AKLAN STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Hospitality and Rural Resource Management

Ibajay, Aklan

TEACHING PE AND HEALTH IN

ELEMENTARY GRADES
COMPILED BY:
CASSIE MAE S. ORTALLA
Instructor

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CHAPTER III

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 Teaching Motor Skills to Children

Many of child’s daily activities—like getting dressed, eating, and writing—require control of small
muscles in the hands. We call these skills fine motor skills. Your child can do more things for himself when
he has opportunities to practice these skills. There are lots of activities that can increase muscle strength
and coordination, preparing children for more advanced skills, from writing with a pencil, using a computer
mouse, or playing a musical instrument. Help your child build fine motor skills at home by providing
opportunities to...
 Set the table
 Hold knives, forks, and spoons to eat
 Pour juice into a cup
 Wipe the table with a sponge
 Help with meals—stir, shake, chop, cut, and mix
 Get dressed—button, zip, snap, buckle, and fasten
 Open and close containers with lids
 Cut with child-safe scissors
 Finger paint
 Use a paintbrush
 Play with play dough and clay—roll, pat, pound, and use tools
like popsicle sticks or stamps
 Draw, scribble, or write with crayons, pencils, and markers
 Put together puzzles
 Place pegs in a board
 Build with small blocks
 Play board games
 Play with puppets

Developing Motor Skills

Your child's mastery of fine-motor skills will allow him greater independence.

Another area of development to encourage this year is fine motor skills—or use of the hands. Just as
gross motor skills enable your child to perform important everyday tasks, such as getting out of bed and
going downstairs for breakfast, fine motor abilities allow for increasing independence in smaller but
equally significant matters: opening doors, zipping zippers, brushing teeth, washing hands, and so on.

When combined with increasing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills also open new doors to
exploration, learning, and creative expression. In fact, research shows that emphasis on purely intellectual
activities—memorization of letters and numbers, for instance—is far less useful at this stage than pursuits
that encourage fine motor abilities and hand-eye coordination. These skills—rather than counting or
reciting the alphabet—lay the foundation for academic learning in later years. In order to learn to write or
draw, for example, a child's hand must be strong and coordinated enough to hold a pencil steady for a
long period of time; in order to participate in school sports, games, and projects, dexterity and
coordination must be up to par.

Among the fine motor skills your child will perfect in the preschool years are the abilities to:
 paste things onto paper
 clap hands
 touch fingers
 button and unbutton
 work a zipper
 build a tower of 10 blocks

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  complete puzzles with five or more pieces
 manipulate pencils and crayons well enough to color and draw
 copy a circle or cross onto a piece of paper
 cut out simple shapes with safety scissors

Indeed, during the preschool years, children typically develop and refine their fine motor skills,
which involve precise movements of the small muscles in their hands and fingers. These skills are essential for various
activities and are important for preparing children for more complex tasks in school and daily life. Here's a breakdown of
the listed fine motor skills and their importance:
1. Pasting Things onto Paper:
 This activity involves using glue sticks or liquid glue to attach objects like cut-out pictures or shapes onto
paper. It helps improve hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and the ability to control small muscle
movements.
2. Clapping Hands:
 Clapping helps develop hand and finger coordination. It's also a fun way for children to express
enthusiasm and rhythm.
3. Touching Fingers:
 Touching fingers or finger games like "This Little Piggy" can enhance finger dexterity and hand-eye
coordination.
4. Buttoning and Unbuttoning:
 Learning to button and unbutton clothing is a practical skill that requires finger strength, coordination,
and patience.
5. Working a Zipper:
 Zipping and unzipping a zipper is another essential self-care skill that helps children refine their fine
motor skills. It requires finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
6. Building a Tower of 10 Blocks:
 Stacking blocks helps children develop hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and the ability to
manipulate small objects. It also encourages creativity and problem-solving.
7. Manipulating Pencils and Crayons for Coloring and Drawing:
 Holding and controlling writing tools like pencils and crayons is a fundamental fine motor skill. It paves
the way for writing and drawing activities in school.
8. Copying a Circle or Cross onto Paper:
 Copying simple shapes onto paper is an early writing skill. It helps children practice hand control and the
coordination needed for more complex writing later on.
9. Cutting Out Simple Shapes with Safety Scissors:
 Cutting with scissors requires precision and control. It helps children refine their hand and finger
movements and can prepare them for more advanced tasks like cutting along lines or shapes.
These fine motor skills are crucial for a child's overall development. They not only prepare children for academic activities
like writing and drawing but also contribute to their independence in daily tasks like dressing and self-care. Parents and
caregivers can support the development of these skills through age-appropriate activities and play.

