| Name of Activity:
Turkey exercises
Suggested Grade Level: 3-5
Materials Needed: Prepare a turkey with feathers
for each group: Take a softball-size ball and cover it with a
brown paper bag. Tape a turkey head on it. A classroom teacher
will have pictures of turkey heads. Make feathers out of construction
paper, and on the back of each write an exercise and the amount
to be done.
Use orange, red, brown, yellow and green paper, categorizing
each color according to the type of exercise performed. Suggestions
for color-coding the feathers to include the various fitness components
are: Yellow: upper body strength (push-ups, bicep curls, etc.)
Red: cardiorespiratory endurance (jump rope, run in place, etc.)
Orange: abdominal strength (crunches, leg raises, etc.) Brown:
flexibility (various stretches) Green: balance (stand on one foot,
walk a line heel-to-toe, etc.). Apply velcro to the feathers and
the ball. Place the ball on a deck ring so it doesn't roll.
Description of Idea: This is an instant activity
used for warm-ups at the beginning of class: Divide the students
into small groups of about three and assign each group a turkey,
placed at the opposite end of the gym. The feathers with the exercises
written on them are with the students, in a pail or bag. The first
student in the group will pick a feather, read the exercise, and
the group will perform the exercise.
That first student will then run to the turkey with that feather,
place it on the turkey, and run back. Then the next student in
the group selects a feather, reads the exercise, and the group
performs the exercise. That student runs to the turkey, places
the feather on the turkey, and runs back.
Continue until all the feathers are placed on the turkey. The
teacher can tell the students how many feathers they need to have
on the turkey, depending on the time available. Students can also
be told they need to select at least one feather of each color,
to include variety of exercises.
Teaching Suggestions: Draw 3 feathers on a piece
of paper. Make copies on orange, yellow, green, red and brown
construction paper. After writing the exercises on the back, laminate
them so they will last for years.
Variations: Instead of making a turkey out of
a ball, brown paper bag, and construction paper, draw or copy
a picture of a turkey to have on a poster-size piece of paper.
A poster for each group of three students can be mounted on the
gym wall, opposite the students. The feathers can be omitted on
the poster, then added as each exercise is performed. If the poster
is laminated, tape or velcro works very well for applying the
feathers.
Assessment Ideas: Since this is an instant activity,
assessment would not be done.
Adaptations for Students with Disabilities: If
there is a student with disabilities in the class, have someone
in the group assist that student in performing the exercises.
They can also push the wheelchair to the turkey to apply the feathers.
This came from PE Central
lesson ideas.
|
