Adapted Physical Education (APE)

Teaching Strategies

It Rocks!

Activity Guide (PDF): Read a full description of this activity, how to use it, set-up, and game variations.

What is "It Rocks"?

It Rocks is a series of developmental lead up activities for programs that would like to promote traversing, climbing, and or bouldering as part of the Physical Education curriculum (traversing wall NOT NEEDED). The unique design of It Rocks enables children of all ages and abilities to participate in group and individual challenges. It Rocks promotes individual growth through crossing midline, muscular endurance, flexibility, eye hand/eye foot coordination, spatial awareness, balance, and stability. In addition, It Rocks affords children the opportunity to visually plan, communicate, team build, and engage in cognitive strategies with their peers.

Students engaged in the "It Rocks!" activity

How Can I Use This Product With My Kids?

When you first set up and use It Rocks game, start simple and allow the students to get the concept of moving their bodies across the wall and floor surface. Encourage them to reach and stretch farther with each pass across the wall. Remember that the main “rule” is that you must keep at least one hand on the wall at all times. Just like when they will be on a climbing or traversing wall. It is also recommended that the students choose at least 2-3 colors for more advanced movers and for younger learners allow them to use all the colors on the wall. This will increase their success and reinforce the type of movements (cross lateralization, spatial awareness, etc.) that you want the children to work on.

The activities provided in the Activity Guide can be used in station format as part of your daily fitness routine or as part of a developmentally appropriate lead up activity for traversing and climbing walls. It Rocks DOES NOT require dedicated space and can be moved around or put up in any open wall space or along folded bleachers in the gym. Consider putting the It Rocks activity in a corner, or across wall mats commonly found in gyms. It Rocks has been set up and played in the hallway, on the playground, on garage doors and in the classroom. Anywhere it is safe for a child to move, the It Rocks game can be set up and used.

It Rocks! Set Up

It Rocks Traversing Equipment Kit Includes 24 Large “hand targets” (6 Blue, 6 Green, 6 Yellow, 6 Red) 24 Small “hand targets” (6 Blue, 6 Green, 6 Yellow, 6 Red) 24 floor spots (6 Blue, 6 Green, 6 Yellow, 6 Red) 1 It Rocks! 28 card deck set of color cards – includes two “Freeze” cards. Freeze cards make everyone hold their existing position for no more than 20 seconds. (12 R cards by color, 12 L cards by color) (2 Freeze Cards) (2 It ROCKS – free move)

Set Up Find combined floor and wall space (see Diagram A in Activity Guide) approximately 18-20 feet in length At max height of 4 feet, secure the wall spots approximately every 3 feet using random pattern from floor to max height (4'). (See Diagram A in Activity Guide.) For younger children and to make the traversing aspect of the game easier, consider placing more wall spots 3-4 feet off the ground than 1 -2 feet from the ground. At max distance from wall (4-5 feet), place the floor spots every 2 feet using random pattern from wall to max outer floor edge. Floor spots are 3-4 inches non-slip poly spots in red, green, blue, and yellow. Check pattern to make sure there is adequate coverage of all four colors. Be sure that no wall or floor spots are beyond the 4-5 foot height maximum and 2-3 foot floor edge.

It Rocks! Game # 1 – ONE WAY ! (game cards not required)

This is just one way to play It Rocks! - check the Activity Guide for other fun games and modifications.

The object of this game is to move your team from one side of the It Rocks wall to the other as quickly and efficiently as possible without having one player “fall”. If a player falls, that one player must return to their original starting point and begin again. This continues until all players have completed the task of moving from one side to the other without falling. The “winning” team is the team that successfully moves all players across the wall without a fall and is sitting on the floor. * During this game, the use of the game cards IS NOT required.

• Begin by placing students in teams of 5-6 students ( 1 -2 teams per at either end of the It Rocks wall).
• Instruct the students that only 2 teams will be on the wall at a time. Other teams should be active in warm up or watching to see that no one “falls” off the wall.
• Each team must select two colors (this should be done in a huddle and not shared with the other teams).
• On the instructors mark, both teams start across the wall in opposite directions using only the 2 colors the team had selected in secret. As soon as one player starts and there is room for the second player behind them to get on the wall, player number two can begin and so on until all members are on the wall moving toward the opposite end.
• The “winning” team is the FIRST team that successfully moves all players across the wall without a fall, sits down on the floor and yells “WE ROCK”!
• For fun movement modifications consider doing the activity in reverse (students must move backward) or with students backs facing the wall.

Skills Highlighted
Students will work on individual stretching, flexibility, strength, and cross lateralization. In addition, students must cooperate and communicate enhancing team building skills.

Modifications
Consider giving both teams the same two colors. As each team and player “pass through” the other, the degree of difficulty becomes greater creating a sense of urgency and increasing the chance that a player will not have a move. Players “stuck” on the wall or without a move must “fall” and restart the game at their original starting point.

Adaptations for Children with Disabilities
Consider the individual abilities of the child with a disability then modify the activity to enhance their success. For example, the child with cerebral palsy may be able to support their body weight as they lean into the wall. Limit the distance the child has to move or provide them the use of all the colors rather than just two so they can be as successful as possible.

How Does This Product Relate To Current Educational Thinking?

Most exciting about It Rocks is the application of Action Based Learning based upon current brain research. There is great evidence to support the link between movement and learning. In fact, the brain's ability to move and the learning (sensory input) systems within the body are not only interdependent, they are interactive. When pathways in the brain are stimulated through increased sensory input (e.g. weight on the hands, crossing midline, auditory cues for movement direction) the brain responds by creating stronger synaptic junctions or connections. The more a student practices – the stronger the pathway – increasing learning. Connect reading (word identification), math (counting and addition), with visual identification of symbols (colors, shapes, etc.) while MOVING through the It Rocks game and you can readily see how It Rocks becomes a “concept” that can be applied to reach a wide variety of learners.

Transition from "It Rocks!" to a traditional climbing wall

« Return to Teaching Strategies home