1

Student Self Assessment

Activity

In the
Chicken
Coop

Down at the
Frog Pond

Out in the
Pasture

In the
Garden

Working
Together on
the Farm

Participation

Engagement

Enthusiasm

Respectfulness

Did I
participate in
this station?

Did I like the

activity? Why, why
not?

Was I happy
and
enthusiastic
about
participating in
this station?

Did I respect my
classmates and
give them enough
space?

T & L 483
Gymnastics at the Barnyard
Lesson by Torin Sawyer and Audrey Hamill
I. Summary of the Lesson:
This lesson is for a third grade class, and covers the subject of
gymnastics/tumbling
The major concepts in this lesson are balancing, jumping, weight transfer, and
partner/ stunt challenges
This lesson will include:
1. Introductory Game (5 min): Barnyard (students are given a random animal and
then have to find their groups by closing their eyes and finding others making the
same sound).
2. Quickie challenge (3 min): Tricep race.
3. Circle up (5 min): explain the activity to the students
4. Stations (2 min at each, 10 min total): 1. balance 2. jumping 3. weight transfer 4.
partner stunt/challenge 5. fun station (passing ball over head in a line)
5. Closing activity (5 min): Simon says
II. Learning Targets (objectives):

Affective: SWBAT cooperate in small groups and with a partner to accomplish

circuit activities (GLE 1.2.2; NASPE Standard 4)
Affective/Psychomotor: SWBAT move around safely and cohabitate the space
with their classmates (GLE 1.1.4; NASPE Standard 4)
Psychomotor: SWBAT demonstrate balance and strength, jumping and landing,
and weight transfer skills through participation in circuit activities (GLE 1.1.1;
GLE 1.1.5; NASPE Standard 4)
Cognitive: SWBAT describe the motor skills and movement patterns of the lesson
and explain their connection to daily life. (NASPE Standard 1; GLE 1.1.1)

III. National and State Standards:

NASPE Standard 1. The physically literate individual demonstrates competency

in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.

NASPE Standard 4. The physically literate individual exhibits responsible

personal and social behavior that respects self and others.

EALR:
- 1.1.1 Applies locomotor, non-locomotor, manipulative, balance, and rhythmic
skills in traditional and nontraditional activities that contribute to movement
proficiency.
- 1.2.2 Applies social skills necessary for effective participation in physical
activities.
- 1.1.5 Applies movement concepts.

IV. Materials:
Mat room
Hula hoops (5)
Barnyard Cards
Foam Balls
Bean Bags (2)
Instructional cards
V. INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY/GAME.
1. Begin with introductory game Barnyard (students are given random animal cards
and then must find their groups by closing their eyes and finding others making
the same animal noise)--this game has the dual purpose of grouping students for
the circuit activities. Before letting students begin, explain safety rules (i.e. no
running during this game because our eyes are closed and make sure your shoes
are tied before starting).
2. Once students have found all members of their animal group, have everyone sit
down for lesson introduction.
3. Explain to students that we will be doing an introductory tumbling lesson
focusing on the skills we need to progress to more complex tumbling moves such
as somersaults and cartwheels. This lesson would be taught near the beginning of
the unit, but some of the skills such as jumping in increments of 360 and 180
degrees would have been covered in the previous lesson.
4. Introduce main concepts: balance and strength skills , jumping and landing skills,
weight transfer skills (shifting our weight from one part of our body to another,
example: cartwheel), and partner stunts and challenges

VI. FITNESS ACTIVITY

Quickie Challenge: Tricep race
VII. LESSON FOCUS.
Introduce circuit activities by demonstrating the skills used at each station. We will ask
students where they want to start, and if they need another demonstration on how to
perform the specific class.
1. Balance and strength: This station will be called In the Chicken Coop. We will
have students stand at one end of a line on the floor (we are planning on using the
line that is formed between the mats) and walk it like a tight rope. This station
would have two people participating on the same line, for a total of four people
total. One person will start at each end of the line and in the middle, they will first
high five, then they will walk backwards to the start. They will repeat this motion
again, but they will touch opposite knees in the middle. They will repeat this for a
last time with a bean bag balanced on top of their head.
2. Jumping and landing skills: This station will be called Down at the Frog Pond,
and will have six hula hoops set up in a circle on the floor. Each person will
choose a hula hoop to start in, and will read the instructions on the cards placed at

3.

4.

5.

