Thursday, October 11, 2018

3rd/4th Grade: Team Handball & Intro to Badminton Units!

Our 3rd and 4th grade students are in the middle of our first flip/flop unit. Our 3rd/4th grade students attend PE as a double class, meaning two classes come together. There are two PE teachers ready to teach when they arrive! We use both of our gyms, and split the classes into two groups. One class works with one of our PE teachers within our Team Handball unit and the other class works with the other PE teacher within our Intro to Badminton unit. After the students complete the unit, they flip/flop and switch units and PE teachers. We use this method for a variety of units as we move through the school year.

Below are some pictures of our Team Handball Unit. Within this unit students get to apply the skills of throwing and catching. It is the first time we ask students to think about moving to open space, and using space as a strategy. We discuss offense and defense.





Below are some pictures of our Into to Badminton unit. Students work on striking a shuttle with a modified racquet. This racquet, called a Racqualoon, allows for optimal success due to its design. Students work towards starting a rally using an underhand serve, and attempt to set a record as they rally with different partners over a badminton net!





Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Indoor Tennis

Our 5th - 8th grade students are currently participating within our indoor tennis unit. This unit begins with an introduction to basic striking skills using our indoor tennis racquets. We begin the unit with individual skill challenges that we call "ups", "downs", "flip/flops", and "rim". Students set individual records and attempt to break these records on a daily basis. Next, we introduce a great lead up activity called "rally ball". Rally ball is a game played on our indoor tennis courts, but is a combination of tennis and pickleball rules. We finish the unit with students using the regular rules to tennis, while playing doubles on our courts. The skill we assess within this unit is the forehand.