TECHNIQUE
Today we are going to learn how to create different gymnastics positions.
IMPORTANCE
Creating different gymnastics positions is important because these fundamental skills are essential building blocks for you to learn more advanced skills.
VOCABULARY
Extend: to straighten out.
Stretch: to lengthen muscles, best done after a warm up to prevent injury.
When creating different gymnastics positions, it is important to:
1. Create a straddle position by keeping your back straight with your arms and legs extended to the side.
2. Create a tuck position by tucking your knees to your chest while keeping your back straight and your toes pointed.
3. Create an arch position by lying on your stomach while keeping your arms, legs, and head extended and off the ground.
4. Create a hollow position by lying on your back while keeping your arms, legs, and head extended and off the ground.
5. Create a pike position by keeping your back straight with your arms extended straight above your head and your legs straight with pointed toes.
PRACTICE
Spread out onto the field so that you are at least an arm’s length away from the person standing next to you. I will call out different positions for you to demonstrate.
PARACHUTE SURFING
TIME
10-20 minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
4-24 students per game
EQUIPMENT
1 small parachute
STORYLINE
Today we are playing Parachute Surfing. Your goal is to try and create different gymnastics positions while riding the waves of the parachute.
INSTRUCTIONS
I will select 1-2 students to stand on the parachute at a time.
Everyone else will sit around the parachute and hold a handle.
When I say, “GO!” the students on the parachute will form different gymnastics position while the other students shake the parachute.
I will tell the surfers which positions to make:
Straddle position
Tuck position
Arch position
Hallow position
Pike position
The surfers will then select the next student(s) to surf on the parachute.
Game 1: Play as indicated above. Go through each position listed.
Game 2: Have students decide which positions they would like to hold.
Exit Ticket: Have students demonstate three different gymnastics positions before lining up to return to class.
TEACHING TIPS
Approach:
Have students make fast waves and slow rolling waves.
Remind students not to pull or jerk the parachute to purposefully cause students to fall.
ELL Accommodation:
Post labeled pictures of skills and game play.
Partner with proficient English speakers for directions/modeling and reflections.
SpEd Accommodation:
Set individual goals for physical or behavioral modifications.
Allow students to demonstrate skill one-on-one with teacher.
Allow students extra time to master the skill.
Reflection:
One position I created with my body today was a...
I was most excited to create a __________ position with my body.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
TIME
10-20 minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
4-24 students per game
EQUIPMENT
1 hula-hoop
24 fuzzy balls
10 short cones
Optional: 4 hula-hoops
STORYLINE
Today we are playing Beauty and the Beast. In this game, a curse has been placed, turning everyone into household objects. Your goal is to create different gymnastics positions until you are rescued by your team and turned back to a human.
INSTRUCTIONS
I will divide the class into teams of four.
In each team, I will decide who will be the rescuer and who will be turned into a household object.
If you are a household object, decide which gymnastic position best represents the household object that you are.
Before the game begins, the rescuers will begin on the baseline while the household objects will be in the castle (end line).
I will begin as the beast on the side lines and will throw snowballs out.
When I say “GO!” the rescuers must begin to make their way across the field without getting hit by a snowball.
Once you are at the castle, choose one teammate to run back to the baseline with.
If one of you are hit by a snowball, you both must return back to either the castle or the baseline.
We will begin a new game when the time runs out.
Game 1: Play as indicated above.
Variation: Add hula-hoops as safe zones on the field.
Exit Ticket: Have students demonstrate three different gymnastics positions before lining up to return to class.
TEACHING TIPS
Student Role:
Assign a “ball master” to help you collect snowballs during the game.
ELL Accommodation:
Post labeled pictures of skills and game play.
Partner with proficient English speakers for directions/modeling and reflections.
SpEd Accommodation:
Set individual goals for physical or behavioral modifications.
Allow students to demonstrate skill one-on-one with teacher.
Allow students extra time to master the skill.
Reflection:
One position I created with my body today was a...
I was most excited to create a __________ position with my body.
COLOR JOURNEY
TIME
10-20 minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
4-24 students per game
EQUIPMENT
10 short cones
20 dots (5 green dots, 5 blue dots, 5 red dots, 5 yellow dots)
STORYLINE
Today we are playing Color Journey. In this game, you are on a journey through the colorful lands. Your goal is to create different gymnastics positions depending on the color you step on.
INSTRUCTIONS
I will divide the class into partners.
With your partner, line up shoulder-to-shoulder on the baseline.
When I say, “GO!” begin traveling from dot to dot with your partner.
For each dot that you step on, you have entered a new land and must create a different gymnastics position to show where you are.
When you step on:
Red- you are in the Fireball Lands and must create a tuck position.
Blue- you are in the Mountains and must create a straddle position.
Green- you are in the Grass Lands and must create a pike position.
Yellow- you are in the Sunshine Lands and must create a hollow or arch position.
When you reach the end line, try your best to recall where you and your partner traveled using your movements.
Game 1: Play as indicated above. Go through each gymnastics position listed.
Game 2: Have students create gymnastics positions for the colors they step on.
Game 3: Have students create a pattern.
Exit Ticket: Have students demonstrate three different gymnastics positions before lining up to return to class.
TEACHING TIPS
ELL Accommodation:
Post labeled pictures of skills and game play.
Partner with proficient English speakers for directions/modeling and reflections.
SpEd Accommodation:
Set individual goals for physical or behavioral modifications.
Allow students to demonstrate skill one-on-one with teacher.
Allow students extra time to master the skill.
Reflection:
One position I created with my body today was a...
I was most excited to create a __________ position with my body.