#22
HOT TIPS
A Tip Sheet For Physical Educators
Feature Activity
THE SPINJAMMER
The SpinJammer is a flying disc that has a special finger
cone in the center that allows you to spin the disc on your finger.
The cone is called the “Whatchamastallit.” You can perform
different tricks, play games and be creative. It can be used to
enhance throwing and catching skills. It is relatively inexpensive
and can be used in physical education classes K-12.
Cost:
SpinJammer 100: 9” diameter (for beginners and K-6) $1.60 each
SpinJammer Pro Comp: 10” diameter (for advanced and grades 7-12) $2.30 each
(Order a minimum of 10 SpinJammers and receive a SpinJammer Video and Instructional Booklet free.)
Order from: SpinJammer, P.O. Box 343, Acampo, CA 95220; phone 1-800-497-7775.
Spinning Techniques to Start the SpinJammer:
A. “Whatchamastallit”/Finger Cone Spin: Hold the jammer firmly in both hands with fingertips pointing upward.
Now toss and turn the disc simultaneously upward about two feet above your head (this allows time for you to
locate the tip of your finger inside the cone). For best results, synchronize your hand with the downward
motion of the disc. A good rule of thumb to remember for catching the jammer is to treat it like catching an
egg.
B. Outside/Inside Spin: Put the point of the index finger inside the cone keeping the palm toward the body and
use the palm of the other hand to rotate the jammer rapidly. Spin the jammer toward the outside of the body or
toward the inside of the body.
C. Point Spin: Place the fingers and thumb of one hand around the outside part of the cone. Turn the wrist quickly
and toss the jammer upward. Catch the cone with the tip of a finger.
SpinJammer ➤ cont. next page
GRANT WOOD
AREA EDUCATION AGENCY
4401 Sixth Street SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404-4499
Hot Tips #22
Winter1996-97
Published by the Adapted Physical Education Department, Grant Wood Area Education
Agency, 4401 Sixth Street SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404. Additional copies are available
upon request. Editor: Sue Deets, 1-800-854-0446, ext. 6268; TDD 319•358-6299. Production
by Grant Wood AEA Graphics & Printing Staff.
Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
1
SpinJammer . . . continued
Joan Fulp, an Elementary Physical Education / A.P.E. Specialist in the Cabrillo Unified School
District, Half Moon Bay, California, presented at the 25th Conference on Physical Activity for the
Exceptional Individual. Following are some of her skill progressions and activity ideas.
Curriculum Uses
Promote balance
Use in movement exploration unit
Improve hand/eye coordination
Use as rainy day classroom activity
Use in juggling unit
Create a SpinJammer unit
Skills and Activities
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Individual Skills
Spinning
(use any of the starting methods):
Tossing and Catching
(middle finger best for the catch)
• left and right hand
• finger to finger toss and catch
with one hand
• alternating fingers
• spin on end (on the ground)
• under the legs/inside and outside
• lunge hold/switch hands
• finger to finger toss and catch
from hand to hand
• behind the back/switch hands
• under the leg toss and catch with
opposite hand
• for time
• toss, full turn, catch
• two jammers at a time, one on
each hand
• move jammer from in front of
body to under elbow
• move from high to low level
• toss standing, go down on one
knee and catch
• under the arm toss and catch with
opposite hand
Challenges
• use other body parts to spin the
disc on / head, elbows, feet, knees
• spin on one foot and transfer to
other foot
• spin on one foot and toss and
catch with either hand
Balances
• seat balance, put jammer under
legs
• stork balance and pass jammer
from hand to hand
• do other balances at different
levels while spinning jammer
• lie down, roll over, get back up
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Partner Skills
Tosses and Catches
• finger to finger toss with either
hand
• one partner tosses jammer under
leg, partner catches jammer
standing
• one partner has two jammers,
partner has one and they toss or
juggle back and forth
Challenges
• see who can spin the longest
2
• follow the leader, move around
room, change levels
• partners challenge each other with
tricks
Group Activities
• Circle spin . . . 5 to 10 people in a
circle, keep two or three jammers
moving in different directions
(straight line works too)
• Group Juggle . . . students love to
create their own patterns with 3 to
5 people
Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Group Balances . . . strike a pose
with your classmates and create a
spinning picture
• Jammer Pass for Time . . .
