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Comic Book Moves

This is an excerpt from Physical Literacy on the Move by Heather Gardner.

Activity Goal

To perform a variety of locomotor movements in response to comic book action words while traveling through space.

Fundamental Movement Skills

Agility, balance, coordination, running, jumping

Tactical Focus

• Move safely in relation to others.
• Perform movements using a variety of spatial concepts (e.g., changes in location, level, direction, pathway, and plane).
• Demonstrate a variety of amounts of force using body movement (e.g., light and strong).

Level

Competent

Facility

Gymnasium or outdoors

Equipment

Magazines (including comic books or graphic novels), poster paper, marker

Time

15 to 20 minutes

Activity Category

Individual pursuits

Safety

Ensure that the activity space is a safe distance from walls and free of hazards (e.g., benches, equipment, basketball nets, holes, loose gravel, wet grass); remove or mark any hazards. Provide safe distances between games occurring in the same space. Remind participants to keep their heads up and to be aware of others when moving through the space.

Activity Instructions

Prior to the activity, participants look through comic books, graphic novels, and magazines noting action words such as pow, crash, zip, bam, wow, and splat that suggest a sound and a corresponding action. Record their words on poster paper.

Display the poster paper for reference throughout the activity. Participants scatter throughout the activity space. When you call out an action word from the poster, everyone travels through the space in a way that reflects the action word. Draw attention to those who are moving in creative and unique ways.

Call out two action words together so that participants have to demonstrate two movements in a sequence. Next, call out a series of four to six action words that participants must demonstrate in a sequence while moving throughout the space (each word should have its own movement).

After an appropriate amount of time, participants form groups of four or five and create a movement sequence from four to six action words. Encourage them to call out their words while performing them.

Adaptations

To decrease the challenge:

• Decrease the intensity of the movements.
• Focus on only a couple of spatial concepts (e.g., direction, pathway).
• Allow participants to respond to their own action words.

To increase the challenge:

• Require faster movements.
• Have participants change movements often.
• Place participants in pairs to perform the action words.
• Add equipment (e.g., scarves, wooden dowel, ribbons).

Self-Check Questions

• Am I moving safely in relation to the other participants?
• Do I perform movements using a variety of spatial concepts (e.g., changes in location, level, direction, pathway, and plane)?
• Do my movements demonstrate a variety of levels of force (e.g., light and strong)?

Learn more about Physical Literacy on the Move.

More Excerpts From Physical Literacy on the Move

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