Brett Gebhardt

Self-Study

The classes range from 3rd-5th grade PE class at Westridge Elementary. The
unit covered will be jumping/jump rope. As for demographics, predominantly
white, and the class is roughly equal in terms of boy to girl ratio. The
teaching strategy for this unit as well as most units on PE will be through
verbal instruction on the activity as well as visual representation of the
actual activity.

The first portion of the unit is to showcase and instruct kids on the many
forms of jumping, such as; hopping, leaping, jumping on one foot and two.
We introduce a jump rope to lie on the ground to give the kids a visual on
where they are to jump and how far they are to jump. It is not enough to tell
the kids to jump in a straight line or a make-believe object. As for groupings,
the kids are all learning individually, but as we progressed through the unit
to actual jumping rope, pairs were comprised by them picking their own
partners. If needed I would intervene and pair up individuals or exchange
partners for those who chose not to follow instruction or who were more of a
distraction than a contributor to the lesson at hand. To help promote critical
thinking questions were asked during the lesson on the many forms of
jumping. Also, tasks were assigned to the class such as: with your jump
rope, create the letter S or M or number 8. This allowed them to
problem solve on how to create such shapes with a sometime forgiving or
unforgiving jump rope and helped with visualization. I would also ask them if
this is something we can do at home alone, or with friends and how to
incorporate it with many.

While reflecting on the unit and as we progressed, I could assess where each
day lead us. Jumping rope can be a challenging task for 1st graders and to
obtain the skill we may have had to repeat certain portions of a previous
lesson plan. To reach the masses, as many had acquired a skill, while many
have not, I would always allow the kids a 5-minute warm up period where
they get to work on any jump rope skill they think they need help on. Which
allowed me to then help those who needed it.

Throughout the unit much of the assessments were informal as I was

constantly helping and giving feedback on how to correct their jumping skills
and proper use of the jump rope. Class after class throughout the day, and
day after day, I was always reassessing how I was presenting the instruction.
What may have worked for one class I tried to duplicate if for the next, and
what didnt work for another class, I would dissect what was troubling and try
an alternative method. I am sure this may relate to many lesson plans for
many school subjects: a lesson plan is a guide, sometimes you may have to
stray off the lesson plan to achieve the task at hand. I have been informed
by many that sometimes you may have to accept that it didnt work, but how
you reflect on it and what you learned from it, is how you can better yourself
for the next plan.

I believe the in the end the kids had learned a great deal on the many forms
of jumping as well as how to jump rope properly and how to have fun with it.
When challenged with a new task or trick with a jump rope, the kids were
hesitant. But after direction and demonstration, the kids shined and were
surprised at what their bodies were capable of. As adults, I think we take for
granted how easy tasks such as leaping, jumping, hopping and jumping with
a rope are. To a young child who has not experienced such agilities they can
be challenging and difficult. Once I understood and gained the knowledge of
skill level they had, I could then proceed from the correct starting point and
get them from A to Z. Its a proud feeling to see the smiles and excitement
on their face when they face challenges and overcome them.