Clean Up Your BackyardK-1

Questions for Guided Exploration

Teach the class in rounds of play. Before each round ask one of the following questions. Demonstrate what the question looks like?1 Can you get the ball over the fence? (Do not demonstrate)- Informal Pre-test. See how many students can already throw overhand.2. Can you get the ball over the net by bringing your hand past your ear when throwing?3. Can you throw it over with your feet side by side?4. Can you throw it over by taking a step forward with your same foot?5. Can you throw it over by taking a step with your opposite foot?6. Can you throw it over while facing the net?7. Can you throw it over by facing the side wall to start and turning to face the fence when you finish?

Questions for Reflections

Which way was easier for you?Did the ball go further when you took a step or when you didn’t step?Did the ball go further when you stepped with the same foot or the opposite foot?Did the ball go further when you faced the fence or when you started by facing the wall and turned to face the net?Which way did Paula throw in the story?Read page 8 showing the phases of throwing and demonstrate how you would like them to try to throw in the remaining rounds.

Clean Up Your Backyard•2nd-3rd Grade•Independent Learning Stations•Teach the class in rounds of play. The first round of play, simply ask them to throw overhand into the neighbors backyard. Do a pre-test identifying which students are proficient and which will need assistance.•Round two demonstrate mechanically correct throwing and introduce the learning stations.•Learning Station for Stepping In Opposition•Place tape on the floor in the following pattern. •Make numerous stations on booth sides.•Show students how to start on the blue arrows and step to the yellow. During the following rounds direct students that are not rotating or stepping in opposition to the stations.•Learning Station for Increasing Distance•Round three add an arrow to the pattern and ask the question: “Do you think the length of your step effects the distance the ball will go? What is your hypothesis? Will the ball go further, shorter, or stay the same? Let’s experiment.” •After the round discuss your results.

• •Learning Station for Increasing Accuracy•During the second lesson, place the following learning stations directly opposite the target.•Ask the question: “Do you think the direction you step in will affect the accuracy of your throw? What is your hypothesis? Will you be more accurate stepping to the left, right, or the middle?•Let’s experiment.”• •After the round discuss your results.

Clean Up Your Backyard

•3rd grade and older•Throwing for Accuracy and Catching•After discussing with the students the concepts of personal, social and environmental responsibility, give each family a garbage can for their backyard.•Divide each family into two groups- throwers and catchers. (The students can decide by themselves, the teacher can assign them with purpose or at random.)•During each round of play, the throwers will aim for the birds and trees and receive points for each accurate throw. The catchers will try to catch the balls that are thrown over the fence. If a ball is caught on the fly, they may put it into the garbage can. At the end of each round, count up the number of balls in the garbage can.• •Common Core Math Ideas•For Scoring•Scoring: count every hit and every ball caught as one point and then give a single point to the team that has the most points or use any combination of the following ideas:•Count the number of balls in the garbage can by an assigned point value (count out loud by that number to practice skip counting, i.e. 4, 8, 12, etc.) •Add the number of balls caught to the number of accurate throws.•Subtract the number of hits by the opposing team from the number of balls the team caught.•Give double point value for the throws and single point value for the catches.•After each round switch throwers to catchers.

Clean Up Your BackyardK-3rd

Personal, Social, and Environmental Responsibility

•Explain to the children that Clean Up the Backyard is meant to be a whimsical story.•whimsical - spontaneously fanciful or playful; determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/whimsical•Questions for Debriefing•1. Should people throw their trash out the window into the backyard?•Explain that we all have a personal responsibility to take care of our own things and when we don’t need something anymore we throw it away properly. For example: cleaning your own bedroom, cleaning up after yourself in the cafeteria or the classroom.•Should people throw garbage into somebody else’s property?•Explain that we all have a social responsibility to take care of our neighborhood, town, etc. For example: using garbage cans at your sporting events; at the movie theater, or on the playground.•What should the children have done with the garbage?•Explain that they needed to ask for help from the adults to find the proper way to dispose of the garbage. We all have a responsibility to our environment. In order to take care of the earth we need to recycle and keep our world healthy. Example: Separate your newspapers, bottles and cans from the rest of your trash and put them in the recycling bin.•Final Round•In each backyard, place containers to fit your communities recycling needs. •For example: A square crate for bottles and cans; a bucket for garbage; a bag for newspapers.•Instruct the students to responsibly clean up their backyard by placing the following equipment in the correct bin. Designate different types of balls to a different type of garbage, i.e. red balls are bottles, orange balls are cans, yellow and green are newspapers, and blue and purple are the rest of the trash.

Ziny’s Driving School

Round 1

Mercury

• Explain to the students that they will be traveling to Mercury at 25 mph by walking. The time it takes to get there is 30 sec. Demonstrate that when the music starts they will travel clockwise walking. When the music stops, they will merge into the center of the gym and land on Mercury. To land, they will hula hoop and let it fall to the ground and sit in it. They will sit with hands folded in their laps.

• Begin music.

• Stop music after 30 sec. and have the students check their turbines. Ask them if they are beating fast or slow?

• Explain to the students that they have landed on Mercury.

• They will now leave their Quasar and step out onto the planet.

• Demonstrate that the creatures on Mercury jump like kangaroos. Have the students jump around the planet in and out of the craters (hula hoops).

• Have the students return to their Quasars and move back onto the highway.

Rounds 2-8

The Rest of the Solar System

• Using the following chart, drive to each planet using the locomotor skill, speed limit, and time suggested. Land on each planet and have the students perform the activity described or make up their own.

Saturn

Skip

50 mph

45 sec.

Do push-ups like the strong people on Saturn

Uranus

Slide facing center of gym going the other direction

50 mph

45 sec.

Bear walk like the furry creatures on Uranus

Neptune

Walk

25 mph

30 sec.

Stretch like the rubbery people of Neptune

Venus

Gallop

50 mph

30 sec.

Hop like Venetians

Earth

Slide facing the center of the gym

50 mph

45 sec.

Use hoop as a jump rope like Earthlings

Mars

Skip

50 mph

45 sec.

Spin hoops on their side like Martian pets

Jupiter

Jog

75 mph

60 sec.

Tip toe pretending to be the giants on Jupiter

Field Trip Guide