The best way for you to help promote these and other hand-related skills is to provide your child with
a wide range of materials to manipulate as her imagination dictates. Good choices include blocks
(especially the interlocking types like magnetic blocks, Legos, bristle blocks, Tinker Toys, and construction
straws), crayons, nontoxic and washable markers and paints, paste, glue, modeling clay, an easel,
construction paper, safety scissors, a smock to guard against stained clothing, coloring books, and simple
sewing cards. This is also a prime time for puzzles, sand and water toys, and musical instruments.

Encourage Fine Motor Skills

Teach the pincer grasp. To help your child learn to pick up small items like Cheerios using her thumb
and forefinger, stuff an empty baby-wipe container with scarves, and then let her try to pull them out.
You can also give her toys that have dials, switches, and knobs.

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 Embrace his filling and dumping obsession. Your toddler will likely load every toy possible into a plastic
bin—only to spill it out and start over. While this activity may seem dull, it takes integrated muscle
movements, concentration, and cognitive reasoning. Other ways to boost grip and finger strength:
squeezing a wet sponge or looking for toys that are buried in sand.

Let the stacking begin! Your child needs hand and wrist stability to place blocks with control. Large
wooden ones are easiest for toddlers to manipulate. Once she gets the hang of it, you can switch to smaller
building materials—but hold off on interlocking bricks until she’s at least 2.
Facilitate creativity. Most kids can make a mark with a crayon at around 15 months and scribble by
age 2. Big crayons are best for little hands, but you can also give him large pieces of chalk and finger-paints
to express himself.

Be patient with utensils. Have your child start using a fork and spoon at every meal. If she makes a
mess or struggles, resist jumping in to help—let her try to figure it out on her own.

Build on basic skills. As your toddler’s dexterity improves, encourage him to use both hands to do new
tasks. Have him try threading big beads or rigatoni pasta with yarn. And play games like “The Itsy-Bitsy
Spider” to teach him how to work his hands in tandem.

Encourage Your Child's Creativity

Once you've provided your child with the tools that inspire creativity, stand back and let him loose,
even if things are likely to get rather messy. Preschoolers tend to focus more on process than on product.
They throw themselves into exploring the properties and possibilities of materials like paint, mud, sand,
water, and glue without worrying about the results. In fact, when your 3-year-old proudly displays his
latest masterpiece, you should try not to ask, "What is it?" That question may have never even occurred
to him.

Instead, admire the work for what it is: "That's really wonderful! Tell me just how you did it." Then,
encourage him to explain to you in his own words how he felt and what he was thinking about while he
was making it.

The less control you try to impose over your child's creativity, the better. This advice especially holds
true when it comes to the hand your child favors. One of the milestones of this age is becoming right-

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handed or left-handed. In fact, handedness is an important sign of increasing brain organization. By age 4,
some 90 percent of children have become clearly right-handed, while the rest have become dedicated
southpaws.

The main determinant of handedness is heredity, so it's best not to tamper with your child's genetic
predisposition. Left-handers are no less socially acceptable than righties. And when pressure from parents
or preschool teachers induces a child to switch, doing so usually takes a long-term toll in emotional upset
and poor coordination.

So let your child lead the way. And don't be alarmed if

her fine motor skills progress more slowly than her gross
motor development. Fine motor skills develop more slowly
because the kinds of delicate movements that enable
children to manipulate objects (stacking and nesting blocks
or putting together puzzle pieces, for example) can be
learned only over time with a lot of practice. Unfortunately,
while most 3-year-olds will run happily for hours on a
playground, few really have the patience to sit and copy a
drawing of a circle or a cross over and over. And keep in
mind that the smaller muscles of the body (like those in the hands and fingers) tire out more easily than
the larger muscles in the arms and legs, so endurance and strength must be built up gradually before your
child's dexterity can improve.

There's one more reason why your child's fine motor skills progress more slowly: They are closely
linked to cognitive development. In order to build a fort with blocks, for instance, a child must be able to
think in a three-dimensional manner. Adding limbs, hair, or facial features to an incomplete picture of a
person means that your child is capable of understanding that two-dimensional drawings can symbolize
real people. Your child must mentally compare the picture with stored images of what people look like to
figure out what's missing from the drawing, and he must be able to manipulate a pencil or crayon well
enough to fill in the absent features.

