Sequence of Activities
This page is intended to lead a teacher through a progression of the skills outlined in the Content Analysis. Included are video examples of a fun activity students enjoy engaing in and a suggested yoga routine for warm up.
Hoola Hoop Game Introduction
This activity is both fun and educational for students. It challenges their coordination and the skills they have learned to implement on the wall. One student holds a hoola hoop perpendicular to the wall while the other student works to climb through the hoop while remaining on the wall. The climbing student is encouraged to read the holds both before and after the hoop to plan for their attempt to pass through the hoop. The student holding the hoop is encouraged to read the holds where they place the hoop so they are challenging their partner but creating a passable challenge. The student holding the hoop can also support the climber by suggesting foot and hand hold placements when the climbing student needs assitance. This activity can be combined with the Endurace Hand Climb to further challenge students abilities.
Yoga Introduction
Yoga is an excellent addition to a climbing program. Warming up and cooling down are essential to reducing muscle fatigue and injury. We have included a suggested yoga routine for students to use as a warm-up.
Teaching both yoga and gymnastics as complimentary units can both support students climbing development and offer ways to reduce the down time of studnets who are not on the wall. Stations and activites can be interlaced to create a comprehensive unit where all students are active and engaged at all times.
The routine below is as follows: Mountain Pose - Table Top - Downward Dog (holding this pose long enough to encourage blood flow through-out the body) - Warrior 1 - Warrior 2 - Downward Dog- Warrior 1 (opposite leg through) - Warrior 2 - Downward Dog - Table Top - Hip Rotation right - Hop Rotation left - Childs Pose - Savasana.
Hip flexibility and rotation are key to bringing your hips into the climbing wall and extending legs while maintaining balance. Many other routines are possible and beneficial. A cool down routine is also essential and arms, shoulders, and core are key focus areas of the body.
Cues and additional information for the poses are in the Additional Resources page
Task Progression and Block Plan Introduction
The following Block Plan is a suggested unit plan schedule that encompasses our Task Progression.
Beneath is a task progression for our traverse wall climbing unit. Spotting is an essential introductory activity for any group but can be simplified or extended as needed. Once you have built trust and the neccesary skills within your group you can choose when to move on.
Technique is a natural progression but the skills within technique can be interchanged as needed. Technique tasks will also serve as important cues through-out your unit. Straight arms and edging can be introduced as a cue early in the unit and then re-visited as a task later in the unit.
Once students are comfortable on the wall and with each other having learned some technique they will likely begin to understand the benefits of building strength and endurance in order to climb more efficiently. Off the wall activites can be incorporated and challenging strength and endurance building activites on the wall will be appealing to students wishing to advance their skills. Choosiong to simplify or expand this section is at the discretion of the teacher of their class.
Problem Solving and Cooperation skills are the natural culminating acitvities for students to engage in. Once students have mastered some technique and built enough strength to stay on the wall of extended periods of time there are many activites that can work to refine their skills. We have included some suggested activites but there are many more. We have posted additional activites in Additional Resources.
Block Plan
Block Plan For Climbing Unit
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1. Lesson focus: Spotting Intro Activity: Yoga
Tasks: A) Introduction to what spotting is and what it looks like
B) Off the wall:Wobbly walk
C) On the wall: groups activities
Culminating activity: Spotting Relay
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2. Lesson Focus: Foot work and arm work Intro Activity: Yoga
Tasks A) Intro to edging
B) Intro to arm work
C) Into to smearing and flagging
Culminating activity: Working in partners on traverse wall looking for cues
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3.Lesson focus: Balance, resting, Legs Into Activity: Yoga
Tasks: A)Intro to balance
B) Into to leg
C)Into to resting
Culminating activity: Traverse across wall finding various resting positions.
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4. Lesson focus: Intro to route reading Into Activity: Yoga
Tasks: A)Intro to what route reading is
B) Spontaneous route reading
C)Follow the leader route reading
Culminating activity: Route reading contract |
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5 Lesson Focus: Endurance Into Activity: Yoga/strength training
Tasks A) Into to importance proper strength building techniques
B) Endurance Hand climb
Culminating activity: Endurance Pyramid climb |
6. Lesson Focus: Cooperative work Into Activity: Team building activity
Tasks A) Cooperative Traverse
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Culminating Activity Lesson focus: Students Challenge themselves to complete as many cooperative , endurance, and route reading activities as possible. Students will have set goal to fulfill before, and will work towards these. |
Task Progression
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Task |
Skill or Strategy |
TASK instructions |
Achievable goal of task or game to move on to next task/game |
Cues or refinements for skill or strategy |
Extensions/ Simplifications S.T.E.P. |
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1. |
SPOTTING
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Keep continuous focus on the climber, ready to cushion a fall.
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Students should be able to demonstrate a sustained spotter stance with continuous focus on the climber |
- wide stance, flexed knees, feet shoulder width apart,one foot slightly in front of the other, arms shoulder height approx foot width apart
- palms facing climber at climbers waist level
- cushion fall, do not catch climber
- communicate readiness to spot to climber by calling “climb on” when climber communicates “climbing”
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Off-the-wall partner spotting - wobbly walk -wobbly with domes and bean bags - wobbly walk with footwork
On-the-wall spotting - groups of 3, one climbs, one spots, one gives cues to spotter for proper technique
- 3 with string, spotter and climber are attached by yarn and third observes length of yarn making sure it stays a short length horizontally (spotter can be penalized for letting out too much yarn and work to complete a spot where no extra yarn is let out)
-Fake-out, climber purposefully falls so spotter must practice absorbing/cushioning the fall (can be done in 3 so third can give feedback and cues)
-Spotting Relay, in groups of 3 spotter and climber are tied with yarn, third follows giving support and switches yarn and positions at end of climb |
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TASK |
Skill or Strategy
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TASK instructions |
Achievable goal of task to move on to next task |
Cues or refinements for skill or strategy
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Extensions/ Simplifications S.T.E.P. |
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2. |
Edging |
Use the inside or outside of the front part of your shoe
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Students can weight foot appropriately to achieve balance and friction |
- use front part of shoe to balance weight and engage leg muscles
- keep weight over feet, shift weight to moved foot before moving rest of body
- use small steps to conserve energy
- read next foothold and consider placement before moving
- heel perpendicular to wall
- if foothold is sloped downwards raise heel to create the right friction |
- climber focuses on perpendicular edging while spotter offers cues
- climber or spotter reads and designates footholds that require inside edging with perpendicular position for the climber to use
- climber or spotter designates only smallest footholds to use
- climber or spotter designates raised heel holds to use |
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3.
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Smearing |
Placing as much of the sole of shoe on the wall as possible using friction to obtain support
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Students will be able to apply foot on the wall to gain friction necessary to move up the wall |
- place ball of foot on wall
- apply force in a downward motion
- keep foot flexed and leg engaged
- have weight over foot that is smearing |
- smear while balanced on wall with 4 points
- use smear as point 3 of contact and allow it to bear weight as though it were on a hold |
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4. |
Flagging |
Use foot as counterbalance to maintain balance on the wall |
Students will be able to flag to the side and across/behind in order to maintain balance on the wall |
- extended leg
- pointed toe to engage leg muscles
- firm pressure with toe on wall
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- practice flagging to the side and behind the leg in one move, get on wall - flag - get off wall - repeat
- traverse across wall and flag
- traverse and flag with one foot, alternating, the entire time |
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4. |
Climb with your legs |
Using legs to to initiate movement on the wall |
Students can effectively use the power in their legs to sustain their climbing using arms for balance and not “pulling” |
- keep weight over feet
- move into positions of balance
- initiate movement by first moving legs in desired direction as far as they will extend and then using arms and hands to follow |
- exaggerate pushing movements of legs when moving from one hold to the next
- use a dropped knee or low crouching position on wall (with four points of contact) extending legs and then gaining new higher hand holds |
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5. |
Armwork |
Climbing with straight arms |
Have arms in as straight as a position as possible when not in between moves during climbing |
- extend arms to holds that allow for full extension of arm
- move from holds that cramp up arm as quickly as possible
- hang from skeleton to relieve duress on arm muscles
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- move across wall keeping arms as straight as possible as often as possible
- call out holds in advance that offer appropriate extension of arms
- hang from arms in each position moved into to experiment with the difficulty of more cramped arm positions |
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6. |
Resting |
Resting in positions of balance |
Students will be able to find places of balance to rest in order to climb longer |
- straight, extended arms
- in a position of balance
- both feet on the wall
- hanging from skeleton
- weight over feet |
- climb and finding at least 1, 2, or 3, places on the wall to rest
- find a position of rest in every move you make (this means you are always moving into a position of balance)
- spotter can choose places on the wall that climber must try to find a position to rest in |
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7. |
Balance |
Move into positions of balance |
Climber is able to move into a position of balance every move made |
- weight over feet
- shift weight to moved foot before following with arms or other foot
- use flagging to maintain balance when needed
- read holds ahead to judge positions of balance for next move |
- test each position moved into by assessing if it is possible to rest there, if not it is not a position of balance
- move across testing every move in this way
- increase efficiency at doing this |
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8. |
Route-reading Contract |
Read and plan routes off wall |
Climber can read routes before beginning climb and adjust sequence as needed |
- pantomime moves off wall to get feeling for sequence
- read hand and foot holds
- find rest positions on wall when route is unclear
- look for rests on wall when planning route
- listen to cues from spotter to assist in route sequence |
- plan a route on the wall from off the wall, climb route, re-adjust plan, re-climb
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Spontaneous route reading |
Climber calls out next moves while on wall |
Climber can read routes while on the wall |
- climb with eyes
- find positions of rest to read route ahead
- look for hand and footholds
- look for rest spots |
- climber calls out route 1 to 2 moves at a time while climbing
- climber calls out 3 -4 moves ahead
- increase number of moves called out at a time |
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Follow the leader route reading |
Spotter calls out moves to climber |
Climber can listen for spotter’s cues and spotter can read routes from off the wall |
- climber climbs with ears and eyes
- spotter discerns routes that are within climbers ability but difficult
- spotter must adjust moves called if climber cannot make them |
- spotter calls out 1 move at a time
- spotter calls out 2 moves at a time
- spotter can read route for climber off the wall then give cues for route while climber is on the wall |
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8. |
Endurance Hand Climb |
Hold hands over hold 3-10 seconds before grabbing |
Increase endurance and find positions of balance |
- read holds ahead to judge for position of balance
- arm should be extended
- weight over feet |
- hold hand over hold each time a hand is moved before grabbing for 3-5 seconds
- increase the time over each hold
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Endurance Pyramid Climb |
Climber climbs pyramid routes of increasing difficulty, climbing as many routes as possible |
Increase endurance for more difficult climbs |
- read holds ahead
- extended arms
- climb with legs
- rest on wall when needed |
- climb set routes beginning with easiest for ⅔ of time, intermediate for ¼, hardest for ¼ , points are earned for each route climbed where climber finishes at least half of route before falling off |
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11. |
Cooperative Traverse |
Two climbers traverse wall while tied together with yarn |
Climbers can climb together cooperatively and communicate effectively |
- first climber must set appropriate pace for both
- second climber keeps eyes on first watching route taken
- communicate rests and comfortability of speed and progress |
- switch first and second climber
- use hoola hoop instead of string
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Hoola Hoop Challenge |
The spotter places a hoola hoop perpendicular to the wall so the climber must climb through the hoop |
Climbers can problem solve to be able to climb through the hoop |
- read holds, specifically holds before and after hoola hoop
- maintain position of balance while moving through hoop
- spotter holds hoop still
- spotter judges holds to place hoop in a challenging but achievable position |
- spotter moves along wall placing hoop in different spots as climber moves through them
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