pass one SpinJammer down a line
(or around a circle) for time
• Long Spin . . . see how many
people can pass a SpinJammer
before it stops spinning
• Hot Potato . . . pass the jammer
like a “hot potato”
Winter1996-97
Hot Tips #22
Relaxation Activities
for
Students in Physical Education
As physical education teachers, we often use relaxation or closing activities at the end of our classes. This quiet
time is frequently called a “cool-down” time to help students with the transition from vigorous motor movement to
academics in the classroom.
There are many techniques and activities that are appropriate for this time and lend themselves to the physical
education setting. The age level of students, the activity that proceeds the closing time, and the needs and abilities
of students all play a part in the selection of specific relaxation activities.
Not all students have the ability to calm or relax themselves and be without tension. The ability to relax at will is
acquired in the same manner that any other neuromuscular skill is learned. It must first be experienced and the
“feeling of it” perceived; then it must be practiced until the feeling can be reproduced whenever desired.
Following are a variety of relaxation and calming techniques that can be used in physical education settings.
Hopefully these activity ideas will help stimulate you as a teacher to create and seek out other techniques to be
used in your particular teaching environment.
Imagery
Imagery is an ideational approach used to bring about relaxed movements or feelings.
Examples:
Primary grades:
1) Use poems/short stories to help students become rag dolls, balloons slowly deflating, or melting Jello®.
2. Discuss with student what relaxes them. Encourage them to make up their own poems/stories.
Poem
s
Older students:
1. Instrumental music may be substituted for reading.
2. Let students find relaxation in the mood of certain stories or poems read
aloud.
Static Stretching
With static stretching students are in a static (inactive) position and stretch muscles slowly to release tension and
achieve relaxation.
Examples: Hold each position for 60 seconds or longer.
1. Let the head drop forward as far as it will go. Hold this position and feel the stretch.
2. Bend the body at the waist. Reach forward and touch fingertips to the floor, hold, feel the stretch.
3. Lie supine on a narrow bench and let the head hang over the edge.
Deep Body Awareness
Students focus their attention on specific body parts and analyze and verbalize the sensations they are experiencing. Students increase their kinesthetic awareness and then learn to control it. As awareness is developed, each
student discovers which thoughts and methods work best for him. Deep body awareness should progress from
teacher-directed to self-directed states.
Relaxation Activities ➤ cont. next page
Hot Tips #22
Winter1996-97
Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
3
Relaxation Activities ... in Physical Education . . . continued
Examples: Students lie on the floor in supine position. Have each focus on specific body parts. Help them to
develop awareness by asking questions.
1. Which part of your arm is touching the floor?
2. Is the floor hot or cold?
3. How heavy is your arm?
4. How heavy are each of your fingers, your waist, your elbows?
5. Can you feel the hairs on your arms?
Yoga
Yoga is a system of exercises built upon held positions and postures and breath control. Each posture is repeated
only two or three times. Yoga stresses the single, slow contraction of certain muscles followed by a general
relaxation.
Examples:
1. Cobra: Have students begin in a prone position, with palms on the floor at shoulder level. Have them
support weight on the palms, inhale and slowly raise their upper body, arching the back and tightening the
buttocks. Have them look upward and hold for ten seconds; then exhale and slowly lower the body back to
starting position. Repeat three times.
2. Rag Doll: Have students stand with their feet about five or six inches apart and raise their arms above their
heads. Have them slowly bend forward as far as possible and keep heads down. Have them hold for ten
seconds. Have them drop the chin to the chest and straighten up very slowly and end with hands to their
sides. Repeat three times.
