CHILD DEVELOPMENT (0-9)

DR V KGABO

LEARNING UNIT 2

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOUNDATION PHASE

DEPARTMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

AND DEVELOPMENT

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

PRETORIA
© 2024 University of South Africa

All rights reserved

Printed and published by

the University of South
Africa Muckleneuk,
Pretoria

CDE3701/1/2021–2024

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Learning unit 2:

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOUNDATION PHASE 41

FORWARD

2.1 INTRODUCTION 41
2.2 CONCEPT CLARIFICATION 42
2.2.1 Types of movement skills 42
2.2.2 Components of movement development (perceptual-motor abilities)
42
2.2.3 Perception 43
2.2.4 More perceptual-motor abilities (underlying the above) 44
2.3 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOUNDATION PHASE
CHILD 44
2.3.1 General characteristics of the foundation phase child 44
2.3.2 Growth of the body 47
[Link] Growth of the foundation phase child 47
[Link] Body form 48
[Link] Development of motor skills 49
[Link] Gross motor skills 52
[Link] Fine motor skills 53
2.4 ACTIVITIES FOR GROSS AND FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT54
2.4.1 Teacher planning and preparation of physical movement activities
55
2.4.2 Methods of presentation 57
[Link] Direct method 57
[Link] Indirect method 57
[Link] Lesson content 58
[Link] Planning and preparation of a physical movement lesson 58
2.4.3 Activities to promote gross motor development 60
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[Link] To sit in the correct position at a desk to write requires a child to
have physical
endurance and concentrate for at least 15-40 minutes 60
[Link] To develop good handwriting skills 63
[Link] For the correct spacing of written work on the page, the child
needs to have
midline crossing, directionality, spatial perception, and planning
skills 64
[Link] For a child to learn to read well, they need good visual tracking and
focusing skills.
Hand-eye coordination can help the child with visual tracking and
to catch a ball
in sports 65
[Link] Basic mathematics skills involve rhythmic counting, which can help
the child to
internalise number sequences 66
[Link] Dance activities 67
2.4.4 Teacher preparation for promoting fine motor development 67
2.4.5 Parent involvement for promoting physical development 71
2.5 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 73
2.5.1 The effects of nutrition and obesity on physical development 73
[Link] What is the role of the physical education teacher? 73
2.5.2 The effects of genes and environment on physical development 74
2.5.3 The effect of cultural practices on physical development 75
2.5.4 The effect of gender differences on physical development 75
2.5.5 The effect of illness and accident injuries on physical development
76
[Link] Diabetes 76
[Link] Epilepsy 76
[Link] Cerebral palsy 78

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 [Link] Muscle dystrophy 79
[Link] Auditory impairments 79
[Link] Visual impairment 79
[Link] Movement activities for children with physical handicaps 80
2.6 CONCLUSION 81
REFERENCES 84

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 FOREWORD

1. INTRODUCTION

Dear Student

Welcome to CDE3701, CHILD DEVELOPMENT (0-9).

Because this is a blended module, you will need to use myUnisa to study
and complete the learning activities for this module. Visit the website for
CDE3701 on myUnisa frequently. The website for your module is the
module website code written out in full, for example, MODULE CODE-20-
Y.

We trust that you will find the course rewarding and hope you will integrate
the knowledge and skills you acquire in this module to become more
successful in your teaching career.

Broadly speaking, the field of early childhood development is a field that is

shared among three government departments in South Africa albeit from
different perspectives. The focus of the Department of Social Development
(DSD) was on the wellbeing and care of young children from birth to the
age of five years, hence the title they use is “early childhood development
and care” (ECDC). Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE) has now
moved to the Department of Basic Education (DBE). This is important as
it gives the DBE an opportunity to professionalise ECCE. In the field of
education, the focus on young children is to understand how they develop
and to plan educational activities that can promote their learning. Their
education is based on the curriculum of the foundation phase that is
guided by the Curriculum and Programme Statement (CAPS) and the
Early Learning and Development Areas (ELDA’s).

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There are six (6) ELDAs (DBE, 2015):

Early Learning and Development Area One: Well-being

Early Learning and Development Area Two: Identity and belonging

Early Learning and Development Area Three: Communication

Early Learning and Development Area Four: Exploring mathematics

Early Learning and Development Area Five: Creativity

Early Learning and Development Area Six: Knowledge and

understanding of the world.

This module is on child development in the early years; the foundation

phase is one of the core modules in the Early Childhood Education (ECE)
curriculum. It is thus important for you to learn and understand the content
since it cuts across all other modules in the curriculum. Please read this
section carefully so you understand how it links to other modules in the
foundation phase curriculum.

CDE3701 serves as an overview and links with a number of modules in

the foundation phase curriculum. The first learning unit gives an overview
of child development. The important theories in the field will give you an
overview on the different facets of child development like the physical,
social-emotional, cognitive and language aspects. The second learning
unit focuses on physical development of the foundation phase child and
explains how the different development areas are integrated with one
another. The unit addresses child growth and motor development, and
provides the student with some ideas and a lesson plan on teaching
physical education that promotes holistic physical development . This is
followed by learning unit three, which focuses on cognitive development.

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In this study unit, an overview will be given of some general milestones of
cognitive development from birth to nine years. Major theories of cognitive
development will be discussed, namely Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and
Information Processing Theory. Considering the complex relationship

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that cognitive development has with both language and with mathematical
thought, as visually depicted, children’s development in both of these
areas will be addressed.

Figure 1.1: Overview of the foundation phase instructional time per

subject

Source: ( CAPS, 2012, p. 6)

Figure 1.2: Overview of the foundation phase English Home Language

curriculum

Source: ( CAPS, 2012, p. 8)

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 The last learning unit focuses on the social and emotional development of
the child. An overview of some general social and emotional milestones
will be given, and how the teacher and parent can support the child in
their development.

The best way to discuss child development is to adopt a holistic approach,

that is, see the child as one whole. Scholars like to depict the holistic
development of the child as follows

Figure 1.3: Holistic development of the child

I see you blossoming into a competent and creative teacher after completing
this module! Thank you.

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1.1 Getting started …

Owing to the nature of this module, you can read about the module and
find your study material in print and online. Go to the website at
[Link] and log in using your student number and
password. You will see [module site-CDE3701] in the row of modules
displayed in the orange blocks at the top of the webpage. Select the More
tab if you cannot find the module you require in the blocks displayed. Then
click on the module you want to open.

We wish you much success in your studies!

2. OVERVIEW OF CDE3701

2.1 Purpose

Students who have completed this module successfully will have the
knowledge, skills, and values related to the development of the young child
through the framings of a reflective teacher. Students will explore each
domain of child development in the early childhood phase from birth to
nine years. As students engage with the domains of development, they
will be afforded opportunities to understand child development in diverse
contexts with sensitivity to the varying capabilities of children. In this way,
students will enhance their understanding of the variations and complexities
of child development. The age and stage contextual approach will assist in
developing appropriate activities for supporting early learning.

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2.2 Learning Outcomes

For this module, you will have to master the following outcomes:

• Engage with various theories of child development and learning.

• Examine physical development of young children.

• Examine cognitive development of young children.

• Examine social and emotional development of young children.

• Address the moral development of young children.

• Discuss the creative development of young children.

3. DEPARTMENT CONTACT DETAILS

3.1 Department

You can contact the Department of Early Childhood Department:

Telephone number: 012 429 4583

E-mail: makgome1@[Link]

4. RESOURCES

4.1 Joining myUnisa

The myUnisa learning management system is the university's online

campus, which will help you communicate with your lecturers, with other
students, and with the administrative departments at Unisa.

To go to the myUnisa website directly, go to [Link] Click

on the Claim UNISA Login on the top of the screen on the myUnisa
website. You will then be prompted to give your student number in order to
claim your initial myUnisa details as well as your myLife e-mail login details.
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 For more information on myUnisa, consult the brochure, Study @ Unisa,
which you received with your study material:
[Link]/brochures/studies

4.2 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

Please see the different e-reserves’ articles in the different learning units.

E-reserves can be downloaded from the Library catalogue. More

information is available at [Link]

4.3 myUnisa tools

The main tool that we will use is the Lessons tool. This tool will provide
the content of and the assessments for your module. At times you will be
directed to join discussion

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with fellow students, and complete activities and assessments before you can
continue with the module.

It is very important that you log in to myUnisa regularly. We recommend

that you log in at least once a week to do the following:

• Check for new announcements. You can also set your myLife e-mail
account so that you receive the announcement e-mails on your cell phone.

• Do the Discussion Forum activities. When you do the activities for each
learning unit, we want you to share your answers with the other students in
your group. You can read the instructions and even prepare your answers
offline, but you will need to go online to post your messages. We have also
provided a Social Cafe where you can socialise with the other students in
the module.

• Do other online activities. For some of the learning unit activities, you
might need to post something on the Blog tool, take a quiz, or complete a
survey under the Self-Assessment tool. Do not skip these activities
because they will help you complete the assignments and the activities for
the module. We hope that by giving you extra ways to study the material and
practise all of the activities, you will succeed in the online module. To get the
most out of the online module you MUST go online regularly to complete
the activities and assignments on time.

5. CONCLUSION

Do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail if you are experiencing problems

with the content of this study guide or with any academic aspect of the
module.

We wish you a fascinating and satisfying journey through the learning

material and trust that you will complete the module successfully.

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Enjoy the journey!

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LEARNING UNIT 2

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOUNDATION PHASE

Aim of learning unit

In this study unit, you will examine the physical development of

young children. An overview of gross and fine motor
development will be given along with factors that influence
physical development.

Learning outcomes

After the completion of this learning unit, you should be able to do

the following:

• Explain and contextualise concepts related to physical

development.

• Outline stages of physical development of a young child.

• Discuss the importance of physical development through

contextual examples and
case studies.
•
Unpack relevant aspects related to the physical development
•
• of young children. Reflect on implications of physical
development for own practise.
Apply specific outcome to CAPS.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Developmental psychologists divide human development into three

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areas: physical, cognitive and psychosocial development.

In this unit, we will focus on the physical development of the child and
explain how the different development areas are integrated with one another.
It is important to keep in mind that cultural variations do have an influence on
development. A typical Western perspective on child development
emphasises independence as a developmental milestone, whereas an
African perspective values a spirit of interdependence and altruism.
(Oppong Asante, 2011; Oppong, 2015; Baltes, 1987).

Physical development or movement development, which includes genetic

foundations for development, is a continual, ongoing and progressive
process of gross and perceptual- motor components by means of a variety
of appropriate movement activities for the child. Physical development
involves changes in bone thickness, size, weight, gross motor, fine motor,
vision, hearing, and perceptual development. Although the pace of
development varies from individual to individual, development lasts as long
as life itself (Erikson, 1960).

