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Developmental Physical Education for All Children
Theory Into Practice
by Frances Cleland Donnelly, Suzanne S. Mueller and David L. Gallahue
680 Pages
A book that has long been a standard for developmental physical education returns in a new, thoroughly updated edition with a sharpened focus on preparing tomorrow’s physical educators to deliver developmentally appropriate lessons and activities for children in pre-K through grade 5.
Developmental Physical Education for All Children, now in its fifth edition and available in both print and e-book versions, takes a student-focused, comprehensive approach in preparing future teachers to create programs that enable children to gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions vital to leading a physically active lifestyle.
This new edition is the first in more than a decade, with revisions and updates that make it like a brand-new book—one that maintains its solid foundations and instruction while equipping teachers for success in the 21st century.
How This Text Prepares Teachers
Developmental Physical Education for All Children, Fifth Edition, features the following benefits:
• Shows teachers how to translate child development theory and research from the psychomotor, cognitive, affective, and fitness domains into practice
• Offers teachers the understanding they need to create developmentally appropriate lessons that align with the new SHAPE America National Standards for Physical Education with grade-level outcomes, assessments, and instructions on implementing learning goals for students in pre-K through grade 5
• Provides multiple standards-based movement experiences for pre-K through grade 5 learners that include movement tasks and extensions, scaled learning environments, skill cues, practice strategies, teaching style choices, and formative assessments aligned with goals
• Supplies learning goal blueprints that integrate specialized skills, movement concepts, and tactics for developmental games, dance, and gymnastics
Content Overview
Future and current teachers will learn the research and theory behind this developmentally sound approach, which emphasizes movement skills and increased physical competence based on the developmental levels of pre-K through fifth-grade students. The first half of the book covers the learner, the movement content, the learning environment, and the instructional design; the second half provides detailed standards-based learning experiences, which are now organized by developmental level.
The concluding section offers two chapters on professionalism in the 21st century, giving teachers a conceptual framework to prepare and implement a developmental, standards-based scope and sequence for pre-K through grade 5 physical education and offering advice on staying current, being professionally involved, and advocating for comprehensive school physical activity.
Practical Ancillaries
Developmental Physical Education for All Children also provides a robust lineup of online ancillaries:
• A student web resource with reproducible forms that can be printed along with learning aids from the book and additional learning activities, some of which are enhanced by more than 20 video clips that demonstrate concepts in action
• An instructor guide that features in-class activities, answers to chapterr review questions, chapter overviews, and the “Big Ideas” from each chapter
• A test package featuring more than 445 questions from which teachers can create their own quizzes
• A presentation package offering more than 246 PowerPoint slides that highlight the key points while offering essential visual elements to augment understanding
Equipped to Provide High-Quality Education
The result of this comprehensive overhaul of a standard classic is that both future and current teachers will be prepared and equipped to provide high-quality developmental physical education that can help children be physically active now and throughout their lives.
Part I: The Learner
Chapter 1. Quality Developmental Physical Education
The Case for Quality Physical Education
Overview of Developmental Physical Education
Big Ideas
Chapter 2. The Healthy Child
Physical Activity
Fitness Education
Nutrition Education
Big Ideas
Chapter 3. The Thinking, Feeling, and Socializing Child
The Thinking Child
The Feeling and Socializing Child
Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility
Big Ideas
Chapter 4. The Moving Child
Motor Development and Motor Learning
The Process of Learning
Perceptual-Motor Development
Phases and Stages of Motor Skill Development
Learning New Movement Skills
Making Connections
Big Ideas
Part II: Movement Content and Learning Environment
Chapter 5. The Movement Framework
Rationale for the Movement Framework
Movement Content
Movement Concepts
Putting it All Together
Big Ideas
Chapter 6. The Environment and the Task
The Environment
The Task
Making Connections
Building Movement Task Progressions
Big Ideas
Chapter 7. Designing Movement Skill Practice
Focusing Practice
Classifying Practice
Feedback
Big Ideas
Part III: Instructional Design
Chapter 8. Standards-Based Physical Education
Development of Standards, Outcomes, and Guidelines
National Standards and Outcomes for Physical Education
Unpacking Standards
Guidelines for Preschool Children
Alignment Charts
Big Ideas
Chapter 9. Assessing Student Learning
Understanding Assessment
What to Assess
How to Assess
When to Assess
Grading
Big Ideas
Chapter 10. Effective Teaching: Designing and Implementing Learning Experiences
Choosing Movement Activities
Choosing Practice Conditions and Feedback
Choosing Instructional Strategies
Reproduction Cluster
Production Cluster
Mobility Ability
Universal Design for Learning
Homework
Big Ideas
Chapter 11. Diverse Learners
Marjorie Ellis
What’s in a Name?
