Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.5A Grade 2 CPI 6

 

Standard: 2.5 - Motor Skills

 

Strand: A -   Movement Skills 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 6 - The student will change the effort (force, flow, energy) or range (extension) of a movement skill or skill combination.

 

Grade: 2

 

Sample Activities:

 

·       THE RACE OF THE TORTOISE AND HARE - For this activity, you need a large open area, several hoops, and a percussion instrument. Begin the class by sharing an Aesop’s fable, the “Tortoise and the Hare.” (If the students are already familiar with the story, have students identify the key events and moral of the story.) Focus on the differences between the speed of the two characters. Tell students to move slowly to one of the hoops. While in the hoops, students perform different slow movements (like the turtle). Next, students move very fast, just like a rabbit. Use the percussion instrument to signal when students should begin moving suddenly or quickly. Remove the hoops and have students find self-space. Discuss and enact the following: “How does a windmill move on a day when there is no wind? How might a very old person walk across the street? How might a very old car that hardly works move? Now think about how you might move if you were holding the hand of a baby just learning to walk. If I asked you to run for a whole hour, how fast would you run?” Discuss the need to pace such movements and explain how the body would run out of energy. Emphasize concentration, safety, and practice. Return to the story of the tortoise and the hare, and use it to explain the concept of pacing.

 

      Variation: Students pretend they are a motorcycle or car. Use a drumbeat to establish pace. As students move around the play area, cue them to alter their pace and speed (e.g., “How would your speed change near a playground? on a highway? on a hill?”) Discuss speed limits and change the beat of the drum to signal changes in speed. To conclude the activity, have students explain the following: “Sometimes it’s good to be a tortoise, sometimes it’s good to be the hare.”

Variation: Use movement modifiers, such as brisk, speedy, and sluggish to illustrate different speeds. Students perform various movement skills as directed.

Variation: Create a set of flash cards that illustrate various real-life situations (e.g., students in the hallway or on the bus), sports, games, or dance activities that require changes in speed or pacing. After students are able to identify such situations, show videotapes of athletes and dancers using
fast and slow movement and discuss.