Kindergarten Students learn the basics of different things you can do with a hula hoop. Some of our favorites are:

• Coin Spin and Jump in

• Roll and jump through

• Coin spin and slither through

• Full body turn with the hoop spinning

• Forward and back, side to side, or round and round on your waist

1st graders are taking the skills of kindergarten and adding a little SPICE to them!

• Coin Spin, Jump in, Catch it & Hoop it

• Elevator: Going DOWN! (Hoop from hips to knees!)

• Roll hoop to a partner and jump through

• Forward and back, side to side, or round and round on your waist

2nd graders start to practice EVEN more ways to use the hoop!

• Arm spin & toss from one arm to the other

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Kindergarten students are learning how to bounce a ball of their choice and try to push the ball back down after it bounces up to them.

Some cues I give them are:

-PUSH the ball down.

-Use your fingerpads/finger prints when pushing the ball

-Strong arms, gentle hands

1st graders are learning to use one hand or the other to continue the bounce/dribble. We also begin to dribble while moving!

Some cues I give them are:

-Push the ball with a strong arm

-Finger pads/Finger Prints are gentle

-Try to dribble to the side of your body, away from your feet

2nd Graders are learning to dribble with either hand, on the move, and looking towards other objects!

Some things they need to remember are:

Practicing with both hands

Keeping the ball in control, is the "dog walking you", or are you "walking the dog"?

Moving the ball to the side away from someone or something

3rd Grade students are learning how to protect the ball while dribbling. We start having "defenders" trying to tap the ball away if they notice the dribbler is forgetting to use their non-dribbling hand to shield the ball.

Cues we use: Put up your shield!

We also begin to practice shooting the ball towards the basket. I really have students work on bending their arms and legs and extending their arms and legs while they push the ball. The ball should start right under their chin and they push the ball up towards the basket. Have them try to hit the net first to build confidence!

Cues we use:

Bend and Extend

Push and reach towards the basket

4th grade students are using their dribbling skills and bringing it into group situations. We practice the bounce pass to a partner and keeping the ball away from a defender in 2 v 1 situations! They keep trying to use their shields and also use their body as a shield as I encourage them to have their body between the ball and the defender.

We also encourage defenders to tell a dribbler when they are forgetting to use the "shield" before they take the ball away.

We practice shooting with one hand starting under the chin. We want to encourage bending and extending, and snapping our wrist as we release the ball.

in 5th grade we use the knowledge we've gained in dribbling over the years and apply it to more game like situations. Shielding the ball, dribbling away from the defender, bounce passes, and shooting are all practiced individually in classes leading up to 2 v 2 and/or 3 v 2 situations. Defenders are encouraged to always defend the ball and their focus should be on getting the ball and explaining to the offense why they were able to get the ball. This helps students remember what to do as in Phys Ed we are all learning and working together to get better every class.

Students in Kindergarten learn the basics of throwing a ball. We practice using both hands to see which feels more comfortable to throw with. By the end of the unit I'm looking for students to be able to:

We practice rolling a ball, throwing a ball underhand, and throwing a ball overhand!

For overhand throwing I have students repeat the following "My hand is high, I make an "L". I step & throw"

This helps them remember how their body works to throw the ball. Hand by their head, L shape with their arm, step and throw at the same time

Students in 1st grade start to practice stepping with opposition when they underhand throw, roll, and overhand throw. If they use their right hand for the ball, they will step with their left foot while they are moving their hand with the ball. If they use their left hand with the ball, they step with their right foot.

By the end of the unit I'm looking for students to step with opposition 3 of 5 times when they throw, or roll the ball.

In 2nd grade we start to refine our skills. In order to generate more power in our overhand throw we focus on stepping and throwing at the same time. Still remembering to step with our opposite foot when throwing. Students get lots of practice stepping and throwing together to see how much power they can generate.

3rd graders continue to refine their throws, both overhand and underhand. While keeping their opposite side towards their target for overhand, we start to practice throwing across our body, while still combining the step and throw together. This helps students get the distance and accuracy they are looking for.

Using underhand throwing they want to keep their front to the target and get a "rainbow" for their throws. Stepping with opposition and tossing at the same time, keeping their throwing arm straight!

5th graders use all their previous throwing knowledge to work on throwing over hand to a partner consistently. As they are able to throw to a stationary partner, we begin having them throw to a partner that is moving. Students should be stepping with their opposite foot and following through on their throws. I encourage students to keep their same foot behind them as having it come around is usually wasted energy that should be going into their throws. I teach them to keep their throws compact. Their opposite arm should be up in a protective position of the ball and as they throw that arm should stay close. This generally gets them to focus on using their whole body to throw in order to protect their still growing bodies.

Underhand throws should go up and come down into their target area. They should keep their throwing arm straight and stepping with their opposite foot during their throw. I encourage to have their hand finish high on their throws so they continue the natural motion of the underhand throwing motion.