Differentiated Instruction
Impact of Federal Laws on Physical Education for Students With Disability
Categories of Disability, Characteristics, and Needs
Dimensions of Diversity
Big Ideas
Chapter 12. Classroom Management
Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility
Positive Teacher Attributes
The Social Contract
The Physical Environment
Establishing Developmentally Appropriate Protocols
Effective Management Practices
Big Ideas
Part IV: Standards-Based Learning Experiences for Pre-K Through Grade 2
Chapter 13. Designing Learning Experiences for Pre-K Students
Development of Pre-K Learners
Designing Instruction
Assessing Learning
Providing Feedback
Activities to Reinforce Personal and Social Responsibility
Movement Activities
Chapter 14. Designing Learning Experiences for K-2 Students
Standards-Based Learning
Assessing Learning
Designing Instruction
Practice and Feedback
Activities to Reinforce Personal and Social Responsibility
Chapter 15. K-2 Learning Experiences for Locomotor Skills
Traveling
Flight
Chapter 16. K-2 Learning Experiences for Stability Skills
Balance
Rolling
Step-Like Actions
Chapter 17. K-2 Learning Experiences for Manipulative Skills
Throwing
Catching
Rolling
Kicking and Dribblin
Bouncing
Strikes With Body Parts
Striking With Paddles
Striking With Bats and Polo Sticks
Part V: Standards-Based Learning Experiences for Grades 3 Through 5
Chapter 18. Designing Learning Experiences for Grades 3 Through 5
Development of Learners in Grades 3 Through 5
Standards-Based Learning
Assessing Learning
Designing Instruction
Practice and Feedback
Activities to Reinforce Personal and Social Responsibility
Chapter 19. Developmental Games
Developmentally Appropriate Games
Best Practices When Teaching Games
Game Classification
Designing Instruction
Big Ideas
Target Games: Combination Level
Target Games: Application Level
Striking and Fielding Games: Combination Level
Striking and Fielding Games: Application Level
Net and Wall Games: Combination Level
Net and Wall Games: Application Level
Invasion Games: Combination Level
Invasion Games: Application Level
Chapter 20. Developmental Dance
Movement Framework for Developmental Dance
The Role of Dance in Physical Education
Outcomes of Developmental Dance
Rhythmic Fundamentals and the Elements of Rhythm
Dance and the Spectrum of Teaching Styles
Developmental Progression for Teaching Creative Dance
Designing Instruction for Developmental Dance
Big Ideas
Learning Experiences for Developmental Dance: Combination Level
Learning Experiences for Developmental Dance: Application Level
Chapter 21. Developmental Gymnastics
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
Best Practices When Teaching Gymnastics
Designing Instruction for Developmental Gymnastics
Big Ideas
Combination-Level Task Progressions
Application-Level Task Progressions
Chapter 22. Fitness Education for Grades 3 Through 5
Debra Ballinger
FITT Guidelines
Exercise Principles
Skill-Related Fitness Development
Best Practices for Fitness Education
Fitness Assessment
Fitness Education Programs
Enhancing Physical Activity and Fitness With Technology
Designing Instruction
Big Ideas
Exercise Glossary
Part VI: Professional Development
Chapter 23. Developmental Physical Education Curriculum
Steps in Curriculum Planning
Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program
Big Ideas
Chapter 24. Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy
Professional Standards
Big Ideas
Frances Cleland-Donnelly, PED, is a professor in the department of kinesiology at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She served on the SHAPE America board of directors and has been president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and Pennsylvania State AHPERD (now SHAPE America).
Cleland Donnelly has numerous articles in refereed publications and chapters in books, as well as the previous edition of this book, to her credit. She has made many dozens of presentations at the international, national, district, and state levels. In 2014 she was inducted into the North American Society of HPERSD Professionals and has received numerous awards for teaching and service throughout her career.