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2.2 CONCEPT CLARIFICATION

2.2.1 Types of movement skills

Perceptual-motor skills Skills in which an awareness of

aspects of the body, and of the body
with regard to the environment
through the perceptual senses, is
gained, e.g. body awareness,
awareness of form, spatial
awareness
Locomotor skills Propellant (cause to move forward)
skills, e.g. run, jump, crabwalk
Non-locomotor skills Static skills, e.g. balancing
Manipulation skills Where objects are manipulated, e.g.
ball skills

2.2.2 Components of movement development (perceptual-

motor abilities)

Compon Definiti
ent on
Coordination
Ability to integrate muscle actions to perform a specific or series of
movements in the most effective way.
Total coordination Coordination of large muscle groups
for total body movement

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Hand-eye coordination Ability to use hands and eyes
simultaneously to perform a task
Ability to use feet and eyes
simultaneously to complete a task
Foot-eye coordination The ability of the eye to perceive and
understand objects within the
environment in relation to the body
Body-eye coordination A fundamental motor skill that
involves the ability to coordinate
visual information with the
movement of one's body or limbs. It
is a crucial skill in various activities
that require precise timing and
accuracy between what the eyes
perceive and how the body
responds
Balance
Ability to take a body stance against gravity and maintain equilibrium.
Dynamic To maintain equilibrium in propulsion
balance Static To maintain equilibrium in static
balance position/on small or unstable base of
support
Awareness
Of the body, space, laterality.

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Body awareness Basic knowledge of the body and the
parts thereof, consisting of:

• physical structure

• movements and functions

Dominance
• position and relation to each other
and other
objects
Preferring to use one hand or side of
the body, i.e. either right or left
dominant

Compon Definiti
ent on
Spatial awareness Position in Awareness of the body in space
space Ability to choose a point of reference
to place an object or a person in the
correct relation to the child’s own

• Spatial relations body in space

Ability to place two or more

• Figure-ground perception objects/persons in the correct

relation to each other and the child’s
own body
Being able to focus attention on a
specific object or aspect while
ignoring all other stimuli. The object
of the attention is therefore in the
foreground of the perceptual field

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 while all the rest is in the
background, e.g. being able to read
one word in a sentence

Laterality The internal awareness of left and

right and the ability to control the

• Bilateral integration
two sides of the body together or
separately

• Unilaterality Ability to integrate two sides of the

body in the execution of a movement.
• Cross-laterality/crossing the
Three dimensions, namely
midline
front/back, above/under, left/right
Involve one side of the body/one limb
Use different limbs of both sides
crosswise
Being able to work across the
vertical midline of the body, e.g.
being able to draw a line from one
side of the page to the other without
changing the tool from one hand to
the other
Fine motor development Development of the fine muscles of
the body: write, bead stringing
Optimal gross motor development is
the basis for good fine motor

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 development

2.2.3 Perception

Visual
Visual perception Acquiring and interpreting information
through the eyes – accurate visual
perception enables the child to read,
Visual discrimination write and do mathematics;
Visual memory The ability to see similarities,
differences, and details of objects
accurately
The ability to remember what the
eyes have seen and the correct
sequence in which things have been
perceived
Auditory
Auditory perception Acquiring and interpreting
information through the ears –
accurate auditory perception enables
Auditory discrimination the child to give meaning to what is
heard
The ability to hear similarities and
differences in sounds

Visual

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 Auditory memory The ability to remember what the
ears have heard and the correct
sequence in which sounds have
Form perception been perceived
The ability to recognise forms,
shapes, symbols, letters, etc.
regardless of position, size,
background,
e.g. can recognise a circle because
of its unique shape

2.2.4 More perceptual-motor abilities (underlying the above)

Table 2.1: Concepts relate to movement development (Gallahue &

Cleland-Donnelly, 2003; DBE, 2011; DuToit,2015)

Kinesthetic awareness The awareness of muscle

movement while the body performs
a movement
Proprioception The awareness of muscle
movement and body position in
space
Vestibular function The awareness of the position of the
head in space, by means of the
vestibular system in the ears

2.3 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOUNDATION PHASE

CHILD

2.3.1 General characteristics of the foundation phase child

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Pienaar (2000) points to a few general traits of the foundation phase (6-9
years old) child that might have an influence on the composition of a
movement development programme.

1. There is not a large difference with regard to physical and motor

development be- tween boys and girls of this age.
2. Structural growth and maturity take place at a slow but constant
tempo; there is also a proportional increase of weight and muscle
mass, which leads to a general increase in arm and leg muscle
power.
3. The arms and legs become longer in proportion to the rest of the body.
Because of this, seven-year-olds appear thinner. An important
element of body growth in the bones’ growth plates. The body’s long
bones, like the thighbone, grow at each end. The length and shape of
the mature bone are determined by the growth plate. It is the last part
of the bone to harden and is thus easily fractured. Not until ages 18-
20 years are all parts of the bone hard.
4. The so-called baby teeth are lost and the permanent teeth come in.
5. A gradual increase in muscle control. Eye focus of children in this age is
not yet precise, as the shape of the eye and its size still develops until
about 8 years of age. For this reason, spatial estimation is not yet
sufficiently developed. Hand-eye coordination and reaction time will,
therefore, be relatively slow and inaccurate.
6. The heart and lungs are small in comparison to body weight. Children
of this age, therefore, tire easily. They do recover easily though. For
this reason, activity in les- sons should not take too long and rest
periods should be built in.

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7. They enjoy all forms of expressive movement, are very interested in
rhythmical activities, and are very creative and imaginative.
8. In general, they are “without fear”, very active, and show a high sense
of adventure.
9. This is also known as the age of conflict, as a child can, in one
moment, be self- confident and independent, and the next moment
willing to share.
10. Six and seven-year-olds still have a higher need for recognition and
are also very sensitive to criticism. Both the tallest and shortest children
are often victims of teasing.
11. Children of this age have a dominant interest in organised group games
where they function as members of a group. They, however, start to
develop a sense of personal goal achievement and a will to acquire
specific skills.
12. Attention span increases with age: at 6 and 7 years the attention
span alternates between 15 and 25 minutes at a time; 8 and 9 years
between 20 and 40 minutes.

Table 2.2 and figure 2.1 underline the fact that physical development focuses
on increasing the skill and performance of the body. As indicated, the
different developmental areas are closely linked, especially during the
early years of child development. When a child does not reach specific
milestones as indicated in the table above, the child may have some
learning difficulties later in life. Physical development can be divided into
gross and fine motor skills. Throughout the foundation phase, children
acquire and develop physical skills in different ways.

Physical skills, body and spatial awareness contribute to a child’s

personal and social development by enhancing confidence and self-esteem.
Young children are active children who enjoy learning through play and
physical activities. During play, children engage in learning experiences

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that require them to use a range of physical skills, whether playing indoors
or outdoors. The idea is that physical activities are integrated into all
areas of learning. Utilising a hands-on approach to teaching-learning can
range from rhymes, actions, music, expeditions, or games, which can be
applied to teaching various concepts and content in mathematics, life skills
or language lessons.

The development of a child’s physical skills is a holistic process. Gallahue

and Cleland Donnelly (2003) and Insel and Roth (2006) point to the
following holistic aspects of a child’s total development:

Table 2.2: Value for the total development of the young child (Du Toit,
2015).

Physical Maintains and improves physical cardiovascular fitness,

stimulates physical development, mastering of physical
skills, prevention and improvement of behavioural disorders,
posture consciousness, physical conditioning (muscle power,
flexibility, muscle endurance, body composition)
Health Good health habits, interest in and respect for their own body,
knowledge of health
Emotiona Emotional stability, for example, self-control, self-
l confidence, self-discipline, self- discovery, responsibility and
management of stress
Social Healthy interpersonal relationships, for example, group
relationships, recreational activities and sportsmanship
Cognitive To apply and evaluate knowledge, for example, physiology,
anatomy, components of fitness, good health habits and
advanced quality of life
Normativ The healthy value system, for example, a social sense of
e responsibility, properness and correct behaviour, and

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human values

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Foundation phase children need suitable space to develop their physical
movements both in and outdoors. They need to use their bodies actively
to gain spatial awareness and experiment with movement without any
restrictions. The children need to have access to both large and small
pieces of equipment, inside and outside of the classroom, to use
independently and in a creative way, but by the same token engage with a
teacher to develop their instructional and experimental learning. All forms
of physical activity require time for children to develop and practise skills.
Physical development aligns with Erikson’s theory of human development
where children have opportunities to work alone or in groups, play and
compete with others, do activities at their own pace, practise and merge
their skills, challenge their skills, take achievements seriously, and make
connections between skills acquired in and outdoors. As indicated,
children do not develop at the same pace; therefore, educators need to be
aware that some children are physically more advanced for their
chronological age than others.

Physical development happens in a sequence that involves the following:

• At first, the developing of gross motor skills that require control of

large muscles in the body, arms, and legs.

• This is followed by the development of fine manipulative skills, which

depend on
small muscle coordination.

• As children progress and become more confident, improvement in

coordination of gross and fine movements will continue to develop
and new skills will be learnt.

Children cannot learn a new skill until the muscles are sufficiently
developed, and the activities and resources provided should be suitable
for their developmental needs. Most children will progress through the
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same stages of development at their own rate and the timing of this
development can depend on different influencing factors such as eating
habits, emotional development, and confidence in undertaking new
activities.

During the foundation phase, the child grows steadily; one can say the
biological clock of the child ticks. The nervous system develops, maturation
changes take place, and their motor skills continue to improve because of
a large number of learning opportunities. The nervous system, which
includes the brain along with the nerves that pass messages around the
body, does not fully mature until early adulthood. Therefore, the more
movements and skills the child is exposed to, the better the range of
experience they acquire. Krog (2017) explains that if a child had little
experience, for example, to throw and catch a ball in the early years, they
will struggle to throw a javelin or catch a netball later in life because of a
lack of motor and coordination skills (which also affects their academic
success). Therefore, it is important that children be exposed to basic gross
motor activities like running, catching, jumping and throwing as early as
possible.

Activity 2.1: Physical development of the foundation

phase child

(1) Read through section 2.3.

(2) Indicate on the existing physical movement lesson plan
(appendix 2.1) whether the physical, health, emotional, social,
cognitive and normative development aspects of table 2.2 are
indeed accommodated.
(3) If not, indicate where you will interweave these aspects.

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 (4) Based on the lesson plan, indicate how you would organise
group games in which children function as members of a
group.
(5) Evaluate whether the activities adhere to the attention span of
the specific age group.

Feedback on Activity 2.1

When answering the questions, think of the following objectives

of the learning unit:

 Think about your teaching lesson, and reflect on whether you

keep the holistic development of the child in mind. Answer to
yourself whether you expect too much or too little
from the children in the class.
 The following section focuses on the growth of the body of the
foundation phase child.

2.3.2 Growth of the body

Physical development is the increase of a child’s overall structural or body

size, whereas growth relates to the increase of height, weight, and muscle
mass. Our growth patterns are controlled by our genetic makeup in which
maturation patterns are common in most children. Growth and
development depend on the requirements of suitable nutrition, such as
drinking enough water and following a balanced diet to develop control
and coordination of the body, a maturing brain, nervous system, strong
bones and muscles, which go along with exercises and physical
activities.

