Keep it Simple

This past weekend I had to write a lesson plan on Gymnastics for my field.  I was finding it hard to choose activities for the students to participate in.  To me somersaulting for 3min is boring and not fun, however, I have to keep reminding myself that these students are young and find running around like crazy fun!  They are easily entertained.  In addition I am constantly trying to find easy games for them to play at the beginning of class as a warm up.  This past Thursday I tried teaching them elbow tag and it was a complete flop!  They could not grasp the concept of the game at all.  In elbow tag the person being chased changes frequently, which is great for an older P.E. class, but the first and second graders were too confused by all this change.  In the end I discarded any hopes of playing elbow tag with them and switched to a simple "yes" or "no" game they have played many times.   All they have to do is run to the "yes" side of the gym or the "no" side of the gym according to the questions asked.  Ex. "Are you wearing a red shirt?" "Yes" (run to the "yes" side).  They absolutely loved this game and it got them moving!  Keeping games simple and repetitive is just one of the things I have learned in my field experience!