Skill Themes and Movement Concepts in Physical Education

Skill Themes and Movement Concepts in Physical Education

Skill themes and movement concepts are essential components of physical education, focusing on developing children's motor skills and confidence. This chapter emphasizes the importance of teaching fundamental motor skills before introducing complex games and sports. It outlines various skill themes, such as locomotor, nonmanipulative, and manipulative skills, and explains how movement concepts enhance these skills. Ideal for educators and physical education professionals, this chapter provides a framework for creating engaging and effective physical education programs.

Key Points

  • Explains the significance of skill themes in developing motor skills for children.
  • Details the interaction between movement concepts and skill themes in physical education.
  • Outlines a progression spiral for teaching motor skills effectively.
  • Addresses national standards for physical education and their application in curriculum design.
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CHAPTER
3
Skill Themes, Movement Concepts,
and the National Standards
A physical education program for children which begins with an organized sport is analogous to a
language arts program beginning with a Shakespearean sonnet.
— IRIS WELSH [STUDENT]
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28 PART 1 Introduction and Content Overview www.mhhe.com/graham8e
O
ur primary goal is to provide children with a
degree of competence leading to the confi dence
that encourages them to become, and remain,
physically active for a lifetime. Our intent is to help
children gain enough skills and confi dence for them to
participate enjoyably in many activities, not just a few
traditional team sports, and to avoid the abysmal failure
and embarrassment that often result from a total lack of
skill. By focusing on learning and practicing skills rather
than on the rules or structure of a game or sport, we can
dramatically increase the amount of practice the children
actually receive, thereby heightening their opportunities
to learn the fundamental motor skills that form the foun-
dation for becoming a lifetime mover. We are also able to
do this in ways that children fi nd enjoyable.
objects of various sizes, shapes, heights, et cetera, the
student will have more effective “elements” for the per-
formance of the next jumping tasks (e.g., the running
long jump in high school).
— R
ICHARD SCHMIDT , “Schema Theory:
Implications for Movement Education”
• Children need to become suffi ciently competent in basic
motor skills if they are going to eventually enjoy playing
sports or games as teens and adults.
• In the elementary school, the emphasis is placed on
practicing motor skills rather than learning rules or the
structures of sports.
• Skill themes are analogous to verbs (i.e., they are action
words). They are subdivided into three categories: loco-
motor, nonmanipulative, and manipulative skills.
• Movement concepts are analogous to adverbs (i.e., they
describe how an action is performed). They are also sub-
divided into three categories: space awareness, effort,
and relationships.
• In the primary grades, movement concepts are taught
before the skill themes.
• The movement analysis framework “wheel” is based on an
analysis of human movement and describes how the skill
themes and movement concepts interact with one another.
• The “spirals” outline a developmentally appropriate pro-
gression for each of the skill themes.
• Children Moving directly addresses national and many
state physical education standards.
Key Concepts
Typically, children who are learning to read are
taught fi rst to recognize letters, then parts of words,
then complete words, and fi nally sentences. Children
who are studying mathematics learn to solve problems
after they’ve grasped the basic functions of numbers
and signs. Children learning to play a musical instru-
ment typically study the scale before attempting a
song. In physical education, however, all too often
children are taught games, dances, or complex gym-
nastic stunts before they’re able to adequately perform
fundamental motor skills. Too often, children know
the rules for a game or the formation of a dance but
don’t have the motor skills needed for successful and
enjoyable participation. Our way of teaching children
how to participate effectively in various activities is to
focus on the development of the necessary motor
skills. We call this approach teaching by skill themes.
One of the easiest ways to understand skill themes is
to think of a popular sport. Let’s pick softball. What
skills do people use when they play softball? The major
ones include throwing, catching, batting, and running.
Let’s pick another popular sport—basketball. Throw-
ing, catching, running, dribbling with hands, jumping
and landing, and chasing and fl eeing skills are used
frequently in basketball (Figure 2.2). Obviously we
could list a number of other sports. The point is that
some of the same skills—for example, throwing, catch-
ing, and running—are used in both sports, and in
many more sports that you know of. Thus if children
learn to throw and catch, for example, their odds of
playing and enjoying a sport such as softball or basket-
ball increase, because they have a reasonable chance to
succeed at that sport. We have termed these skill themes
because they apply to many different sports, although
the way they are used (the context) differs from one
sport to another. Table 3.1 lists various skill themes and
indicates which sports emphasize them.
Characteristics of Themes
In music, a theme recurs in different parts of a song, some-
times in exactly the same way, at other times in a slightly
different form. The Random House Dictionary of the English
Language defi nes theme as “a short melodic subject from
Essentially, the notion is that these elements (funda-
mental motor skills) are learned in early life through the
various activities performed (such as jumping, throwing,
striking, and the like), and then when a new act is to
be learned in later life, the student can piece together
these elements in a more effi cient way to achieve the
new motor goal. The assumption is that by jumping over
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CHAPTER 3 Skill Themes, Movement Concepts, and the National Standards 29
which variations are developed.” In physical education,
various movements can be thought of as a theme.
By revisiting a movement—sometimes in the same
context as previously and sometimes in a radically differ-
ent context—we provide children with variations of a
skill theme. These variations lead to profi ciency as well as
diversity. Jumping can be presented as jumping from an
object—a box or a table—and landing softly. This move-
ment can be revisited with a slight variation: jumping
from an object and landing facing in a different direction
from the takeoff position. Jumping for distance or leap-
ing in synchronization with the leap of a partner would
be radically different, yet the theme would still be jump-
ing (Gallagher 1984). So, too, would the high jump and
the long jump for track and fi eld athletes as would jump-
ing to catch a ball in football, softball, or basketball.
Some movements, such as jumping, traveling, and
balancing, can be focused on in games, gymnastics,
and dance contexts. Other movements, such as throw-
ing and dribbling, are primarily used in games. When-
ever possible, we point out to students the similarities
in movements used in different contexts to enhance
students’ cognitive understanding of the principles
that underlie successful performance of a movement.
We’re not certain that this infl uences skill performance
(transfer of learning), but it doesn’t seem to have any
adverse effects.
The instructor who teaches by themes can focus on
helping children become skillful movers. Youngsters
will have plenty of opportunities as they grow older to
learn games, sports, dance, and gymnastics activities,
but fi rst they must learn the basic motor skills needed
for successful participation.
Table 3.1 Skill Themes Used in Sports*
Sports
Skill Themes
Traveling
Chasing, fl eeing, dodging
Jumping, landing
Balancing
Transferring weight
Rolling
Kicking
Punting
Throwing
Catching
Volleying
Dribbling
Striking with rackets
Striking with golf clubs
Striking with bats
Striking with hockey sticks
*This table is intended only to suggest how various skill themes are applied in sports contexts.
Aerobics
Basketball
Football
Dance
Golf
Hockey
Martial Arts
Rock Climbing
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Track and Field
Tumbling
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Many adults choose not to play tennis or swim or
dance. They don’t enjoy these activities because they
don’t possess the skills needed to participate success-
fully. An unskilled adult attempting to learn a complex
set of dance steps may be embarrassed and frustrated.
So will the adult who is trying to learn to play tennis
Fundamental activities such as running, jumping,
skipping, sliding, catching, kicking, and striking are the
basic components of the games, sports, and dances
of our society. Children who possess inadequate mo-
tor skills are often relegated to a life of exclusion from
the organized and free play experiences of their peers,
and subsequently, to a lifetime of inactivity because of
their frustrations in early movement behavior.
— V
ERN SEEFELDT , JOHN HAUBENSTRICKER ,
AND SAM REUSCHLEIN
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FAQs of Skill Themes and Movement Concepts in Physical Education

