How to Teach Jump Rope in Phys Ed Class
(Link to Podcast Episode)
Podcast Below: (itunes)
YouTube Show Below:
Resources/Links
Intro/”Why”
- An easy and cheap way of staying healthy for a lifetime.
- Teaching students so many different “tricks” that students never get bored. Super important life skills.
- Kick off the unit by showing them a video of World Class Jump Roping.
- Viven Vijad, 14 time Women’s World Champion Highlight Video
- Nick Woodward: Men’s World Champion Slow-Mo Video
- Explaining to students about making mistakes and how important it is to practice! Very Relatable!
Instagram Live Questions: What’s the youngest grade you do Jump Roping with? We do jump roping with all grades. We just modify it for the younger students! Kindergarten is an awesome starting point to sell the perseverance because most will struggle to jump.
- Remind students…Jump Roping is hard but if you keep practicing you will get better. Five Steps To Teaching a 5 Year Old to Jump Rope
Instagram Live Questions: At what age can you access motor quality? You can begin accessing at any age. We are going to refer you to Page 12 of the Grade Level Outcomes from SHAPE America
Jump Rope Management
- Maintaining an efficient jump rope station is key to student management.
- There are many different types…Carts, Wall Mounts, Racks…
- Discuss with your students how to gather and put back Jump Ropes.
- Before students try jump ropes we discuss how to measure the jump rope. After practicing allow students time for exchanges (we all make mistakes). Only with the older students.
- Check the video What Size Jump Rope Do I Need for an easy way to help your students figure out what a good size rope is for them. In my experience the estimate below works pretty well:
- K – 7-foot ropes
- 1st – 2nd – 7-8 foot ropes
- 3rd – 5th – 8 – 9 foot ropes
- Distributing jump ropes is based on your classroom makeup. Common strategies include:
- Students getting their own jump ropes.
- A teacher passing out jump ropes.
- Laying out jump ropes in and around the jumping area for students to choose.
- Teacher hack for managing Jump Ropes. I place a hula hoop rack on the back of my equipment do. Check out the video here to see how it’s done.
- At the start of the day, have the students gather or get jump ropes from the teacher. At the end of the class, have students place the jump ropes against the wall for easy exchange. Then at the end of the day, have each student bring ONE handle of the jump ropes for easy cleanup.
Instagram Live Question: I’m a new PE teacher, how do you break down your grading system. For complete answer check out our FAQ’s page.
- To help with management, you could have students practice cleaning up at stations or any activity before the unit so students are aware of how to clean up jump ropes.
- The size of the jump rope is not the most important factor. Student interest and success, even if the size is different, is the most important factor. Different people like different things!
- Discuss at the beginning of the unit/lesson about only touching the jump ropes when the music on (or on teacher signal). This way students are listening to the teacher.
Assessing Jump Rope Skills
- One of the ways we give students a way of assessing their jump roping skills is through the Endurance Club Challenge. A detailed explanation can be found at the linked video.
- Endurance Club Challenge can be related to the PACER test. Pacing is important, you want to last as long as you can. Kids love putting their names on the wall.
- Other ways to assess jump roping in class include a trick checklist, partner checklist, speed test and creating your own jump rope routine. You can Purchase our Jump Rope Resource Pack on our Jump Rope Unit Overview Page HERE
Instagram Live Question: Can you suggest a valid test to test agility, balance, coordination, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, explosive strength? We don’t have time to assess all the areas (only see our students once a week) but for the fitness components, we do assess, check out the blog post How I Teach Fitnessgram!
Jump Roping with Kindergarteners
- Breaking down the jump roping components into simple steps is most important. The first concept we work on is the jump. (Bending knees, landing softly)
- We start by laying the rope on the ground and practice different jumps. Laying the rope on the ground allows students to focus on jumping and not worry about turning. (Check out different rope tricks you can do on the ground HERE)
- Next, we practice just turn the rope, no jump, afterward we put all the steps together. TURN FIRST, THEN JUMP!
