Key Concept (Broad Goal): Balancing (Stable Statues and Shapes)
Outcomes and Indicators (More Specific Goals)
PE3.6
Apply movement variables of:
 extensions in space
 a focus on effort (time/speed, force, flow)
 relationships with objects and others
to increase complex movement skills and sequences while participating in body management
activities (including dance and educational gymnastics, and others such as yoga,
h. Design and demonstrate, with a partner, a variety of statues (balances) of different shapes,
with one person bearing some or all of the weight of the partner, while focusing on being as
stable as possible.
i. Design and demonstrate, with a partner, a variety of stable shapes that replicate 3-D
objects/forms.
Residual indicators from PE3.6:
g. Balance objects (e.g., beanbags, balls) using different body parts (e.g., head, shoulder, hand,
foot) while traveling alone and with a partner.
k. Identify adjustments (e.g., lower the centre of gravity, free body parts need to be extended for
stability) needed, using performance cues language, to improve performance in teacher and/or
classmate demonstrated balances.
Other residual outcomes:
PE3.3
Express and apply, with guidance, a variety of ways to skillfully move the body through space
while participating in movement activities, including at a:

utilization level of skill when:
o jumping backward and landing
o hopping (body moves on one foot as in right foot to right foot)
o skipping (combines a step and a hop)
o leaping (body takes off from one foot, propels through air for distance, then
lands on the opposite foot)
o sliding (one foot steps, body propels upward, other foot moves to meet the first
foot)
o galloping (one foot steps, body propels upward, other foot moves to meet the first
foot)
o rolling forward (see note)
ASSIGNMENT #3
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o

rolling sideways
control level of skill when:
o rolling backward (see note on page 34).
PE3.8
Demonstrate positive interactions with others in cooperative and competitive movement
activities.
PE3.10
Demonstrate, verbally and non-verbally, consideration and respect for all others (regardless of
ideas, abilities, worldviews, physical characteristics, cultural backgrounds, or gender) while
participating in physical education activities.
Materials/Equipment
-cards that have directions on them for students to follow so they know which body part(s) to
balance on (we used these in one of our EPE 310 gymnasium experiences); have these scattered
in the middle circle of the gymnasium beforehand so students can be curious and surprised
-beanbags
-pictures of structures for students to try to replicate through partner balances (e.g., The Leaning
Tower of Pisa or other towers, bridges, volcano) and possibly pictures of people performing
balances as well (noted below as an adaptation)
-use whiteboard at the end of the lesson if your gymnasium has one
-Movement Variables posters
(http://growingyoungmovers.com/resources/post/?pid=117#.Vl0h07-b3Id) – these should
hopefully be displayed in the gym already to encourage children to use this language; make sure
to move the “balance” one specific to this lesson to a centre meeting place (this could be at a
whiteboard) Having this in a center place for students to see can help get across your goal for
the lesson
If you cannot have the posters hung up, make sure to have the words from the G.Y.M.
posters handy for students to read:
Balance
Taking weight, supporting weight, stillness, laying, sitting, standing, losing and recovering
balance, moving and stopping
Anticipatory Set (10 min)
Have a Dynamic warm-up first in lap formation (to go with the Active Living goal, teaching
about the importance of warming up before beginning any activity) – 3 minutes
Some movements to call out for students to do:
-skipping with high knees
-karaoke (or is it “carioca”?)/grapevine
-lifting heels (butt kicks)
-knee hug lunge (since this lesson has a balancing goal, ask the students to hold the pose
on one foot for 3-5 seconds)
-backwards over fence motion (seen in EPE 310, not sure what it is called) (once again,
have students hold the stretch to start practicing balancing for the lesson)
ASSIGNMENT #3
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(due to the task cards that will be laid out inside the middle circle of the gymnasium, students
will perform their warm-up in this lesson in lap formation to ensure they are not slipping on the
cards; ask them to stay along the basketball court boundary lines to avoid stepping on the
surprise cards; the grade 3s I am pre-interning with warm-up in lap formation and this is their
routine – it is effective as they get straight to it when they walk into the gymnasium so this could
also be a normal routine rather than something unusual just for this lesson)
Balance Task Cards (from EPE class)
-After the warm-up, ask each student to grab a mat and place it in open space, making sure they
have their own personal space
-Explain to students that the cards placed in the middle circle are special balancing cards to help
us practice our balances today – they will tell us which body part(s) and which side if applicable
(left/right) to try to balance on (this is how students will know what is expected today in terms of
learning)
-Explain to students what the symbols mean (one colour symbolizes left and the other colour
symbolizes right; there is a legend for this as well as the body parts)
-Tell students that when you call out “Go,” to run and grab one of the cards and take it back to
your mat; try to perform and hold the balance on that card for 3-5 seconds before bringing the
card back to the centre and picking up a new card to try at your mat; you must hold a balance for
as long as it takes to show you have control of your body (B. West-McMaster/KIN 139, personal
communication, 2013)
-Talk about balancing with the students as they work through the task cards
Ask: What helps with balancing? (to prompt: Our core? Our muscle?)
