Fundamental Movement Skills Activities for Elementary PE

Fundamental movement skills are the building blocks for everything that comes later: locomotor skills like running, hopping, skipping and galloping, stability skills like balancing and twisting, and object control skills like throwing, catching, dribbling, kicking and striking. A child who runs smoothly, lands a jump with control and tracks a ball into their hands will pick up any sport, dance or outdoor activity more easily. Elementary PE is where these skills get built.

Change the conditions constantly: surfaces, heights, distances, tempo and equipment. Kindergartners and first graders need exploration with open prompts like “How many ways can you cross the room?”; second and third graders can combine skills, such as run and jump or catch and throw; fourth and fifth graders apply them in lead-up games with defenders. Practice both sides of the body and watch the quality of the movement, not just whether the task gets done.