David L. Gallahue is professor emeritus and dean emeritus of the School of Public Health at Indiana University. For over 40 years he was active in the study of the applied aspects of the motor development and movement skill learning of young children and youths in physical activity and sport settings and is the author of numerous textbooks, book chapters, and journal articles. His work has been translated into Chinese, Farsi, Greek, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.
Gallahue has been a visiting professor, guest lecturer, and keynote speaker on more than 300 occasions at universities and at professional conferences in 23 countries. He is a past president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and a past chair of the Council on Physical Education for Children and the Motor Development Academy. He is an elected member of the NASPE Hall of Fame, the National Academy of Kinesiology, and the North American Society of HPERSD. He also received the Healthy American Fitness Award in recognition of his work with young children. Gallahue has been recognized nationally and internationally for scholarship and leadership focused on young children and has received honorary professorships at Beijing Sport University and Chengdu Sport University, both in China.
Suzanne S. Mueller, EdD, is professor emeritus in the physical education department at East Stroudsburg University, where she taught and administered graduate and undergraduate programs in physical education teacher education for more than three decades. She specialized in the application of standards-based curriculum alignment and the spectrum of teaching styles, motor development and motor learning theory, and developmentally appropriate content and practices for programs and children in pre-K through elementary physical education.
Dr. Mueller has been a consultant for several university and school district faculty on standards-based alignment of their programs with state and national physical education standards. She has published articles and presented at national and international conferences and evaluated university and school programs for state and national accreditation.
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
Stability Skills: Step-Like Actions
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms.
Use Table 16.4 as a resource for designing transference of weight - step-like action skill challenges. Examples are provided below the table.
The learning outcomes in step-like actions all help develop upper-body strength. Specifically, weight is transferred momentarily from the feet and hands to the arms, which strengthens the muscles in the back, trunk, and arms. Learning to perform the step-like movements is the goal of national physical education standard 1, and engaging in several repetitions in order to develop strength is the goal of standard 3. Assessments that address each goal appear throughout the tasks.
Learning Outcome
Gain greater consistency in the performance of step-like actions and variations.
- Standard 1: Transfer weight from the feet to different body parts and bases of support for travel (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 4)
- Standard 3: Use own body as resistance for developing strength (SHAPE America, 2014, p. 16).
Movement Concepts
- Body awareness: body part combinations
- Space awareness: level, pathway, distance
Teaching Styles
Reproduction: practice style with feedback about skill cues
Tasks
Task: Children perform the 3-legged dog walk, the bunny jump, and the mule kick to experience transferring weight momentarily from the feet and hands to only the hands and bringing the feet back to the starting position. In all skills, the emphasis is on moving the shoulders over the hands, keeping the arms straight, and transferring weight to the hands.
- Perform the 3-legged dog walk by raising one leg in the air from a starting position on two feet and two hands. Step forward on the hands and hop on the foot to travel as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a bench or low beam
- Perform the bunny jump by starting from a crouch on two feet, reaching forward to place the hands on the mat, and jumping forward with the feet toward the hands. Continue the action as follows:
- For short to longer distances
- From poly spot to poly spot
- Along straight and curved pathways
- Along a low bench or beam
- Perform the mule kick by starting from a position on all fours with the hips raised, shifting the shoulders directly over the hands, keeping the arms straight as one leg swings up, then pushing off of the floor with the remaining foot to raise both feet above the hips with the knees bent. Bring the legs down together and land on both feet. Alternatively, first lowering the swing leg and then lowering the push-off leg, thus landing on one foot at a time so that both end up on the ground together.
Mule kick.
Environment: Use a single-station, single-task setup or a multiple-station, single-task setup. Students work in personal space, either responding to your cues or completing tasks on cards.
Equipment: mats, poly spots, hoops, ropes, floor tape
Practice: Use constant practice of skills, increasing the number of repetitions as strength develops. Vary practice among types of skills.
Skill cues:
3-legged Dog Walk (Continuous Action)
- Raise one leg high.
- Hand-step, hand-step, hop; repeat.
Bunny Jump (Continuous Action)
- Crouch.
- Put weight on hands.
- Jump toward hands.
Mule Kick
- From a crouch, raise hips.
- Position shoulders over hands.
- Swing one leg up.
