Balances

Learning Goals

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• actively and safely participate applying social skills
• demonstrate the ability to perform balances with a peer while performing a series of locomotor movements.

Safety Requirements

Refer to the Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education.

Equipment List

Audio equipment and music

Mats

Balances Grade 4 Teacher Resource

Balances Grade 4 Teacher Resource

Warm-Up

Students will gradually increase their heart rate by participating in the following activity.

• Students move to music, gradually increasing speed and moving joints through their range of motion.
• Challenge students to use different pathways (e.g., straight, curved, zigzagged) and to move in different ways (e.g., walking, skipping, hopping, galloping, running) each time the music starts and stops.
• As students warm up, prompt them to travel in different directions, speeds and levels.
• Play music from a variety of genres to inspire student movement.

Minds On

Share and clarify lesson Learning Goals in student-friendly language.

With students, review a list of safety rules that should be followed when balancing:

• Find own personal space and balance within that space.
• Keep hands to yourself.
• Stay in control.
• Follow teacher instructions.
• Never balance on neck or head.

Using the Think Pair Share Strategy (see Appendix), students review what social skills are and what they look and sound like (e.g., students getting along, taking turns, praising positively, listening to others, helping others).

A&E - Minds On

Teacher observation of students’ knowledge relating to safety

Action

Static Balances

• In their own space, students choose a starting static balance.
• Every five seconds, give a signal to change positions.
• Students change their level and body parts each time the signal is given.
• Students move around the activity area in a variety of ways while balancing on the lines. On another signal, students freeze in a balanced position.
• Students change their position every three seconds, changing the level, speed and direction of their movements.
• Students find partners and mirror each other’s static balances for three seconds.
• Students take turns being the mirror.

Static Balance Routine

• In partners, students choose four individual balances from Teacher Resource 2: Traditional Static Balances to put together in a routine.
• Students create a routine using the following requirements: a) use a variety of body parts b) use a variety of levels c) hold each position for five seconds d) work together.
• Once the partners have a basic routine complete, students try putting it together with music.

A&E - Action

Teacher observation with anecdotal writing of students’ active participation, demonstrated knowledge and application of relationship and social skills, locomotor movements and the ability to move safely using Teacher Resource: Anecdotal Recording Chart

Cool-Down

Students will gradually decrease their heart rate to a resting rate by participating in the activity below. Students should also stretch the body parts that have been active throughout the lesson. See Appendix for stretches.

How Many Can Balance?

• Students start with groups of two.
• Each time the students successfully balance together, increase the group by one student (e.g., groups of three, four, five).
• Students work toward having as many students balancing together as possible.

Consolidation

Static Balance Routine Continued

• One set of partners shows their routine to another set of partners.
• They teach the other set of partners their routine.
• The groups who have just learned their new routines present to the “teacher” groups. Then students switch roles.

A&E - Consolidation

Teacher observation with anecdotal writing of students’ demonstrated knowledge and application of static balances and safety using Teacher Resource: Anecdotal Recording Chart

Ideas for Extension

Perform static balance routine in groups of three or four. Use the same criteria as the partners routine.

Notes to Teacher

• Allow students time to share their ideas with small groups to assist students in visualizing movements in a non-threatening way.
• Asking students to provide reasons for their decisions when assessing their own attention to safety helps to clarify the criteria and indicators for assessment. Discussing indicators clarifies the targets for both students and teachers.

this is a test of spacing
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