I teach a 3-week unit on roller skating. I see all my students 2x/week so they get to skate 6 times total. All our K-1 students learn on the traditional 4-wheel quad skates while our 2nd-5th grade students learn on inline skates. I am fortunate to work with a great vendor B.R. Sports (www.http://brsportsltd.com) that provides us with high quality skates and safety gear. We rent the skates each year and the skating fee is collected along with the school registration paperwork so there is no handling of money on my end - which is nice.
I also use parent volunteers with my K-3 classes to help get equipment on the kids - which frees me up to do more teaching. My first week is typically spent going over the safety rules, procedures we'll be incorporating over the next three weeks, how to stand up from a seated position, the "T" position to help students hold their balance and some "free skate" time. I have a nice area in the middle for all our beginner skaters (pictured above) made out of carpets and some interlocking, thin foam floor mats. This area allows students to be successful by providing a slower surface to help them stand up easier and get the hang of the weight of the skates on their feet as they walk around the mat/carpet area. The second week we get into more technical skating (starting, stopping, turning, backwards skating, etc...) and we incorporate a couple skating games to help students learn and practice these skills. The third week, I typically set up a mini-obstacle course for students that choose to try out their skills on the various obstacles to go around, under, over or through.
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I also saw a great idea on Twitter from a PE teacher in DeKalb, IL - Kelly Zerby, (@tall_kelly) who made some PVC roller skating gliders to help her students who may struggle with a new skill. So off to the hardward store I went to get some supplies. After a few hours in my garage workshop, I had made some gliders for my students!