Progression and Movement Themes

• Movement themes help teachers instruct toward desired objectives.
• Opportunity for creative expression should be offered on a planned basis.
• Skills can be reinforced and enhanced through creative games.
• Creative games can be oriented toward individuals, partners, or small groups.
• Groups should be kept small to maximize individual input.
• The focus on skill to be practiced must not be lost.

Activities with balloons and balls

• Emphasize hand-eye coordination
• Success for less skilled learners (balloons)
• Balloons and beach balls are larger, move slower, and are more predictable
• Instructional cues
  • Catch and control with fingertips
  • Keep your eyes on the object
  • Move body into the path of the object
  • Reach, catch, and move the object to the body

Activities with beanbags

• All parts of the body can be used
• Beanbags lead to catching with the hands
• Used with older youngsters with more challenging activities
• Instructional cues
  • Stress a soft receipt of the beanbag by giving with the hands, arms, and legs
  • Keep eyes on the beanbag when catching
  • When tossing and catching, toss slightly above eye level

Activities with balls

• Handling balls without other equipment
• Hand-eye skills – throwing, catching, bouncing, and dribbling
• Foot-eye skills – kicking, trapping, and dribbling
• Instructional cues
  • Keep your eyes on the ball
  • Catch and dribble the ball with the pads of the fingers
  • Use opposition and weight transfer when

Juggling

• Novel task that is exciting
• Challenging and demands practice
• Begin with scarves and move to balls
• Allow children to move at their own pace and provide plenty of practice time
• Examples:
  • Cascading
  • Reverse cascading
  • Column
  • showering

Activities with scoops and balls

• Scoops can be purchased or made
• Excellent for practicing catching and tossing skills
• Examples:
  • Individual activities
  • Partner activities
  • Games and relays

Bowling activities

• Younger children practice informal rolling
• Bowling skills begin with two-handed rolling and progress to one-handed rolls
• Activities:
  • Begin with two hand roll between legs
  • Roll the ball first with right and then with the left hand
  • Practice putting different kinds of spin on the ball

Activities with paddles and balls

• Precursor to racquet sports
• Informal exploratory play
• Different types of objects can be used
• Instructional cues
  • Hold the wrist reasonably stiff
  • Use a smooth arm action
  • Stroke through the ball and follow through
  • Watch the ball strike the paddle

Activities with Frisbees

• Popular with children
• Younger children need considerable guidance
• Instructional cues
  • Release the disk parallel to the ground
  • Step toward the target
  • Follow through on release of the disk
  • Snap open the wrist and make the Frisbee spin

Activities with wands

• Can be bought or made
• Rubber crutch tips may decrease noise
• One meter (length) wands are recommended
• Instructional procedures
  • Limit noise
  • Girls may perform better than boys because of flexibility
  • Make sure students have self-space
  • Wands are not used as fencing foils

Activities with hoops

• Standard hoop is 42 inches in diameter
• Smaller hoops are desirable (36 inches) for primary-grade children
• Instructional procedures
  • Have students lay hoops down during instruction (noise)
  • Allow free exploration
  • Provide self-space
  • Hoops can sever as a "home" for activity
  • Hoops are good targets

Activities with jump ropes

• Excellent form of conditioning all parts of the body
• Increased popularity (Jump Rope for Heart)
• Jump rope possibilities
  • Rope forming a straight line
  • Rope forming a circle
  • Rope forming various figures
  • Partner activity
  • Group activity
  • Long-rope jumping

Footbag activities

• Leather stitched bags 2 inches in diameter
• Object is to keep bag in the air
• Types of kicks
  • Inside
  • Outside
  • Back
• Types of play
  • Individual
  • Partner
  • Group

Rhythmic gymnastics

• Became popular in the 1970s
• Activities are broad in scope
• Excellent unit for developing group routines
• Types of skills
  • Ball skills
  • Rope routines
  • Hoop movements
  • Ribbon movements