GRADE

TOPIC

UNIT

PreK

Weight Bearing – Balance/Single Body Part

Gymnastics

Equipment Needed

Control Cones, Stretching Station Cards, High/Medium/Low cards, Balancing Cards, Spots, Prek PowerPoint: Weight Bearing on Large Body Parts – Lesson 10, 2×2 Mats, Bean Bags Hoops, fun movement music, Music Player.

Content Standard Benchmarks or Common Core Standards

Learning Goals, Objectives, Expected Outcomes

Psychomotor

1. Move and work safely among other children.
2. Actively participates in the lesson activities and exercises.
3. Gain strength and flexibility through movement and stretching exercises.
4. Demonstrate balancing on single body parts, at least 5 different ways.

Cognitive

1. Verbally identify the body parts on the front, back and side of the body.
2. Choose at least three different balances on single body parts

Affective

1. Have Fun

ACTIVITY

PROCEDURE AND TRANSITIONS WITH

MODIFICATIONS AND OR ACCOMMODATIONS

SETUP DESCRIPTION OR DIAGRAM

Entrance Routine

Come on in and stand on a spot!

Part 1

Warm-up/Review

15 Minutes

Safety

Color Hunt

Have enough color cards to place one under each spot.  Make sure you don’t put the same color card underneath the spot.

Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange Purple.  (same as our mats)

“Under your spot is a card with a color.  The color under your spot tells you the next spot you are going to look under!”

Show the class a demonstration or begin the PowerPoint slide with the video. Remind the children to leave the color card under the spot when they are finished looking at it.

“When I say go, look under your spot and see what color you are going to next, then travel to your new spot.  Keep looking under the spots to see which color to go to next!

Look at your spot and go get a bean bag that matches it and bring it back to your spot.

Remember, when I say stop, put the bean bag on the floor near your phalanges!

Review the Body Parts verbally. Have the student put the bean bag on the body part you are reviewing.

Identification of Body Parts with Music

Body Part Song – “Beanie Bag Dance”  Kids In Action, Greg & Steve

Differentiation:

Encourage the children to find a new spot each time, even if they have already gone to the same color.

Encourage the children to travel different ways as they go from color to color.

Assessment:

Ask the children to tell you the color’s name they are traveling to or looking under.

Transition

Part 2

New skill or concept

Weight Bearing – Balance on one body part.

In this lesson your children will begin exploring the concept of Weight Bearing, specifically Balance.  This lesson focuses on balancing on large body parts, one at a time.  The children will, use individual squares, to balance on safe, single body parts. Including; Stomach, Back, Bottom, Hip, Knee & Foot.

(To the children:)

·”Everyone stand up and take your weight onto your feet on your mat.”

Look down at your feet, see how they touch the ground.  The only thing you are balancing on are your feet, because they are the only part of your body touching the ground.”

“Take your weight onto one foot.  Now you are balancing on one foot.  It’s not so easy on one foot!  You have to try to get your body to be equal over your foot. Today, you’re going to try some different balances on one body part.”

Around our space today are Mats. You will use the mats to balance on today.  So instead of the floor, you will balance on a mat.  You will always have your own mat to work on.”

“Show me how you can balance on your seat/gluteus.  Remember, only your seat should be touching the mat or the floor, no hands or feet!  You can look at the picture if you don’t remember or understand what to do.”

During part two, you can allow the students to move to new own spaces each time.  This will help keep them from being bored.

“When I say go, show me how you can balance on your back.  Your back should be on the mat, and nothing else should be touching the ground or the mat!”

• “When I say go, find another mat and balance on your stomach.”
• “When I say go, find another mat and balance on your Bottom.”
• “When I say go, find another mat and balance on your Hip.
• “This time find another mat and balance on your foot.”

Why would balancing on your foot be easier than your hip even though your hip is bigger than your foot? Because you have had a lot of practice balancing on your feet!  To get good at balancing, you have to practice!

“Go to a new mat and balance on one knee this time!”

Review the single balances by continuing to call out a body part to balance on, have your children move to a new mat each time you call out a body part to balance on.

Differentiation  Strategies:

Easier-

• Begin with an activity that reviews the body parts that will be used during this lesson.  Like bean bag balance, or Frozen Bean bag.
• First ask the children to identify the body part and then balance on that part.
• Keep the visual example available as the children do the balances.

Challenge-

• Encourage the children to find new shapes to hold their body in while they balance on the single body parts.

Teaching Tips:

Describe balance as holding body weight still over the base (or the body part you are balancing on). Encourage your children to hold their balances for Three to five seconds of stillness.  The base is made up of the body part(s) that are touching the mat/ground.  This is a good time to discuss that it is easier to balance on larger parts, like the back, than on smaller parts, like the knee because you have a bigger base to distribute, or spread your weight over.  You can also discuss how practice will help make balancing easier.  For example balancing on your foot, which is small, is easier than on your knee, because of practice. Provide a visual example of each of the next instructions. You can also talk about these things as the students are holding their balances waiting for the next task.

Teaching Tips:

If it is too distracting to change mats every time it’s ok to stay on the same mat for a couple balances.

Encourage the children to try to get their body evenly spread out over their base, if they feel like they are tipping one way, they need to move some of their weight, or a part of their body, away from the direction they are tipping, in order to gain balance.

Transition

Part 3

Practice

Travel & Balance

Play the song from the PowerPoint, Animal Action by Greg and Steve.  This is a fun song to move to like different animals.  After each chorus, there is a specific animal to move like.  After each turn to travel like an animal, pause the music and the children will find a mat and balance on whichever body part is on the screen, or that you call out.  The PowerPoint is set up so that you can play the song through while you advance the slides at the appropriate time!

“when this song is playing you’re going to travel around, avoiding the mats, (teach them what avoid means if you haven’t already done that.) the song is going to tell you a special animal to travel like!  When the music stops a balance is going to pop up on the screen.  That is your signal to find a close mat and balance on the body part that is up on the screen.”

Transition

Part 4

Stretching & closure

Taking it Home

5 Minutes

Cool Down

Choose 3 stretches to do with the class.

Review

Closure