Robo-Pong's Elementary Schools Program is designed to help educators develop children's striking skills, ball tracking skills, and general hand-eye coordination using the basic equipment and tenets of the sport of table tennis (ping-pong).

In cooperation with physical education teachers of Sumner County, Tennessee, Newgy Industries developed and designed a striking skills curriculum that meets the classroom and skill level demands of physical educators nationwide. In particular, for grades K-5, the curriculum relates to both the "Movement Forms" and "Personal and Social Responsibility" Standards required by many states, including Tennessee.

Striking an object is a key learning expectation for the Movement Forms Standard. Newgy's Robo-Pong Curriculum is centered on this expectation. Students will meet the performance indicators of striking an object repeatedly with a paddle when performing different ball control exercises from the curriculum. For example, while holding the paddle using the correct grip, students are instructed to use their thumb side of the paddle to bounce the ball in the air as many times as possible without the ball touching the floor. This activity aids in both hand-eye coordination and tracking skill development.

Following, with few reminders, activity-specific rules and procedures is a key learning expectation for the Personal and Social Responsibility Standard. Students will meet the performance indicators by quickly responding to teachers' signals to begin and end activities and by completing a task with a partner that requires sharing and cooperation. Many of the activities in the curriculum are timed activities and require the students to listen to the instructor for directions. Additionally, many of the activities require students to have partners and to share equipment while performing tasks. For example, the Sitting Wall Skills activities in the curriculum require students to work in tandem. One student uses the paddle to hit the ball against the wall, while the other student retrieves errant shots. This activity promotes cooperation with peers and a sense of fair play.

In general the Robo-Pong's Curriculum enables physical educators to meet a plethora of standards in their students' physical education development. Right-left differentiation is yet another one of the many important concepts stressed in the curriculum. Students learn to use their non-dominant hand to drop, toss, and retrieve balls during the various exercises. Overall, the curriculum is developmentally appropriate and can be adjusted for the abilities of special needs children. The curriculum is adaptable to many different classroom environments and provides a fun and creative learning environment for both teacher and student.

With Newgy's staff of internationally recognized coaches and players, we stand ready to help you implement this curriculum at your school.

For more information about our Elementary Schools Ping-Pong Program, please contact Barney Reed at (615)452-6470 or barney@newgy.com.