- To keep Kindergarteners attention, break jump roping into stations. Ideas for stations include:
- Hula Hooping
- Hula Jumping
- Jumping with the Rope on the ground
- Turning the rope
- Turning and Jumping
- Snake – Attach the rope to a chair and shake it like a snake
- Hurdles
Key steps for Kindergarten students
- Teach management skills – how to handle the rope, when and when not to use the rope, how to clean up the rope
- Continue to reinforce the buy-in and commitment, DO GIVE UP!
Instagram Live Question: Given the choice between a badminton unit and Jump Rope unit which one would you choose? In summary, we would prefer to teach Jump Rope simply because it is easier for us to find success with students using Jump Rope. Long handled implements are difficult for our students in our situation. Plus the birdie is difficult for students at our level to have significant success.
Breaking Down the Jump Rope Unit
- Three to Four weeks long (Kindergarten schedule is a little different because this is their introduction to Jump Rope)
Week One
- Single tricks (Tutorial of Jump Rope Tricks HERE). Students are focused on themselves and trying to improve their skill of Jump Roping.
- We really like to teach students different tricks, especially for those students who may struggle with Jump Rope, a different trick may be the one component they use to improve.
- If you are lucky enough to have a screen in your gym, we have animated GIF’s you can use to play in the background that is SUPER helpful. Link to Animated GIF’s and Follow the Leader Videos HERE!
- Be willing to demonstrate the Jump Rope tricks yourself. Give students a visual of success and failure. This will motivate them to not give up.
Instagram Live Question: Softball game ideas. Check out these games on PE UNIVERSE for ideas! One Base GrandSlam Quickball
If you have a tight space what are some ways to engage students without many jump ropes? You can do some partner jumps where one partner is jumping with the other is assessing and giving tips. You can also have student practice jumping without Jump Ropes (lines on the ground, low hurdles, other equipment). Practicing without a rope can help improve students footwork with Jump Rope tricks which will help them when they start to turn the rope.
Week Two: Single Trick Review, Partner Tricks
- Review some of the single tricks and introduction from Week One. If you didn’t get to some of the tricks in the first week, this would be a good time to go over the ones you missed.
- Afterward, we get into Partner Tricks. Some students enjoy working with partners on Jump Rope Skills.
- Partner Jumping can help those students who may struggle with jumping rope and pair them with students who do well. This can help to build confidence.
Instagram Live Question: Where are you guys located? We are located in South Carolina.
Week Three: Team Jump Roping
- Instead of partners working together, we have two people turning the rope. Hack: Use the 9’ to 10’ foot rope for 1st graders. Super long ropes are difficult for them to turn.
- Also, have a “Turning the Rope” station for 1st grade. This will help them practice the correct way to turn the jump rope.
- Once you see students have the turndown, then add in another student in the middle for jumping.
- 3rd – 5th-grade students can play a game of “Run Through School” this is a fun long rope activity. Stress to the class the TURNERS are the most important students in the activities.
- Another instant activity or station you can do with your students is the Thunderstick Challenge. Super fun activity!
Week Four: Whirlwind Tournament
- Whirlwind Tournament is done with 3rd – 5th graders. Great idea from JD Hughes! Check out his site for all his amazing games, activities, and ideas!
- Make sure to have a structured plan so the same student is not turning the rope the whole time.
- If students make a mistake have them become the turner.
- The turner can only turn for a certain amount of time.
- You could also have a Running Through School Tournament. Have students reach a certain grade, then they become a “coach” and allow those students to become the turners.
Jump Rope Stations
- A fun way to practice all the activities from the previous weeks.
- Here are a few examples of some Jump Rope Station Activities Setup and with students participating. You can get the jump rope station signs in our Jump Rope Resource Pack on our Jump Rope Unit Overview Page HERE.
Follow the Leader Videos and Animated GIFS
Links to resources for Jump Rope For Heart
Download the Show Notes below: