very simple and the class did a lot of running.  ”It” player changed frequently so no one got too tired.  It was a fun ending game for a frisbee day.  I have also tried the game with 1st and 2nd grades with good success.

Apr 23 2013

New warm-up idea

My warm-up routine has gotten a bit boring so I wanted to spice it up a bit for my younger students.  I placed 10 cones around the gym.  Each cone had 2 cards attached labeled with different warm-up exercises.  Some were stretches, some balance moves, and some locomotor movements.  The students chose a cone to start at.  I set the rule that no more than 4 students could be at a cone at a time.  I played music that paused at 30 second intervals. When the music paused, the students rotated to the next cone.  They could choose between the two cards which exercise they wanted to do at each station.  Total equaled a 5 minute warm-up session that was fun and gave them some autonomy.  The music added a fun boost as well.  My students really enjoyed it and it solved some management problems I have been having during warm-up time!

Mar 29 2013

Fast Hands

Here is a fast an activity that little ones love.  It requires almost no equipment and can be done in limited space.

Children partner up and sit cross-legged facing each other.  Place a bean bag between them.  I give 3 cues:

“middle”   bean bag is placed in the middle

“ready”   children place both hands behind their back

“go”   grab for bean bag and see who gets it first

Return bag to middle and repeat.  Older kids can play in push-up position to give a challenge.  If you don’t have bean bags, any handy object will do.  This is a good wake-up games for classrooms when students need a break!

Jan 25 2013

Balancing Act

I tried a new lesson last week with my 1st and 2nd graders.  I drew up  balancing tricks on cards to have them work on body control.   Easy stick figures that show arm and leg positioning will work fine.  I tried the lesson 2 different ways:

Day 1:

I held the cards up and explained the move.  We all did the tricks together.  Then I put on some music and had them move like the animal I called out (see previous post).  When the music stopped, they would freeze in the position on the card I was holding up.  They got bored of it pretty quick and I felt like they weren’t trying very hard on the balancing poses.  So, the next day I mixed things up a bit with much better results (different kids, same age group)

Day 2:

I taped the cards to cones and divided the class into 12 small groups (about 3 kids each group).  They then rotated around to each cone and tried the pictured balance.  I would walk quickly around the circle and check each group, making suggestions and challenges as needed.  They loved it!  This day they were really engaged in holding the poses and challenging themselves.  I was able to give help when needed and everyone stayed busy.  With about 5 minutes left at the end of class, I gave them each a beanbag and challenged them to try balancing the bag on their head while walking or trying some of the poses we had just learned.  It was great to seem them remember the poses and try them again with the added challenge of keeping a bean bag in place.

I did the lesson this way the rest of the week and it went great every time.  Here is a list of the poses we tried:

Kimbo Stand:  arms crossed at chest, cross one leg over the other and touch toe to the ground

Front Scale:  lean forward, arms out to the sides, raise one leg straight behind

Backward Balance:  lean back, arms out to sides, raise one leg straight in front

Sideways Balance:  lean to one side, arms out, lift one leg to the side

Knee Raise:  bend knee, raise and hold

Stork:  place foot on opposite thigh, arms straight out to side

Head Touch:  kneel on ground, touch forehead to ground and raise arms above back

Knee Balance:  kneel on both knees, arms out, lift toes off the ground

One-Knee Balance:  same as above on one knee

Shoulder Press:  shoulders and feet on ground, raise hips up

Knee Stand:  on hands and knees, raise one leg straight behind and one arm straight in front

Challenge:  balance on one body part (2 body parts,etc)

 

Jan 11 2013

Animal movement

This week I tried a fun new activity with 1st and 2nd grades. I placed poly-spots all around the gym floor. Each child stood on a spot. I then held up a card with an animal movement. When the music started, they had to move around the gym like that animal. When the music stopped, they froze on a poly-spot in a pose like that animal. I would walk around and comment on their poses (they loved that — trying to come up with a unique way to show the animal). It was a very active game with lots of different muscle use. They loved pretending to be the different animals.

Here are some of the animals we tried:
Kangaroo: long, big jumps
Puppy walk: on hands and feet, keep head up to see where you are going
Cat walk: like puppy, but try and arch back
Bear walk: heavy and slow on hands and feet
Frog jump: use hands to push off the floor, try and go high
Seal walk: bellies and legs on the floor, pull body with hands (flippers)
Elephant walk: stomp feet and use arms to make a trunk, slow and heavy
Donkey kick: kick back feet in the air (make sure and stay in your own space)
Inchworm: on hands and feet — walk feet to hands, then walk hands out, repeat
Crab walk: belly up using hands and feet

I let them make animal noises while they were moving. When the music stopped they had to completely freeze (voices too). It was perfect for this cold winter week when they haven’t even been able to go outside for recess!

Nov 14 2012

Scooter tip

I learned the greatest scooter tip at a collaboration meeting this week. I have always had trouble with the smaller children smashing their fingers when the scooter tips and they are holding on to the handles. Ouch! Another teacher suggested having them hold onto the seat; handles go out around the hand. It works great! If a scooter tips the handle actually protects the hand instead of smashing it. I used scooters today for the first time with kindergarten and had no smashed fingers.