The thought process involved in such acts is far more complicated than that for figuring out how to
climb a ladder, chase a ball, or walk out a door. So it's important for you to be patient, encouraging, and
supportive of your child's efforts. Whatever he masters today will stand him in good stead once he starts
more formal learning in kindergarten and beyond.

The best way for you to help promote these and other hand-related skills is to provide your child with
a wide range of materials to manipulate as her imagination dictates. Good choices include blocks
(especially the interlocking types like magnetic blocks, Legos, bristle blocks, Tinker Toys, and construction
straws), crayons, nontoxic and washable markers and paints, paste, glue, modeling clay, an easel,
construction paper, safety scissors, a smock to guard against stained clothing, coloring books, and simple
sewing cards. This is also a prime time for puzzles, sand and water toys, and musical instruments.

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How Children Learn Motor Skills

Physical development consists of two major

components: physical fitness and motor skill development.
Physical fitness includes strength, endurance, flexibility and
body composition. Motor skills include locomotion (running,
walking, jumping, hopping), manipulation (throwing, kicking,
catching, bouncing), and stability (bending, twisting, rolling,
dodging).

Mastery of a range of motor skills, combined with

good overall physical fitness, is critical to the healthy
development of a child and forms the basis of their athletic
competence. Great Play helps each Player reach his or her
full physical potential by building a broad-based foundation
of skill, fitness and confidence that will last a lifetime.

The Science of Learning Motor Skills

To perform a task or movement, our brain sends signals to our motor units (individual nerves
and collections of muscle fibers) at precise intervals to orchestrate the contraction of muscles
throughout our body.

Learning a motor skill is like writing a computer program to a disk – the program, imprinted on
the brain, plays back as a motor reflex. The method of imprinting a motor skill "program" on the brain is
repetition (i.e., "practice, practice, practice"). Over time, basic motor skills can be combined and built upon
to master more complex skills.

Implications for Teaching Motor Skills

There are several implications for learning, based on the way our bodies acquire new motor skills. To
achieve the greatest success, children should:

1. Start with proper form or technique

2. Get plenty of touch time (repetitions) to "program" their mind and body with the technique
3. Build up from a solid base of fundamental skills to the more complex skills over time, seizing key
developmental windows

Using Proper Technique

Learning a skill improperly is, in many ways, worse than not learning it at all. Instructors of complex
motor skill sports, like golf, tennis, skiing, baseball, etc., often describe having to get new students to
"unlearn" their current technique in order to improve – or taking a step back in order to take a step
forward.

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 Starting off with proper form is essential, particularly for the foundation skills that form the basis
for the complex skills children need to learn later. Practice doesn't make perfect, "perfect practices makes
perfect."

Great Play Approach: We start each class with skill development, to

encourage proper technique; then we coach Players throughout
the class through "directed play" to help ensure proper form is
being learned.

Getting Plenty of Touch Time

Movement skills become ingrained in "muscle memory"

through repetition. Children cannot master motor skills by
watching or listening or standing around while others get their turn.
They master them by doing – over and over and over again. Proper
technique, repeated extensively, leads to mastery over time.

Great Play Approach: Our games are designed to maximize touch time and the ability to explore and
master new skills. We also encourage learning to continue outside of the Arena, with parents and friends.

Building Skills during Key Developmental Windows

Just as the brain is ready for certain types of academic material (e.g., reading, counting or foreign
languages) at certain stages, so too are the mind and body ready to learn certain kinds of motor skills and
make different types of physical adaptations at certain ages.

Children need to build a strong foundation of fundamental skills in order to be able to learn and
perform more complex sports skills as they mature. To achieve full potential, new skills should be
consistently introduced when the child is ready to learn them. Introducing new skills too early will lead to
failure and can be discouraging. However, missing the opportunity to introduce a skill for which a child is
ready can delay or prevent them from ultimately achieving their potential.

As children mature, the fundamental movement skills learned previously are applied as specialized
skills in a variety of sports, games, and recreational activities. For example, the fundamental skill of striking
an object in an underhand, sidearm, or overarm pattern is progressively refined and later applied in sport
and recreational pursuits such as golf, tennis, and baseball.

