Teaching Children Gymnastics-3rd Edition

This third edition of Teaching Children Gymnastics will help you tailor a gymnastics program to your teaching situation while combining the best facets of developmental skills, health-related fitness, and conceptual learning based on process characteristics of body, space, effort, and relationships. Internationally renowned author and educator Peter Werner and coauthors Lori Williams and Tina Hall guide you through the process of teaching gymnastics skills and then linking those skills into sequences.

Having conducted workshops at all levels, the three authors combine decades’ worth of gymnastics knowledge and teaching experience. In this book, they offer updated and new material, including

• a chapter on designing gymnastics sequences;

• sections on behavior management, inclusion, and advocacy;

• information on scope and sequence for grades K to 5;

• information based on revised national standards, assessment, and designing of gymnastics sequences; and

• additional learning experiences, plus ideas for creating more learning experiences.

You will find real-life scenarios that will help you apply the material, and you will learn how to create a positive learning environment for your students. Chapter objectives, summaries, and reflection questions enhance the learning experience.

Part I of Teaching Children Gymnastics provides an overview of developmentally appropriate gymnastics, exploring why it should be part of a high-quality elementary physical education program and how the instructional approach used in the book differs from the traditional approach used in physical education. The material in part I will help you plan your program, incorporate it into your curriculum, and assess your students.

Part II provides great learning experiences for the skill themes of traveling, statics, and rotation. Each skill theme is broken into categories that help children acquire the skills they need to learn. It’s in this portion that they develop sequences that integrate all the skills they have learned. The authors also supply an appendix with forms and handouts, cutting down your preparation time.

Teaching Children Gymnastics is a great tool for novice and experienced teachers alike. More than that, it’s the perfect resource for opening up the fun and exciting world of gymnastics to youngsters who are always looking for an excuse to perform just the types of skills that they will learn—and design sequences for—through this book.

Peter Werner, PED, is a retired distinguished professor emeritus from the department of physical education at the University of South Carolina. His area of expertise is physical education for children, including gymnastics, dance, and interdisciplinary learning. Dr. Werner has presented at numerous national conferences for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. He has presented a session on educational gymnastics at an international conference as well.

Dr. Werner served as senior editor for Teaching Elementary Physical Education and has served in editorial roles for many other physical education publications. He has been recognized numerous times for his contributions to physical education, including receiving the Ada B. Thomas Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award in 2001 from the University of South Carolina, the Margie Hanson Service Award in 2002 from the Council on Physical Education for Children, and the Hall of Fame Joy of Effort Award from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education in 2008. He is a coauthor of Interdisciplinary Teaching Through Physical Education (2009), Seminar in Physical Education (2008), and Geocaching for Schools and Communities (2010), all with Human Kinetics. He has also written hundreds of articles.

Dr. Werner and his wife make their home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, where he enjoys whitewater canoeing, running, biking, and hand-crafting brooms.

Lori H. Williams, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. She has taught physical education at the elementary, middle school, and college levels. Her 25 years of teaching experience include 14 years in public schools. Gymnastics has always been part of her curriculum. She coauthored Schoolwide Physical Activity (2010) and several articles for refereed publications. Williams has presented at numerous state, regional, and national conferences, many of which included a focus on gymnastics. She has been an active participant in collecting and analyzing assessment data at the state level with the South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program, and she has been a member of the NASPE Assessment Task Force.

Tina J. Hall, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of health and human performance at Middle Tennessee State University. She has taught since 1985, spending 18 of those years at the elementary and middle school levels. Her experience in gymnastics includes teaching gymnastics as an integral part of her elementary and middle school physical education curriculum, conducting an afterschool gymnastics club, and teaching educational gymnastics to future physical educators at the college level. Hall has conducted numerous workshops and in-services focusing on gymnastics. She is a coauthor of Schoolwide Physical Activity (2010) and several articles for refereed publications.