- Push off and raise second leg.
- Land on both feet or on one foot and then other foot (swing foot comes down first).
Feedback
KPp: "Keep your elbows locked to make a solid base for taking weight."
Assessment
Standard 1: Use an observation checklist of skill cues for each animal walk (figure 16.13).
Standard 3: Keep records of traveling for longer periods of time, longer distances, or more repetitions.
Six-Steps in Curriculum Planning
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process.
Curriculum design protocols are similar regardless of content area. Here is a six-step approach to the process:
- Establish a value base for the program.
- Develop a conceptual framework.
- Determine program goals.
- Design the program.
- Establish program assessment procedures.
- Implement the program.
These six steps have been used for many years, both in education and in business and industry, and they are a commonly accepted way of doing what has come to be known as strategic planning. The process of strategic planning is simply a means of organizing a new program and putting it into action. Each step is discussed in the following subsections.
Establishing a Value Base
A necessary first step in all curricular planning is to establish the value base on which the curriculum is built. Your value statement represents your beliefs and rationale about the purpose and goals of physical education for children. Chapter 1 noted a suggestion by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to the U.S. Department of Education designating physical education as a core subject since "physical education in school is the only sure opportunity for all school-aged children to access health-enhancing physical activity and the only school subject area that provides education to ensure that students develop knowledge, skill, and motivation to engage in health-enhancing physical activity for life" (Institute of Medicine Report of the National Academies, 2013, p. 2). When we value physical education as a way to help children achieve and maintain a healthy life, we substantially engage the goals of physical education:
The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. (AAHPERD, 2013b)
A physically literate individual
- has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities,
- knows the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity,
- participates regularly in physical activity,
- is physically fit, and
- values physical activity and its contributions to healthful living.
Developing a Conceptual Framework
Any curriculum should be undergirded by a conceptual framework - that is, by essential concepts on which the curriculum is purposefully based. The conceptual framework provides the necessary link between the program design and your values and goals; as such, it clarifies, defines, and classifies the terms and concepts used in the curriculum. In a developmental physical education curriculum, the conceptual framework is composed of categories in child development, movement content and learning environment, and standards-based physical education. Figure 23.1 outlines the conceptual framework for the developmental physical education curriculum presented in this text.
Determining Program Goals
Once you have determined the value base of your curriculum and the conceptual framework that will govern its structure, you can determine the goals for the program. As you know from chapter 8, the national standards for K-12 physical education (SHAPE America, 2014) are based on the developmental needs of children; specifically, the standards take into account the phases and stages of motor development; the levels and stages of movement skill learning; children's cognitive, fitness, and affective development; and the movement framework. As a result, the standards can be used to guide the goal-setting process for a developmental physical education curriculum. The exit goals for elementary physical education describe the behaviors that grade 5 students should exhibit on the path to becoming physically literate. Here they are:
- Demonstrates competence in fundamental motor skills and selected combinations of skills.
- Uses basic movement concepts in dance, gymnastics, and small-sided practice tasks.
- Identifies basic health-related fitness (HRF) concepts.
- Exhibits acceptance of self and others in physical activities.
- Identifies the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
As you apply the standards to your program, you will need to decide which goals are emphasized, which goals are achievable or need to be modified, whether you have additional goals (Rink, 2009), and what summative assessments you will use to measure how well students have achieved the goals (see chapter 9 for summative assessments).
In determining the emphasis for each goal (standard), teachers can use their knowledge of children's development in all domains. For instance, pre-K children are at the inconsistent level of fundamental movement skill development, whereas K-2 children are at the consistent level. The fundamental movement skills form the foundation for the movement activities in which children participate and serve as the vehicle for physical literacy and physical activity. Therefore, the primary emphasis for pre-K and K-2 children is to gain the fundamental skills (standard 1) and use movement concepts (standard 2). In turn, through appropriately designed movement experiences, children develop the mature movement patterns that lead to movement skill competence and the ability to gain the health benefits of regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (standard 3). In addition, as children participate with others in the movement environment, they need structured opportunities to gain positive social interaction skills (standard 4) and recognize the value of physical activity for both enjoyment and challenge (standard 5).
With all of this in mind, figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of pre-K and K-2 children. The shift from 5 percent to 10 percent emphasis on standard 3 in grades 1 and 2 reflects children's greater ability to be moderately to vigorously active as a result of gaining more maturity in movement skill performance.
