PE Units


PE UNITS

In the Fall...

 
Frisbee: Basics of throwing and catching as well as ultimate frisbee and, weather permitting, frisbee golf.
 
Whiffle Ball: We begin with basic instruction on, literally, how to use a bat to hit a ball. We then move in to 2 on 2 whiffle ball games with just two bases, one out per team, and no strike outs. This helps kids learn the initial basic rules of softball, kick ball, baseball, etc. 
 
Volleyball: In this full three-week unit, we spend more time initially helping the kids acquire the basic skills of passing, setting, and serving. We then move in passing circles and practice games where kids are learning mostly 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. 
 
Dance:  This Thurgood Marshall tradition happens during conference week. When kids first get wind of the start of this unit, there are not a lot of excited faces; but after the first day, almost everybody is really in to it. Mrs. Reynolds teaches these and Mr. Cunningham does his best to follow along on the opposite side of the gym so kids can see what they are supposed to be doing no matter what direction they are facing.  The goal is to get kids to learn how to learn how to dance. They need to pay attention to step sequences, then hopefully add a little flare once they have it down. We really want to teach kids that if you are going to dance (or sing), you should never just do it a little. 
 
Weekly Physical Challenges:   Throughout the year we like to offer challenges where kids to learn how 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.


Winter Units: These can vary some from year to year, but we usually get to ll of the activities in the below list:
 
Bowling
 
Badminton
 
Pickleball
 
6th grade circus unit - juggling, hacky sack, jump rope
 
7th / 8th grade Archery - yes we want all kids to learn how to shoot responsible (basics of shooting range rules) and accurately.
 
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 basketball related activities and contests.
 
Kick ball: This is where we build on the initial knowledge base from whiffle 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. 
 
Winter Weekly Challenge: 20 meter PACER test. This is where many kids really learn about heart rate. Man have heart rates in the upper 200's when they finish a good pacer. We maintain a Thurgood Marshall All-Time top 20 PACER performance list on our record board in the foyer.


Spring Units: 
 
Capture the Flag
 
Soccer
 
Lacrosse (throwing and catching)
 
spring Showcase - our Track Unit:This unit take around 4 weeks and includes instruction, practice, and competition in shot put, long jump, high jump, hurdles, as well as running races from 100m sprint up to the 1600 meters. Hopefully something for everyone to be successful at in this unit.