Week 17 (January 7-11)

Welcome back from Winter Break!

First Grade
The first two days were spent working on understanding more about the body and healthy food choices. The first thing we worked on was learning the definitions for terms on the body. We learned that muscles either contract (tighten up) or are in a state of rest. We also learned that the body has two different types of muscles. Voluntary muscles are those muscles that help you move and you choose to move them for physical activities. Involuntary muscles are those muscles that move without us having to think about moving them. The heart is the biggest involuntary muscle in the body. We also spent time picking three healthy food choices out of a list of five foods. We worked at finding the healthiest option in the lists provided.

The rest of the week had us working on hula hoop skills. We spent time reviewing personal space and that we don't want to be close enough to another person to hit them with the hula hoops. We worked on using the hula hoop on different body parts like the neck, waist, arms and legs. We also spent time working on balance skills and levels. With balance we had the students balance on different body parts. We asked the students to balance on 3, 4 and 5 body parts and enjoyed the creativity that the students performed this task. We also worked on the different levels of low, medium and high. We finished the class by working on locomotor skills as we traveled in the area without crashing into others or going into the hula hoops.

Third Grade
The first two days were spent working on an important standard for third grade. This standard asks students to learn and understand the five components of physical fitness. The five components are cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition and flexibility. The students were given a definition for each of the five components. We also worked on a crossword puzzle that asked about the heart.

The rest of the week was designated for team building activities and fitness. We spent some time working on the push up fitness test. We are working at technique at this point while doing push ups against the fence. We increased our repetitions and worked at two sets instead of one. We will work at making the push up progression harder as the weeks go on until we take our fitness tests. We also worked on team building activities. We spent time working on communication skills and following directions in two different activities. First, we worked on the game of knots where students are to untangle themselves. The second activity involved students working together to reorder themselves without talking. We reordered ourselves from the smallest to the tallest and also by birthdays. The key was learning that communication comes in more than one form and without proper communication it is difficult to follow directions.

Fifth Grade
The first two days were spent working on a team challenge. The students were placed into teams and asked questions. Students were required to write down their group answer for each question and would receive points for correct answers. When finished the students were given a self reflection worksheet that asked them about how the did with the activity, working with their groups and how well they followed the directions.

The rest of the week was designated for team building activities and fitness. We spent some time working on the push up fitness test. We are working at technique at this point while doing push ups against the fence. We increased our repetitions and worked at two sets instead of one. We will work at making the push up progression harder as the weeks go on until we take our fitness tests. We also worked on team building activities. We spent time working on communication skills and following directions in two different activities. First, we worked on the game of knots where students are to untangle themselves. The second activity involved students working together to reorder themselves without talking. We reordered ourselves from the smallest to the tallest and also by birthdays. The key was learning that communication comes in more than one form and without proper communication it is difficult to follow directions.

Sixth Grade
The first two days were spent working on a team challenge. The students were placed into teams and asked questions. Students were required to write down their group answer for each question and would receive points for correct answers. When finished the students were given a self reflection worksheet that asked them about how the did with the activity, working with their groups and how well they followed the directions. Students were also given information about the Super Size Me video that we will be watching in the coming weeks during Health & Fitness.

The rest of the week was designated for team building activities and fitness. We spent some time working on the push up fitness test. We are working at technique at this point while doing push ups against the fence. We increased our repetitions and worked at two sets instead of one. We will work at making the push up progression harder as the weeks go on until we take our fitness tests. We also worked on team building activities. We spent time working on communication skills and following directions in two different activities. First, we worked on the game of knots where students are to untangle themselves. The second activity involved students working together to reorder themselves without talking. We reordered ourselves from the smallest to the tallest and also by birthdays. The key was learning that communication comes in more than one form and without proper communication it is difficult to follow directions.

NEW STATE LAW: Back at the end of November a new law was passed in the state of California. Until recently, high schools were able to exempt students from taking physical education in the 11th and 12th grades. Most of the students were given the exemption unless they had not completed 9th or 10th grade physical education. The new state law has changed the law so that students must pass 5 of the 6 physical fitness tests in order to earn the exemption from physical education. The physical fitness tests are for cardiovascular endurance (mile run, PACER test or walk test for students 15 years old and older), upper body strength test (push ups, flexed arm hang or modified pull ups), abdominal test (curl ups), flexibility test #1 (shoulder stretch or sit & reach test), flexibility test #2 (trunk lift test) and body composition test (Height & Weight to record BMI, skinfold test or bioelectrical impedance test).

Please work with you child to help them achieve a passing score on their 9th grade physical fitness test. These are the same tests that students are required to test in fifth and seventh grade. We also work with the fourth graders, sixth graders and eighth graders so that they can continue taking practicing their fitness tests.