Lab 3: January 30, 2012

1. The locomotor movement I chose was the leap or air split. I would encourage the students to pretend to jump across a river or creek. It would be something that could be fun for the kids to use their imagination they have to leap clear across a river. You could ask them what types of animals or monsters are in their river.

http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/Games/GamestoMake/images/firetruck.JPG

2. The three pathways are: straight, circular and zig zag. The straight pathway is exhibited in the "Fire Chief" game. In this game the students are running in a straight line only (out to get the fire hose and back to put out the fire). The "Forest Ranger" game utilizes a circular pathway because the students are running in a circular fashion around the inner circle. There are very few straight lines involved. Lastly, the zig zag pathway is demonstrated in the "Spelling Master" game. This game emphasizes dodging and changing direction quickly because it is a tag game where you must work your way around other objects ("trees").

3. The topic of my class talk is Teamwork. What is "teamwork"? Why is teamwork important? Why can it be hard to be on a team sometimes? What can happen if you don't work together?

4. Locomotor Movement: Skip. For the skip I would like to see: 1. High knees 2. Arms to the sky (high arms) 3. Step-HOP

Lab 2: January 25, 2012

1. Exercises such as sit-ups and push-ups should be modified for kindergarten and first grade students. Being that they are so young, starting them doing these types of exercises right away could lead them to dislike them in the future. Also, the students are not likely to do them properly which will just lead to bad habits. Modified versions can be a great lead up to the actual activity and they will have fun doing it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Wittner_metronome.jpg

2. A rhythmic activity allows teachers to incorporate music into their lessons. The rhythmic activity can also provide a good structure for any managerial activity. This is because the students will be encouraged to move with a beat, it allows them to all participate in sync with their classmates. It helps them to develop an internal beat which can be beneficial for all movement.

3.  Laterality is the thought that people prefer using one side of their body over another when performing movements and activities. Tracing giant letters works in the cognitive domain because it incorporates knowledge with creativity. The students are asked to recall how to write their alphabet but they get to decide how big they want them to be. They can be long, skinny, tall or short etc.

4. Educators are concerned about young children developing and being able to keep an internal beat because that "internal beat" is related to a large number of movements. If the students has trouble developing this skill then it may be an indication that there are some learning disabilities that should be addressed.

http://wakeup-world.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/honey-bees.jpg

5. Homo-lateral movements is the asymmetrical movement of one upper limb and the lower limb on the same side (e.g. a reptile crawl). Cross-lateral movements occur when arm and leg movements that cross over from one side of the body to the other (e.g. motions that cross the mid line of the body). These movements allow both sides of the brain to be accessed.

Managerial Games

1. Keep your Caboose:

http://coloringpagekids.com/coloring-page.php?name=train001

This game is used for teaching the students how to walk down the hall correctly. Students will line up and the student at the end is deemed the "caboose." If any student breaks a rule while walking down the hallway they must walk behind the caboose. The goal is to have the smallest number of people behind the caboose by the time they reach their destination (walking to a field or back to the gymnasium).    Keep Your Caboose

2. Teamwork Hill
 This game is used to encourage the students to follow the classroom rules. There will be large pictures of fruits or foods all around the gym. Every class is represented by a cartoon ant and as the students follow the rules (e.g. coming in quietly) they will earn points. As the students earn points their ant will move from food to food until they reach "Teamwork Hill." The first class to reach teamwork hill gets a prize. Teamwork Hill

3. Super Stars
This is a quick and simple activity that can be used while the students are waiting for their classroom teacher. Two students are the "superstars" and they count out "1-2-3-superstars!" While they are counting, all other students in line dance and when they say "superstars" all of the students freeze in a "superstar pose".  Superstars

Lab 1: January 23, 2012

1. Class management and effective teaching always go hand in hand. There can be a teacher that possesses the best attitude and knows best way to teach children but if they cannot control a classroom it will be useless. This also can go the other way: an instructor could have great knowledge of classroom management but if they do not have an effective teaching style it will not be successful lesson.

2. Classroom rules should be short so that they are easily remembered by the students. The rules should always be positive so that they are not attacking the students what what they do wrong, but instead, encourage them to demonstrate good behavior.

3. The squad square is a very good tool for classroom management because it gives all of the students a place where they belong with their group. They are in the same place every time with the same people so it is like they are on a mini team. It is good for the teacher because they can easily identify who is missing. The teacher can also employ the squad square to manage the students and bring them in to start a new activity.

4. All of these activities revolve around personal responsibility. It allows the students to be in control of their own bodies and move throughout the general space. All of the activities put a positive light to teamwork and a good attitude.

Square watermelons are good for stacking just like
squad squares are good for classroom management!
http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/watermelon.asp

5. The affective domain is addressed with the "body parts on a bean bag" activity because they need to be honest when counting how many body parts they were able to place at one time on the bean bag. The psychomotor domain is addressed using the "scat" activity. The students have to safely move through the general space and get back to their own bean bag. The cognitive domain is addressed in the "magic string" activity. As you list body parts that are being pulled by the "magic string" the students must correctly identify the body part and then proceed to be "pulled" by it.

Hi, I'm Jessica!

Hello!

My Name is Jessica and I am from Western, NY, just south of Buffalo. I have been swimming for the majority of my life and I am currently a member of the Varsity Swimming and Diving Team here at SUNY Cortland. I have followed my father as well as my brother to this team.  I have also been involved in the Cortland Rock and Blues Ensemble for the past 2 semesters.  It is just a group of students who get together once a week and play music. We play shows on campus as well as off and it is one of my favorite things that I have gotten involved in here at school.

Over the summer I have two summer jobs that allow me to interact with elementary aged children. I am a swim instructor at a town pool and a life guard at a country club so I am constantly teaching them and learning about them. I would love to learn more about classroom management and what really gets children excited about physical education. I hope to gain more experience and confidence with elementary students outside of the water.