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[Link] Growth of the foundation phase child

Figure 2.1 illustrates that the average child of 6 years weighs about 20
kg and is 1.1 m tall. Most children gain about 3.5 kg and grow taller by 5-
8 cm per year. Children thus tend to outgrow shoes and trousers more
rapidly than jerseys, shirts, and jackets because the increase in height
comes from the legs rather than from the trunk. Boys and girls are usually
similar in size in the foundation phase. They need, on average, about 2
400 calories each day. This depends on the child’s age and size and can
range anywhere from about 1 700–3 300 calories per day. The foundation
phase child should eat a well-balanced diet consisting of the major food
groups like grains, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat, and beans. It is important
for the child to start the day with breakfast. Breakfast should provide about
one-fourth of a child’s daily calories. Typically, what happens in South
Africa, is that children skip breakfast because of early transport to be
taken to school. They then consume empty calories from sweets with little
or no nutritional value from a tuck shop. When children are well fed, they
are better able to pay attention in the classroom (Littlecott, Moore, Moore,
Lyons & Murphy, 2015).

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Figure 2.1: Height and weight increase of the child (Kail, Cavanaugh &
Muller, 2019).

[Link] Body form

As mentioned, children develop at their own rate and timing according to

their own physique or somatotype. Pangrazi and Beignle (2014) point to
the following three main body types:

Endomorphs have a less well-defined body outline. They carry more

muscle and bone tissue, thus a higher percentage of body weight than fat
tissue. Their physical performance is poor in running, and aerobic and
anaerobic activities.

Mesomorphs are well proportioned and muscular. Their bodies comprising

mostly muscles, bone, and connective tissue. They perform well in
strength, speed and agility activities.

Ectomorphs tend to be thin and tall, with little muscle development. They
are less proficient in activities that require strength and power, but better in
aerobic endurance like jogging and cross-country running. The
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ectomorphs are late developers and experience growth spurts in the
elementary years.

Figure 2.2: Physique of the foundation phase child.

Source:
([Link]
omorph+childr
en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP3dqm4b
HjAhVMTRUIHcVMCl 4Q_AUIECgB&biw=916&bih=755)

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From the illustrations, it is clear that the distribution of fat and muscles
gives the body its characteristic bodily form. A mesomorph naturally has
more muscle mass than the ectomorph of the same height and is not
necessarily overweight even though such a scale will indicate the
opposite. For a child who is a natural endomorph, a healthy diet and
regular exercise are of cardinal importance, as such a child tends to put
on body weight easily.

Activity 2.2: YouTube video clip on different body forms

Watch the video clip and, with the different body types in mind,
think of different movements that you can integrate into the lesson
plan (Appendix 2.1) in the back of the learning unit.
[Link]

Feedback on Activity 2.2

When explaining different body types, keep in mind that the

foundation phase child (6 and 7-year-olds) still have a higher
need for recognition from others and acceptance that they “fit in”,
thus children are also very sensitive to criticism.

[Link] Development of motor skills

Enrichment activity: [Link]

See the above-mentioned YouTube video on different motor skills, which

indicates what can be done inside or outside of the classroom.

Effective gross- and perceptual-motor development contributes to the

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following important skills that children need in order to be successful at
school:

• Preparatory skills: Visual, auditory and tactile.

• Listening skills: Rhythm of speech sounds.
• Reading skills: Above-below, left-right, distance, size, shape and
direction.
• Writing skills: Big muscle groups of the arm, hand and finger
muscles, start and stop actions, ability to sit up straight, ability to keep
head in an upright position, able to identify a start, and then to
commence writing.
• Language skills: Knowledge of the parts of the body, opposites and
action words.
• Self-concept: Improved through self-confidence.

The teacher should be informed of the phases of motor development

from birth to adulthood when planning physical activities for the children.
Gallahue and Ozmun (2006) classify motor development in different
stages and phases as the reflective movement phase, rudimentary
movement phase, and the fundamental movement phase.

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Figure 2.3: Phases and stages of motor development

Source: Adjusted by Pienaar, 2018.

• The reflexive movement phase

This is the prenatal phase and continues after birth. The baby is born with
a natural drive to move and the natural movements are referred to as
reflexes. A baby’s early development is orderly and structured, and
driven by a set of primitive reflexes that form the foundation of later
learning. The phase develops simultaneously with the first movement
phase. During this phase, the baby develops neck, head and trunk
control that enables them to roll over, sit, crawl and stand up. Each of the
milestones is reached in sequence within a time frame.

• The rudimentary movement phase

This phase lasts from birth to 2 years. Locomotor skills like crawling,
walking and manipulation – including reaching and grasping, and stability
skills, which include control over the neck, head, and trunk during sitting
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and standing – develop during this phase. At this stage, the baby has
hardly any control over fine motor skills.

The fundamental movement phase

The time span between 2 and 7 years is important for motor skills
development. During this phase, the basic posture, locomotor and
manipulation skills that developed during the first two years are being
refined and further development happens.

The fundamental movement phase consists of three stages:

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Table 2.3: Fundamental movement phases and stages (Pienaar, 2018)

Phas Na Characteri Age

e me stics
One Initial stage Characterised by relatively crude, 2-3
uncoordinated movements years
Two Elementary Coordination and rhythmical 4-5
stage performance in- crease with years
greater control, but the fluidity of
movement is still lacking
Three Mature stage Skill is characterised as a well- 6-7
coordinated, mechanically correct years
and efficient act

Maturation plays an important role in both the rudiment and fundamental

movement phases to refine the movements. As soon as the fundamental
skill possess all the characteristics of a mature skill, it develops into a
sport specific skill. If the development does not happen, it will hamper the
development of the specialised skills later in the child’s life. Pienaar
(2018) points out that the fundamental skills of many children in South
Africa do not develop to the level of specialised skills due to physical
education that is often neglected in schools, safety, stranger danger, and
the technological nature of modern societies.

The fundamental skills are further classified as:

Table 2.4: Fundamental skills (Pienaar, 2018).

Stability skills: Bending, stretching, turning,

Emphasis is placed on balancing swinging, rolling, maintaining a

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 (body control) position (like standing on the toes),
starting, stopping, avoiding and
balancing
Locomotor skills: Walking, running, jumping, hopping
Continuing in an upward or (basic) gal- loping, skipping, sliding,
forward direction climbing (combinations)

Manipulation skills: Throwing, kicking, hitting, bouncing,

dribble (initiate), catching, preventing/
stopping (absorb)

During the foundation phase, children’s greater size and strength contribute
to improving motor skills. They start to run faster, jump further and throw
a ball further. By age 11, a child can throw a ball three times further than
they could at the age of 6. Their fine motor skills also improve. They gain
greater control over their fingers and hands. Their skills are evident in a
variety of activities ranging from writing to drawing, building puzzles, typing,
playing of musical instruments or building model cars.

Reflection on learning

With the above in mind, we can agree that as a foundation phase teacher,
we will plan our activities around the fundamental movement phase.

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 Activity 2.3

Read the following case study and complete the activity:

In the school where you are teaching, the foundation phase teachers are
complaining about children struggling to focus and concentrate in the
classroom. You decide to compile an A4/5 chart for each teacher with stability
activities that can be done in the classroom between different learning activities
to enhance focus and concentration during classroom activities.

• Use table 2.4 on fundamental skills as your guide and develop

• short and quick stability activities – not more than five – for
inside the classroom between learning activities.
Take some pictures of a child or a group (remember no faces)
as they demonstrate the different activities that can serve as
demonstrations for the teacher and children.

The following section will focus on gross and fine motor skills of the
foundation phase child.

[Link] Gross motor skills

Enrichment activity: see the following YouTube videos on gross motor

skills:

[Link]
development- [Link]

[Link]

Gross motor skills refer to engaging the large muscles of the body in a

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 coordinated and controlled way. Gross motor actions will include
movements of the whole arm, the whole leg and the trunk. These activities
will include catching a ball, balancing, climbing, jumping on a trampoline,
playing tag, running races, rolling over, sitting up, crawling and just
walking. Gross motor skills lay the foundation for school readiness skills
such as handwriting, concentrating, following instructions, sports skills,
and teamwork. It is therefore important that children be exposed to
diverse activities to move freely and experiment with different apparatus
and resources to develop their gross motor skills. These skills develop
through practise and repetition. This is why a baby takes weeks to perfect
rolling, sitting or crawling and a child takes a whole season to learn to
catch a ball while running.

The following box displays the typical gross motor skills of the foundation
phase child:

Table 2.5: Gross motor skills in the foundation phase (Marotz & Allen,
2016).

Six-year-old Seven-year-old Eight-year-old

Wants to move and Has seemingly Has seemingly
has a hard time sitting endless energy endless energy
still. Their muscle
strength increases

Six-year-old Seven-year-old Eight-year-old

Can display precise and Can balance on either foot Enjoys activities like
deliberate movements dancing, rollerblading,

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 swimming, wrestling,
riding a bike or flying a
kite
Increased body Continues to maintain the Gets into team
awareness body in space while activities and games
bending, stretching, like soccer, netball,
twisting and turning rugby
Increase spatial Runs up and down stairs Can combine various
awareness (direction & with alternating feet ways of moving and
location) traveling in various
ways
Enjoys and performs Can change from one Can catch a tennis
vigorous physical movement to another, like ball, walk across a
activities like running, hopping to skipping balance beam and hit
jumping, climbing, a ball with a bat
catching & throwing
Can throw various Throws and catches Can throw a ball
objects underhand at a smaller balls overhead using two
target like a bean bag hands to a friend or a
through a hoop target
Can catch objects of Can kick a static ball with Can catch different
various kinds below the either foot to a friend or a objects using two
waist using two hands larger target hands above and
below the waist
Can jump forward While moving, can Can hit a moving
without control bounce a ball with either object like a ball or
hand balloon towards a
friend or target

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 Can dribble a ball with Can jump over low
their feet over a short objects
distance
Can jump and land safely Can move body under,
over, through and
around equipment
Can balance both on and
off equipment while still or
moving
Practices new motor skills
until mastered and move
on to the next one

[Link] Fine motor skills

Enrichment activity: see the following YouTube video on fine motor skills:

[Link]

Fine motor development is the ability to coordinate the smaller muscles

in the arms, hands and fingers that allows a child to perform fine motor
skills like cutting with scissors and drawing, tying shoelaces, building
puzzles or moulding clay. Fine motor skills also include the small muscles
of the face and mouth (like the tongue) and feet, although we usually refer
to the use of the small muscles only in the hands and fingers. These skills
develop more slowly than gross motor skills, but not in isolation from the
other skills. Fine motor skills are integral for a child’s development for self-
care such as tying shoelaces and using a knife, spoon and fork when
eating. Children who struggle with motor activities

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in general, often feel frustrated and their self-esteem suffers when they
cannot keep up with their friends. Once formal schooling starts, decent
fine motor control in the hands and fingers will enable the child to learn
handwriting with a minimum of effort. When a child has to concentrate on
holding a pencil, there is less brainpower to devote to the actual writing
skill, which can hamper the child from reaching his/her potential in school
(Charlesworth, 2017).

