Oct 20, 2015

Group Teach 5 Lesson Plan: Outdoor Education

Lisa Jensen, Cristina Moretti,Christine Park andAudrey Sargent

Lesson/Activity Theme: Alternate environment/outdoor education

Grade Level: 3 Number of Students: 32

Class length: 45 minutes Equipment: gym vests, bean bags

Aims and Objectives

Aim

To provide an introduction to alternate environment activities, which is one of the five activity categories required for a balanced physical education.

To foster respect for Indigenous knowledge, promote physical literacy, and social-emotional learning.

Objectives

Students will:

  • Learn the dances associated with the animal representatives of the four Gitxsan clans (motor and cognitive).
  • Play a modified version of freeze tag as an invasion game (motor and cognitive).
  • Cool-down as a practice of mindfulness by walking in silence (affective).

Curricular Competencies (Revised Curriculum 2015)

  • Develop and apply a variety of fundamental movement skills in a variety of physical activities and environments.
  • Apply a variety of movement concepts and strategies in different physical activities.
  • Develop and demonstrate safety, fair play, and leadership in physical activities.
  • Identify and explain factors that contribute to positive experiences in different physical activities.
  • Explain how participation in outdoor activities supports connections with the community and environment.
  • Identify and apply strategies that promote mental well-being.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes (Integrated Resource Package 2006, Grade 3 PE Curriculum)

  • A5: Participate in vigorous physical activity.
  • B1: Demonstrate an ability to balance in a variety of activities
  • C1: Demonstrate safe behaviours while participating in a variety of physical activities.
  • C2: Demonstrate respect and encouragement for others during a variety of types of physical activity

Safety concerns

Outdoor areas are uncontrolled environments, so precautions must be taken by the educator(s) to ensure that the grounds are suitable for use. Safety is the biggest concern in these environments, and policies and guidelines issued by the school, school board and province must be adhered to when conducting classes in an alternate environment (Robinson & Randall, 2014, 223). In general, grounds should be scanned ahead of lesson time for unacceptable hazards (e.g. flooding rivers, poison ivy, presence of large predators) and acceptable hazards must be identified and communicated to students (e.g. prickle bushes). Upon arrival to the grounds, educator(s) must establish and communicate clear and safe boundaries for the students. Safe boundaries are visible to the students and keep the students visible to the educator(s). Have a protocol in place for lost students: tell them to stay where they are, shout for help, and wait until help arrives.

Outline of Activities

Instant Activity - Beatmaster

Time: 5 minutes

Location: Osborne Gym A

Lead facilitator: Christine

Lesson

  1. The class is called to stand in a circle in the middle of the gym. Christine explains game play (below) and does a demonstration of how to play in the roles of beatmaster and detective, and how to copy movements. Emphasizes having fun and exploring different movements without judging oneself against others.

Game Play

Role definitions: The beatmaster is the group leader who selects and changes the movements. The detective is the game player who must guess who the beatmaster is.

  1. The class stands in a large circle. The facilitator selects a volunteer to be the detective. The detective covers their eyes and ears so that the beatmaster selection can be made without them knowing who it is.
  2. The facilitator takes a volunteer for the beatmaster. Once the beatmaster has been selected they start making a movement of their choice.
  3. The detective is asked to open their eyes and make up to 3 guesses on who the beatmaster is. The beatmaster should change their movement frequently, but is allowed to be strategic about when they do so to avoid getting caught. Anytime they change their movement the whole group must copy the new movement.
  4. Once the beatmaster has been successfully guessed, or the detective runs out of guesses the beatmaster becomes the new detective and the game starts over.

Beatmaster is adapted from a game played at Tamwood International summer camps, where Christine worked in the summer of 2015. The original source is unknown.

Warm-up: Gitxsan Clans

Time: 5 minutes

Location: Osborne Gym A and Thunderbird Blvd

Lead facilitator: Audrey

  1. Christine will divide the class into 4 groups at the end of the instant activity.
  2. Audrey will name each of these four groups as one of the Gitxsan clans, each with an a leader from the team teach group:

Audrey – WolfLisa - Eagle

Cristina – FrogChristine - Fireweed

  1. Each of the 4 clan dances will be demonstrated, with Audrey speaking about Indigenous education, respecting the land that we will play our games on and respecting and supporting each other while we are together as a class/community.
  2. The class will walk to the forest in their clan groups for our main activity doing the clan dances (as called by Audrey, and Kenthen as drummer).