Great Play Approach: Our curriculum is based on continuously introducing and mastering age-appropriate
skills through play – from building a solid foundation at younger ages, through developing complex
movement skills over time, using our SCORE™ training methods.

The Bottom Line

Children who learn proper technique, get plenty of practice, and build up from foundation skills
to complex skills at the proper developmental times will be in a good position to reach their full potential,
and they will be well on their way to an active life.

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 Ages & Stages: How Children Develop Motor Skills

0 to 2 "I REACH IT!"

Stage by Stage 0 - 2
Six-month-old Gaby gurgles as she lies
on her stomach and kicks her legs. Her teacher  Locomotion begins when a baby can turn
sits on the rug and offers her an interesting toy. onto her tummy and pull herself forward
Gaby pushes up with her arms and lifts her head with her arms.
to get a good look at it. Valiantly shifting her  By eight months, babies may be grasping
weight onto one arm, Gaby reaches for the toy objects and pushing forward on their
and holds it for a few moments. But much to her hands and knees.
surprise, she loses her balance and rolls onto her  One-year-olds, learning to stand
back. Quickly regaining composure, Gaby thinks, unsupported, are gaining muscle control
"Wow, I still have the toy!" in their backs and legs.

Spending lots of floor time with a baby Stage by Stage 3 - 4

lying on her back or stomach helps her develop
coordination, balance, and muscle strength  Preschoolers love high-energy, outdoor
during her earliest months. And after many activities.
weeks of focused concentration and practice, a  Threes and 4s enjoy working with a variety
baby will be able to reach and grasp objects, of media as they exercise their fine
support her body weight on her arms, and roll motor skills.
over.  Developing eye-hand coordination helps
preschoolers fine-tune their creations.
Moving Along!
Stage by Stage 5 - 6
Locomotion enters a baby's life when
she begins to pivot on her tummy and creep by  Dramatic growth in the development of
pulling herself forward with her arms. A baby is physical skills often takes place during
no longer dependent on others to change her the kindergarten year.
location or position. She can make choices in her  Five- and 6-year-olds' emerging physical
explorations and move toward an object that abilities also increase their capacity to
interests her. She can also communicate by learn new cognitive skills.
moving toward things she wants or needs.  Games become more appealing to
kindergartners as their physical skills
Sitting and Reaching become more finely tuned.

Eight-month-old Lola sits on the rug,

eyeing a colorful toy just out of her reach. She leans over, picks up the rattle, and shakes it with glee! Lola's
back muscles have developed enough for her to have stability while sitting. Now she can shift her weight,
reach across her body and grasp an object. Soon she will push herself forward onto her hands and knees.

Cruising and Standing

One-year-old Skylar sits on the rug as he busily pulls apart pop beads. He sees his friend cuddling
on the sofa with a teacher. Wanting to join the fun, he grabs onto the sofa, pulls himself to standing, and
cruises along the edge moving toward his friends. As he begins to stand unsupported, the strength and
control in his back and leg muscles increase. Next, he'll push a small wooden chair or sturdy push toy
across the room. And finally, he'll take his first steps.

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 Walking Is Powerful!

It is such a dramatic shift when a toddler begins to walk independently. He marches to the tune
of his own drummer, quickly moving from object to object, eager to explore the world! Yet he also needs
to know that a caring adult is nearby to provide encouragement and security.

A Supportive Environment

The physical environment plays a key role. There should be open spaces so infants can roll and
early walkers can toddle without bumping into things. Three or four carpeted steps and a short incline
help them understand spatial relationships and how to move themselves up and down. A sturdy chair with
arms helps the toddler learn how to get in and out of the sitting position.

What You Can Do

 Play chasing games to encourage movement.
 Provide soft music to encourage listening and moving.
 Make toddler obstacle courses with pillows or baskets, which the child has to walk around.

3 to 4 "WATCH ME!"

Steve and Todd, 4 years old and best friends, enthusiastically grab a soccer ball, then quickly set
up two orange cones to create a goal for their game. At first, they take turns, running fast and kicking the
ball forward toward the goal. Then they practice stopping the ball with their feet and passing it back and
forth before aiming for the goal again. They cheer loudly whenever they "score!" After watching the older
boys' game, 3-year-old Natalie decides to try soccer, too. She happily kicks the ball in the general direction
of the cones and laughs and hops around the ball when it stops!

