Lesson Focus: The primary objective of this physical activity lesson is to develop a skill for moving the student’s body in accordance with basic positions. It is essential to employ different patterns, including various sets of body position changes, in order to train the students’ flexibility. The academic objective of this lesson, as in compliance with the state standards, is to develop the student’s competency in basic body movements, and also increase their proficiency in more specific movement forms.
Lesson Sub-focus: Other objectives of the lesson include the following aspects. It is of high importance to develop an understanding of personal space as well as the skill of using it with respect to the partner (Basic Body Positions). Concerning academic skills, it is essential to teach students to precisely obey the rules and interact meaningfully.
T.E.K.S. taught: Regarding TEKS standards, it is important to mention that students should “acquire the knowledge and skills for movement that provides the foundation for enjoyment, continued social development through physical activity, and access to a physically-active lifestyle” (“Texas Essential Knowledge”). These are considerably important guidelines to follow since they represent very important suggestions about teaching elementary students, and also they are based on theoretical and practical premises that were approved to be efficient.
Equipment: The following equipment is needed for the lesson: four cones (for boundaries), one spot marker for each student, body position and locomotor skill cards, and a player for music (“Basic Body Positions”).
Organization: To set the stage for the lesson, it is necessary to create a large (30X30 paces) activity area and to send students to choose their spots in the area (“Basic Body Positions”).
Description of Activity: The lesson’s organization could be distributed into three principal steps. The first step is to ask students to review their spot positioning in terms of safety (ask them to perform “helicopter” activity) (“Basic Body Positions”). Secondly, the main part of the lesson is to ask students to use certain locomotor skills as the music plays along, and when it stops, students get back to their spots, and then the teacher should use body position skill cards (“Basic Body Positions”). It is important to combine various locomotor and body position skills and activities in order to challenge students. The third part of the lesson is dedicated to the reflection on the performed activities (“Basic Body Positions”). The teacher could ask students about how they used different body parts in different body positions (“Basic Body Positions”). Also, it is appropriate to tell students about reducing their TV and video games time as it is not very good for their posture and overall health.
Teaching Suggestions/Variations: It is appropriate to propose two suggestions for the provided lesson plan in order to make it more engaging for students. Firstly, the teacher could add new, more complicated body positions if he or she notices the students’ progress with their basic moves and skills. Secondly, it is possible to combine body position activity with a memory game, where students have to remember the order of body positions.
Safety Considerations: It is also of high significance to mention two essential safety considerations. The area in which the activity is performed should be large enough to safely place each student (everyone should have enough space around them). Also, it is essential to tell students to respect each other’s personal space during the activity so that they do not harm or interrupt their classmates.
Works Cited
“Basic Body Positions.” Spark, Web.
“Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Physical Education. Subchapter A. Elementary.” Texas Education Agency, Web.