Substitute Lesson Plan: Early Learning PE (Ages 3–5)

Objective

Students will practice basic gross motor skills — walking, running, hopping, jumping, and balancing — while developing awareness of personal space and control over their body movements, using simple, teacher-directed games and an obstacle course.

Materials

• "Early Learning PE Strategies (Ages 3-5)" resource (for reference)
• Colored cones (or any markers/paper squares to use as substitute cones)
• A few balls (any size available)
• Hula hoops (or masking tape circles/rope loops as a substitute)
• Music player (optional) and scarves or streamers (optional, if available)
• Open indoor or outdoor space

Warm-up (~5 min)

1. Gather students in a large open space and have them spread out with arms stretched wide to find their own "personal space" (per PE 3yr.2.1 strategy of using arm stretches to define space).
2. Lead a simple "Animal Walk" line activity: have one student at the front name an animal and show how it moves (e.g., hop like a frog, waddle like a duck); the rest of the class copies the movement as you walk together across the room.
3. Repeat with 2–3 different animals to get bodies warmed up and moving.

Main Activity (~25 min)

Part 1: Colored Cone Movement Game (~10 min)

• Set up colored cones around the space.
• Call out a color and a movement (e.g., "Hop to the red cone!" or "Run and stop at the blue cone!").
• Students move from cone to cone practicing control and balance (walking in a straight line, hopping, running and stopping, changing direction).

Part 2: Simple Obstacle Course (~10 min)

• Arrange cones, hoops, and any available materials into a simple path.
• Have students take turns moving through the course practicing a variety of gross motor movements (walking, jumping over low objects, balancing on one foot at a designated spot, stepping through hoops).
• Encourage students to copy each other's movements as they go through as a group activity.

Part 3: Ball Practice (~5 min)

• Give students turns practicing catching, throwing, and kicking a ball in pairs or small groups.
• If hoops or targets are available, let students try to drop or roll the ball onto a target on the ground.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

1. Gather students in a circle and lead a few isolated movement practices as a cool-down: standing on one foot, bending at the waist, stretching tiptoes toward the sky.
2. Ask students (as a group discussion, no writing needed) to share how their body feels after moving — encourage them to notice their breathing or heartbeat changing from before the activity to now (per PE 3yr.3.1 strategy).
3. Ask each student to name one movement they enjoyed doing today (hopping, running, balancing, etc.) as their "exit ticket" response.

If Time Remains

• Play music and hand out scarves or streamers (if available) for students to wave and move big with the music, encouraging large, free movements across their personal space.
• If no music/props are available, repeat the Animal Walk line game with new animals suggested by different students.