Grades K-2

Movement Exploration

Lesson 9


Equipment: Fluffilos and hoops for each student.

Focus Standard for the Day: Move to open spaces within boundaries while traveling at higher rates of speed (CA 2-1.1).

1. Unpack:

  • What is the verb: Move

  • What is the skill or content: Open spaces, boundaries, and traveling

2. Evidence of learning:

  • The student can move to open spaces within boundaries while traveling at higher rates of speed.

3. Assessment tool/task:

  • Structured observation: The student will move to open spaces within boundaries while traveling at higher rates of speed.

4. Criteria for competence:

  • When you play tag, what are you really trying to do? (Move to an open space away from the tagger!) Are you usually traveling fast or slow? (fast!)

  • Why are boundaries important when you play tag? (Because otherwise you'd run too far away and it would ruin the game.)

  • Who can stay inside the boundaries while moving quickly away from the tagger? What are you going to look for? (open space!)

5. Levels of quality for moving to open spaces within boundaries while traveling at higher rates of speed (5-point rubric):

5. Student moves to open spaces within their boundaries while traveling at higher rates of speed during all game settings.

4. Student moves to open spaces within their boundaries while traveling at higher rates of speed.

3. Student moves to open spaces, slightly going out of their boundaries while traveling at slightly higher rates of speed.

2. Student moves to open space by going out of their boundaries. They slightly increase their speed.

1. Student cannot increase their speed or successfully move to open space.

WARM UP: Search for Space! Partner Evade Game

  • Partner up and set up boundaries.

  • The goal is to find open space while attempting to get away from your partner.

  • The other player's goal is to "shadow" his/her partner closely so that he/she cannot get to OPEN SPACE.

  • On "go" signal, player ONE will run to open space within the playing area while attempting to "lose" his/her partner by traveling AWAY from them and getting them OUT of their OPEN SPACE.

  • Play for a short time (watch students for signs of fatigue), then after a quick rest, switch roles and play again!

  • Following the warm-up, perform Quick Standing Stretches

Seven-Spin Partner Tag

  • Explain what a safety tag is. This is tagging with just the pinky finger. Determine boundaries and review safety rules.

  • Students partner up back to back in general space. One partner is "IT". (Ro-sham-bo, or "not-it" to determine first "it")

  • All "Its" spin around 7 times with eyes closed.

  • Partners are moving in scrambled eggs style in general space. Partners can skip, hop, jump, or crawl as determined by the teacher. Start out with slower movements to keep things under control.

  • After spinning, the "Its" open their eyes, find their partners, and safety tag them.

  • When tagged, stop on the spot and begin spinning as the other partner takes off.

  • Trade "Its" and repeat as many times as desired.

Sunshine and Snowflakes

  • Choose 10% of students to be it and give them white or blue Fluffilos. They are Snowflakes.

  • Choose 10% of students to be Sunshine, and give each one a hoop. They will be the ones to "unfreeze" the students.

  • Players begin by traveling around in the designated manner (walking, then skipping, galloping, crab walking, etc.) within the designated boundaries.

  • Snowflakes will "freeze" the students by tagging them with a Fluffilo.

  • Students can only be unfrozen if the Sunshine melts them by placing the hoop over their heads for 5 seconds. Once unfrozen, they are back in the game.

  • Play again with new Sunshine and new Snowflakes!

Alligator, Alligator

  • Set up two boundary lines with the students standing on one boundary line, and a hungry alligator near the other line.

  • Prior to play, the alligator designates the movement. (baby steps, giant steps, hops, leaps, jumps, etc.)

  • Students say, "Alligator, alligator, what time is it" The alligator may pick any time between 1:00 and 12:00. The students perform designated movements in accordance with the time. For example, if the alligator says it is 8:00, and has selected giant steps, then the students will all take 8 giant steps toward the alligator.

  • When the alligator replies "lunchtime!" then everybody runs back home to starting boundary line, trying not to get tagged.

  • If they are tagged then they become alligators. Play until almost everybody is it.

  • To take the contact out of the game (play is safer and more controlled), have the alligator hold between 2-5 yarn balls. These are the alligator's teeth! If the alligator gets you with one of his teeth, you become his lunch and join the alligator, who shares the yarn balls with the new taggers. (Have extra yarn balls close by so that each player gets one or more to throw when part of the alligator's team). Alligators must aim the yarn balls at the feet of the flee-ers.

  • It's a prey-predator game. Great for lead-up into the food-chain! Also great for talking about hunger. Why do we get hungry? What should you eat when you are hungry?

Sammy Snake

  • Be sure to demonstrate the activity with a volunteer demonstration team prior to beginning play!

  • Groups of 5-6 players.

  • Scatter as many hoops as possible around the designated playing area.

  • Groups link hands, forming a snake.

  • All groups begin behind the starting line.

  • On "Go" signal, each snake travels to a different hoop. The head of the snake picks up the hoop, steps through it and continues the hoop through the rest of the snake, without letting go of hands.

  • The tail holds the hoop, and the snake continues to the next hoop.

  • Snakes may only pick up one hoop at a time, and may not travel to the next hoop until the hoop has reached the tail. Snakes caught traveling before the hoop reaches the tail, or picking up two hoops at a time, get caught in a snake trap, and must slither back to the starting line to get free! Once "free", they may resume play.

COOL DOWN/CLOSURE: Hoop Stretch

  • Sit inside hoop.

  • Stretch hamstrings: one leg out front, other leg, both legs.

  • Stretch quadriceps: lay on side and gently pull heel to tush (bottom, buttocks... NOT to the hip). Repeat with other leg.

  • Stretch out long, pull legs into chest, stretch long.

  • Roll over onto tummy, press up gently with the arms, look to the sky, lower gently.

  • Stand up, pick up hoop, put it away.

Across the Curriculum

  • Health: What body parts/muscles are being worked out while doing the partner sit-ups?

  • Journal Writing: What was your favorite activity today and why? What was your least favorite and why?

  • Math: Figuring out how much 10% is of the group you're playing with for Sunshine and Snowflakes activity.

  • Language Arts/Anatomy: Students draw a body, and locate the muscles with some kind of marking, that were used throughout all activities today. Here are a couple of great sites! http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/body/muscles_SW.html and http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000008.html