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Shape Shifting

As we become more skillful

Activity
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Play to Learn

Let’s ‘Play to Learn’

Encourage the children to explore:

  • Holding a range of balances and changing from one body shape to another while they are holding the balance e.g. wide to thin or straight to curled, etc.
  • Creating a short sequence of balances linked together using travelling, jumping and rolling actions on the floor
  • Creating a short sequence of balances linked together using travelling, jumping and rolling actions on small apparatus
  • Ways in which they can include changes of direction and level in their sequence work
  • Working with a partner to create and perform a paired sequence
  • Watching each other’s performances and saying what is good about it and what could be better, beginning to use key words

Safety & Organisation

Ensure:

  • the surface is clean and free from obstructions
  • apparatus is lifted, carried and placed safely
  • children work in ‘gardens’

Opportunities to

  • become stronger and more agile
  • perform actions showing improved tension and clearer shape
  • show some fluency in linked actions
  • make simple suggestions about how to improve performance
  • sustain activity over appropriate periods of time

Questions

  • Which balances are easier to change body shape – patch or point balances?
  • Which small apparatus have you included in your apparatus sequence?
  • What action did you do when you were moving forwards?
  • How else could you move at a low level?
  • How did you suggest your partner could improve their work?

Can you see the child?

  • Becoming stronger and more agile
  • Performing actions showing improved tension and clearer shape
  • Showing some fluency in linked actions
  • Making simple suggestions about how to improve performance
  • Sustaining activity over appropriate periods of time

  • Most of the time

    Encourage the child to:

    • link more actions together to create a longer series of linked actions – repeat as an individual or with a partner on the floor or on apparatus
    • perform their sequence to music or percussion instruments
    • design a ‘move cube’ for another pair
    • draw a map of their sequence

  • Sometimes

    Encourage the child to:

    • practise activities for longer
    • discuss which action might link smoothly together, practise linking one or two actions together initially
    • use a ‘move cube’ to help them plan their sequence

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Shape Shifting As We Become More Skillful