Children's motor skill development progresses through various stages and milestones as they
grow and mature. These motor skills can be broadly categorized into two categories: gross motor skills
and fine motor skills. Here's an overview of how children develop motor skills at different stages:

Infancy (0-2 years): During infancy, children rapidly develop their motor skills, starting with
reflexes and gradually moving toward intentional movements.
1. Reflexes (0-4 months): Infants are born with reflexes like the sucking reflex and the grasping reflex, which
are involuntary movements.
2. Head Control (3-6 months): Infants start to gain control over their neck muscles, allowing them to lift and
control their heads while lying on their stomachs.
3. Rolling Over (4-7 months): Babies learn to roll from their backs to their stomachs and vice versa.
4. Sitting Up (6-9 months): Babies develop the ability to sit up with support initially and later without
support.
5. Crawling (7-10 months): Some babies start to crawl at this stage, while others might skip crawling and go
directly to standing.
6. Standing (9-12 months): Many infants start to pull themselves up to a standing position, using furniture
or adult assistance.
7. First Steps (12-18 months): Typically, children take their first steps between 12 and 18 months, although
this can vary widely.

Toddlerhood (2-3 years): During this stage, toddlers continue to refine their gross and fine motor
skills, and their movements become more controlled.
1. Walking and Running: Toddlers become more confident walkers and start running, jumping, and climbing.
2. Fine Motor Skills: They develop the ability to grasp small objects with greater precision, use utensils to
eat, and manipulate toys with more control.

Preschool Age (3-6 years): Preschoolers continue to build on their motor skills and become more
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 coordinated and independent.
1. Gross Motor Skills: They become proficient at activities like kicking, catching, throwing, and hopping on
one foot.
2. Fine Motor Skills: They improve their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, such as drawing more
detailed pictures, using scissors, and buttoning clothes.

School Age (6-12 years): During the school-age years, children's motor skills become more
refined, and they engage in a wider range of physical activities.
1. Gross Motor Skills: They participate in organized sports, ride bikes, and refine their physical coordination.
2. Fine Motor Skills: Their fine motor skills continue to develop, allowing them to write more neatly, play
musical instruments, and engage in detailed craft activities.

Adolescence (12+ years): As children enter adolescence, they further develop their motor skills
and often specialize in specific physical activities or sports.
1. Specialization: Adolescents may choose to focus on specific sports or physical activities, leading to
advanced skill development in those areas.

2. Refinement: Fine motor skills continue to improve, allowing for more precise activities, such as intricate
art projects or playing complex musical instruments.

It's important to note that children develop at their own pace, and there can be considerable
variation in when they achieve specific motor milestones. Encouraging physical activity, providing
opportunities for play and exploration, and offering age-appropriate toys and activities can all contribute
to healthy motor skill development in children. Additionally, early intervention and support may be
necessary for children with developmental delays or motor skill challenges.

Setting Their Sights on Skills

"Setting Their Sights on Skills" is a phrase that can be

used to convey the idea of encouraging children or individuals to
focus on developing specific skills or abilities. It implies that
individuals should identify and target particular skills they want
to acquire or improve, and then work diligently toward achieving
their goals. This phrase can be used in various contexts, such as
education, personal development, sports, or career planning, to
emphasize the importance of setting clear objectives and
actively pursuing skill development. It underscores the idea that
skills are attainable through dedication, practice, and
determination.
Preschoolers love to use pretend play to mimic the
friends. athletic activities of their big brothers and sisters, or the players
they see on television. Such play enhances their emerging skills,
Developing Fine Motor Skills and it's only natural that 4-year-olds like Steve and Todd, who can
run fast, come to quick stops, and move easily around obstacles,
like to practice fancy footwork with a soccer ball. They enjoy
games that require quick gross motor reactions. Constantly on the
move, these same boys will later zoom away on their "super
chrome machines," or tricycles. Using their arm muscles to steer,
they maneuver turns and corners with great confidence, skillfully
avoiding oncoming "aliens." Four-year-old boys, in particular, love
participating in bold, high-energy, outdoor activities with their

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 Care must be taken not to tire or frustrate 3-year-olds with activities that require too much
concentrated hand-eye coordination. As their fine motor skills develop, however, they will be able to
handle a wider range of physical manipulations, such as holding a crayon between two fingers and a thumb
(the way an adult would) while drawing circular shapes, crosses, and the early stages of more-intricate
designs on large paper. At the easel, 3-year-olds may still wish to cover an entire piece of paper with large
paint strokes, but their improved hand-eye coordination helps them see and stay within the paper's
boundaries.