The following box displays the fine motor skills in the foundation phase:

Table: 2.6: Fine motor skills in the foundation phase (Marotz & Allen,
2016).

Six-years-olds Seven-years-old Eight-years-old

Enjoy creative projects Uses knives, spoons Increasing accuracy in
such as arts and and forks, but copying words and
construction work inconsistently numbers from the
blackboard
Write numbers and Holds a pencil in tight Good eye-hand
letters with varying grasp near tip; rests coordination; may
degrees of precision head on fore- arms, begin to learn cursive
and interest; may lowers head almost to writing
reverse or confuse the table top when
some letters: b/d; p/g; doing pencil- and-
g/q; t/f paper tasks
Traces around the Produces letters and Draws representative
hand and other numbers in a figures in pictures with
objects deliberate and increasing detail
confident fashion

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 Folds and cuts paper Written characters and Can easily
into simple shapes increasingly uniform in accomplish six- and
size and shape; may seven-year-old skills
run out of space on
the lined page
Most can tie Draws representative
shoelaces figures in pictures with
increasing detail
Draws representative Can easily accomplish
figures in pictures six-year- old skills
There is currently a worldwide concern that increased technology can
hamper handwriting skills.

2.4 ACTIVITIES FOR GROSS AND FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

The primary goal of physical education at a school is to provide

opportunities for all children to have competence in gross motor skills that
will result in the competence of fine motor skills. It is important that
children participate in physical activities for at least 15 minutes or more
per day. Many children will participate in physical activities without
planning, like having fun on the playground, but some children will stand
around and talk on the playground rather than be active. For the inactive
children, it is important that the teacher plans activities to get them
moving and participating in a variety of activities that will foster motor
development and develop a positive attitude towards an active
movement experience. The movement class is further an ideal learning
space for children to be exposed to and learn about the rich African
cultures of their friends. Through movement, the teacher can draw from
Africa’s rich natural resources for creating diverse gross and fine
development activities. Awopegba, Oduolowu and Nsamenang
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(2013) state that the teacher must keep the living environment in mind
when planning movement activities. Make use of objects from the
environment to make children aware of nature and objects they can relate
to it. For example, when living in a coastal area, incorporate objects like
sea sand or shells in fine motor activities (see tactile perception) or, if living
in a desert area, plants and stones or rocks from there. The movement
class is ideal to embrace indigenous knowledge and skills and indigenous
games from diverse cultures. Here children, as well as the teacher, can
learn from one another through games, drama, dance, and songs.

The teacher should take note of the following guidelines when planning
and presenting successful and enjoyable physical education
programmes (Pienaar, 2000; Awopegba, Oduolowu & Nsamenang,
2013).

2.4.1 Teacher planning and preparation of physical movement

activities

The teacher needs to keep the following in mind when planning and
preparing lesson activities:

• Know the children’s names and cultural background, environment,

beliefs, and practices, and incorporate these in the movement
activities.

• Be informed that the African child is more prone to cooperate than

to compete. Achievements are regarded as a group achievement and
not necessarily personalised, thus, a sense of “ubuntu” or togetherness.

• Know the level of all the children’s motor development.

• Have an interest in the development of all the child’s full potential.

• Be enthusiastic and lead from a positive point of view. Children learn by

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 doing. More action and less speaking. When the teacher shows
enjoyment in the activities, the
children react spontaneous and are eager to take part.

• Empower yourself with appropriate knowledge and understanding of

the growth and development of foundation phase children. It is
important to have knowledge
of apparatus and their possibilities for use, as well as adaptations that
would have to be made to suit the child’s size and level of
development.

• Be able to observe, analyse and make recommendations. Thus, reflect

on your lesson.

• Give children choices and encourage them to experiment and to be

creative.

• Plan the activities and know your goals. Make sure your lessons include
self-exploration
as well as specific skills that are to be learnt.

• All apparatus that are to be used during a lesson should be ready

beforehand.

• Where possible, keep small groups of about 5-8 children with the
same level of development together. This will depend on the activity.
With small groups, each child
can get a turn to take part.

• Remember your lesson should improve the child’s self-image, cognitive

skills, affections and emotions along with their physical development
(Gallahue & Cleland Donnelly,
2003; Du Toit, 2015; Mbiti, 1989).

Pate and Hohn (1994) and Hopple (1995) suggest the following

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principles be kept in mind when preparing a lesson:

• Before proceeding, evaluate the level of motor development of each

child. This is to prevent injuries and failures of the lesson.

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• The lesson should include all possible movement skills that the child
needs to develop and improve motor development. Therefore, the
programme should suit the expected movement experiences that are
desired at its age as well as suit the child’s specific
level of development.

• Skills should build on each other, that is, start with basic, easier
activities and make it more complicated once the child has succeeded,
for example, walking, running and
skipping.

• Plan for enjoyment and success. Keep the attention span of the children
in mind: at 6 and 7 years the attention span alternates between 15 and
25 minutes at a time; 8 and
9 years between 20 and 40 minutes.

• Children should be occupied for the full duration of the lesson and
waiting to get a turn must be limited. A great variety of activities should
thus be used in one lesson.
When children have to line up for something like a balancing beam, use
closed circular tracks where children continually move through a
structured field and do not have to stand still and wait.

• Activities must be planned and presented in such a way that they will
appeal to the
children who will participate enthusiastically.

This implies that:

1. Activities should be success orientated, that is, be easy enough for

each child to succeed with ease, and then gradually become more
complicated. Attention must also be paid to the individual who has
perhaps not developed as well as the next one – activities must be

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 within their ability range. When a child is ahead of the others as far as
development is concerned, that child must also be challenged and be
given slightly more difficult activities, but which are still within their
ability range. This means that differentiation is important in a lesson.
2. Create opportunities for the handling of and experimenting with a
variety of apparatus to discover the potential of such apparatus and
to practise such activities at home.
3. It is important to instruct and to practise the correct techniques with
certain movements and activities. For example:

− forward roll or handstands.

− the over-hand throw (a): where the children have to step forward
with the opposite leg in front, aim with one arm and throw the ball
or bean bag with the other arm from behind the ear.
− the over-hand throw (b): step forward with the opposite leg and
swing the ball from behind with a straight arm.
− striking activities: see the correct grip on the bat.

The above gives you an overview of planning for your movement classes.

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 Activity 2.4

Reflect on how you go about motivating the children to be positive

about physical activities. Keep the following in mind when
completing the activity:

Are your activities fun, are they age and developmentally

appropriate, do you accommodate different cultural activities, do
you plan the activities ahead, are you a role model with a positive
attitude of physical activities, are you enthusiastic during
movement activities, and are you perhaps overdoing it?

Let us look at methods to present a positive movement class.

2.4.2 Methods of presentation

When presenting a motor development lesson, two methods are

applicable: the direct or formal and indirect or informal approach (SAGF,
2002). You might have come across the words, pedagogy, didactics or
teaching approach – these all indicate how you instill knowledge, skills,
and values during a lesson.

[Link] Direct method

The teacher tells the children exactly what to do and they follow the
instructions. The importance of this method is that the teacher informs or
demonstrates exactly what is expected of them. The teacher, or a child
who understands the activity, can demonstrate the correct technique. It is
important to make sure all children can see and understand the movement
while using keywords to emphasise the correct movements, for example,
“we gallop or crawl or tumble”. This method has the advantage that it

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emphasises the correct technique used in activities and makes it easier to
maintain a disciplined atmosphere. The disadvantage is that this method
does not stimulate the same measure of the development of creativity and
problem solving as the indirect method.

[Link] Indirect method

The foundation phase child enjoys the indirect method. The teacher asks
leading and stimulating questions to guide the children to explore other
movements that might, for example, exercise the same muscles or other
movements to complete the same activity. For example, the teacher says:
“We have jumped forward into the hoop. What other jumping moves can
we use to get out of the hoop?” or “How many different exercises can we
do to exercise the tummy?” The children should not be forced into
preconceived ideas of how they should move, but rather be allowed to
move in their own way and explore. They must also know that mistakes
are acceptable. The most important thing is not the end result, but the
experience they gain.

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[Link] Lesson content

The physical movement lesson needs to focus on the learning process of

the child. The lesson should include activities that address all the main
components of movement development, which are body awareness,
locomotor skills/total body coordination, static balance, dynamic balance,
hand-eye coordination, foot-eye coordination, and spatial orientation.
When the lesson content of the foundation phase is analysed, it basically
comes down to three movement themes, namely sport and games,
gymnastics activities, and dance activities. In sport and games in grade 1,
the emphasis is on manipulation skills and games, such as games with
throwing and striking, while in grades 2-3 the requirement is set such that
the games have to be played with a partner or team. The games section
in grade 2 further requires the inclusion of indigenous games.

Foundation phase children are naturally active and learn best when they
enjoy what they are doing, therefore play type activities form the core of
the content in which they can cooperate with their friends. The types of
activities and movement must give the child the opportunity to explore and
try out new moves. They must express themselves through movement
and continue to develop skills of verbal communication. In the
movements, the child begins to lay the foundations for the following:

• Body management, body awareness, and spatial orientation.

• Fundamental skills, with attention to laterality, directionality, balance, and

coordination.

• Hand-eye and foot-eye coordination through simple manipulative

activities.

• Their fitness needs are taken care of within their own movement
abilities.

The foundation phase movement lessons must embrace the four

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 areas already mentioned, but the emphasis is shifted to the apparatus
and tumbling areas:

• Locomotor skills are of prime importance.

• Manipulative skills are stressed because the foundations for the

important play skills
of throwing and catching are being laid, and because of the influence
of hand-eye
coordination on the fine motor coordination like writing and drawing.

• Attention is given to good body mechanics and posture, with

specific attention to the development of the arm-shoulder girdle and
core area. Rhythmic activities and
their creative aspects are stressed, especially action songs and
creative rhythms.

For the grade 3s, the application of rhythm to apparatus like balls, bean
bags or ropes is important. The lessons need to focus on balance,
strength and coordination in a wide variety of movements. The child must
now use reasonable techniques to roll, kick, bat, dribble, throw and catch,
and focus on detailed sport skills in netball, soccer, rugby or basketball.
Fitness tests should be done and, where possible, swimming activities
can be introduced.

[Link] Planning and preparation of a physical movement lesson

CAPS integration

See a great variety of activities that address every category, as set out
in the CAPS- document: CAPS for Foundation Phase ([Link])

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It is recommended that you compile a list of activities from these
categories. On the web or in the library there is a wide variety of simple
games, including indigenous games and dance activities, which can be
used.

Introductory phase: link with the child’s prior knowledge, and explain
the goal of the lesson. Try to integrate the movements with the current
theme in classroom work.

Start with some warm-up movements – locomotor/rhythmic

activities/games followed by a few stretches, which can also serve as
body awareness activities.

