Kids make shapes and letters with their bodies in this lesson

Title – Let’s Make Body Shapes
By – Kathryn Chiavetta
Primary Subject – Health / Physical Education
Secondary Subjects – Language Arts
Grade Level – K-2

Rationale: the goal of this lesson is to focus on shapes using our bodies. We will remember our levels (high, medium, and low), as well as the different ways we can move in these levels (low, medium, and fast) (straight, curved and zigzagged).

Performance Objectives: The learner will…

Psychomotor: demonstrate the ways of making different shapes with their body and with friends. With more people, can you make a better shape or is it harder to make a shape?

Cues in Learnable Pieces:

1. wide

2. narrow

Cognitive: think of their own shape to make

Cues in Learnable Pieces:

1. shapes

2. body awareness

Social: behavior – work well as a team with partner

The following lesson meets State Standards #2 and National Standards # 1, 2, 5, 6, 7

Materials and equipment:

1. cones for boundaries

2. cutout paper with shapes

3. polyspots (personal space)

EPISODE #1: WARM UP AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY

Good afternoon everyone! How are we all doing today? Right now, we are going to go into the gym and when you walk in you will see polyspots on the floor. We do not pick up and touch the spots right? Very good. When you hear the music playing, you must move around the gym floor avoiding the spots (not stepping on them). When the music stops, stop and look at me (what does stop mean). I will call out a body part. When you hear that body part called and the music begins, you must find 5 different spots and touch the called out body part to the spot. Sound good enough? Any questions?

GO

FREEZE

EPISODE #2: LESSON FOCUS/EXPLANATION DEMONSTRATION OF SKILL/DRILLS/SAFETY

Everyone did a wonderful job. Please stay where you are. Raise your hand if you can hear me? Today we are going to learn different ways to move our body. Two weeks ago, can anyone tell me what we learned? We learned the pathways. Raise your hand if you know a pathway we used? Straight, Zigzag and Curved.

First, I am going to begin by passing out a piece a paper to everyone. When you get your paper, you will see a shape on it. You need to stay in your own personal space, and make the shape that is on your card. Once you make that shape, please ask a friend if they would like to trade. Be sure you trade for a different shape. Once you have traded four times, we will move on to other shapes.

Come get a new shape from me and find your own personal space in the gym. (start with a circle)

Before we start, we need to make sure that we are careful of everyone around us. When making these shapes, we should not be moving. These shapes are stationary, not moving.

GO

FREEZE

Change shapes with a friend (change to a heart)

GO

FREEZE

Change shapes with a friend (change to a triangle)

GO

FREEZE

Change shapes with a friend (change to a rainbow)

GO

FREEZE

Have we all had four shapes.

Raise your hand if you can tell me the shapes we have just made?

Which shape was easier to make? Which was the hardest? How do you think it would be easier to make the heart?

Be sure that your shape is by your side and you are not touching it. Thank you.

Now I would like you to stand up with your shape in your hand and move around the gym in any pathway you would like.

GO

FREEZE

Stand back to back with the person closest to you.

The two of you are partners for the day. Let’s have the shortest of the two partners come bring in both of the shapes and pick out a new shape (lower case letter). The red line under the letter means that is the bottom of the letter.

GO

FREEZE

Change letters with a group near you (lower case letter).

GO

FREEZE

Change letters with a group near you (upper case letter).

GO

FREEZE

Change letters with a group near you (upper case letter).

GO

FREEZE

Change letters with a group near you (upper).

GO

FREEZE

Change letters with a group near you (lower).

GO

FREEZE

EPISODE #3: CULMINATING ACTIVITY/COOL DOWN/CLOSURE

Now let’s have the taller of the two partners return the shapes to me and go back to your partner. Now we are going to see who can make the most creative shapes with their partners. You can make a shape and hold it for 5 seconds and then make a new shape.

GO

FREEZE

This time we are going to shadow the group nearest to us. One group is going to make a shape and hold it while the other group shadows or mirrors the shape. When you have mirrored two shapes with your new group, raise your hand, so I can come over and see how well you are doing.

GO

FREEZE

When I check you off, each person must return a shape and one polyspot from the gym floor and place them up front. When you have finished, you may sit quietly on the line. The quietest person is going to be able to line up first.

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