Jacobson Techniques
The basic idea of the Jacobson system is to systematically train tensing and relaxing groups of muscles. During the
first sessions of a course each group of muscles (forearm, upper arm and so on) is exercised separately. Later these
exercises are combined so that at the end you should be able to relax the whole body at once. This very slow
procedure was developed by Edmund Jacobson, a physician and physiologist, in the 1920s. This technique takes
one hour each class session and the entire procedure takes many, many sessions. Jacobson indicates the course can
be speeded up, but emphasizes that less thoroughness results in reduced ability to recognize tension signals and
turn them off.
Examples: The essence of this system can be reproduced by doing progressive relaxation during a physical
education class with older students. Have students lie on their backs with legs slightly apart and
arms at their sides. Students tense different muscle groups for ten seconds then relax. Students
listen to music.
➜
1. Have students press their heads against the mat; then relax.
Head Only
2. Have students frown, move only their scalp upward, yawn very slowly; then relax.
➜
3. Have students squeeze their shoulder blades together; then relax.
4. Have students make fists with their hands
and squeeze them tightly;
then relax.
Make fists, relax
4
Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
Relaxation Activities ➤ cont. next page
Winter1996-97
Hot Tips #22
Relaxation Activities ... in Physical Education . . . continued
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5. Have students tighten
their stomach muscles;
then relax.
6. Have students squeeze their buttocks
together; then relax.
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7. Direct students to press their legs to the
floor; then relax.
8. Have students close their eyes and breathe
in deeply, then slowly breathe out. Repeat.
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9. Direct students to
open their eyes,
stand up slowly,
give a big
“yawn,”, and
stretch tall.
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Tai Chi
Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese system of exercise. Its movements are slow, continual, without musical accompaniment, at one tempo, and containing circles. All body parts are bent or curved and have uninterrupted flow and quiet
continuity. No pose is ever held. The principle of slowness is stressed. Tai Chi is a series of 108 specific learned
patterns of movements called forms that provide exercise for every part of the body. These forms are based on 37
basic movements. There is much repetition in the execution in a series of forms.
Examples: The essence of Tai Chi can be reproduced in physical education by using a follow-the-leader type of
approach with calisthenics. With this approach slow flowing, circular movements should exist with no break in the
continuity of the sequence. For real relaxation to occur, the same sequence should be repeated each class period.
References:
Kohler, M. (1983). The Secrets of Relaxation. Stein and Day Publishers.
Landy, Joanne M. and Maxwell J. (1992). Ready-To-Use P.E. Activities for Grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6. Parker Publishing Company.
Sherrill, Claudine (1993). Adapted Physical Activity, Recreation and Sport, 4th Edition. Brown and Benchmark.
Steward, Mary and Phillips, Kathy (1992). Yoga for Children. Simon and Schuster.
Hot Tips #22
Winter1996-97
Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
5
Relaxation Activities for Students With Disabilities
After working for several years with students of all ages and abilities, Karen Nagle, a Physical Education Teacher
at Hoover Elementary School in Iowa City, Iowa, has developed the following. She has given us permission to
share these creative ideas with you. We hope you find them helpful. Thanks once again, Karen, for your many
contributions to Hot Tips!
General Considerations
1. It is best to develop the ability to relax at an early age.
2. Consider functioning level, affect, communication skills and general activity level when choosing an activity.
3. Reinforce “good relaxing” in a smooth and low tone of voice.
4. Accepting any physical contact may offer a challenge for many students. Desensitize the student: first, to your
presence (being in the same room); then, lessen the distance and increase your time spent with the student; and
finally, work toward having the student tolerate a few seconds of physical contact. Be patient.
5. Consider a variety of cues to use; special music, a certain chair, a specific sign on his/her communication
board.
6. Incorporate any of the following activities into an individualized relaxation routine: practice often, give verbal
praise during the routine, reward after the routine, set a time limit, and position students comfortably.
