Pandemic P.E.

A team of Project Fit America In-Service Trainers have created or adapted lessons and challenges that will bring fun fitness to your students as you teach through this Pandemic. The lessons are a mix for teaching students in person, virtual and both. We will keep adding lessons and activities to this page and welcome all schools, not just our Project Fit America grant schools, to share with us your “can’t miss” activities that have been a real hit with your students. We are inspired by the collaboration and creativity to help kids to remain fit and healthy at a time when they need it most. A big salute to all Physical Education Teachers.

Three Level Sockball Toss

Ken Chambless – Welch Elementary School, Newnan, GA

Pyramid Challenge

Jenn Hall – Arlington Science Focus School, Arlington, VA

Students are given the task of finding 6 objects that can be stacked at the beginning of the class. Show them picture examples such as cups, shoes, stuffed animals, etc. They should be stacked similar to the cups 3 on the bottom, 2 in the middle, then 1.

For this challenge, students would be given a set of exercises (at least 6) based on your choosing. Examples include: Push ups, burpees, jumping jacks, line jumps, high knees, plank jacks, star jumps, etc.

The students get a designated amount of time to complete the whole challenge.

Each piece of the pyramid represents 10 repetitions of an exercise. They may not place their piece of the pyramid until they complete the exercise.

On the signal to begin students begin the challenge with all students going through the exercises in the same order. When they complete the 10 repetitions of exercise #1, they go stack the first piece of their pyramid. Then they complete the next exercise.

You can choose if you want the students to see how long it takes to complete their whole pyramid or you can give them a set amount of time to see how much of their pyramid they can build before time runs out.

Added extension- IF they finish their pyramid they can signal they are done by jumping over it.

After a few runs, you can decide levels based on how your individual school performs.

The overarching purpose of the Pyramid Challenge is muscular endurance as a theme. We started the challenge in order for students to get the idea that as they continue to climb the mountain and use the same muscle set, that they should experience fatigue.
We created two separate challenges for grades K-2 and 3-5. The idea to climb the mountain is that students do a set number of exercises with the amount increasing each step of the way.

Video Intros- Matt McAndrew, Arlington Science Focus School

Students follow the patter of repetitions of either their chosen exercise or the exercises determined by you. Then decide your own amount of time.

For a virtual Chart and Challenge we used the following formula:
•Two minute timed challenge:
Bronze – Completed up and down the mountain
Silver – Up, down, back up the mountain
Gold – Completed the mountain 2 times

Tallest Tower - Social Distancing Edition

Chad Sweeney – P.E. Teacher, Lincoln Trail Elementary School, Elizabethtown, KY

Download PDF

Tennis Ball Warmup

Ken Chambless – Welch Elementary School, Newnan, GA

Dot Drill

Ken Chambless – Welch Elementary School, Newnan, GA

Beat the Ball Soccer Style

Scott Bauer – Homer Center Elementary School, Homer Center, PA

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Treasure Quest

Jenn Hall – Arlington Science Focus School, Arlington, VA

The purpose of this activity is to help students create a PE Treasure chest of equipment you would like them to collect for lessons.

MAKE A COPY in your google drive to edit the exercises and pictures. Link

You must use present mode. When you click on a chest it will open to the number. Click the number and it will open to another slide. Return to the chests by touching the top right corner.

Ask students to select a treasure chest. It will show either an exercise or a skill building tool.

If it shows an exercise, students complete that exercise while you play music.

If it shows a skill building tool, the students run through the house in a specific amount of time to try to find that item. Then have them try to think of ways to use it and demonstrate to the class.Ninja_Schools/

This or That Warm Up

Steve Cox – Watrous Elementary School, Des Moines, IA

MAKE A COPY in your google drive to edit the exercises and pictures. Edit the slides in this activity to create your own questions. Students exercise based on their answers.

Big Station Switch

Chad Sweeney – P.E. Teacher, Lincoln Trail Elementary School, Elizabethtown, KY

SLO-MO Partner Warm-up

Steve Cox – Watrous Elementary School, Des Moines, IA

This is a fun, “Team Friendly”, “TCC”, Multiple Direction Partner Warm-up! It is a great Ice-Breaker!

Procedure/sequence:

•Use Polyspots or floor tape to mark places where kids start on sidelines. For example, if you have a class of 24, you will mark 12 places on each sideline 6 feet apart from each other.

•Have students find a spot on the sidelines on which to stand. The person across from them will be their slo-mo partner.

•Students will be moving toward their partner during this warm-up so spots will need to be placed in the middle 6 feet apart as well.