Emphasis for each standard in pre-K through grade 5.
In contrast, children in grades 3 through 5 have progressed to the combination and application levels of specialized movement skill development. Although some children remain at the combination level through grade 5, some others advance to the application level as early as grade 4 due to variation in children's rates of physical development and opportunities to participate in organized physical activities (e.g., youth sport) outside of the school physical education program. More generally, grades 3 through 5 constitute a time of transition from fundamental to specialized skills (standard 1), from movement concepts to tactics and strategies (standard 2), from simple cooperation to teamwork and competition (standard 4), and from valuing physical activity for enjoyment and challenge to also valuing it for health and social interaction (standard 5). In addition, by grade 4, children's systems have matured enough that they can begin applying the FITT guidelines in order to gain health-related fitness (standard 3). Figure 23.2 illustrates the emphasis that could be given to each standard as a result of the developmental needs of children in grades 3 through 5.
Movement Framework for Developmental Gymnastics
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship).
The Active Child illustration (figure 21.1) depicts the developmental gymnastics movement-framework categories, which include gymnastics actions (balance, rolling, step-like action, and flight) and the movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationship). The framework is used to determine how actions and concepts can be combined to vary skills and design sequences. Teachers and students can each experiment with endless blends - both within and between the gymnastics actions and the movement concepts - to provide a range of challenges and novelty in skill performance in the gymnastics environment.
The Active Child: gymnastics.
For instance, think about the possible blends of movement-concept categories with the gymnastics action of static balance, as depicted in table 21.1. Balances can be created and performed using one or more of the movement concept variables of body or space. For example, balance 1 might involve finding ways to balance on two hands and one foot with the front, back, or side facing the floor and with different positioning of the nonsupport leg. Balance 2 might involve balancing on one's seat in different shapes and trying different arm positions. Students could then perform balances created by blending the movement concepts of body and shape, as in the following examples:
- In relationship to equipment
- Balance 1: with support foot on low equipment and hands on floor or different piece of equipment
- Balance 2: on top of, beside, or under different pieces of equipment
- In relationship to others
- Balance 1: with nonsupport foot touching partner's
- Balance 2: facing, back to back, or side to side
- In relationship to equipment and others
- Combining balances into sequences with other gymnastics actions on mats (e.g., balance 1 to balance 2 to backward roll; forward roll to balance 2 to balance 1) and apparatus
As described in chapter 5 and reviewed in chapter 18, children in grades 3 through 5 are at the intermediate level of movement skill learning. At this level, they have gained a better kinesthetic feel for the position of their body parts and the timing of their movements. This sense is especially useful as they build on the stability and locomotor skills (developed in kindergarten through grade 2) to learn the form-based, closed-skill gymnastics actions and movement sequences involved in combination and application progressions. In developmental gymnastics, students increase the difficulty of skills, vary skills using the movement concepts, combine skills in sequences, and perform skills and sequences with partners. These four areas - skills, variations, combinations, and partners - form the categories for the developmental gymnastics learning goal blueprint (see table 21.2)
The combination-level skill progressions increase the difficulty of balancing and step-like actions through inverted movements (e.g., headstands, cartwheels); challenge students to combine movements in short, smooth movement sequences on mats and apparatus; and work with partners in countertension and counterbalancing. The application-level skill progressions include more difficult inverted combinations (e.g., handstand roll, roundoff roll), vaults, sequencing of movements into routines on mats and apparatus, and work with partner supports. Both the combination and the application skill progressions provide affordances through the scaling of equipment and conditions to fit the performers (see chapter 6). These developmentally appropriate skill progressions gradually help children gain the body management skills to perform gymnastics actions and develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
The inclusion of gymnastics in the developmental physical education curriculum helps children achieve the following goals:
- Becoming skilled and versatile movers in the gymnastics environment
- Using the movement framework to create gymnastics skills and sequences
- Increasing their movement confidence and personal safety by developing the ability to manage their body weight
- Increasing their core and upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and their total-body joint flexibility
- Using movement skill criteria to understand correct performance and help others improve skills
- Understanding how to practice closed skills
- Working cooperatively with others to perform and create partner and small-group balances and gymnastics sequences
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