7. Be aware that massages should always move toward the heart: move up the back, up the arm, etc. A vigorous
massage any other way may affect blood pressure.
8. Lower or dim the lights.
9. Play soft, easy-listening music in the background.
10. High tactile activities are well received by the more involved students.
11. It is strongly advised that for any massages the teacher or peer use one or two objects in his/her hands (examples: tennis balls, therapy ball, cylinders, etc.).
Activities/Equipment Used to Encourage Relaxation
1. Use tennis balls and massage student’s hands, feet, arms,
legs, back, and shoulders.
2. Use a playground ball to give student a body massage.
6. Use vibrating pillows. Place them under student’s
head, arms, or legs while either prone or supine.
May also slowly move a pillow over the student’s
back or extremities.
3. Roll a large therapy ball or cage ball
over student while he/she is either
prone or supine.
7. Use anything with a cylinder shape (styrofoam
tube, carpet tube, rolling pin, etc.) and roll it over
student’s back and extremities.
4. Use a battery
operated or hand held back scratcher on
student’s back, arms, feet, legs, and shoulders.
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5. Use a tactile ruler (glue a cotton ball to one side
of a ruler and sand paper to the other side) and
gently rub the hands, feet, arms or legs using
both sides of the ruler.
8. Gently “dust” student with a feather duster.
9.
Place 9 or 10 dead tennis balls in old hosiery
and tie both ends. Roll this
over the student’s back
and extremities.
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Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
Relaxation Activities ➤ cont. next page
Winter1996-97
Hot Tips #22
Relaxation Activities for Students With Disabilities . . . continued
10. Use a variety of commercially purchased massagers
(pen sized, wrap around, etc.) and when massaging
take care to move toward the heart.
11. Attach a paper plate to a stick or use a hand held fan
and give student a back rub, gentle back pats, or back
taps.
12. Breeze student with a hand-held fan.
13. Have student twist and untwist old clothes or
towels.
14. Have student squeeze a small Nerf® ball or tennis
ball in one or both hands.
15. Use Boinga® balls (see Ideas and Resources) and
bounce them lightly over the student’s feet, legs,
shoulders, neck, and back.
16. Give a foot massage with student wearing socks and
teacher or peer wearing rubber gloves.
17. Student log rolls inside a blanket or sheet so that he/
she is wrapped tightly and snugly (“hot dog game”).
18. Student rolls slowly side to side in a carpeted barrel.
19. Have student lie down on a conical mattress pad and
gently roll him/her up in the pad and then unroll.
(Can use a rug or something similar. Be careful not
to cover student’s face when doing this activity.)
20. Have student lay on a blanket on the floor. Slowly
pull him/her around on the floor taking care that the
movement is slow and the student is receiving deep
pressure input from the floor.
21. Put student in a body sock, under a bed sheet or
parachute, inside a cardboard box or barrel and do
any ball massage activity. Use a
wide variety of balls during
each massage session. (See
Hot Tips #19 for additional information on the
body socks shown here.)
22. Have student lie on floor
or sit in wheelchair and
gently put a scarf in each
of his/her shirt sleeves.
Pull from the neck area
through to the wrist. Can
tie several scarves together
for a long pull.
either sock-footed or bare-footed. Place a variety of safe objects with different textures on the
floor. Put out surprise objects for student to try
to identify with only the feet.
24. Have student walk a tug-a-war rope on the floor
while sock-footed.
25. Select music with a good beat and have student
move rhythmically to the music. Assist as needed.
Have him/her begin with small movements and
progress to movements with full extension.
26. Have student use light free weights while doing
non-locomotor movements. Can use soup cans,
wrist band, etc.
27. Use a hand-held air pump and blow air on
various body parts of each student.
28. Waterplay in a small wading pool is soothing to
some students. (This is a warm weather activity.)