The main phase of the lesson will depend on the developmental level,
grade, and number of children in the class, along with the lesson outcome.
The outcome should consist of, for example, between two and five
different activity stations, each consisting of its own movement activities.
Divide the class into their groups according to the number of stations. Each
group then does its own circuit, which has been planned and arranged
before the lesson, and in which two or more components of movement
development are being addressed for about five minutes each. The
teachers give a signal and the children rotate to the next station until all the
children have visited all the different stations. The teacher will be situated
at the station with difficult activities or where the activity is assessed.

Activities can, for example, be one-leg hopping around bean bags,

walking like a crab, rolling or throwing a ball or bouncing a ball to a friend
or into a basket or monkey-walking through ropes.

The conclusion and assessment is a summary or summative

assessment in the form of a few questions such as the following:

• Which activities were the easiest/most enjoyable/most difficult?

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• What did you learn in the lesson?

• Demonstrate the one-leg hopping again.

In conclusion, a body awareness/laterality/spatial orientation activity can

be done again, or can be an activity done in the lesson that the child can
practise for homework or play as a simple game.

The final part of the conclusion is to calm the children down. They can
lie on their backs and relax with closed eyes.

Homework should be given in the form of an activity or skill that the

children need to practise at home, like hopping on one leg and keeping
their balance for 20 hops, or showing the bunny hop to their mother at
home and asking her if she can do it.

Assessment is done during the lesson in the form of formative

assessment. The teacher decides beforehand on one activity or skill to be
assessed. Each child needs to be observed during the lesson. The teacher
needs to support and correct the activities during the course of the
lesson.

The above gave you an overview of the different stages of planning a

movement lesson.

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 Activity 2.5

To understand the role and importance of physical education in

the curriculum, read the article titled “The effect of a 10-week Zulu
stick fighting intervention programme…” found under e-reserves
on myUnisa under CDE3701, and write a 250-300-word essay on
the role and value of physical education.

Enrichment activity: see the YouTube video on Zulu stick fighting

[Link]
qfFkzEk1vA See the YouTube video
on Xhosa stick fighting
[Link]
-US1S7Z0fk See the YouTube video
on step-by-step stick fighting
[Link]
Nprw2XetSI
The following section includes a variety of different activities to
be used when compiling a lesson on gross and/or fine motor
development.

2.4.3 Activities to promote gross motor development

Gross motor development includes using whole-body movements,

coordination, and balance. The following gross motor skills are important
in formal school:

[Link] To sit in the correct position at a desk to write requires a child to

have physical endurance and concentrate for at least 15-40
minutes
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Exercises to develop a motor skill:

Tummy exercises

Apparatus: the body

Divide children into two groups. One group does the tummy exercises
and the other group counts or sings a song.

The starting position of one group:

• They lie on their backs

• Knees bent, feet flat on the ground

• Put a bean bag between the knees to keep them together

• Hands are resting on the thighs

Let the child "curl up" by raising the head, then the neck, then the shoulder
blades while sliding the hands up to the knees. They hold the position until
the other group gives the signal (counting or singing) to go back down
slowly.

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The movements must be slow!

Tightrope walking

Apparatus: rope or chalk; bean bag

Let the children walk along a rope line (or a drawn line) while balancing a
bean bag on the head.

Make it fun by saying there may be crocodiles (or any animal from their
context) in the water, so do not step off the rope!

• Make it harder by telling the children to stop, and bend over to touch
their knees or toes or the ground without letting the bean bag drop.

If the children are comfortable with the first exercise, try the
following one:

• Walking heel to toe is harder and requires more core stability.

Encourage the children to WALK SLOWLY; this will require more core
muscle control.

If they keep losing their balance in this activity, then show them where
their tummy muscles are and ask them to pull them tight while they
walk.

They can try pulling their belly button in towards their spine to activate their
core muscles. Some children just do not use their core muscles unless
we remind them.

Leopard crawl

Apparatus: the body

Children lie on their tummies and pull themselves along with the
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forearms. They must not spread the arms too wide, or use the legs too
much–the leopard crawl should work the upper body the most.

This is a great obstacle course or follow-my-leader activity (especially if an

adult is involved). Doing it under tables and chairs is great motivation, and
as an outdoor activity, it lends itself well to a jungle or army theme.

Crab walk

Apparatus: the body

Crabs actually walk sideways, but this is really tricky for children, so start
by asking them to walk backwards for a short distance, keeping the back
and tummy straight and bottom off the ground. Doing the crab walk
actually works the core muscles as well as the shoulder girdle muscles.
Children struggle to hold the position at first. The crab walk is quite
demanding, so set a short distance (2-3 meters) for their first endeavor.
They

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can play follow-my-leader and later, when they are stronger, the teacher
can include an obstacle course game. As the children’s endurance
increases, the distance can increase.

Push the wall, or push my friend or my teacher

Apparatus: the body

Tell the children the wall is falling down, and they must push against it to
keep it up.

Let them push for a count of 5 or 10 seconds, run around the garden or
the classroom, and then come back for another push.

Make sure only the hands are on the wall (no forearms, trunk or
shoulders), and try to keep elbows slightly bent.

For the friend push, have both pushers put their hands together with
both pushers keeping elbows slightly bent.

Stand with one foot behind the other and on the count of three, PUSH each
other as hard as possible until one of you moves backwards.

Please take note when conducting this activity:

Pair the same size children together to minimise the chance of injuries.
Consider keeping boys with boys and girls with girls, and be cautious of
children who are prone to bullying other children during this activity.

Hand pushes

Apparatus: the body

The child places his/her palms together, with elbows out and forearms
held horizontally. Let the child push their hands together as hard as
possible and hold for 5 seconds.

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Repeat a few times.
Chair push-ups
Apparatus: a chair
Let the child place his/her hands on either side of the chair and PUSH
until their bottom rises off the chair.

Hold for 3–5 counts.

As their endurance increases, they can try to lift their feet off the floor and
hold them off while doing the push-ups with their hands on the chair.

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[Link] To develop good handwriting skills

The child needs to be able to use the hands and eyes well together. The
eyes need to guide the hands in controlling the pencil to form correct
shapes and lines to create the letters. One can say that communication
between the eyes and the hands must be good so that the child can copy,
draw or write what they see. Children who struggle to integrate or
coordinate their visual systems and their motor systems may struggle with
handwriting as well as with other school activities.

Visual-motor integration (VMI): the ability to correctly perceive a form

from, for example, the board and correctly replicate it on paper. Children
with poor VMI often struggle to form letters well and struggle to copy
drawings.

Eye-hand coordination: requires the eyes to visually guide the

movement. It does not usually involve visual perception. Children with poor
eye-hand coordination may struggle to start and stop the pencil in the
space given and may miss or overshoot the lines.

Exercises to develop eye-hand coordination through gross motor

games:

Once the child has had lots of practise catching and hitting a suspended
ball, you can try a ball-wall throw.

Ball-wall throw

Apparatus: ball

• Let the children throw the ball against a wall and catch it again.

• The teacher will need to experiment to find the most effective distance
from the wall
– it depends on the type of ball, and how forcefully the child throws it,

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 but encourage
the child to start with a gentle throw.

• See how many times the child can catch before missing and keep a
running record of the best score. Encourage the child to better the
score each time.

Diketo

Apparatus: small pebbles or any small hard objects; small hole in the
ground

• The child throws the object in the air and the moment the object is in
the air; the child’s other hand scoops out an additional object from the
hole. The child throws the object in the air again and at the same time,
puts the other object back in the hole.

Threading and lacing

Apparatus: beads or macaroni, and laces

Threading beads is a fine motor activity that can be used inside or outside
the classroom. Use chunky beads and laces if the child struggles, or have
them thread beads onto a pipe cleaner or string macaroni.

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[Link] For the correct spacing of written work on the page, the child
needs to have midline crossing, directionality, spatial
perception, and planning skills

Exercises to work on these areas are as follows:

The “Lazy-8” has long been a popular way to help a child to cross the
midline.

Apparatus: rope or chalk to form or draw a lazy-8.

It can be drawn on the board or in the sand, and the child can hop, skip
and jump in the lines.

The rope song

Apparatus: rope and a song

The children stand in a circle and hold on to a rope. Three children hold
two ropes that have been joined together to make a longer one.

Start clapping a beat or singing a song and have the children move the
rope hand over hand around the circle in a rhythmical way.

They should be crossing the midline as they reach from side to side.

Catching a ball/bean bag

Apparatus: ball or bean bag

One child is the thrower and stands slightly to the side, so the catcher
must turn the upper body to catch and throw the ball. Do the activity on
both sides of the body, and gradually increase the angle from which the
ball is thrown to increase the amount of midline crossing.

Simple relays

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Apparatus: any object

Any object could be used, as long as the child passes and receives the
object with both hands. Make sure that they are sitting either cross-
legged or are on their knees.

Ball passing

Apparatus: ball or bean bag

Two children sit back to back and pass the ball around to each other. They
do it five times in each direction as a warm-up for other gross motor
activities, or as a break from desk tasks

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Throwing at a target

Name of the activity: Stable trunk

Apparatus: ball or bean bag

In this game, the child is seated and throws across the midline to a target
with the dominant hand. Care must be taken not to rotate the trunk
because then the child does not cross the midline. The child’s hips and
legs must stay facing forward and only the upper body turns.

[Link] For a child to learn to read well, they need good visual tracking
and focusing skills. Hand-eye coordination can help the child
with visual tracking and to catch a ball in sports

Name of the activity: Catch the bag

Apparatus: bean bag or ball

In this game, the child can throw a bean bag or ball and catch it again.
Alternatively, a friend can throw the object for the child to catch. Groups of
five can stand in a circle with one child in the middle. The child in the middle
throws the ball or bean bag randomly to any other child. This requires all
the children to be alert throughout the game.

Object relays

Can be played indoors or outdoors and the whole family can take part.

Works on: bilateral as well as hand-eye coordination.

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Name of the activity: Relay on the go

Apparatus: any relay object

Rules of the game:

• The children stand in a line and pass the ball/object to the child
behind them.

• Do it overhead, then between the legs.

• Encourage the kids to use both hands together.

• Make it more fun by having a bucket of objects at the front that has to
be transferred
to an empty bucket at the back.

• You can do this in fireman relay style, where everyone keeps their
place, or have the last kid run to the front after placing the object in
the bucket at the back, that way
they all get a turn to be in front.

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Hang a ball in a net (or any
object) Name of the activity:
Hanging ball
Apparatus: ball in a fruit or veggie bag, rope, anchor to hang the ball in the
bag from, bat.

• Use a net bag (the kind that you get fruit and veggies in)

• Pop a ball in and knot it

• Tie it to a length of rope

• The rope needs to be long enough to get the ball level with the
child’s chest

• Hang the ball from any horizontal pole or even from a hook in a
doorway

Push and Catch:

The child needs to watch the ball carefully to catch it again with both
hands together, and not let it bang against the body.

Bat and Ball:

Use a bat and have the child practise hitting the ball with the bat. Use a
variety of bats to increase the challenge for the child.

