Henry's Physical Education

Squat Heads and Tails

Grade: all

Time: 3-5 min

Students stand at their desks. 
Once the teacher calls out true or false statements...

True – If a student thinks the statement is true, then he/she make "O" with hands on their heads.
False – If a student thinks the statement is false, then he/she make "X" with hands on their heads.

If students' guess is incorrect, they must do one squat until the last person standing wins. The goal is for students to do squat as many times as possible. In order to do that, someone has to get the right answer as long as possible!

“Bear, Salmon, Mosquito”

“Bear, Salmon, Mosquito” is a fun game that can be used as a warm-up and deinhibitizer (because it requires hand motions and sounds) and later in the sequence it can make a good group problem-solving activity if framed correctly. The play area should be fairly large with 2 end lines and a dividing line in the middle (use a basketball court or some ropes/cones to make lines). This is a large version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Teach the students to make the 3 different animals with their bodies.

 Bear: hands up high growling.
 Salmon: hands in front at waste height palms and fingers flat together making swimming motion.
 Mosquito: one hand in front of nose with index finger pointing out and making buzzing noise.

This game is like a food cycle. Bears eat (chase and tag) salmon, salmon eat (chase and tag) mosquitoes, and mosquitoes eat (chase and tag) bears. Divide students in half (that means two groups, please don’t cut any students in half-safety first!). Each group must decide which of the 3 animals the entire group will be. Once they settle on an animal, the group is to line up facing the other group lined up about 2 feet from the center line. You say 1, 2, 3, GO! The students make their respective animals while looking at the opposing group. When they see the other group, they determine whether they are to eat (chase and tag) the other group or if the other group is to eat (chase and tag) them. The goal is for each group to win members from the other group. Students that are tagged before reaching the end line behind them must join the opposing team.

Title: Jump In, Jump Out
Grade: upper elementary or secondary

Instructions
1. Form a circle, holding hands, facing in to the center.
2. Announce that you want the group to – “SAY WHAT I SAY, AND DO WHAT I SAY.”
3. Practice this skill with one of four commands – “JUMP IN,” “JUMP OUT,” “JUMP LEFT” or
“JUMP RIGHT.”
4. Call out a series of ‘Jump’ commands, one after another for 20 seconds.
5. Re-form the circle, and announce that you now want the group to – “SAY WHAT I SAY, AND DO THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I SAY.”
6. Continue with a series of ‘jump’ commands, one after another for 20 seconds, or until the circle
breaks up too much.
7. Do the same activity with the announcement - SAY THE OPPOSITE OF
WHAT I SAY, AND DO WHAT I SAY.

Idea for Brain Boosters!

Move to the Music on a chair! 
https://youtu.be/rDFRq_z41ts

< Physical Activity Resources for Classroom Teachers >

1. Go noodle (All Grades)

      https://www.gonoodle.com

2. Energizers (Secondary Classroom)

      http://www.nchealthyschools.org/energizers/

3. Teacher Toolbox Physical Activity Breaks (Secondary Classroom)

http://www.coloradoedinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CEI-Take-a-Break-Teacher-Toolbox.pdf

4. Neuroscience For Kids (Secondary Classroom)

      https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/experi.html

5. Guide your students' exploration of their brains (Secondary Classroom)

      http://www.scilearn.com/resources/classroom-resources

6. Brain energizers (All Grades)

      http://www.greeleyschools.org/Page/11394

7. Brain breaks blog (All Grades)

      http://brainbreaks.blogspot.com/

8. Classroom brain breaks on Pinterest (All Grades)

      https://www.pinterest.com/act4healthykids/classroom-brain-breaks/

9. Classroom movement on Pinterest (All Grades)

      https://www.pinterest.com/capnpete/classroom-movement/

10. Brain Boosters (All Grades)

     https://www.facebook.com/5-min-Brain-Boosters-976970369118783/