29. Practice breathing exercises when student is in
his/her most relaxed state. Demonstrate deep
breathing slowly. “Breathe in – relax – breathe
out.” Shoulders up on inhale and breathe
through the nose. Shoulders down and exhale
through the mouth. Control the pace.
30. Place several mats end to end and have student
practice controlled breathing by blowing an
inflated balloon down the mats. (Good to first
practice exhalation by bending at the waist and
putting head down for each blow exhaled. Start
slowly. Inhale deeply to avoid hyperventilation.)
31. Have students lie supine on mats in a small
group (not touching). Use a small parachute or
bed sheet and billow the parachute above the
students to soft music. Teachers and/or
peers on their knees works best to start.
Begin by pulling the parachute back and
forth over students. (The parachute does not
touch students, but is directly above them.)
Teachers and peers stand with the parachute
and walk in a circle with the parachute billowing above. Students like to see the colors
and feel the movement of air. End the activity by letting the parachute drop to the ground
so it covers all of the students. Then one peer or
teacher slowly pulls the parachute off all of the
students.
23. Have student explore the floor
Hot Tips #22
Winter1996-97
Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
7
Ideas and Resources
Boinga Balls
Flippers™
These are ancient Oriental mas- sage tools. Grip the
handle and bounce them lightly over the entire body
except the kidney areas. Normally people like their
feet hit harder and their neck area easier, but you can
tailor the degree of bounce desired. Break down
muscle tension, rejuvenate tired feet and legs, stimulate
shoulders and neck. Great for relaxation time!
Flippers™ are small plastic
objects that can be placed on the
floor or table. With a push of a
finger students can make them
jump like a grasshopper. These
are good fine motor “fun” small
space center activities. Great for
students with muscular dystrophy and other disabilities.
Flipper™ basketball is awesome!
Purchase locally: $12.99 at General Nutrition Centers
(GNC) — however, not readily available
Homemade “Boinga Balls”
Karen Nagle, Hoover Elementary, Iowa City Community Schools (Iowa City, Iowa) uses Boinga® balls
weekly in her primary and intermediate classes of
autistic students. Karen bought plastic spatulas and cut
off the ends used to lift and turn over foods. She then
purchased inexpensive solid rubber balls and cut into
each with a sharp knife. The long plastic “neck” of the
spatula was inserted into the ball and super glued into
place. Very inexpensive!
Megaballoons
These balloons are well
over three feet
in diameter when blown
up and are
sturdy enough to take lots
of use. They
can be used in a game or a
whole lesson of
fun activity can be developed.
You will be able
to come up with hours of physical education fun
for all ages with these inexpensive balloons.
Cost:
$6.00 for a set of three balloons.
Order from: Klutz, 2121 Staunton Court
Palo Alto, CA 94306
phone 1-800-558-8944.
Juggling Eggs
Bouncing eggs! These are Grade AA rubber and are
very soft and nice. They look just like real
eggs until they hit the floor. These eggs
are also good for teaching students to
“give” with the catching hands
when receiving a throw.
Cost:
$5.00 for six eggs
Order from: Klutz
(see Megaballoons)
8
Cost:
$9.95 for three sets
(sixteen flippers per set)
Order from: The Education Company
3949 Linus Way
Carmichael, CA 95608-2154
Stomp Rocket™
This is a rocket that could be used in any elementary
adapted physical education program. It is especially
exciting for students who do not have good use of their
upper extremities. You will need a large open area, so
it is best used out-of-doors. Set up toe launching stand
and load a rocket or glider and give the pad a stomp.
Great fun!
Cost: $14.99
(one launcher and
three rockets)
Purchase Locally:
Bonnie’s Toys and More
Eastdale Plaza
Iowa City, Iowa; or
Order from:
D & L Company
P.O. Box 7996
Porterville, CA 93258
(add $5.00
shipping per
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Published by Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, IA
Winter1996-97
Hot Tips #22