PE: Young learners

 I've recently been helping out with a Grade 2 class here of 6-7 year olds. Part of their essential curriculum is PE. This class speaks little to no English (they start to learn it in Grade 3) but seem willing to try out new words. They have a good grasp of basic colours and numbers up to ten. My challenge was to integrate new words into easy games. The following have been trialled and tested, and seem to have worked:

Walk like a...

The class were somewhat familiar with basic animals, so we gave this a try. 

The kids take part in a relay race with multiple teams. They must walk like a certain animal to a checkpoint and then run back to tag their teammate.

Some examples:

• Walk like a snake = 'slither' on the floor. You'll have to demonstrate.
• Walk like a dog = hands and knees. It's okay!
• Walk like a kangaroo = jumping on both legs with your hands tucked into your front
• Walk like a rhino = push a ball with your head while on your hands and knees
• Walk like a crab = sideways scuttle/gallop

What's the time, Mr Wolf?

The class had just covered Little Red Riding Hood in Czech, so I had gone through the word 'wolf' with them. This seemed like a good way to practise it.

One child is the 'wolf' and stands at the end of the hall, facing the wall. The other children line up on the other side of the room and ask "What's the time, Mr Wolf?"

The wolf shouts out a number (and o'clock, for a more advanced class), e.g. '3'.

The children then take that many steps, 1...2...3. In our class, we shouted the numbers together, so everyone was on the same page. At 3, the wolf turns around sharply. If they see anyone moving, they can send them back to the start line. Then the wolf turns round again, and the game continues with the children advancing towards the wolf. The aim of the game is to tap the wolf on the back before he turns around (tricky!). If the wolf senses that the children are getting too close, he can reply 'dinnertime!' to the question and chase the children back to the start.

It sounds easy enough, but kids are amazing at freezing in weird positions they can't hold when the wolf turns around.

Molecule

I've got my co-teacher Liam to thank for this one. A good way to practise numbers.

Have students run around, perhaps to music. When you stop the music/blow the whistle, announce a number and get students to gather in groups of it.

E.g., '4' means that students must join up into a group of 4. Any students left out of the group are out, until there are only a few left.

The Colour Game

Works well on a basketball court or other, something with multi-colour lines around on the floor. 

Have students run around, perhaps to music. When you stop the music/blow the whistle, announce a colour. Students must run to touch something of that colour, e.g. a ball or the net.

Red Light, Green Light

This game can be played with running, jumping, skipping, hopping, high knees, dancing, etc.

Line students up at starting point and demonstrate where the finishing line is. When the teacher says 'green light', students advance to the finishing point. When the teacher says 'red light', the students must freeze in place. If they wobble, they go back to the starting point. When the teacher says 'yellow light', students must move slowly until they hear 'green light'.

Duck, duck, duck, goose!

This game can be adapted to work with any new vocabulary, e.g. colours (blue, blue, blue, red!) or numbers (4, 4, 4, 10!) or seasons (Spring, Spring, Spring, Summer!) or (Grandma, Grandma, Grandma, Wolf!)

Students sit in a circle facing each other, with one standing. This student is 'it'. This standing student walks around, tapping each kid on the head and saying 'duck, duck, duck' until they tap someone and say 'goose'. The 'goose' then chases the 'it' around the circle, with the 'it' aiming to sit down in the goose's old seat without being tapped. If the 'goose' taps the 'it', the 'it' remains as the 'it', and repeats the game. 

Stuck in the Mud

A good warm up for energetic kids.

A classic game in any country, stuck in the mud involves 1-3 children being 'it' and seeking to tag as many of their teammates as possible. Once tagged, the students must stand with their legs apart until a fellow classmate crawls through their legs and 'frees' them. The game ends when the 'its' have managed to tag all the other students. Explain to children that being tagged makes them 'stuck' in mud, so they cannot move until they are helped out.