Older kids can use smaller balls (e.g. tennis balls) to increase the
challenge. Remind the child not to hit the ball too forcefully to avoid being
hit in the face with a rebound!

As an extra challenge, ask the child to clap or twirl between pushing the
ball away and catching it again.

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[Link] Basic mathematics skills involve rhythmic counting, which can
help the child to internalise number sequences

Name of the activity: (depends on the apparatus). “Hop in the hoops” or

“hopscotch” or “aim for the target”.

Apparatus: Hoops; a target; chalk to draw a hopscotch diagram

During informal games, encourage the children to count their jumps or throws.
Alternatively, include number recognition in games like hopscotch or target
throwing. Introduce skip counting in 2s or 7s or 9s to exercise times tables
and motor skills.

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[Link] Dance activities

Music and dance together offer social, mental and physical enjoyment and
development. To integrate music and dance helps children to build motor
skills and allows them to express themselves. Foundation phase children
must concentrate on the movements and on the rhythm to strengthen
their memory skills. The children further socialise, and develop language
movement and rhythm. Dance further develops laterality and space
orientation when they change directions while moving and changing the
body shape and size of movement space.

When playing music in the physical development classroom, a

climate for relaxing, expressing feelings and excitement is created.
A good choice of music can contribute to the enhancement of
movement without children realising it.

McGreevy-Nichols, Scheff and Sprague (2005) underline the fact that it

is important to establish the basic rhythm of the music to fit the movements
that are planned. Thus, the teacher needs to keep the following in mind:

• What is the goal of the lesson and how can the music enhance it? This
means that the music and the movements must fit.

• The choice of music must fit the age group.

• Songs can be repeated, but not too many times since, it can become
monotonous.

• Alternate the music and rhythm for the different components of the
activities.

• The choice of music should be such that it would motivate participants

and stimulate
them to want to move.

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Through dance, children can be exposed to different cultures.

2.4.4 Teacher preparation for promoting fine motor development

The development of children’s fine motor skills begins within the center of
their bodies and moves outwards. Poor core stability, weak shoulder girdle
muscles, weak hand muscles, and poor coordination skills can all affect
the child's ability to use the hand and finger muscles effectively. Through
appropriate development, children will, in the long run, be able to
undertake fine and intricate movements. Fine manipulation skills include
using finger movements and hand-eye coordination.

OT Mom Learning Activities (2017) explains fine motor development as

a four-legged chair in which each leg represents one of the bases for fine
motor skills. If one of those legs is missing or crooked, the chair will
wobble and fall over. Thus, each of the four legs is important for the chair
to be stable.

Leg one: postural control and stability

The big muscles of the shoulder girdle and core needs to be strong and
stable for the smaller muscles of the arms and hands to move freely and
in a controlled way. When a child lacks stability in the shoulder girdle and
trunk, they may hold the pencil too tightly

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since they try to get more control over it, or they may press too hard on the
paper also to control the pencil. This results in tension in the shoulders
during these fine motor tasks.

Trying to use a pencil or scissors without adequate stability of the large

shoulder girdle and trunk muscles is like trying to sit on a three-legged
chair. It takes a lot of effort and it is tiring.

The following exercises will help to strengthen the shoulder girdle and core:

Making bridges

Name of the activity: Body bridges

Apparatus: the body

Let the child keep his/her knees and feet together while lifting the bottom off
the ground with the arms. This exercise strengthens the muscles around
the hips and back, which are all part of the core. The child must hold the
bridge position for a few seconds. In time, increase the duration of holding
the bridge and the number of repetitions.

To make it fun, a friend can push toy vehicles under the body bridge.

Leg lifts

Name of the activity: Flamingo

Apparatus: the body

Let the child stand behind the chair so the left hand is resting lightly on the
back of the chair. Slowly lift the left leg, keeping the knee bent until the
hip is bent 90 degrees.

The tricky part is to hold it and slowly lower the leg ALMOST to the
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ground, but do not touch the ground. Raise the leg again and repeat the
exercise a few times. Remember to turn around and to repeat the
exercise with the right leg. In time, let the child move away from the chair
and keep their balance while lifting one leg.

If the child keeps losing his/her balance, then show them where the
tummy muscles are and ask them to pull them tight while lifting the leg.
They can try pulling their belly button in towards their spine to activate
their core muscles.

*See activities under for more core exercises

Leg two: tactile perception

Tactile perception, or touch perception, is the brain’s ability to understand

or perceive information coming through the skin. Leg two focuses on the
skin on the hands. The

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hand’s duty is to register sensory information and the brain then uses this
information to guide the hands during an activity.

If the fingers do not give good tactile or touch feedback to the brain, it is
difficult for the brain to process the information accurately. Poor tactile or
touch feedback is like wearing gloves; one cannot really feel the objects
and the hands are clumsy. Children with poor tactile perception tend to
drop small items and let things slip out of their grasp. They tend to hold
items or objects with too much force, so they can "feel" it properly.

The following exercises will help to improve tactile perception:

Touching objects in a feel bag

Name of the activity: Bag surprises

Apparatus: hands; a bag (can be an old handbag or a cloth bag); bucket

with sand; bucket with rice; a box with holes for the hands and arms;
objects such as plastic forks, dice and Lego blocks.

Hide a few objects in the bag or bucket with sand or rice. The child needs
to feel and find an object and describe what it is. You can hide matching
objects that the child needs to find.

For more fun, ask the child to find a specific object. Another game is for
a friend who knows what is in the bag to describe an object that the child
must find in the bag.

One can also put different shapes or plastic animals in a bag and ask the
child to find a specific shape or animal.

Leg three: hand function

Hand function is significant for fine motor development. The hand and finger

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muscles need to work well together in order to control pencils and other
small objects and tools. The wrist and forearm are also important since
they steer the hand into the best position to control fine motor tools.

Teaching a child to use scissors

Learning to cut involves two different skills:

• Mastering the grasp-release motion of the scissors.

• Mastering the art of cutting on a line. (Make sure your left-handed

child uses left-
handed scissors – this is very important).

Mastering the grasp-release motion of the scissors is to enable a child to

open and close the scissors. Use a spray bottle to exercise the squeezing
and releasing of the trigger. This will help the child to get the feeling of a
repetitive grasp-release motion with the whole hand. Give the child the
assignment to water some plants in the classroom or outside.

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Another exercise is to use washing pegs.

Activity:

• Use washing pegs to pick up bits of crumpled paper or other objects

and transfer them into a container.

• Let the child place washing pegs around an empty egg carton.

Mastering cutting. Make sure the child uses an appropriate scissor grasp.

• Thumb in one hole, and middle finger through the other.

• The index finger can rest on the outside of the scissors, or be in the
same hole as the
middle finger if the whole is big enough.

• Encourage the child to hold the paper off the table with the assistant
hand. Thumb on top and fingers underneath is the best position for
the assistant hand.

• Encourage the child to cut around shapes the correct way. Right-handers
should cut to
the right of the shape, and left-handers should cut to the left of the
shape. Cutting
around shapes in the correct direction will help the child to get the blade
of the scissors to stay on the line more effectively and should help the
child to cut more smoothly.

• Encourage the child to start cutting lines on the line furthest from the
holding hand.
This will encourage more efficient cutting as the child will not need to
keep picking
up the cut-off piece in order to keep cutting.

• Start with thick and straight lines. Then move on to cutting circles
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 and spirals. This will help the child to understand the need to move the
paper with the assistant hand
while cutting. (See “Free cutting templates” of OT Mom’s attached at
the back of the learning unit).

Now that the child has mastered the scissors, the following activities can
be done for effective hand function:

Apparatus: Scissors; paper; playdough

Cutting with scissors is a good option to help a child develop good hand
function.

Playdough is an old time favourite. The child can squash, squeeze, roll
and pound the playdough.

Tripod fingers

Apparatus: fingers; small pieces of paper

The child holds a small piece of paper under the ring and little fingers. By
keeping the ring and little finger tucked away, a distal transverse
metacarpal arch (DTM arch) forms. This is an arch that forms across the
hand by the knuckles. This arch is important as it gives stability to the
joints and muscles of the hands while the tripod fingers are moving and
thus reduces fatigue during handwriting.

Finger ball walk

Apparatus: fingers; small ball

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With the thumb, pointer finger and middle fingers “walk” a ball up and
down the leg, Walking DOWN the leg takes more control than walking
up. Once they have mastered walking their fingers, isolate the tripod
fingers as explained above and try again.

Vary the size and type of ball used. If the child has a "lazy thumb", try using
just the thumb and index fingers to walk the ball.

Playdough finger gym

Apparatus: fingers; playdough

Use the tripod fingers to roll out small balls with a rolling movement of
the fingers and small sausages with a back and forth movement of the
fingers. Sausages can be easier than balls at first. The child can cut the
sausages with scissors and then roll it back into a ball or sausage.

Another finger gym activity is to make a pinch pot with playdough. Make
tripod fingers by popping a piece of dough under the ring and little fingers
of the dominant hand. Take a ball of playdough, insert the thumb in the
center of a ball, and use the index and middle fingers to pinch the outside
of the pot.

Roll small balls to put in the pinch pot. Again, isolate the tripod fingers
and then those three fingers work together to roll small balls to put in the
pot. This activity of rolling small balls with three fingers can be very tricky
for a child who has poor fine motor skills, so give lots of encouragement
and praise.

Leg four: bilateral coordination

The two hands need to work well together for fine motor tasks to be
effective.

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• Eating with a knife, spoon, and fork

• Holding a piece of paper while cutting

• Tying shoelaces

• Playing with construction toys, nuts, and bolts

• Knitting and crocheting are fine motor activities that need both hands
to work together in a coordinated way

Children with poor bilateral coordination skills may end up avoiding these
fine motor activities, which hampers the development of their fine motor
skills.

Some creative ideas for some more fine motor activities:

[Link]

2.4.5 Parent involvement for promoting physical development

Although physical education provides children with a variety of activities

and movements, time is not sufficient in the curriculum for promoting an
active lifestyle. For children to

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develop an active lifestyle, it is imperative they receive these messages from
home. Epstein (2011) advocate that parents be the first teachers of their
children who model culturally relevant skills for their children at home
before they begin formal education. Epstein further encompasses six
types of parent involvement in schools: (1) parenting support and
education, (2) school and home communication, (3) volunteering, (4) learning
at home,
(5) decision-making, and (6) collaborating with the community. The
teacher needs to recognise and enhance these roles by making an effort
to involve parents and caregivers in the child’s physical development. To
develop partnerships to foster parent involvement, the teacher can, for
example, ask parents to share their cultural indigenous knowledge, skills,
and behaviours with the children, which can include cultural or traditional
dances, music or games to play in the movement classroom.

Eccles and Harold (1991) refer to the four values that can influence
physical activity in children from the side of the parents or caregivers:

Parental encouragement refers to clear verbal or non-verbal forms of

inspiration for children to be active. For example, the parent makes a direct
effort to get the child to play outside, or an indirect effort to encourage the
child to develop an interest in being active.