-Key teaching concepts for balancing are:
“it’s easier to balance over a wide base of support than a narrow base”
“the center of gravity should be aligned over the base of support for stationary balance”
“extensions to one side of the body beyond the base of support necessitate extensions in
the opposite direction for counterbalance”
(Graham et al., 2013, p. 344)
-Change up the locomotor skills students are practicing by saying: “From now on you cannot run
to the centre to grab the cards – I want you to show me other ways that you could travel there”
(locomotor movement skills are being embedded in the lesson here despite the focus being on
balancing)
-Call out the skills you see students using (e.g., skipping, galloping) (hearing the
language is important)
-After 7 or so minutes, ask students to push mats against the walls
-Gather the cards (make sure you place the cards where students could not step and slip on in the
next activity) and place a few mats in the centre circle in preparation for the next activity
Procedure/Body (23 min)
Beanbag Balance (6-8 min)
(adapted from http://web.wnlsd.ca/student_health/DPA/1%20%203%20Equipment%20Activities.pdf)
-Explain the rules to the class:
ASSIGNMENT #3
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-Everyone will get a beanbag (pass out beanbags to each student or have multiple buckets
out so students can grab themselves without being congested at a single tub)
-Ask students to place the beanbag on their head and try to keep it as steady as possible as
they walk slowly (movement variable of effort) around the gymnasium’s general space
(staying within basketball court boundary lines to avoid mats against the walls)
-Now, challenge students to walk in different ways – e.g., tiptoe, slow, knees bent – while
trying to still balance the beanbag
-After allowing for practice time, explain that we will now play ”Beanbag Balance.”
This time, if your beanbag falls off of your head/it drops, then you must run (embed other
locomotor skills here as well) with the beanbag to the centre circle and hold a stable
balance until a classmate comes over and then you must perform a new balance together;
you can then place your beanbag back onto your head after demonstrating a balance with
your partner (I wanted to make sure the helpers are still having a chance to practice their
balancing; this also relates back to our indicator about balancing with a partner and the
assessment rubric about “independently design[ing]” balances)
(could come up with a destination name for the centre like the “Wellness Circle” we used
in EPE 310)
-Two people will have the job of helping/saving others who drop their beanbags – switch
these roles often (this is added in to develop that relationship piece by working to help
each other; it is also to prevent kids from being without their beanbag for too long in
case others are too focused with their own bean bag balancing to notice and help others)
-Increase the number of helpers as needed to ensure that no student has to wait a long time in the
centre circle (I do not want my students to become bored in my physical education class)
(I did not follow the original instructions for kids to freeze when their beanbag drops because
that is not promoting active living)
-Be sure to comment on the partner balances occurring in the middle centre to keep students
aware of what we are trying to learn; ask students to think about how their base of support could
change how stable their balance is
-You could also challenge students doing their individual balances to try different bases of
support
Statues/Structures (culminating activity) (12-15 min)
-Ask students to find a partner and open space and play “Rooster Fight” (this is simply a tool that
involves balancing to split students into two sides in preparation for the culminating activity)
“Rooster Fight” (note: this requires respect for others and discipline so know the group
you have and if this activity needs to be modified for them)
-Each partner stands on 1 foot bending other leg up behind and hangs on with opposite
hand.
Free arm is held behind the back (grasping opposite arm if they can).
Each tries to bump each other gently attempting to make them put second foot down.
