I was putting away all those “teacher” books from the post below the other day and flipped through one for giggles. I hope this doesn’t come across as overly snarky (though it is a blog…), but do teachers really need instructions on “teaching” jump rope? Am I from, like, Saturn for thinking this is kind of a no brainer?
“Alright class, I hope you did your homework last night and practiced breathing air. Today we’ll be learning how to properly place juicebox straws in juiceboxes and then – tomorrow – we’ll actually learn how to sip from straws. But first … it’s time to learn the fundamentals of moving your body over a continuously moving rope in a rhythmic manner. We’ll go through this process slowly.”
Or something like that.
“Hmm… this class IS advanced. Maybe we can skip straight to Double Dutch for today’s lesson.”
In unrelated news, since we’re done with finals, I plan on instigating a massive version of Werewolf in my class tomorrow. This could be ridiculously fun or ridiculously ridiculous. Only time (and a few sacrificial villagers) will tell.
[Regular, less inane posting will possibly* resume after submitting grades.]
*something akin to a vacation looms in the near future.
i would LOVE the chance to see you not only jump rope and then attempt to teach it to your english language learners… but i would also love to see you in the advanced “double dutch” class.
i have seen the talent that my middle school students possess in the later and i have an inkling that you my friend, do not. stick with the book…
As a foundation stage (nursery/kindergarten) teacher – I’ve come across countless books like this! I guess if you’ve never jumped rope (skiping, we call it in the UK!), then it would be helpful. But how many people working with young children have never jumped a rope?? Seriously.
Would just like to say i have manuals on teaching jump rope, by Buddy Lee and Ropesport, in the UK there are even instructor courses on how to teach. Last nite i took a jump rope class teaching 9-15 year olds, i have been teaching fitness classes for 9 years and this was by far the hardest class i have ever taught, may seem simple but there is a lot more than just jumping going on, plus for children you can add basic maths into the workout so its educational also.
You are from Saturn! For some 3rd garders (8 & 9 year olds) jumping rope can be very difficult. As a teacher, it can be very frustrating teaching students who do not have a good sense of timing or rhythm. I had one third grader who after 4 days of doing jump rope in our PE class could not perform 1 jump rope. However, by the time he was in fifth grade he could do 100. This was accomplished by shear determination and perserverance.