Parental involvement refers to direct assistance or involvement in the

child's activity. For example, by walking or jogging with the child, playing
ball, or practicing any form of physical skills. Although the activity has
physical benefits, the parent-child engagement has more emotional
benefits.

Parental facilitation refers to a parent’s efforts to encourage children to

take part in physical activities by obtaining the necessary equipment for
them. This can include a pair of running shoes, soccer clothes or a hockey
stick. Facilitation further includes taking responsibility for taking children to
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extramural activities or to a safe environment to be active in for example,
a play park.

Parent role model refers to a parent modelling an active lifestyle for their
child. The child observes, from the behaviour of the parent, that exercise
is important and valued in the home. The active lifestyle can include
structured sports programmes or healthy activity patterns like walking to
the store or working in the garden.

Activity 2.6

The above underlined the importance of parental involvement.

Do some research and, based on Epstein’s six types of parent
involvement in schools – (1) parenting support and education, (2)
school and home communication, (3) volunteering, (4) learning at
home,
(5) decision-making, and (6) collaborating with the community –
work out an action plan, which includes the six above mentioned
types of parents’ or caregivers’ involvement into your movement
education.

Enrichment articles
Joyce, H,. 2017. Involving parents in schools.
[Link]
001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-1233
Graham, E,. 2019. 10 Ideas for Engaging Parents.
Educators share their best ideas for communicating and partnering with
parents. [Link]

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(lxxxviii) CDE3701/1
 To learn more about the parent-teacher relationship, read the
article titled “Parent-teacher relationships across community
types,” which can be found under e-reserves on myUnisa under
CDE3701, and answer these questions:

(1) From the article, what is your opinion regarding parental

involvement in rural, sub- urban and urban communities?
(2) With your context in mind, how involved are parents in the
school and give a reason for your answer?
(3) Why do you think that parental involvement differs between
communities?

2.5 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

2.5.1 The effects of nutrition and obesity on physical development

Obesity is usually the result of excessive calorie intake and low physical
activity rates that cause a child to be well over the normal or healthy weight
for his/her age and height. Eating behaviour that influences excess weight
gain usually includes a diet of high calories, low nutrient foods, and
beverages. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa (2018)
states that 14.2% of primary school children are overweight, of which 30%
is girls living in urban areas. In South Africa, cultural beliefs and
inadequate nutrition knowledge lull parents into inaction. For parents and
children who are not exposed to environments that support healthy food
habits, the choices to follow a balanced diet will be difficult.

If an infant is overweight, the risk of being an overweight child,

adolescent, and adult increases. Children of overweight parents and
children subjected to malnutrition during pregnancy or infancy are likely to

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become obese later in life. Health risks of children as young as three years
that are associated with obesity include hypertension, diabetes, respiratory
illnesses, and posture related deviances like flat feet and genu valgum
(knock-knees).

Du Toit (2015) states that various studies found a relationship exists

between obesity and insufficient gross motor skills development of
children, since obese children are apt to avoid physical activity like
fundamental locomotor skills, running, hopping, jumping and dynamic
balance and catching exercises.

[Link] What is the role of the physical education teacher?

• Educate the children and the parents on healthy nutrition and the risks
of obesity. Establish with the parents the reason for their child’s obesity.
Inform them about calorie imbalance, gland dysfunction or emotional
problems – all possible reasons for obesity.

• Build the child’s self-worth, self-confidence, and self-concept.

• With the child’s ability level and weight in mind, start working on their gross
motor skills.

• Where possible, consult a dietician along with the parents to develop a

healthy eating
plan and exercise programme with short and long-term goals in which
the child can
to lose 0.5 kg per week.

• If that is not possible, encourage the parents and child to develop an

active lifestyle at home.

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2.5.2 The effects of genes and environment on physical
development

Read this part along with the socioecological theory of Bronfenbrenner

(LU1).

Every child has a different pattern of behaviour and personality. Heredity

factors (nature), as well as the environment (nurture), play an important
role in the development of the child’s personality and other qualities
(Erikson, 1950). A child cannot be born without genes and heredity
cannot develop without a decent environment. A child’s genes are present
from the moment of conception and environmental conditions influence the
child holistically from the beginning. A child (that includes all of us) carries
physiological and psychological uniqueness coming from the 23 pairs of
chromosomes, of which one will be the sex-determining chromosome.
These factors determine the physical characteristics like height, weight, the
colour of the eyes and skin, and social and intellectual behaviour. The “X”
chromosome of the mother plus an “X” chromosome of the father will result
in a girl (XX = homogametic) and an “X” chromosome of the mother and a
“Y” chromosome of the father result in a boy (XY = heterogametic).

The environment is the surroundings in which the child grows up and is

divided into the natural and the social. Natural surroundings are things
like the house, buildings in the neighbourhood, school building, trees and
roads. The social environment is the consciousness of the society the
child grows up in. This will include things like language, culture, customs,
traditions, family, social groups, friends, children, and teachers in the
school. This social environment has the biggest influence on a child’s
behaviour and personality.

It is thus clear that genes and environment cannot be viewed in isolation.

Both have a great influence on the development of the child. The school

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and teachers have the responsibility to develop a healthy educational
pattern and learning environment for the children. Knowledge of both the
heredity and environmental issues of the children is of utmost importance
to the teachers, administrators and educational planners, because with
this knowledge educators can really understand and support children
according to their needs. The following principles need to be considered
by the teacher:

• Knowledge of the heredity and environment issues of the child might help
the teacher to understand and address the different needs and abilities
of the children. With this knowledge, the teacher can accommodate both
the gifted children and support other
children.

• It will further help the teacher to provide a better learning environment

for the children, meaning he/she will be able to organise various
curricular and co-curricular programmes to the benefit of the different
children.

With the above in mind, one can come to the conclusion that if a child is
exposed to a healthy and active home and school environment in which
he/she gets support and encouragement to be active, the child will
demonstrate a positive association with a healthy lifestyle (Beets, Cardinal &
Alderman, 2010; Lindqvist, Kostenius, Gard and Rutberg, 2015).

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2.5.3 The effect of cultural practices on physical development

The developing of positive attitudes towards one’s own culture is important

and should be developed to enable children to become increasingly aware
and appreciative of the value of the diversity of cultures and languages that
exist in South Africa. During physical activities, the cultural identity of all
children must be cherished to help children recognise and gain a positive
awareness of their own and other cultures. For example, games and
activities should keep the collective consciousness of cooperation of the
African child in mind. The child sees him/herself as a part or as being at
one with others, and self-identity is external and inclusive. The Zulu
saying of “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” – meaning “a person is a person
through others” – is applicable since sharing fosters a spirit of
cooperation. It happens from time to time that conflict arises during
movement activities. The African cultures view conflict through the spirit of
collective responsibility or sociocentrism. Collective responsibility leads to
a greater sense of group cohesiveness and altruism. The Western culture,
on the other hand, will view conflict as the responsibility of the individual or
egocentrism of those are involved (Mbiti, 1989; Ndaba, 1994).

2.5.4 The effect of gender differences on physical development

The physiques of boys and girls in the foundation phase are remarkably
similar when viewed from a posterior position, since their gross motor
skills develop at almost the same rate. As a group, both genders jump,
run, and throw a ball with about equal ease, although there are significant
differences among individual boys and girls. Boys and girls have similar
amounts of muscle and bone mass, and both genders show a gradual
decrease in fatty tissue as they progress through the phase. The boys
might be slightly taller and heavier than the girls are and tend to be more
active. Similarly, boys and girls can be restless if they need to be still for a

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long time. Boys can be more prone to being physically aggressive when
frustrated. Both genders have their slow and fast developers. Therefore, a
child’s maturation versus chronological age needs to be considered
during physical development and movement activities. Maturation refers
to the process of becoming mature, and chronological age is the number
of years the child has lived. Chronological age provides a rough index of
development levels and although development is age related, it is not age
dependent. Gallahue and Donnelly (2003) further indicate that girls’
skeletal development is normally quicker than that of boys and the
difference increases with age. Thus, the fat-bone relation increases in
girls as they grow older, while the opposite happens with boys.

The head sizes of both genders changes from a relation of 1:3 during birth
to that of 1:5 with regard to total body length. Leg length increases fivefold
(with boys completed at approximately 15 years and girls at approximately
13 years), arm length fourfold, and the trunk, threefold. The trunk’s final
growth takes place only after the leg length’s growth phase has been
completed. The limbs grow proportionally more than the rest of the body,
which can, therefore, lead to temporary uncoordinated movements during
these growth phases. From approximately 10 years of age, girls develop
broader hips and boys’ broader shoulders. The point of gravity moves lower
in girls and this leads to greater stability and balance, which proves to be
an advantage for girls in balancing acts. Lateral growth in the hips and
shoulders give boys an advantage in arm actions and running activities.
The sensory apparatus of both genders are still developing and, by age 12,
their eyeballs reach

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full size. The macula of the retina is not completely developed until the
age of 6 years and young child are generally farsighted. This is an
important reason why these children have difficulty fixating on and
intercepting moving objects (Du Toit, 2002).

2.5.5 The effect of illness and accident injuries on physical

development

The following are some guidelines for the teacher to keep in mind for
children with handicaps or medical conditions:

[Link] Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a condition that occurs when the pancreas does not
make enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) or the body cannot respond
normally to the insulin that is made (type 2 diabetes). This reaction causes
glucose levels in the blood to rise, which results in symptoms like
increased urination, extreme thirst, and unexplained weight loss. Insulin
is a hormone that controls the glucose levels in the blood and glucose is
the main source of energy in the body cells that are responsible for body
functioning.

Tips for the teacher:

• Let the child eat something before starting the activities

• Drink enough water, before, during and after the activities

• Warm up and give relaxing exercises afterward

• Always keep something to eat at hand

• Be alert to the following signs:

Table: 2.7: Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia

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 Hypoglyc Hyperglyc
emia emia
Shakiness Increased thirst
Dizziness Headaches
Sweating Trouble concentrating
Extreme hunger Blurred vision
Irritability Frequent urination
Moodiness Fatigue
Anxiety Weight loss
Nervousness Blood sugar more than 180 mg/dl
Headache

[Link] Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain’s electrical system. Abnormal electrical

impulses cause brief changes in movement, behaviour, sensation, or
awareness. These interruptions, known as seizures, may last from a few
seconds to a few minutes. Children who experienced two or more
seizures are considered to have epilepsy. Epilepsy is best known for
causing convulsions. However, seizures can trigger a wide range of
symptoms, from staring to fall

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to fumbling with clothes. Doctors classify seizures into several types
depending on how the brain is affected. Each type has different
symptoms.

The two broad groupings of epilepsy

• General seizures:

− Convulsive; and
− Non-convulsive.

• Partial seizures.

They usually begin with a stiffening of the arms and legs, followed by
jerking motions. The convulsions last up to 3 minutes, after which the
child may be tired and confused. This type of seizure involves abnormal
electrical activity involving both sides of the brain.

Absence seizures: Absence seizures are often described as staring spells.