Quick Frozen Critters

Time: 20 minutes

Location: Forest off Thunderbird Blvd

Lead facilitators: Lisa and Cristina

Lesson

  1. Describe boundary lines with students for playing area, establishing one end as the “food source” and the other as the “shelter”. Describe game play (below).
  2. Choose one clan to start as the predators. As the game progresses, each clan will have a turn being predators.
  3. Ask “prey” to each carry a bean bag and place it in the food area, and for predators to grab a gym vest to wear during the round.
  4. Practice running and balance skills by having students run while a facilitator shouts, “Go, go, go...” and then freezing when facilitator shouts, “Stop!” Discuss successful strategies for stopping quickly.

Game Play

Role Definitions: Predators are the chasers and prey are chased in this adaptation of freeze tag.

  1. Before game begins, allow predators to distribute themselves throughout the playing area. A whistle blow begins the game.
  2. The prey must move from the shelter to get a meal (bean bag) from the food source and back to the shelter in order to survive.
  3. Predators survive if they catch at least one prey by tagging.
  4. Prey can stay safe from predators by:
  5. Running away
  6. Freezing - no talking or moving
  1. If rounds do not resolve themselves within 5 minutes, a whistle blow ends the round and the next clan receives their gym vests to have a turn being predators.
  2. After final round, gather all equipment and debrief. Hand out assessment rubric and have students self-evaluate.

Game modifications:

  • Students walk only
  • Animals get specific locomotor movements, like wing flapping or leaping frogs
  • Increase number of meals predators and prey need in order to survive.
  • Cross-curricular adaptation - Each round, instead of rotating clans, each predator who does not capture prey becomes prey, and each prey who does not survive becomes a predator. Population dynamics for science class can be simulated and taught through this exercise when the facilitator records the number of predators and prey each round.

Activity source:

Cool-down: Counting Colours Mindfulness Activity

Time: 5 minutes

Location: Forest to Osborne Gym A

Lead facilitator: Lisa

Method:

  • Gather students together in the assigned groups and ask them to count the number of different colours while walking.
  • Discuss as a group about which colours they saw in the forest and the effect this had on their mindset and appreciation for the forest.
  • Discuss the effects of mindfulness activities (eg. keep one in the moment, so is useful if worried or anxious; resting the mind)
  • Walk in normal fashion to the gym.

Activity sources:

Mindfulness Training and Classroom Behavior Among Lower-Income and Ethnic Minority Elementary School Children -

Reading Summary

Time: 10 minutes

Facilitators: Cristina, Christine, Audrey, Lisa

  • Groups will remain in the 4 groups from the cool down activity
  • Each facilitator will take their group into a corner of the gym and facilitate a discussion of the readings based on the summary and guiding questions

Outdoor Activity Self-Assessment Rubric

My favourite part of the outdoor activity was …. / I liked it because …
A new movement I tried today was ….. / Something I learned about this way of moving is ….
This is one way in which I helped, encouraged, or worked together with other students/animals: / This is one way I showed respect to the forest and the living things in it.
A new outdoor activity I would like to try is …

Resources:

Black, D.S., Fernando, R. (2014). “Mindfulness Training and Classroom Behavior Among Lower-Income and Ethnic Minority Elementary School Children”. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23 (7), 1242-1246.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2006). Integrated Resource Package: Physical Education K-7. Retrieved from

British Columbia Ministry of Education (2015). BC’s New Curriculum: Physical and Health Education, Grade 3. Retrieved from

Hannay, C. (2015). “Counting Sounds: A Mindful Walking Practice”. Mindful Teachers. Retrieved from

Outdoor Environmental Education Programs - Predator/Prey Relationships.

Robinson & Randall. (2014). Teaching Physical Education Today (Canadian Perspectives).Thomspon Educational Publishing Inc.