Unit Overview
This unit builds on earlier athletic skills by developing greater technical accuracy, consistency and performance awareness
- Refines sprinting, endurance and relay techniques
- Develops jumping techniques for distance and height with improved control
- Improves throwing techniques for accuracy, distance and power
- Encourages pupils to analyse and improve their own performance
- Uses measuring, recording and comparison to track progress
- Promotes personal challenge, competition and perseverance
Unit Outcomes
By the end of this unit, pupils will be able to:
- Sprint, run for sustained periods and perform relay exchanges with control and efficiency
- Apply appropriate jumping techniques for distance and height
- Throw a range of equipment with power, accuracy and consistency
- Analyse and improve performance using feedback and reflection
- Measure, record and compare results accurately
- Demonstrate determination, resilience and positive attitudes towards competition
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Throwing Events
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To learn the correct technique in different throwing events in athletics
- To learn about the term trajectory and momentum
- To show improvement in technique throughout the lesson
Success Criteria:
- I can display the correct technique when completing the throwing events
- I understand how to improve my technique/score
- I know what the terms trajectory and momentum mean and how to use them in my technique
Key Words:
- Improvements
- Technique
- Trajectory
- Momentum
Equipment:
- Shot Put/small balls
- Cones for set up
- Bean bags
Preparation Idea (warm up) – Tidy My Bedroom:
Split the class into two teams and have a dodgeball type court set up. Spread bean bags around the area on both sides. Explain to the two teams that their area is their ‘bedroom’ and that the bean bags represent mess in their room. The idea is, using an underarm throw, to throw the bean bags into the other team’s bedroom. You can only pick up one bean bag at a time to throw and you must be standing up to throw the bean bag
Skill Development:
Shot put Technique:
Remember when completing the shot put that we are first looking for an improvement towards good technique before we look to improve our distance. Talk to the class about trajectory and angles as below:
>90 degrees – If we throw straight up, we will get good height but the object will come straight down and will not have covered much distance
>0 degrees – If we throw straight, the object immediately begins to travel towards the floor, so again won’t carry much distance
>45 degrees – Allows us not only to cover more height, as the object first begins to travel up as well as forward, but also allows us to travel more distance. This is the angle (or trajectory) we should aim for
Split the class into even groups of around 3-4 per group. Spread out a line of 3-4 hoops in front, all at different distances. To start, give each group the same amount of bean bags as there are hoops. The challenge is to use the shot put technique to place the bean bags into all of the hoops. Allow them to experiment with different trajectories and angles to find the correct one for the bean bag to be placed in each hoop.
Game:
Allow the children to try to get the highest score of bean bags in each hoop. Score out of 4 (depending on how many hoops are laid out) in their group
Progression:
>Replace the bean bag with a soft ball/tennis ball. This will make the children think about their trajectory and how the ball rolls after it lands.
>We can also change the distances of the hoops to make the distances more spread and varied. This will make the children think more about their trajectories and changing them for each throw.
Game – Shot Put Competition
Keep the children in their groups and mark out 4 zones in the area the children will throw to. They will attempt their throws 3 times each and mark their score as well as their team score
>Zone 1 = 1 point
>Zone 2 = 2 points
>Zone 3 = 3 points
>Zone 4 = 4 points
>Beyond zone 4 = 5 points
Each zone is marked at the 5m point meaning beyond zone should be beyond 20m.
Progression:
>Change the object from a bean bag to a small ball. Explain to the children their score is where the ball lands rather than where it rolls to.
>Also introduce a small shuffle. This is a small forward movement you make before releasing the shot put
Shuffle – Stepping forward, keeping one foot in front of the other. The feet should not cross. The children also have to think about the throw line. If they step over the line, their throw does not count so if we shuffle to quickly and cannot stop ourselves and cross over the throw line, the throw is automatically 0.
Teaching points:
- Rest object (whether bean bag or ball) in the palm of the hand
- Tuck the object into the neck area (side of neck)
- Standing side on, crouch down and place all weight onto your back leg, using your free arm to point towards 45 degrees
- Transfer weight onto your front foot and push the object forward, again at 45 degrees
- Talk about trajectory and angles – we want to throw at the perfect angle (0 degrees being straight, 90 degrees being pointed straight up, so what angle is the perfect angle? 45 degrees). This will ensure that we have the perfect height and distance when throwing. Make sure that our non throwing hand is pointed at 45 degrees which will help us to throw the shot put perfectly.
