Gladiators Take Over OMS Gym Class

By Jeff Gulley

With sixth-graders sitting cross-legged in rows across the gym floor, flags marking the corners of the gym and homemade shields lining the bleachers, this was no ordinary gym class.

The Osawatomie Middle School boys and girls in the class were now gladiators divided into teams based on colors. It is part of a curriculum used by Dave French and Nancy Gagnebin to get kids moving and exercising both their mind and bodies in different ways.

“It’s interesting because with television and video games, I don’t think kids play games like these anymore,” he said. “It’s like it’s new to them and they love it.”

All of the OMS gym classes participated in the unit right before spring break. On Thursday, the teams participated in a mind game in which, on the count of three, a pair of students raised a hand with a certain number of fingers showing. The first one to say the number on their opponent’s hand won. Then the game was changed to be the first one to say the combined number of fingers on both hands.

From the reaction of the students, it was obvious they took the competition seriously.

Then came a dodge ball game and the homemade shields came into play. Shields of all shapes and sizes were used including some homemade body armor.

French and Gagnebin have presented the idea for the unit at teaching conferences and have received positive feedback.

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Posted by admin on Mar 23 2011. Filed under News and Updates, Photo Galleries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry