SUNY CORTLAND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT LAB Dr.

Madden Fall 2013 Lab Five Anthony Accetturi 3/26/14 Name: _________________________________ Lab Day: ___________ 4/2/14 Date: ______________

Todays lab will allow you to observe and assess the skill of catching. Keep space and safety issues in mind as you have the children perform the lab activities. Schedule: a. Task one - reflection b. Task two - Catching assessment (include catching instruction and associated games after the assessment is completed). c. Task three Your Assessment of a Fundamental Skill d. Task four Jump rope activities TASK ONE REFLECTION Thinking through all of the activities you have engaged the Homer/Smith students in during your field experience, what are some details that you have to take into consideration while having the students involved in the assessments, games and other activities you might have planned for them. a. Details about how you communicate the task/activity: When communicating the task to the children you must consider their age level and their understanding of certain games and activities. Since the children are between the grades of 1-5 they do not have knowledge of complex concepts and mature patterns of movement. Therefore the instructor should teach the concepts using basic movement patterns found in the emerging elementary stage and focus on the form of the motion instead of the result of the motion involved.

b. Details about how you structure or organize the task/activity: The activity should be in small groups of children with only one skill being learned at a time. The children should be encouraged to perform an activity that is not based on results but performance because the student should still be progressing from emerging elementary to proficient in their movement patterns. This is because the students are in grades 1-5 and need repetitions in motor skills in order to improve. Once a target or challenge is placed in front of the student, the student may regress in order to achieve the task and therefore never fully develop the mature pattern that the child should have to be playing either recreationally or competitively later on in life.

TASK TWO Catching Checklist Josh Childs Name:_____________________________________ 3/26/14 Date: _________________

Your task for this station is to qualitatively assess the students ability to perform the skill of catching (using a tennis ball) using the following criteria from Gallahue (1998). As you throw to the student, be consistent in how you throw.
I. Catching: A. Initial stage 1. There is often an avoidance reaction. 2. Arms are extended and held in front of body. 3. Body movement is limited until contact. 4. Catch resembles a scooping action. 5. Use of body to trap ball. 6. Palms are held upward. 7. Fingers are extended and held tense. 8. Hands are not utilized in catching action. B. Elementary stage 1. Avoidance reaction is limited to eyes closing at contact with ball. 2. Elbows are held at sides with an approximately 90-degree bend. 3. Since initial attempt at contact with child's hands is often unsuccessful, arms trap the ball. 4. Hands are held in opposition to each other; thumbs are held upward. 5. At contact, the hands attempt to squeeze ball in a poorly-timed and uneven motion. C. Mature stage 1. No avoidance reaction. 2. Eyes follow ball into hands. 3. Arms are held relaxed at sides, and forearms are held in front of body. 4. Arms give on contact to absorb force of the ball. 5. Arms adjust to flight of ball. 6.Thumbs are held in opposition to each other. 7.Hands grasp ball in a well-timed, simultaneous motion.

Observation number

Initial Stage

Elementary Stage

Mature Stage

TASK TWO (continued) Catching Checklist Using the same information from Gallahue (1998), have the child perform the catching task with a different sized ball (medium soft rubber or foam ball). Assess the child using the chart below.

Observation number

Initial Stage

Elementary Stage

Mature Stage

Questions for TASK TWO: Was your child at different developmental levels for the catch? Note where the student performed the catch at a different difference occurred. What might be the reasons for this? Did one type of ball elicit a more mature pattern? Why? Josh was between Initial and Elementary stage for his catches with both balls. He had trouble tracking the whiffle ball with his hands and the ball would hit his chest before he either trapped it or dropped it. He had an easier time with the rubber ball, which he could easily track and trap against his body. The rubber ball was easier for josh to catch because the ball was bigger therefore he had more of a surface area to trap the ball instead of the whiffle ball. Although he could not get his hands around the bigger ball he seemed to be able to track and grasp it easier than with the whiffle ball which showed a more delayed reaction as it hit his chest and then the floor more times than the rubber ball did.

TASK THREE Your Assessment Based on the assignment given to you, complete the assessment below. Fundamental Skill: Overhand Throw Conditions of the assessment: The child stands 20 ft. from a wall and has to throw the ball as hard as they can at the wall.

Josh Childs Name:_____________________________________

3/26/14 Date: _________________

Condition one (task) Overhand throw with whiffle ball

Observation number

Initial Stage

Elementary Stage

Mature Stage

Condition two (task)

Overhand throw with tiny foam ball

Observation number

Initial Stage

Elementary Stage

X X

Mature Stage

Questions for TASK THREE Was your child at different developmental levels for the fundamental skill? What might be the reasons for this? The child was between emerging elementary and mature phase of this drill and more specifically between the contralateral and windup stage of the drill. Josh would throw the ball with the correct windup on occasion but for the most part he was facing his target with his torso and not pointing his shoulder at his target. He would not always wind up fully and would usually stop at his ear or a little bit farther back. This might be because he plays catch with his brother a lot and has developed a more mature throwing pattern from extra practice throwing a ball.

What is a different way that you could have changed the task? I could have given Josh a more difficult task by giving him a target to throw at or lengthening the distance. These tasks would have been ok if Josh was doing the correct pattern of movement for the overhand throw consistently but because he was not the focus should be on changing the distance to the wall so that he can get the mature movement pattern down before going on to a harder task.

TASK THREE Developmental Tasks for Jump Roping

Mason Childs Name:_______________________________________

3/26/14 Date: _________________

You and your student will be provided with a jump rope (hopefully you are some what skilled!). Your task for this station is to crudely assess the students ability to jump rope using the checklist on page three and the following tasks: Developmental Tasks: 1. Have students jump over a line on the ground or floor. Note the takeoff and landing, do they take off and land with both feet, one foot, or a combination? Mason takes off and lands with both feet.

2. Do the same task as in #1 now using a jump rope laid out on the floor in a straight line. Answer the questions from #1. Mason again took off and landed with both feet.

3. Now, with assistance swing the rope back and forth and observe their jumping behavior. Are they more precise than in #s 1 or 2? What about their take off and landing? Mason would take off using one foot and would land with both feet sometimes but most of the time he took off and landed two footed.

4. Can they perform the skill as you and a partner turn the rope? Any observations/comments? Yes Mason can jump rope while me and a partner turned it but he does not time the rope as it goes over his head he just jumps and gets a rhythm to his jumping instead of timing the rope as it goes over his head.

Jump Rope Checklist plus Activities Mason Childs Name:_______________________________________ 3/26/14 Date: _________________

Cues/basic checklist:

BASIC SKILLS Keeps arms at side of the body Turns rope by making small circles with wrists Jumps on balls of feet Bends knees slightly to absorb force of the jump Makes small jumps over rope Advanced skills checklist: ADVANCED SKILLS Two foot basic step (lands and jumps off both feet) Alternate foot basic step (alternates jumping off left and right foot) Double side swing and jump (swing rope once on each side of body, followed by one jump, repeat)

YES X X X X

NO

YES X

NO

Other Jump Rope Activities: - jump variations students jump three/four/ five/etc jumps in a row alternate hop (one foot), jump (two feet) beanbag balance cross arm jump side to side - with another teacher and student front door, back door entry hop. Jump, touch with two jumpers circle jump enter front door (alone, with a shadow), enter back door (alone, with a shadow)