- When shuffling, we want to stay in the start position and push the shot put forward when we get to the throwing line
Key Questions:
- How can we increase the power in our throw? – Using momentum.
- What part of our body can we increase the strength or force in when completing a shot put throw? – Arms and legs
- What do we mean by the term trajectory?
- What is the best angle for us to throw the shot put?
National curriculum links:
- Using throwing in isolation and combination
- Compare their performance against previous attempts and demonstrate improvements
- Developing strength, control and technique through athletics
Social/environmental skills:
- Developing resilience in trying to improve our scores
- Learning how to compete against others
- Being able to correctly follow instructions through learning a new technique
Lesson 2: Long Distance Running
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objective:
- To improve our ability to run for long periods of time in the lesson
- To learn about endurance and conserving energy and what those terms mean
Success Criteria:
- I can run for a longer period of time without stopping
- I can conserve energy without needing to stop.
- I can show good sportsmanship to others
Key Words:
- Conserving energy
- Endurance
Equipment:
- Cones
- Spots
Preparation Idea (Warm Up) – Remote Control Game
Get the children into a space in the playing area. They must follow the teacher’s instructions:
>Play – Jogging around the playing area
>Pause – Pausing in a running technique – allow the children to experiment what they think the running technique should be
>Rewind – Moving backwards – make sure we are checking over our shoulders so we do not bump into each other
>Fast forward – Sprinting – allow the children to again experiment with their running technique
>Jump forward – jumping in a forward motion – think about the long jump from last week
>Jump backwards – Jumping in a backwards motion – again think of the long jump and allow them to experiment on how this could be used in a backwards motion
>Slow motion – Moving in a slow motion, this could be a power walk or slow jog
Skill Development
4 minute run
Set up a track of between 2-300m ( it may just be a lap of the yard or part of the yard or a section of the field. It all depends on the space you have available. If you have a basketball court you may want to use the lines on the court as your marked areas).
Set the children up into pairs and spread them evenly in their pairs around the marked out area. Give each a letter A or B, this will determine who runs first and who runs second. The first person who runs will complete laps of the marked area. The more they can do in the 4 minutes, the better. However, the main aim of this activity is to see how many times the children stop to take a breath in the allotted time. The partner who is not running will stay on their start line and not only count how many laps their partner does, but also how many times their partner stopped.
Allow both partners to have a turn at running and compare scores. Bring all of the children into the middle and go through conserving energy and endurance.
Remember that the aim of the task was to complete as many laps as possible without stopping.
Conserving energy – The decision and practice of using less energy.
What we ideally want is for the children to start off at a steady pace and end the race at their fastest as they have managed to conserve more energy to use at the end of the race/time.
Repeat the 4 minute run and look for those improvements.
Game – Cross Country Race
The distance/area that you use may be determined by the size of your field/yard.
If your field area is large, you may want to mark out an area using cones and ask the children to only complete 2-3 laps of that area.
If you only have a small area to work with e.g. a yard, you may ask the children to complete 10-15 laps of that area.
Can they use their new knowledge of endurance and conserving energy to get the best possible time in their run. Can they complete the run without needing to stop for a break. Can we use that power walk/slow jog.
You may want to split the group into pairs. Allow one pair to run whilst their partner counts their laps as well as having a stop watch to keep their time. Allow them to compare scores at the end.
Teaching Points:
- When competing in a longer distance run, the children will look to sprint off and use up their energy quickly. Talk to them about conserving energy and endurance.
- You may also find that some children sprint off at the start when they have lots of energy and have to stop when they lose it. Make them think of it like an energy bar on a game. We don’t want that energy bar being close to the bottom as this will make us stop. A steady pace will allow us to complete more laps in the long term as we are not needing to slow right down and stop for a break.
- Power walk technique – long strides with arms moving up and down (a quick walk). This can be used to conserve energy for longer periods of time
Key Questions:
- What do we mean by the term conserving energy?
- How will this help us when running for a longer period of time?
- How would this apply when we are running for a longer period of time?
- How can we show good sportsmanship and sporting values to our partner who is running?