Mar 22 2012

Rhythm sticks

I found 2 boxes of rhythm sticks in my closet and decided to try them out with my 1st and 2nd graders. It turned out to be a good activity for hand-eye coordination. I organized the class into a large circle with one stick per person. Then I went through the following sequence giving them time to practice each one before moving on:
1. spin stick in a circle on the floor with one hand
2. try spinning with your other hand, try reversing direction
3. toss stick from hand to hand
4. hold stick at eye level, let go and catch with the same hand before it hits the ground
5. flip stick and catch in the opposite hand
6. balance stick on 4 fingers, 3 fingers, 2 fingers, 1 finger, wrist, shoulder, knee

After the sequence I assigned all the children a partner and had them sit on the floor with legs extended in a “v”, feet touching. I gave each partnership a tennis ball and had them use the stick to pass the ball back and forth to each other.

Something new, challenging, lots of things you could try . . .

Feb 23 2012

Scooters

I have been using scooters this week with my lower grades (K-4). The kids love the scooters! It was especially fun introducing them to kindergarten for the first time. I begin the lesson by demonstrating sitting on the scooter and pushing with feet or hands. Then I state 2 DON’Ts for scooter use: no standing, no running and jumping onto the scooter on belly or knees. I also give warning to watch out for hands as I have had a lot of little fingers get smashed by tipping scooters. Finally, I let the students know that when they hear my whistle, they are to get off their scooter, flip it over (wheels up) and sit cross-legged with their hands on their knees. Otherwise, it is impossible to get their attention again with all the noise. After instruction time, we follow this sequence:

1. Exploration: I let them get their scooter and do whatever they want for a few minutes. In my younger grades, I did this for the bulk of the time since they are just being introduced to the scooter and need time to experiment.

2. Stomach: I demonstrate riding the board on my stomach 3 ways . . . pushing with my hands, pushing with my feet, and pushing with both crocodile style. I also show them how to spin in a circle. Then we all experiment with those ideas for a few minutes.

3. Knees: I show them one knee on the board with the other foot pushing, two knees on the board and push with your hands, two knees on the board and move just by wiggling your body.

4. Tootsie Roll: Hands are in push-up position and toes are on the scooter pulling it along with you. This one has been new even to the older classes. It is harder to do, so they usually don’t last too long with it, but enjoy trying it out.

5. Shapes: I do this step just with my K-1. I have them imagine that there is a big shape or letter on the floor and trace it by scooting around on the imagined lines.

6: Scooter tag: Grades 1 & 2. I establish a scooter color that is “it”. If you get tagged by a tagger you must switch scooters and become a new tagger. I require them to be on their knees or sitting so that hands don’t get run over.

7. Bean Bag tag: Grades 3 & 4. I have started calling it “scooter dodge-ball” which makes them like it even more! There are 2 teams on opposite side of the gym. Each player has a scooter and a bean bag. I set up a “jail” with cones on each side. Players tag each other by sliding a bean bag into someone’s foot. If you get hit you must go to jail on the opposite side. Players can be rescued from jail by a teammate sliding a bean bag to them from their side of the gym. Once rescued, they can return to their team and resume play. I have them return by scooting with their bean bag held above their head as a free pass while they cross the gym. All players must be sitting on their scooter with feet on the ground. I encourage them to move around a lot. I help the game get moving by playing myself once a few kids are in jail and rescuing them so they understand that part.

It has been a fun week. I am going to use the scooters again next week starting with a repeat of the game already learned and then adding a new game.

*Note: One thing not to try is having them spin in circles on their scooters. A lot of them do this anyway and I allow it, but as a group I had a few children complain of sick stomachs after. Letting them come up with their own ideas here seems to eliminate those with sensitive tummies from trying it. Also, inchworm is the opposite of tootsie roll (hands on scooter in push-up position, feet pushing). This move led to a lot of running so I eliminated that one too.

Feb 8 2012

Fitness Stations

We have tried a lot of new things this year in PE with 1st and 2nd graders. The fun thing about those grades is that everything is new and exciting. They are game to try anything. On the other hand their attention span is shorter, so you can’t stick with the same thing for too long. I wanted to review some skills, but knew their attention wouldn’t last a whole day on these things; so I divided them up into stations then rotated the kids thru. I had five stations. I spent the first few minutes explaining what would happen at each stations and how to rotate when I blew the whistle. Then I divided them into groups and let them play. I rotated around and gave help as needed. These are the stations and the objectives for each one:
#1: foam balls and paddles: hand-eye coordination
#2: hoops on the ground, bean bags: tossing with accuracy
#3: jump ropes: fitness, jump rope skills
#4: hula hoops: fitness, jumping and spinning skills
#5: mats: fitness, tumbling skills, movement

The kids had a blast! They stayed engaged in their tasks and worked hard. They left the class sweaty and smiling – I love that!