Threes greatly enjoy patting, splatting, squeezing, and molding play dough and damp sand for fun
or making simple things like mud pies and spaghetti. Intensely involved as he builds with colored
manipulative materials, 3-yearold Robby demonstrates how skillfully he can pick up and release small
objects with his well-developed pincher grasp. He excitedly reports his actions: "Help! The Blue Ranger [a
small figurine] is falling down in the stinky house [the Lego building he made). Let's go! I must pick up the
sleeping Red Ranger from his [Lego] bed."

Mixing Up Media

Fours are also busy using their fine motor skills and improving their hand-eye coordination in the
art and writing centers. Now they can cut on lines with scissors. Jenny enjoys cutting apart a simple,
recognizable picture she drew of herself and putting it back together again, just as she would a puzzle.
Many 4s show interest in using markers as they attempt to print numbers and letters in big capitals. Often
they'll use a variety of manipulative media (finger paint, crayons) to spontaneously draw something that
may, in fact, turn out to be something else! (Four-year-old Josh takes great pleasure in using his keen fine
motor skills to string various colored beads in the order shown in a sample so that he can create a "sonic
necklace" to wear with his buddies.)

What You Can Do

Get children moving! Build movement into routines throughout the day. Sing action songs to help
make transitions easy. Pick up and carry the blocks during cleanup. Vigorously scrub the tables with soapy
sponges before and after snacks.

Offer a wide range of gross motor equipment. To keep children interested, use different items to
strengthen large arm muscles (parachutes to move in the air, bean bags to toss, climbers to pull up on) or
to perfect gross leg movements (swings to pump, big balls to kick, trikes and scooters to push).

Adapt materials. Offer items appropriate for different skill levels so children feel challenged but
not frustrated. Look at children's motivation and persistence for a physical activity. To enhance ball-
handling skills, for example, provide a basket of balls that offer children choices-a big rubber ball, a Nerf
football, a fluffy pom-pom ball, light Ping-Pong balls.

5 to 6 "I CAN KICK IT FAR!"

Ms. Sarah quickly scans the kindergarten classroom, and smiles. Sierra is happily writing in her
journal, John and Alize are carefully balancing a block on the top of their high tower, Ben is typing on the
computer, and a small group is practicing the class-learned yoga postures in the quiet area. What a
difference a year makes when it comes to emerging physical skills!

A quick look around your group will show just how much children have grown and changed this
year. Remember those little ones who walked through the kindergarten door last fall? They have all grown
in size and skills, and now most are ready for first grade. It can be hard to believe how much help they
needed with such simple things as dressing at the beginning of the year, and how independent and capable
they are at writing letters and words now! The development of physical skills that use both small and large
muscles during kindergarten represents one of the biggest growth spurts of the early years. Children go
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from having very simple physical abilities to very complex ones in just one year. Learning to snap
their fingers or swing hand over hand on the monkey bars is a huge achievement, considering that at
the beginning of the year they couldn't button or tie and had difficulty climbing stairs.

From Preschool to Big School

When it comes to large-muscle development,

kindergartners might even look different at this point in the year.
Children tend to stretch out in size, moving with a mature stance
and gait. The wider (and more confident) steps of a child who is
getting ready to move up to the "big school" replace the little
steps of the early years. Developmentally, most kindergartners
can now skip, catch and throw a ball, hop and balance on one
foot, ride a small bike, and walk down stairs alternating their feet.
Their confidence in their physical skills makes 5- and 6-year-olds
interested in games like hopscotch and jump rope, and in sports
like T-ball and swimming. Children often become interested in
dance at this stage. This is a good time to introduce children to
these noncompetitive physical activities, which are ideally both
challenging and supportive. Now is the time to celebrate what
children can do with their bodies in a nurturing environment at
school and home.

Making Brain Gains

Recent brain research shows that exercising large-muscle groups is good for the brain. Active
sports and games oxygenate the blood and feed the brain. Children who swing their arms independently
and cross them from one side to the other are actually balancing both the right and left side of the brain.
Evidence suggests that these increased activities have a strong effect on a child's ability to learn.

