Skip Navigation

Hinges I, Hinges II

Summary

These activities are designed to teach students to use their bodies in daily activities, by promoting a regular routine of using large and small motor skills, personal space, and boundary awareness.


Materials

Additional Resources

CDs

  • Disney Babies, Disney Records
  • Smart Symphonies, Mead, Johnson & Company
  • Humpty Dumpty, Neva Eder
  • Children's Favorite Songs, Disney Records
  • Tony Chestnut & Fun Time Action Songs, The Learning Station ISBN# 3810-87000-2
  • Jump-Start Action Song with Ronno, Kimbo Educational ISBN # 5829-29168-2
  • ABC slide & Learn Interactive flash cards, Hinkler Books ISBN # 7819525725

DVD

  • The Wiggles Dance Party, The Wiggles Classic Collections ISBN# 1-57132-696-0

Video

  • Elmocize, Elmocize, ISBN# 1-57330-552-9


Background for Teachers

These activities are designed to teach students to use their bodies in daily activities, by promoting a regular routine of using large and small motor skills, personal space, and boundary awareness.

Students need to be familiar with the large motor skills such as jump, skip, hop, run, and walk. Many times we think students automatically understand these terms. Language barriers can be decreased by providing all children with an opportunity to differentiate the actions for each term. Gender differences and maturity also play a part in motor readiness. Opportunities for student and teacher awareness can be experienced through group discussions, stories and physical activities.

It is important to establish a routine whole group setting with rules and expectations all ready in place. The room set up should lend itself to large group movements. These prior preparations will enhance the activities for this learning objective.


Intended Learning Outcomes

4. Develop physical skills and personal hygiene.


Instructional Procedures

Invitation to Learn
Listen to this music, how does it make you feel? What does your body feel like doing? Use at least one part of your body to demonstrate the rhythm of the music. Move another part of your body to the rhythm. Combine the movement of the two different body parts. This is a good way to start a large motor activity. It can also be adapted to small motor activities.

Instructional Procedures

  1. Give each child a large instructional scarf. Have the students move the scarf to the rhythm of the different kinds of music you provide.
  2. Let them experiment moving around the room as they use their scarves.
  3. Repeat this activity this time giving each child a large feather. This time direct the students to throw the feather in the air and then pick it up.
  4. Talk about the different part of their body they use in each of these activities.
  5. Direct the students to return to the sitting area. Talk about different ways you can sit on the floor, such as cross legs, one leg in front and one leg in back, on your knees, squatting on your feet, etc.
  6. Show students the door hinge. Discuss the different hinges in the body.
  7. Use a human joint model to demonstrate how human hinges work.
  8. Let some students demonstrate their body hinges to the other students. Review what hinges they used in the previous activities.
  9. Encourage children not to touch each other. This can lead into the topic of personal space.
  10. Review the Motor Skills Cue Cards. Talk about these action movements each time you meet together. Make sure each child understands what the words mean and the required body actions.
  11. Let the children make the positions with their body.
  12. Use music to allow time for the students to more around the room in their different body positions.
  13. Each of the shoebox size containers will contain Curriculum Flash Cards such as numbers, letters, sight words, shapes, colors and other curriculum items.
  14. The students will take turns tossing a beanbag into the container review with them where to stand and what body parts it takes to complete this task. You either let this student identify the curriculum cards or they can toss a bean bag to a classmate who will then answer the questions. This task encourages other large motor skills such as tossing and catching. This is a good time to use the student Check List for Understanding and Mastery. This activity can be used for any curriculum area.
  15. Use the color cards and the number cards for this activity.
  16. Divide the class in two groups. One group will meet in the front of the room the other groups meet in the back of the room. There are two of each color cards.
  17. Pin one set of color cards on each group. There are two cards for each number. Give one set to each group. Make sure that each side has matching pairs.
  18. Turn on some music. Use a variety of music selections.
  19. Use the Motor Skills Cue Cards to identify the movement you want the student to use as they move around the room.
  20. When the music stops the students will stop and stay in their personal space.
  21. Start the music again during this time they are going to find a person with the same color. Have them join hands when the music stops. Have everyone identify his or her color. This activity is simple enough for special needs children.
  22. An extension of this activity would be to have the student find their same number. When the music stops children could joins hands and identify their number. When the music starts again have the students twirl around as many times as their number indicates.

The advance learner could find different numbers, add or subtract them, and twirl around the sums or the differences.


Extensions

Curriculum Extensions/Adaptations/ Integration

  • Use the Motor Skill Cue Cards to direct the movement of the children when they get ready to change activities, go out for recess or other activities. Just before the activity let a child pick one of the Motor Skills Cue Cards. Have the student demonstrate the skill and have the others model the same skill. This allows daily review of the skills and an opportunity to continually practice them.
  • An extension of this activity would be to have the student find their same number. When the music stops children could joins hands and identify their number. When the music starts again
  • Have the students twirl around as many times as their number indicates.
  • The advance learner could find different numbers, add or subtract them, and twirl around the sums or the differences.

Family Connections

  • Provide each student with a checklist of motor skill used at school. Encourage parents to use their own checklist to provide family activities that support the large motor skills.
  • Send home a copy of the Motor Skills Cue Cards.


Assessment Plan

  • Observe the children as they participate. Watch for understanding and following directions.
  • Use a pre and post check list to account for understanding and mastery of the large motor skills.


Bibliography

Jerry West, Kristen Denton, & Elvie Germino-Hausken (2000) America's kindergartners, Reading Rockets, 1.3,4,5,7

This is a longitudinal study of the kindergarten class of 1998-1999, in terms of their family backgrounds and their cognitive, social and physical development.

Jeanette V0-Vu (2000/) Critical issue: Promoting children's readiness to learn North Central; Regional Educational Laboratory 1.2.3.4.6.

This study promotes the idea that students come to school with different cultural, educational, and environmental experiences to draw from. Readiness is also determined by adequate nutrition and physical activity.


Created: 06/24/2006
Updated: 02/05/2018
13411
/>