(activity from B. West-McMaster/KIN 139, personal communication, 2013)
-Ask that the first place winners grab a mat to set up along a designated line and the
second place winners do the same on another line (language is important; there are no
losers when we are being physically active!); partners should be facing each other from
opposite lines
ASSIGNMENT #3
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(we have done similar partner activities to break into 2 groups before in EPE 310; I do
have concerns that some students could be excluded so make sure to keep an eye on how
partners are forming)
-Make sure pairs are spaced out
-Lay out cards with structures to prompt balances in between the two lines as students are
moving their mats (one card between each pair)
-To tie in grade 3 structures in science, challenge students to replicate 3-D structures with a
partner by demonstrating stable shapes that replicate them
(to work on the Body movement variable, include wide, curled, twisted, and narrow shapes)
Examples:
-Leaning Tower of Pisa (if there is one partner who is holding the other partner’s
weight while leaning, this connects well to indicator h of PE3.6)
-Volcano (students could extend their arms above and together to form a
triangular shape)
-Also include such a variety that some are easier to do alone than others (e.g., with the
Leaning Tower of Pisa, partners could do it as a form of “parallel play” whereas a
structure in which partners squat back to back and their legs form an arch would require
partners to work together to be successful)
(balances should also be designed to involve a variety of extensions and levels)
-Explain to students that there is a picture of a structure (that we have been learning about in
science) on each card for them to try to replicate using their bodies and balancing
-Tell them that they will be attempting the same structure as their partner, but it is up to them if
they make the balance together or separately (offer options, but be aware that this could still lead
to distress or exclusion for some students; I am hoping that by planning some structures as
requiring teamwork in order to be successful that all students will want to see this success and
will work past any social barriers like not wanting to touch others/being uncomfortable) (also be
aware that the indicator is about balancing with a partner, so if this backfires then the rules will
need rethinking to ensure that every student is demonstrating balances with a partner)
-Tell them that they will have 2-3 minutes to attempt that balance with or alongside their partner
(I wasn’t too sure how much time to write down, this could always be adjusted during the lesson
and once you know what all of the possible structures are)
-Once time is up for one balance, tell students that everyone will move one spot to the left so you
have a new card to try and a new partner
-Repeat this until every student has tried each card/returned to original partner or as time allows
-Throughout this activity, ask partners what they are doing to make sure their balance is stable
-Being aware of the time to ensure time for discussion, ask students to put their mats away at an
appropriate time and gather all cards into a pile to set aside
Closure (7 min)
-End the lesson by meeting at the whiteboard or in centre circle for static stretches while
discussing performance cue language for balancing (could refer to the movement variable poster
on Balance that should be present)
-If there is a whiteboard available, write down students’ ideas
-Start by reviewing general performance cues (e.g., base of support, centre of gravity)
Base of support: the part of the body that is in contact with the apparatus
Centre of Gravity: balance or equilibrium point of the body
ASSIGNMENT #3
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(definitions from B. West-McMaster/KIN 139, personal communication, 2013)
-Ask students what balancing while supporting the weight of a partner should look like:
having a wide base (to provide greater stability) and extensions (“extensions beyond the
line of gravity require extensions in the opposite direction for counterbalance” (Graham
et al., 2013, p. 364).
-Ask students to think of problems they faced when trying to design balances or replicate statues
with a partner and how they solved those problems
-Tell students that they will have a chance to demonstrate their favourite partner statue (either
from “Beanbag Balance” or the final activity) in tomorrow’s class and will share one problem
they had and how it was solved
(this closure idea is from page 22 of the Grade 3 Physical Education SK Curriculum)
-In a future lesson, you could ask students to think of a favourite structure they learned about in
science to replicate instead of being prompted by cards
-End with asking: What did today look like, sound like, feel like? (I enjoy that this question from
EPE 310 gets kids thinking with a variety of senses)
Assessment
Opportunities to assess:
-Watch how students perform the balances off the task cards while circulating around their mats
-Watch how students are performing balances in the centre circle during “Beanbag Balance” and
their ability to independently design a balance with a partner
-Watch how students perform balances in the culminating activity with a partner
Balancing (at a control level (1))
-Body Still on Increasingly Smaller Bases
-Muscles of Free Body Parts Held Tightly
-Free Body Parts Extend for Stability
-Demonstrates Variety of Two Foot Balances
(cues copied from Growing Young Movers’ Movement Skills flipchart – have the chart with you
to help assess or have the bullet points written down in a notebook/clipboard for easy reference)
Theoretically I would number off the above cues and create a table with students’ names and
numbered columns for me to check off if I am seeing them performing that particular cue; I
would know if a grade 3 student is at the benchmark utilization level if I have checked off all of
the cues and have observed the student performing them naturally.
