Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Warm-Up Activities for Elementary P.E. Students

Warm Up Activities

NOTES:  I ALWAYS put a sign on the gym door where the students enter for P.E.  The sign tells them the name of the warm up we are doing.  I also try to greet them at the door as they are coming in, and make sure students have gym shoes.  This procedure allows students to get moving the moment they come to P.E.!

We do the same warm-up activity for the entire month, then at the beginning of each new month I teach them a new warm-up activity and show them the new sign that they will see on the gym door.  (1st-5th grades)  I do not recommend changing warm-ups this often for Kindergarten students.  I use the same warm-up activity for the entire semester. 

Below is a month-by-month warm up calendar.  

September Activity:  Move and Stretch

Sign on the gym door:   STOP sign (you can buy a red stop sign from the teacher store, or make your own)

Procedure:  Students STOP when they get to the gym door.  Teacher greets students at the door and tells them to walk in on the black line.   Check to make sure all students have proper shoes. 

Next, the teacher holds up a “GO” sign and students start jogging, in line around the gym.  I do not allow students to pass each other on the first lap for safety reasons.  They have to all jog one time around, then they may start running faster to pass other runners.  

Move and Stretch
- students will be moving around the perimeter of the gym while the music is on.  Teacher can specify the movement such as jogging, walking, running, skipping, galloping, crab walk, hopping, etc.  When the music stops, students stop and do a stretch.  Teacher calls out the name of a stretch such as butterflies, hurdlers stretch, arm scissors, arm circles, picking apples, etc.  I play music for about 30-45 seconds and then pause for a stretch.

After this activity we meet on our squad spots for 3-5 minutes to introduce/practice new exercises.  Here are some ideas of exercises to teach them:

Arms:  Push-Ups, Mountain Climbers, ABC Push-ups, Spider Push-ups
Legs:  Scissor Kicks, Crab Kicks, Leg lifts, Windmills
Trunk:  Knee Raises, Crunches, Planks
Others: Jumping Jacks, Balancing Activities, Yoga poses

October Activity:  Switch-a-roo

Sign on the gym door:  The sign should list what girls will do and what boys will do when they enter the gym. 

Example:  
Girls = running / Boys = Push-Ups
Boys = skipping / Girls = Windmills

Procedure:
If girls are running, they enter the gym and run aroudn the perimeter.  The boys will go to the center of the gym to do their push-ups.

Explanation of activity:
Play the music for about 45 seconds, then pause it as a signal for students to SWITCH (so boys are running and girls are doing push-ups in the center).  Every 45 seconds I pause the music and either say “switch” or after both groups have done that exercise I will give them a different combination such as “galloping and crab kicks”, then “skipping and crunches”, then “running and scissor kicks”.  We do 3-4 combinations and then meet on our squad spots for a few quick stretches.

I tell students we call it Switch-a-roo because we are switching every 45 seconds (boys/girls switch jobs, and we also switch exercises and movements).

Switch-a-roo video = girls are jogging and jumping over hurdles, boys are doing ABC Push-ups.  Video doesn't show it, but when I yell "switch", the boys will begin jogging and the girls will come in the middle to do ABC push-ups.
Here is a video of this.


November/December Warm-Up:
Warm-Up Centers. Please click on the attachment "Warm-Up Centers" for more details. Please click on the link "warm-up center VIDEOS" to view videos of this activity.

January-May Warm-Ups:   Coming soon!  Check back later...

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