6.

each hula hoop. Each hoop will have a jumping activity: bunny hop, 360 jump,
180 jump, heel tap, frog hop, and star jumps.
Weight transfer skills: This station will be called Out in the Pasture and will be
presented in the form of a race/relay. The students who are at this station will split
into two groups, and they will race to complete the challenge. Starting at one end
of the designated area, the chosen student from the small group, will inchworm
(keep hands and feet on the floor, but crawl up to meet your hands with your feet,
and repeat). On the way back, the student will stay on all fours, but they will bear
walk (walk like a bear), and once they reach the starting point, the next person
will leave.
Partner stunts and challenges: This station is all about wheelbarrow races and will
be called In the Garden! We will demonstrate quickly, but most people will
know what a wheelbarrow is, and that to do the race with a partner, they hold the
feet of their partner and only use their hands to walk. We will have them go back
and forth in a designated area.
This station will be called Working Together on the Farm and is all about
teamwork. We are going to have the students sit on the ground in a line, all
facing the same direction. The students will then start with one foam ball held
between their feet, and have to pass it to the person behind them without using
their hands. This is a challenging activity, but it should be and encourages
students to work together. This is the precursor to doing a backwards somersault,
which is a crucial part of gymnastics skills building.
Conclude by asking students if they need any of the demonstrations repeated. Ask
students where they would like to begin

Extensions: are there any other academic area that the kids are engaged in (in their
elementary classroom) where your lesson could be tied into. Or what else extra could be
done with the lesson outside of class time. These are examples of lesson extensions.
VIII. CLOSURE AND CLOSING GAME/ACTIVITY.
Verbal review: We will discuss the importance of body movement in the terms of
tumbling. This will include the benefits to gymnastics: flexibility, fitness, strength,
balance, and body control. Ask students how we use these skills in our daily lives as well.
Physical review: As the physical part of this review, we will play a quick game of
Simon Says, which will have act out the movements we had them do throughout the
lesson.
IX. ASSESSING
The self-assessment page is at the end of this document.
X. MEETING INDIVIDUAL NEEDS.
Pictures are included on the Barnyard cards as an accommodation for ELLs--even if
students do not know the names of the animals they can still participate in the activity.
The lesson also provides visual and kinesthetic cues throughout to help ELLs participate
in all of the activities. One additional support that could be included to help ELLs would
be to add pictorial instructions at each circuit instruction.
a.
Many of the accommodations that have been or could be made to support students
with limited English proficiency are also beneficial for students with cognitive
disabilities (principle of universal design). For example, the pictures on the Barnyard

cards are also helpful for students with dyslexia. Accommodations for children with
orthopedic/disease disabilities could include modified activities or alternative activities.
For example, the activity where children pass a ball over head with their feet to the
person behind them in a relay race can be easily modified to include a child in a
wheelchair. The person in the wheelchair could take the ball from the person in front of
them and then pass the ball to the person behind them using their arms (if it is not
possible for the child to pass the ball overhead, the child could also rotate their chair and
pass the ball that way).
XI. MANAGING THE CLASSROOM
In our lesson we have grouped students using a fun, introductory game. This game can be
used to group students intentionally by giving students specific cards as they come into
class. This allows for the teacher to create groupings that aid classroom management (i.e.
dont put all your disruptive students in a group together) without making the groupings
obvious to students.
During the lesson we plan to use the attention getter thumbs up, cheeks out! This
attention getter automatically quiets students because you cant talk with your cheeks
puffed out! Another management strategy we plan to use is themed transitions. Our
lesson uses a barnyard theme so as students rotate between stations we will ask them to
walk like a duck or roll like a pig as they transition from one station to another. This
engages students in the transition and limits such behaviors as picking up and playing
with equipment that is not in use. As a part of student voice we would also ask students to
suggest transitions (Its time to go to our next circuit, can someone suggest what animal
we should act like as we move to our next station?).
For disruptive students we will start by using behavior management strategies that do not
limit students participation such as proximity (a student is more likely to change his or
her behavior depending on how close the teacher is). After that, if the student is not able
to self-correct his or her behavior that student would be pulled aside to talk about how the
behavior needs to change. Finally, if the student continues to be disruptive or their
behaviors become unsafe, they will be asked to sit out from the activity.
XII. DOCUMENTATION
Stunts and Tumbling Lessons. Accessed from http://www.trivalley.k12.oh.us/userfiles/479/Classes/24026/Stunts%20and%20tumbling%20lessons.pdf
. We took the skills listed on page six of this lesson and, using the skill theme
categories, created a five station circuit for our lesson.