Since these control level cues are listed at the grade 1 level, I will be looking for grade 3
students to hit everything on this list without thinking about it to show me if they are at a
utilization level; this of course does not mean I will not have grade 3s who are at the lower levels
of skill.
Also note that balancing while supporting the weight of a partner is listed at the proficiency level
in the skill theme development progression, which is the equivalent to the utilization level of
skill in the Saskatchewan PE curricula (Graham, G., Holt/Hale, S., & Parker, M. (2013).
Children moving: A reflective approach to teaching physical education (9th Ed.). New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill.)
Holistic Rubric (which is from
ASSIGNMENT #3
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http://growingyoungmovers.com/+pub/document/connecting%20outcomes%20to%20games/Co
mbinedgradethree.pdf)
can be found below and the applicable area (last row) to assess is highlighted. Here are the four
levels from the rubric that tell me what to look for:
Level Four: Consistently and independently designs and demonstrates a variety of statues
(balances).
Level Three: Frequently designs and demonstrates a variety of statues (balances).
Level Two: Occasionally designs and demonstrates a variety of statues (balances).
Level One: Has not designed and demonstrated a variety of statues (balances).
With this rubric, I have buzz words to look for in student performance and could check off where
they are at by constructing a table with student names and rubric levels.
ASSIGNMENT #3
Interdisciplinary Connections
-a Science topic in grade 3 is structures and we will be using structures as inspiration for our
statues in the culminating activity
-I learned from Taylor Harder that placing an object on your head and balancing it was an
activity done in her stress-relief class; this activity therefore relates to Health and stress
management (think of how you need to be conscious of how your body is moving rather than
focusing on your worries and it teaches you to slow down and walk calmly)
-The following Cross-Curricular Competency goal is being met through the opportunity to
replicate structures and design your own balances:
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ASSIGNMENT #3
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Developing Thinking (Think and learn creatively)
 Create or re-design objects, designs, models, patterns, relationships, or ideas by
adding, changing, removing, combining, and separating elements.
 Imagine and create central images or metaphors for subject area content or crossdisciplinary ideas.
Formations
-students will use the boundary lines of the basketball court to move through their dynamic
warmup in lap formation (as mentioned above, a normal warmup could be travelling through
general space, but for the sake of the cards involved in this lesson and to minimize time to set up
while children are doing nothing, the lap formation is used here); use the basketball court as
boundaries again for “Beanbag Balance” to avoid mats set aside
-“Rooster Fight” is presented as a possible idea to divide students into two lines
-for the final balancing activity, students will have mats along two different lines facing their
partner; this will allow for an easy switch in partners by moving over one to the side
-students will sit at the whiteboard if there is one or else in the centre circle for the closing
discussion
Safety
-make sure tables, chairs, carts, etc. are moved out of the gymnasium and that no sharp objects
are laying around (during the physical education lesson my pre-internship partner taught, there
had been a pole used for volleyball nets hanging on the wall)
-have mats for students to perform balances on
Adaptations
-Beanbag Balance can be made more difficult by requiring both “helpers” to design a group
balance; group structures like pyramids could be included in a later lesson
-that balance APP that was shown in our EPE 310 class could be used for students to copy
balances from; you could take pictures of the students’ balances to compare with the original;
use both pictures for discussions around balance performance cues (what is the program called?)
-if you are worried about how your group of students will play “Rooster Fight,” you can have
students play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with their bodies instead
-you could include pictures of people doing the balances for the last activity so students don’t
stress about not knowing how to make it look; this is an example of partner balances from
Pinterest.com that you could use to compare structures with:
ASSIGNMENT #3
Examples of structure connections that could be made with the above balances:
-Sitting on knees while holding a partner’s hand with arms extended reminds me of a bridge
-The bottom left one looks like a slide
Reference for Textbook:
Graham, G., Holt/Hale, S., & Parker, M. (2013). Children moving: A reflective approach to
teaching physical education (9th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.)
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