Subject:  Physical Education
Topic:  Educational Gymnastics
Grade Level:  Middle School (Grade 6-8)
Student Lesson name and URL: http://ctap295.ctaponline.org/~nring/

These standards are a culmination of the 6th, 7th and 8th grade goals in the "Framework for Physical Education", Published by the California Department of Education, 1992

Movement Skills and Movement Knowledge

• Students will be able to create a routine, combining various skills and movements that can be performed and repeated without error.
• Students will participate in activities that encourage risk-taking and involve problem-solving skills to overcome challenges.
• Students will understand and be required to evaluate a performance in terms of technique and aesthetics.
• Students will experiment with and understand the concepts of spin, rotation and momentum as related to physical movement.

• Students will recognize stylistic differences in performance of skills.
• Students will value the aesthetic purpose of activity.
• Students will recognize their own limitations and yet still take advantage of opportunities to challenge themselves and take risks.

• Students will have the opportunity to evaluate and provide feedback to peers in a positive and appropriate way.
• Students will use communication, cooperation and problem solving skills to create and group routine to perform in front of the class.
• Students will have an opportunity to associate and find comfort in others with similiar abilities and skills.

• Perform a variety of balance skills and basic tumbling.  These may include one, two and three point balance poses, various forms of rolling, and a cartwheel or cartwheel variation.
• Perform a combination of three or more skills.
• Create and perform a team routine including basic stunts, balance, and tumbling.
• Identify personal areas of strength, and areas needing improvement.
• Provide contsructive feedback to peers.
• Appreciate the variety of skill levels of their peers.

Student Activities

Introductory Activity
To introduce students to this unit I show a video of the routines from previous years classes.  Students can see what the final outcome of this unit is, and they also have fun watching other students their own age perform tumbling.  It is important for the students to see that not everybody has the ability to perform these skill perfectly. 
 

Enabling Activities

Each day students will spend time learning and reviewing skills in the following areas: 
flexiblity, balancing, and basic tumbling.

FLEXIBILITY:
Students will stretch for the first 10-12 minutes of class, with the purpose of increasing flexibility in addition to injury prevention.  Flexibility can be defined as increasing the range of motion in a joint. 

Click here to read a description of the stretches students will do each day.

BALANCING SKILLS:
Students will spend 7-10 minutes working on a variety of balancing poses.  These poses help to reinforce the concepts of center of gravity and balance.  Students will learn balancing poses with three, two and one balancing points.

BASIC TUMBLING:
Students will spend the last 10-15 minutes of class working on a variety of tumbling skills.  Each skill will be broken down into at least three levels and students can work at the level they feel comfortable.  Students can progress to the next level at their own pace. The tumbling skills that will be taught include:
View these skills and their levels by clicking on the highlighted words.

Rolls  (Forward/Backward)
Cartwheels  (Right leg/Left Leg/One arm)
Handstands
Hurdles

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Culminating Activity
Students spend the last week creating and performing a group tumbling routine.  They have specific guidelines that each group must meet.  Individually students must also perform a certain number of skills during the routine. 

The students have three days to create and practice their routines.  The last two days of the unit are spent performing the routines in front of the class.  The routines are video taped.  Then they can be reviewed and graded.  The students will have the opportunity to watch the routines at a later date.

Routine Clip

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Assessment

Results Web Resources & Supplementary Materials

Introductory Activity
Enabling Activity
Culminating Activity

Link to 295 final Power Point Presentation
 

Web page still under contruction.

Marsh Junior Hight School  http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~gjanosz/marsh/
Chico, CA
Natalie Ring
nring@cusc.chico.k12.ca.us
Last Revised: 05/04/2001