Small Is Big

At this stage of development, the improvement and mastery of small-muscle skills has a big impact
on children's success in school. Many of the tasks ahead in first grade (and beyond) require the same
small-muscle skills. As children move out of the more hands-on environment of kindergarten to the world
of pencil and paper, they need to be able to hold writing implements and to cut, draw, and write. Happily,
all the wonderful hands-on experiences you have given children have perfectly prepared them for these
tasks.

Write Away!

Most kindergartners are writing most letters and some words by May. They can copy, draw basic
shapes, and enjoy drawing self-portraits with increasing amounts of detail and background. They have also
chosen their left or right hand as the dominant one. These abilities help children not only in learning to
write but also in reading and thinking. Research shows that small-muscle movements build synaptic
connections in the brain.

Supporting the Whole Child

As you well know, the big step from kindergarten to first grade takes much more than physical readiness.
Some children may have developed both large and small muscles but are not emotionally or their newly
grown "big kid" has to be "big" on all levels to succeed in first grade.

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What You Can Do
 Invite families to share in games and activities that demonstrate just how much children have
grown.
 Create a class yearbook with children's self-portraits and musings about how they have grown this
year.
 Photograph children participating in physical activities and create an "I Can Do It!" bulletin board.

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27
 Activity No. 3 "Enhancing Learning through Active Participation: Reflecting on Active Learning Strategies"

Name: Course:
Yr. & Sec.: Score: Rating:

To answer the reflective question "Enhancing Learning through Active Participation: Reflecting on
Active Learning Strategies," follow these concise instructions:

1. Begin by stating the active learning strategy you've chosen.

2. Explain why you find this strategy valuable for enhancing learning.
3. Describe how you would implement it in your teaching or educational practice.
4. Provide examples to illustrate its application.
5. Mention any potential challenges and how you'd address them.
6. Conclude by summarizing the strategy's effectiveness in student-centered learning.

Keep your response clear, focused, and to the point, addressing each instruction succinctly.

1. "How can tailoring instructional strategies to match a learner's preferred learning style enhance their
overall learning experience and understanding of the subject matter?"

2. "Reflect on your comfort level with sharing your influence and power as an educator with your
students. In what ways can this empowerment positively impact students' self-esteem and motivation
in the learning process?"

3. "Among the five categories of instructional strategies (direct, indirect, experiential, independent,
and interactive), which one do you believe is the most useful in facilitating effective learning, and what
specific benefits or advantages does it offer in different educational contexts?"

4. "What strategies or approaches could you incorporate into your instruction to create a more well-
rounded and effective learning experience for your students? Consider how combining different
instructional methods might cater to diverse learning styles and enhance overall comprehension.

5. "What is one specific active learning strategy that you could incorporate into your teaching to
encourage greater learner engagement and participation? How might this strategy benefit your
students' comprehension and retention of the material?"

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Online Materials

 Retrieved:09-07-20-https://www.classcraft.com/blog/features/inclusive-classroom
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 Retrieved:09-07-20-https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/17-18/creating-an-
inclusive-classroom/
 Retrieved:09-08-20-https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/education/create-an-inclusive-
classroom/
 Retrieved:09-09-20-https://www.greatplay.com/articles/how-children-learn-motor-
skills
 Retrieved:09-09-20-
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/pdf/20_313305-B-
Michael_PolicyBrief_508Final.pdf
 Retrieved:09-09-20-https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-
content/ages-stages-how-children-develop-motor-skills/
 Retrieved:09-10-20-http://literacybasics.ca/training/instructional-strategies/
 Retrieved:09-10-20-https://www.quizalize.com/blog/2018/02/23/teaching-strategies/
 Retrieved:09-10-20-https://www.edutopia.org/stw-school-turnaround-student-engagement-
video
 Retrieved: 09-10-20https://tophat.com/blog/instructional-strategies/
 Retrieved: 09-10-20- https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/for-
educators/universal-design-for-learning/what-is-strategy-instruction
 Retrieved:09-10-20-https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-simple-assessment-
strategies-can-use-every-day/
 Retrieved:09-10-20:https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/assessment-trends-in-
education-for-students/
 Retrieved:09-11-20:https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-
resources/teaching-tips/assessing-student-work/grading-and-feedback/rubrics-useful-
assessment-tools

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 Retrieved:09-11-20:https://www.gophersport.com/blog/classroom-management-in-
physical-education/
 Retrieved:09-11-20: http://www.thepeproject.com/behavior/index.html

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