Football was the focus of our lessons the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Catching, throwing, and running with the ball were the skills emphasized. Students in Kindergarten were introduced to the football grip. "Make a peace sign with your fingers (pointer and middle) and place these above the laces. Your ring finger and pinkie go on the laces." To reinforce this they traced their hands on a football in the correct position and then turkified the hand for fun. Overall, they did a great job.
First graders also worked on their grip. They then practiced passing into open space using correct form (arm in L position, stepping with the opposite foot). They also worked on catching a tossed ball with their hands. Keeping the hands out in front of the chest using a "W" or Diamond shape was emphasized.Second/Third graders added some running with the ball using a correct tuck- four points of contact: palm, forearm, bicep, chest. They also did an assessment over football and floor hockey concepts.
The fourth grade girls worked a lot on the line of scrimmage, playing quarterback, being a receiver, and running routes. They have also been using resistance bands at the beginning of class each day. This was in response to a survey I took in which many girls responded that upper body strength was something they wanted to work on and get better at. They now do this in addition to the push-ups and dips that they had been doing. The resistance bands will target their biceps.
