UNIT 1

Basic Motor Movements

ABOUT THE UNIT

Welcome to the exciting world of movement!

Do you know that we engage our larger muscle

groups to perform activities like jumping, throwing,

catching, kicking, and hitting? These are also called gross

motor skills which are crucial for day-to-day work, sports,

and physical fitness.

When we involve smaller muscles, particularly those in the

hands and fingers, for precise and delicate tasks, we are using

fine motor skills. These skills involve the use of small muscles to

write, sketch, draw, pick up small objects, grip, and pinch.

Basic motor movements involve both gross and fine motor skills.

Our journey begins with developing five basic motor movements—

throwing, catching, kicking, receiving, and striking. Our

overarching objective is to apply these movements in

many engaging activities, utilising objects of varying sizes,

weights, and textures.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Throwing and Catching

Our first motor movement, throwing, is done with the help of arms, shoulders, and torso (upper part of the body, except the head and arms). However, hands are also used for releasing and catching an object.

Let us learn how to throw and catch through some interesting games.

Throwing

Hold the ball firmly with spread fingers and stand with slightly bent knees.
Swing the throwing hand behind and twist the upper body.
Take one step forward and balance your body. Do not wobble.
Bring the hand forward and throw the ball with force.

Note for the teacher

Ensure the following while children practice throwing—

Grip: children hold the ball firmly with fingers spread out.
Stance: the eyes of the player are fixed on the target, legs are spread to form a stable grounding and knees are slightly bent.
Throw: the action of twisting the upper body is smooth, taking back the throwing arm and swinging the arm forward to throw the ball.
Follow through: the player takes one step forward after the release and balance their body.
Use soft balls for throwing and increase the level of difficulty of activities progressively.

CATCHING

Stand with knees slightly bent like you are getting ready to jump.

Join your palms together to form a cup. Keep your eyes on the ball.

Catch the ball softly at eye level

Hold the ball firmly and pull your elbows towards the body.

Note for the teacher

Ensure the following while children practice catching—

Stance: legs are shoulder width apart and knees are not bent too much.
. Catching: body is behind the line of the ball, palms are joined and pointing upwards, hands are soft and eyes are on the ball.
. Follow through: knees are bent slightly to minimise the impact and hands are pulled back.
Use soft balls for catching and increase the level of difficulty of activities progressively.

BM 1

Catch and Throw

REQUIRED MATERIAL

Balls of different sizes

How to play

Throwing and catching without dropping the ball is fun. Pair up with a classmate and practice different types of throwing and catching as shown below:

• Underarm throw using both hands.

• Underarm throw using one hand.

• Overhead throw using both hands.

• Overhead throw using one hand.

• Pass the ball with one bounce to your partner.

• Throw and catch the ball with each other as many times as possible without dropping.

Note for the teacher

Purpose To develop throwing and catching ability along with handeye coordination.

Purpose

To develop

throwing and

catching ability

along with hand-

eye coordination.

Variations

• Increase the distance

between the pairs.

• Change objects and

alternate throwing hands

between left and right.

Circle Time

Star and Wish

BM 2

Pick Up and Throw

Required Material

Old newspaper

Marking powder

How to play

Form two teams and draw a court having a centre line and two equal halves for the game.
Make paper balls and scatter them equally into each part of the court.
Start throwing balls to the opponents’ side of the court on the blow of the whistle.
Stop when the whistle blows again.
The team having fewer balls on its side wins.

Note for the teacher

Purpose

To develop picking

up and throwing

ability and enhanced

motor skills.

Variations

• Switch your throwing

arm after each round.

• Alternate between

overhead and

underarm throwing.

Circle Time

How to identify

physical injury,

e.g., discomfort in movement,

bruises and rashes,

cuts, intense pain, etc.

BM 3

Hit the Target

Required Material

Chalk

Socks ball or soft

sponge ball

How to play

Form teams of five members each. Take balls made of soft sponge or socks.
Draw a circle on the wall and a throwing line some distance away from the wall.
Each team player will try to throw the ball within the circle.
The team with the maximum number of hits in the circle wins.
Make sure not to cross the line drawn on the ground while throwing.

Note for the teacher

Purpose

To develop

accuracy in

hitting, balancing

and physical

fitness.

Variations

Increase the

distance from the

wall to enhance the

difficulty level.

Draw a circle on the

ground and play

the same game.

Circle Time

Discuss how to

throw, including

good `stance, grip,

release and focus.

BM 4

Knock the Cones

Required Material

Soft Ball

Cones or locally

available material

How to play

Form teams depending on the number of students in the class.
Place an odd number of cones in the centre and two opposing teams stand equidistant from it.
Start the game on the blow of a whistle— hit the cones with soft balls.
The team that knocks down more cones within a fixed time duration wins the game.

Note for the teacher

Purpose

To develop foot placement, focus and social interaction.

Variations

• Use the weaker hand to throw.

• Replace cones with cricket stumps and play the game.

Circle Time

Share one good and one bad feeling about the game.

BM 5

Relay Catching

Required Material

Soft Ball or

Tennis ball

How to play

Form multiple teams with five members each and a designated leader of each team. Members stand in a line and their leader stands at some distance facing the team.
On the blow of the whistle, all the team leaders throw the ball to the first player in the line.
The first player will catch the ball, return it to the leader and run to the end of the queue and halt.
The leader throws the ball to the next player and the game continues.
After completion of everyone’s turn, the team with the maximum number of catches wins the game.

Note for the teacher

Purpose

Fostering cognitive aspects, coordination, readiness and eagerness.

Variations

• Vary the distance and play.

• Change leaders. Use underarm or overhand throw to play the game.

Circle Time

Star and Wish

BM 6

Ball on the Wall

Required Material

Handball or

Tennis ball

How to play

Form two teams and stand in a queue.
Each member of the team throws the ball on the wall and catches it on the rebound.
The team with maximum catches wins.

Note for the teacher

Purpose

Nurturing confidence and progression of coordination along with eagerness.

Variations

• Increase the distance between the wall and the player.

• Play a variation where the next player in the queue catches the ball.

Circle Time

Discuss what things one should keep in mind while catching.