Grades 4 - 6
PRIMARY PHYSICAL EDUCATION
This page is designed to help you with any teaching ideas related to Primary PE. I am currently teaching Grade 5 (2016/17), but I believe these could be transferrable to Grade 4's and 6's too. I know my unit plans are different to the standard plans, depending on the school/curriculum, but these are my own that I use for my own teaching. You should always tinker with plans to suit them for your context, but I do hope they can guide you like they have done for me.
Basketball (Invasion Games)
This unit focuses on the skills/concepts required to play a basic game of 'basketball'. We spent our lessons focusing on dribbling, passing and shooting, with the latter lessons exploring tactical awareness. This was my first unit in a new school with a new group of students and the main struggle was trying to get the students to play with each other, without cheating or pushing each other. I was hoping the students could officiate, whilst I could observe two games at a time, but it was clear very early on, this would not be possible, and therefore required a more hand on approach from myself. We spent the time at the end of each lesson to go through situations that occurred in class, and explored the different approaches we could have taken to deal with those situations. If I was to do do this unit again, at the start of the year with new students, I would dedicate the first couple of lessons on problem solving through teamwork, which would help them deal with situations in game situations.
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Attached is the resource card that I used in the latter lessons. You can view the blog post for more details.
Gymnastics
This unit focuses on the creative aspect of Physical Education. It was clear from the initial lessons, students did not understand the how to construct a performance by themselves, so this is what this unit worked towards. Although, there are some complicated key words, students scratched the surface of key concepts in gymnastics, such as travels, balances and aesthetics, which would be further developed when we visit this unit again the following year. We recognised the different safety aspects, that need to be considered for gymnastics, which students implemented in class.
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The resource cards attached are from the TES website. I particularly like the different 'star ratings' that identify the difficulty of each balance. For individual/group balances, the students used mini white boards and created their own. However, for the rolling resource card , I edited it from the original, so it would be appropriate for my students.
You can view the blog post, to see how I used the performance criteria in my lesson.
Health
This unit focused on how health is defined by individuals. On too many occasions, I hear students telling each other the wrong information, so this unit focused on some key words concerning their health such as; overweight, obesity and calories. Using videos and provoking questions helped shape the unit so it was more meaningful to them with the basic understanding that health could mean many things. I wanted them to also understand the word 'calories' and how it is not the enemy, it is just a simple a unit of energy. With a greater understanding of this, students learn that 'counting calories' is not the best way to live a healthy lifestyle.
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The resources attached is a powerpoint, which I used intermittently throughout the unit. The videos for 'what does health mean to you?' and what is a calorie are from you tube. The exam I gave them at the end, which was short and sweet, helped me understand what they learnt
You can view the blog post, to see how I used the 'what does health mean to you?' provocation at the start of the unit.
Athletics
This unit focused on all of the athletic events that were relevant to their sports day. Each lesson focused on them exploring the technique and having a 'test run' at each event, whether that was a run, throw or a jump. We would then follow with a discussion identifying the correct technique and why that was important for them to get their best score in that particular event. They would have a practice of the technique and then complete the event with their nearest competitors in that particular class. I would record their time/distance, which I will keep as a target for the following year.
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I had all my students run around 2 laps at the start of every lesson. They had a 5 minute time cap to complete the 2 laps or see how close they were to the finish line. By the end of the unit, most students finished the 2 laps, increasing their fitness just in time for sports day. I will definitely continue this for next year.
Cricket
Although I have played cricket for many years, this was the first time I taught it. Mainly due to the facilities and equipment available at this school. Some of my students had played kwik cricket but majority hadn't. Thus, this unit focused on the basic, layering each lesson, which will allow them to play the game (modified). We focused on batting, bowling and fielding, introducing the rules and laws that go with each concept of the game.
The students were at a very very basic level, so these lessons mainly focused on the basics. I tried to make the activities game oriented, but students had to learn the technique basics before they could access the games. Some of the activities were drill based and then moved onto the game, which is something I will look at when I do this unit again. However, if this is a first for you or your students are at a basic level, then this unit plan should be ideal.