Picking the Best Skill (K4)
KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVE ACTIVITYAs you teach the floating skills, discuss the benefits associated with being in each body position.
Being on your back is the easiest position to breathe. This position provides the best way to rest and catch your breath because your face and mouth are already positioned above the surface and no extra movements are needed to raise the head and get a breath. Additionally, because the face is always above the water, it is easy to call for help while resting on your back.
Being positioned on the front provides the ability to look forward and around (including seeing directionally above the surface as well as any hazards under the water). Being on your front and having your face in the water also allows you to relax more in choppy, turbulent situations. (This is partially due to the discomfort of waves splashing on your face while on your back, but is primarily due to the effectiveness of breathing in choppy water.) While breathing on your front you are intentionally raising your head and can compensate for waves, making it more likely that your mouth will be above the turbulence of splashes. You can demonstrate this by having a student float on their back, and have the rest of the class splash them, and then asking the student to float on their front, and again ask the rest of the class to splash.
Assessment
The following prompt must be used when assessing students on the Knowledge Objective.
A score of either plus (+) or minus (-) is recorded based on the instructor's judgement of if the student's response was equivalent in meaning and level of detail to the example responses.
Knowledge Objective Prompt:
What are some reasons you would choose to float on your back and what are some reasons to float on your front?
Example Student Responses:
Float on back
If you want to rest
When you want to breathe easily in calm water
To call for help
If your out in the water a long time and want to save energy
Float on front
When you need to be able to look around
If you want to see what is under you
To relax in water that's not calm
If the water is wavy or is splashing you
Note: Students must provide an adequate answer for both positions in order to receive a + for this assessment.