What are the main skill themes discussed in this chapter?
The chapter identifies three primary categories of skill themes: locomotor skills, nonmanipulative skills, and manipulative skills. Locomotor skills include walking, running, hopping, and skipping, while nonmanipulative skills encompass balancing, twisting, and rolling. Manipulative skills involve throwing, catching, and kicking. Each of these skill themes is crucial for developing a child's physical competence and confidence in various physical activities.
How do movement concepts enhance skill themes in physical education?
Movement concepts serve as modifiers that describe how skills are performed, enriching the learning experience. For instance, concepts like space awareness, effort, and relationships help students understand the context in which they apply their motor skills. By integrating these concepts, educators can create more engaging and effective lessons that not only teach the skills but also enhance students' cognitive understanding of movement.
What is the progression spiral mentioned in the chapter?
The progression spiral is a framework that illustrates the developmental sequence for teaching skill themes in physical education. It starts with basic skills and gradually introduces more complex tasks, allowing students to build on their existing knowledge and abilities. This approach ensures that children revisit skills in various contexts, reinforcing their learning and promoting mastery over time.
How does this chapter align with national standards for physical education?
The chapter aligns with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education's standards by emphasizing the development of motor skills and movement concepts. It provides a structured approach to teaching that meets the competencies outlined in the national standards, ensuring that students gain the skills necessary for lifelong physical activity. The curriculum design suggested in the chapter supports educators in creating programs that foster physical literacy among students.

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