The child stops what he/she is doing and stares vacantly for a few
seconds, then continues as if nothing happened. This type of seizure is
more common in children and usually starts between ages 4 and 12.
Some children experience up to 100 absence seizures in a day.

Symptoms/characteristics of a grand mal seizure:

• Breathing stops

• Muscles will become stiff and rigid; wrists contract

• Eyes are half open, but eyelids are stiff

• The child may cry, groan or grunt and fall to the ground

• The child will have convulsions where the arms and legs will jerk

• Will turn blue due to a lack of oxygen

• Will have foam at the mouth

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• May bite the tongue or inside of the mouth

• Could lose control over the bladder and wet him/herself

• Fall into a deep unconsciousness

• After a few minutes, the seizure will cease

• The child will now be disorientated and sleepy

Symptoms of a petit mal seizure: There is no seizure.

The child will:

• Stare for a few seconds due to a short period of unconsciousness

• Twitch or blink

• Chew

• It may seem as if the child is daydreaming

Tips for the teacher:

• Be aware that the child may become very tired

• Avoid quick changes from one activity to the next

• Attacks usually occur straight after exercising, thus be aware during

cooling down
exercises

(xcviii) CDE3701/1
Table: 2.8: Tips for the teacher

If a child gets an
attack
Let him/her lie on the floor Remove any objects close by that
might hurt the child
Loosen tight clothing, like a belt If the child has difficulty in breathing,
or a shirt button lift the head backwards to open up
the airway
After the attack, cover the child Let the child rest
with a blanket or a towel if there
was loss of bladder control
Inform the parents/caregivers

Asthma

This is a chronic lung disease that is characterised by temporary airway

obstruction through narrowing, inflammation and increased reaction to a
variety of stimuli.

Tips for the teacher:

• Child should warm up sufficiently

• Let the child rest often and enough

• Make sure the child has his/her asthma medication close by during
exercises

• Always end the class with sufficient relaxation activities

[Link] Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a form of paralysis caused by damage or injuries to

(xcix) CDE3701/1
parts of the brain that control the ability to use some muscles. The muscles
can also be only too weak to use or to control, resulting in the muscle tone
being too loose, too light, or a combination of both. Muscle tone is what
keeps the body in a certain position. Changing the muscle tone enables us
to move, for example, walking, or moving our head up, down or sideways.
When bending an arm, the tone in the muscle increases to support the
arm to bend (shorten it), or when stretching the arm again, the tone
decreases. The muscle tone controls this movement so that it is a smooth
movement. Children with CP cannot change muscle tone smoothly and
this results in jerky movements.

Tips for the teacher:

• Adapt to the child’s individual abilities

• Warm up with quite a few stretching exercises

• Include several body awareness activities

• Include activities that focus on locomotor, balance and rhythmical skills

• Let the child rest often

• Cool down with enough relaxation exercises

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[Link] Muscle dystrophy

This is a progressive illness of the muscle system that is characterised by

weakness and atrophy of the muscles in the body.

Tips for the teacher:

• Warm up with sufficient stretching exercises

• Adapt to the child’s abilities

• Rest often

• Keep in mind that the child’s balance is affected and that they might fall

• Choose a “buddy” for each lesson who moves with the child and helps
with movements such as walking, getting up and balancing

• Cool down with relaxing exercises

[Link] Auditory impairments

Children with hearing impairments may be hard of hearing or deaf.

Deafness means the child cannot hear.

Hard of hearing means the child can hear, but some loss of hearing is
experienced. The severity of the hearing loss differs from child to child. This
means there are different levels of hearing loss.

Tips for the teacher:

• Develop motor skills with the help of rhythmical games and music

• Specifically, concentrate on balance activities

• Let the auditory impaired child stand close to the teacher or the music
source

• Do activities where children work together in pairs

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• Make use of a shrill whistle, or lights (if possible) when giving
instructions

[Link] Visual impairment

Visual impairment includes various visual problems ranging from low vision
(partial sight) to blindness (total loss of vision). Children who are totally
blind are usually placed in a special school.

Blindness refers to a child with no vision or children who can, to some

extent, distinguish between light and dark.

Partial sight or low vision children can see, but have significant
loss of vision. Blind or partial sight is measured based on visual
acuity.
Characteristics of motor development of blind children include
behavioural deviations, deficits in all perceptual-motor skills, weak body-
motor skills, and weak body awareness and balance problems.

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Tips for the teacher:

• Use sound or vibration where possible during movement activities, for

example, balls with bells inside, whistles, mats to feel where and how
to stand, or put up a rope to indicate where the child must run.

• Make sure the environment is safe

• Make the child aware of any changes in the classroom

• Teach movement with lots of physical contact and guidance

[Link] Movement activities for children with physical handicaps

Each child has his/her individual needs. The following are general
guidelines that can apply to children with similar needs.

Tips for the teacher:

Rules, prompts & clues

• Demonstrate/modify activity

• Use “buddies” as partners

• Modify time limits

• Oral prompts

• Provide more/different space between students

• Eliminate outs/strike-outs

• Allow a ball to remain still

• Allow a batter to sit in a chair

• Place children with a disability close to the teacher

Equipment

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• Differently sized and weighted bats (e.g. larger and lighter)

• Scoops for catching

• Use of Velcro to easier catch balls with material (e.g. tennis ball)

• Adjust the height and size of the goal/target (e.g. lower/higher or

smaller/larger)

• Mark positions on playing field

• Varying balls or equipment (size, weight, colour, texture)

Boundary/playing field

• Decrease distance

• Use well-defined boundaries

• Adapt play area (smaller; obstacles removed)

• Simplify patterns

Actions

• Change locomotor patterns

• Modify body positions

• Modify grasps

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• Reduce the number of actions

• Provide frequent rest periods

Time

• Vary the tempo

• Lengthen or shorten the time

• Slow the activity pace

• Provide frequent rest periods

Activity 2.7: Article

Read the article titled “When Teachers’ and Parents’ Values

Differ: Teachers’ Ratings of Academic Competence in Children
from Low-Income Families” under e-reserves on myUnisa under
CDE3701 and complete the following activity.

When answering the questions, think of the following objectives of

the learning unit:

• Explain and contextualise concepts related to physical

development

• Discuss the importance of physical development through

contextual examples and
case studies
•
Reflect on implications of physical development for own
practise:

(1) Reflect on your own attitude regarding children from a

low socioeconomic background
(2) Are your expectations the same for children from
different socioeconomic backgrounds?

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 (3) How do you perceive the parents of children from a low
socioeconomic background?
(4) Are your (school’s) perspectives and values on raising
children aligned with that of the parents from diverse
contexts?
(5) What measures can the school and you as the teacher take
to become familiar with the range of cultural scripts and
underlying belief systems from diverse cultural groups in
one classroom?

2.6 CONCLUSION

In this learning unit, you examined the importance of the physical

development of the young child’s body growth, how a teacher can present
motor development in a creative way and accommodate cultural diversity
in the classroom, how to involve parents, and lastly, we focused on factors
that influence physical development.

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 Appendix 2.1

Movement development lesson for foundation phase children

Subject Life Skills Date 16 May 2019 Grade/age 6 years

Topic Physical Education Number of 30
children
Theme Road safety Component Perceptual-motor, laterality, rhythm, locomotor
s
Lesson Skills: Throw to target, 3-legged walk Assessm Formative: Traffic rules, 3-
82

Outcomes: Values: Taking turns ent legged walk Summative:

Knowledge: Traffic rules, left and right Throw to target

Time Compone Activity Story Apparatus Class set-

nt up/organisation
Introduction
8 Body • Linking with prior • “We are a snowman • 16 hoops • Each child in a hoop
min. awareness knowledge – that is melting; first
• 16 stickers
on a sticker
Locomotor traffic rules; stop at a his fingers, then his OOOOOOO
skills stop sign; drive on the hand...”
• 8 ropes
OOOOOO
left
• “Who touches
• cones, stop OOO

• Children stretch up, something green

signs (Stop
• Track (road) laid out
signs =
then relax one limb at first with you ... e.g.” with ropes
cones with
a time until they fall
• Drive with “cars” in
paper stop
to the floor
the road – hop
signs)
• Children hold hoops forward, backwards
around waists and (“one
move within the rope flat tire”), L+R, hop
track – hop forward, on two feet (“over
back- wards, L+R, bumps”), skip. Look
hop on two feet and L+R, stay on L side
skip. Look L+R, stay of the road, stop at
on L side of the road, stop signs
stop at stop signs
Middle phase/lesson body
5 Static • Each child holds hoop • Hoops • Each child with a hoop
min. balance around the waist, on a sticker
Total body balances on one leg10 OOOOOO
coordinatio sec., L&R, O&C eyes OOOOOO

•
n OOOO
Rope skipping with
hoop
Time Compone Activity Story Apparatus Class set-
nt up/organisation
Introduction
5 Dynamic • Circuit 1: Heel-toe • “Don’t fall off the bridge, 12 Hoops, 4 • 2 ropes in a straight
min. balance, walk on ropes, there are ropes, 12 line, then
spatial monkey walk in hoops crocodiles in the water!” cones hoop placed in line,
orientation (don’t touch), one leg
• “The poor monkey has
then 6
hop be- tween cones cones in a line
stepped on a thorn!”
(2-3 times) (2 identical circuits)

• Circuit 2: Monkey walk

a b
———— ———- O
with a sore leg (one
———— ———- O
leg and 2 hands) on
OO
ropes, two-legged hop
O O
with ½ turn in each
OO
hoop, crab walk
between cones (2-3 O O

times)
5 Hand-eye • Throw bean bag (bb) • “Who can throw and hit • Hoops, Children stand on
min. coordinatio over-hand in the hoop the car’s rolling wheel?” bean stickers, 2m from hoops
n (stand further each bags ........
time) OOOOOOOO

• Throw bb underhand .......

in the hoop OOOOOOO

• Teacher rolls one

hoop in
front of the children
throw bb
through the hoop
3 Foot-eye • Place bb on foot, kick • Bean Children on stickers
min. coordinatio up and bags ........
n catch bb .......

• Hold bb by its seam,

drop and kick
Conclusion
 2 Sum. • Assessment: children • “What do we do at a • Hoops Children in hoops on
min. assessment do the 3-leg-get walk stop sign? On which stickers O O O O O O
Homework OO
• Children walk a few
side of the road do we
Relaxing/b drive?” OOOOO
steps on one foot and
ody OOO
two hands • “Who can show me
awareness
• Give homework
again how a monkey
with a sore leg walks?
• Stretch out, lie in a
Go and practise it at
bundle in the hoop
home!”

• “Kitten gets sleepy,

83

curls up in bed and

sleeps”
1
CDE3701/
2.7 REFERENCES

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Baltes, P.B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of lifespan
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Datar, A. & Sturm, R. (2004). Physical education in elementary
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Ramokgopa, I.M. (2001). Developmental stages of an African child
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Websites for teachers’ music and early childhood development:
[Link] [Link]/[Link] Accessed: 15 March 2019.