•Have students listen very carefully to the ‘multiple directions’ you are about to give:

On go, you will have partners walk to the meeting spots in the middle and create a matching motion. For example, peace sign. Partners will practice mirroring this motion and then return back to their sideline spot. Teachers demonstrate this.

On go, students will walk to meeting spots again and create a second matching motion. Partners will then practice the first motion, then the second motion and return to sideline spots.

On go, students will walk to meeting spots again and create a third matching motion. Partners will then practice the first, second and third motion and return to sideline spots.

On go, students will walk to meeting spots and create a fourth and final matching motion. Partners will practice their 4 motion sequence and return to their spots.

Teacher will then challenge students to go to meeting spots, perform their 4 motion sequence and return to their sideline spots. Teacher needs to stress that students cannot skip over motions in the sequence. Praise partners who do this nicely. Challenge students again to beat their time.

Final challenge: When music starts (“Chariots of Fire” is a great song to use), students meet partner and perform their 4 motion sequence but in slow motion. Be prepared to see smiles. Praise partners who had great sequences and TCC.

Triple, Double, Single, Whiff

PFA Social Distance Cup-Ball-Catch Game
Lesson created by Steve Cox, demonstrated by Scott Bauer – Homer Center School, Homer Center, PA

This is meant to be a fun, active game for larger groups. It incorporates ‘social distancing’, fun movement, TCC (Teamwork, Communication, Cooperation) and friendly competition. Students must have solid knowledge, practice, understanding and acceptance of what ‘6 ft Apart’ is. Playing area, inside or outside, must be large enough to safely accommodate the class numbers playing this game!

EQUIPMENT …* PFA cup for each kid, *Ball for each kid (tennis ball or ‘2 sheet of standard paper Paper Ball’ * Large enough area for kids to safely ‘social distance’ as they play * Pylon Cones to use as ‘Rehab Cones’

KEY TERMS … * Toss= soft underhand throw to partner * Catch= catching the ball in your PFA cup before it bounces … Rehab Cone = a Pylon Cone out at the far edge of the playing area where a kid has to jog to for ‘Rehab’ Limp Jog = a jog where the kid purposely does their form of a limp while they are jogging to a ‘Rehab Cone’ Rehab = Standing at a ‘Rehab Cone’ and loudly yelling: “6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, F, E, E, T” Cooties Foul = teacher catches kids being closer than 6 ft apart with another kid. For a ‘Cooties Foul’ kids have to ‘Limp Jog’ to a ‘Rahab Cone’ and do ‘Rehab’ before they can return to the game

PROCEDURE

•Each kid has a cup and a ball (mark their ball with a magic marker before game starts)

•On ‘Go!’ kids pair off safely with a partner

•Using TCC, partners decide with one will toss first and receiver drops their ball by their feet to get ready

•On agreed command, tosser tosses their ball nicely to the catcher (it becomes a miss or a catch)

•Receiver then become the next Tosser (you never touch with your hands, your partner’s ball. When you need to return it to them you give it a nice, controlled shoe-kick back to them) Always toss your own ball! Dump caught ball out of cup!

•The third and final toss of your round with this partner is decided by calm TCC. Either partner can do this 3rd toss.

•After the 3 Toss & Catches you have your score: 1 catch = Single, 2 catches = Double, 3 = Triple, 0= Whiff

•When your round is over you quickly split from that partner to a safe area and begin yelling your score!!!!

•You hope to find a new partner with the same previous score as you and then you two play another round! ( if you can’t find a new partner with the same previous score you may agree to play with anyone open!)

•After any round, when you split off you can only yell the score of that round

•SPECIAL SITUATION … when you finally had three Rnds where your score has been a ‘Triple’, you have the right to yell “Triple Triple” when searching for your next partner. When a ‘Triple Triple kid finds another ‘Triple Triple’ kid, they have the right to go for a ‘Home Run’ = 4 catches in a row with each kid doing two tosses!!!! If a Partner Pair gets their Home Run, they yell it very loud and the teacher confirms it. If teacher confirms it, teacher yells, “Game Over”!!! Start new game

•Whenever the teacher feels some kids have gotten too close to each other, teacher calls them out for it with a ‘Cooties Foul’ and said kids have to ‘Limp Jog’ to a ‘Rahab Cone’ and do ‘Rehab’ before they return. Don’t have to ‘Limp Jog’ when they return to the game!

Spare Change Basketball

Jenn Hall – Arlington Science Focus School, Arlington, VA

Race to 100

Jenn Hall – Arlington Science Focus School, Arlington, VA

Download the lesson plan