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Name of Activity:

Frog Pond

Purpose of Activity:

To reinforce the fundamental motor skills of jumping, hopping and leaping.

Prerequisites:

Students need to be able to demonstrate mastery of the following fundamental motor skills: jump, hop and leap.

Suggested Grade Level:

K-2

Materials Needed:



60 Poly spots (lilypads) placed in the activity area and close to one another so students can jump, hop or leap to them.
Hula Hoops based on the number of students in the class; scattered outside of the activity area.
60 colored beanbags, yarn balls, cones, etc (foods) scattered within the activity area.
A frog (stuffed animal, rubber frog or large picture of a frog) placed at one end of the activity area.

Description of Idea

In Frog Pond, students are practicing their jumping, leaping, and hopping skills by moving from one lily pad (poly spot) to another to get to the frog food (beanbags, yarn balls, etc. that are in the hula hoops in the middle of the playing area). The teacher introduces Finnegan the Frog. Finnegan is a very picky eater. He only likes certain color foods and he changes his mind a lot.

During the activity, the students try to collect as much food for Finnegan as they can, and hope they get a lot of his favorite color. The teacher hides a notecard with Finnegan's favorite color food on it (i.e., blue) under Finnegan and places him in an area that is visible to the students. The students are sitting with a partner behind a cone, which are spread out around the perimeter of the playing area.

When the teacher says "GO", one of the partners jumps, hops, or leaps from lily pad to lily pad to get to the middle area. Once there, they choose 1 piece of frog food. They then jump, hop, or leap across the lily pads to get back to their partner. They keep the frog food by their team's cone, and their partner then takes a turn and does the same thing. This continues until all the frog food is gone. When all the frog food is gone, the teacher ends the round and has all students sit with their partner behind their cone.

The teacher reveals what color food Finnegan likes for that round, and the students count up the number of food they have that matches that color. The students return the frog food to the middle, the teacher chooses a new favorite food color for Finnegan, and a new round starts.

Variations:

Keep poly spots closer for younger kids, and spread them out a little for older kids.

Give points out for listening and good sportsmanship in addition to the points for picking the most of Finnegan's favorite food color.

You can also pick more than one color for Finnegan's favorite, and students just add both colors up to find their total.

If you don't have many things for "frog food", you can make larger groups (such as groups of 4) so the food lasts longer.

Teaching Suggestions:

If students are focusing on speed rather than doing the skills well (and stepping in the pond instead of on the lily pads), you can tell them that if they don't use the lily pads, they forfeit the frog food they were getting (or already got) on that turn.

The teacher can recognize those students who grabbed the color selected for the round if they wish.

Helpers can demonstrate the proper techniques of each skill.

Teacher can perform each skill, and students have to identify which skill the teacher is doing.

You could predetermine if they will jump, hop or leap so that those skills can be focused on and the teacher can be sure each student is getting to practice each skill. Maybe have one color of food represent hopping, another represents leaping, etc.

Submitted by Devyn Davis who teaches at Collegium Charter School in Exton, PA. Thanks for contributing to PE Central! Posted on PEC: 2/1/2017.
Viewed 123688 times since 1/12/2017.

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Frog Pond

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Previous Comments:

Diana

Visual needed please

k-1

Hi,

Can you please provide a visual of how the gym set up would be. I understand the directions but feel like I need to see it.

Thanks,



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