TMMS Physical Education UNITS
Physical Education UNITS used at Marshall
Our units can vary a bit from year to year, but we try to get to all of the activities listed below.
Outdoor Units:
PASSING / THROWING and CATCHING - in this start of the year unit kids spend about six or seven days learning mechanics of throwing, passing and catching. Nice non-competitive way to start a year while working on some really basic skills. These are fundamental skills that are fun on their own and also help kids enjoy a wide variety of sports.
- Tennis Balls - the focus on this very first activity is to throw with opposite foot forward, stand not facing partner (sideways), shifting their weight from back to front, follow-through. These mechanics apply to a bunch of other athletic activities
- Frisbee: Basics of throwing and catching. Introduce the concept of predicting and moving and reacting quickly if the frisbee is not going to come right to you. Ultimate frisbee and, weather permitting, frisbee golf are add-ons later.
- LaCrosse - introduction to sports with levers.
- Volleyball Passing Circles - Continues from frisbee the important skill of athletic stance and quick feet reactions. Also the basics of forearm passing and setting. Serving and game play come later.
- How to kick a ball - This is mostly learning the instep pass, trapping, and a bit of how to kick farther and elevate a ball. Moves kids away from toe kicks. How to approach from an angle and use their plant foot.
- Football - It’s always surprising to see how many kids want to learn how to throw a spiral!
- Hacky Sack- This is a neat convenient fit to do after kids try volleyball passing circles.
Wiffle Ball: We begin with basic instruction on, literally, how to use a bat to hit a ball (where to hold the bat, where to stand, etc.). We then move into 2 on 2 wiffle ball games with just two bases, one out per team, and no strikeouts. This helps kids learn the initial basic rules of softball, kickball, baseball, etc.
Physical Challenges: Throughout the year we like to offer challenges where kids are encouraged to really push their limits. In the fall, this challenge is the MMS cross country course. Middle school XC is a standard 1.2 mile course across varied terrain. We keep school records in this event by grade and gender. All the records are in the seven minute range.
More Frisbee: We strive to provide opportunities to play Frisbee Golf and / or Ultimate Frisbee.
Capture The Flag: This is a great game to introduce team sports along with concepts of sportsmanship. It’s also a great opportunity to have kids develop offensive and defensive strategies.
Soccer: The focus on basics such as how to properly kick a soccer ball, as well as teamwork strategies that apply in multiple sports like a give-and-go, or leading passes.
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Indoor Units
Volleyball: In this unit, we spend more time initially helping the kids acquire the basic skills of passing, setting, and serving. We then move into practice games where kids are learning how to play the game and apply their skills. This is a very fast paced game so learning how to use their skills in the game context can take some time. This unit is most challenging for sixth graders because so many of their bodies are so small and many have never played the game.
Bowling: This is a great sport to introduce aim and how it can be improved with either better mechanics or just sometimes adjusting your aim-point. There is also a juxtaposition between aim and power. (ie: if I throw too hard I can’t aim as well.)
Shuffleboard
Badminton:
Wanna see some great games?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYBnthursh0
Pickleball
Sudden Death Indoor Soccer
Juggling, hacky sack, jump rope
Archery: We want all kids to learn how to shoot responsibly (basics of shooting range rules), accurately and safely.
Nitro Ball: Same net setup as pickle ball but it’s 3 or four on a team. They can hit like volleyball, up to 3 hits per side. Ball MUST bounce before a player hits it.
VIDEO LINK
Floor Hockey
Basketball: Basics of shooting and dribbling. We don't tend to play actual games because the skill levels of the kids can vary so much that games are not a useful or interesting activity. Instead, we have a variety of fun, one-basket games, basketball related activities and contests.
Kick ball: This is where we build on the initial knowledge base from wiffle ball and teach all the kids of three outs per side, how to run the bases and running the bases looks different depending on number of outs. This game is more complicated than most people think.
Indoor Challenge: 20 meter PACER test. This is where many kids really learn about heart rate. Many have heart rates in the upper 200's when they finish a good pacer. We maintain a Marshall All-Time top 20 PACER performance list on our record board in the foyer.