Body Awareness

• What the body can perform
• The shapes it can make
• Balance
• Transferring weight to different body parts
• Examples:

• Many shapes can be formed with the body
• Balance or weight bearing
• Transfer of body weight
• Flight-  lifting the body weight from the floor or apparatus for an extended period of time.

Relationships

• With whom and/or what the body relates
• Position of the performer to the apparatus or other performers
• Near-far, above-below, over-under
• Examples

• Among body parts
• With objects and/or people
• With people

• Step 1 = set and define the problem
• Step 2 = increase the variety and depth of movement
• Step 3 = build sequences and combine movement patterns
• Step 4 = incorporate cooperative partner and small-group activity

Set and define the problem

• Define a problem for students to solve
• Include:

• What to do
• Where to move
• How to move
• With whom or what to move

("let’s see you move across the floor, changing direction as you wish, using a quick movement with one foot and a slow movement with the other")

Increase the variety and depth of movement

• Presenting a problem
  • Use observation and analysis
  • Modify movement patterns
  • Encourage enhanced movement
  • Encourage variety
  • Present problems in the form of a question
  • Use contrasting terms
  • "show me how an alligator moves"
  • "what can you do with a hoop"

Securing variety or setting limitations

• Stimulate movement alternatives
  • Impose limitations
  • "try to jump higher"
  • "see how far you can reach with your arms"
  • "alternate walking and hopping"
  • "see if you can do the movement with a partner"

Encouraging variety using contrasting terms

• Examples:
  • Above-below
  • Across-around
  • Fast-slow
  • Forward-back

Build sequences and combine movement patterns

• Combine learned movements into meaningful sequence
• Emphasis on transition (flow) from one movement pattern to another
• Children select movements or teacher can specify movements to combine
• Achievement demonstrations (Children show what they have put together)

Incorporate cooperative partner and small-group activity

• Make problems realistic
• Allow opportunity for discussion and decision making
• Examples:
  • One child is an obstacle, and the partner devises ways to go over, under, and around the obstacle
  • One child does a movement, and the other copies or provides a contrasting movement

Designing Movement Themes