National curriculum links:
- Using running in isolation and combinations
- Developing technique and control
- Comparing their score against a previous attempt and looking to improve
Social/environmental skills:
- Showing good sportsmanship through the use of encouragement and empathy
- Showing good team work by encouraging a partner
- Developing good communication skills
- Developing resilience in attempting to keep going and not giving up
- Developing and improving problem solving skills
Lesson 3: Jumps Session
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objective:
- To be able to perform both the long jump and triple jump with good accuracy and technique
- To be able to make good decisions throughout the session
Success Criteria:
- I am able to complete the long jump and triple jump with good technique
- I can use a combination of a run up and jump.
- I can make the correct decisions in all activities that I participate in
Key Words:
- Decision making
- Triple jump
- Long jump
- Accuracy
Equipment:
- Cones
- Metre Sticks
- Spots
Preparation Idea (warm up) – Lily Pad Tag
Place spots all around the area. As many as there are pupils in the class. Pick 3-4 people to be taggers. They cannot stand on a spot (lily pad). Everyone starts off the spots. The game is a simple tag game. Every time someone reaches and stands on a spot for at least 3 seconds, they receive one point.
When standing on a spot, you cannot be tagged but to gain another point, you need to move to another spot. When you are running in between spots, you can be tagged. If you are tagged, your score returns to 0.
Progression:
>Add more taggers
>Remove spots to make the game more difficult.
Can the children make the correct decisions as whether to continue to accumulate points by moving from pad to pad or to stick to the pad they are on to prevent being caught by the taggers
Skill Development
Long Jump practice
Mark out a large safety zone for the children to move around in with spots or cones laid out throughout the area. Get the children moving around the safety zone in lots of different directions. When they reach a spot or cone, get them to complete a long jump.
We are looking for the children to make sure that when they attempt to jump, they are stepping on the spot (this is acting as the jump line)
Triple jump practice
This is the same activity as stated above however this time the children will be completing a triple jump rather than a long jump
Again, we are looking for the children to make sure that when they attempt to jump, they are stepping on the spot (acting as the jump line)
Jumps practice part 2
Now get the children into pairs. Each pair should receive either a spot or a rope to use as their jump line, as well as a cone for a start line and a cone/piece of equipment for marking their score.
Get the children to practice their long jump and triple jump with their partner looking to improve their scores.
Remember that part of their foot should be touching the jump line as they attempt their jump. If their full foot is past the jump line, their jump does not count
Progression:
>Get the children to mark out their stride from the start line to the jump line. They may need to change their start line as they want to build up as much momentum and speed as possible before jumping. This will help improve their distance as they will not need to break their stride when they run to the jump line.
Game – Long jump and triple jump score
Now set up an area for the children to be scored on the distance of their jump. Set out a few metre sticks with a jump line and start line. Bring out a couple of groups at a time and allow them to have a couple of attempts of both the long jump and triple jump (for higher ability children, allow them to mark out their stride and change their start line).
Once they have had a score given, allow them to return to their practice area and continue to improve their jump before returning to the score area to have another attempt
Teaching Points:
- Running long jump technique – Running up to the spot, jump using one foot but making sure that when we land, we land on two feet.
- Running triple jump technique – Running up to the jump line (spot), jump using one foot and remember it’s a hop, step and jump (refer to year 3/4 lesson if children can’t remember the technique)
- For both, we are looking for them to land still so we can mark a score. If they fall backwards, we mark from the furthest point back so it is important for them to be balanced as they land.
Key Questions:
- How can we ensure we land still and with balance?
- How can we generate more power and distance into our jumps?
- Why would breaking our stride/run affect the distance of our jump? – Slows us down and affects the momentum that we build up (refer back to momentum from last week)
National curriculum links:
- Using running in isolation and combination
- Developing technique and balance through athletics
- Comparing their score against previous scores and looking to improve their personal best
Social/environmental skills:
- Improving our decision making
- Developing and improving our ability to problem solve
- Developing collaboration skills by working with others
Lesson 4: Hurdle Relay Session
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To learn the correct technique for the hurdles race and use that in a relay type race
- To perform an effective baton changeover whilst completing hurdles
- To be able to work as part of a team
Success Criteria:
- I can pass and receive a baton from others
- I can show good technique and rhythm when completing the hurdles
- I can maintain speed during a relay race.
Key Words:
- Team work
- Rhythm
- Hurdles
Equipment:
- Cones
- Batons
- Hurdles
Preparation Ideas (warm up) – Germs & Medicine
Choose 3-4 taggers (germs) and the same number of releasers (medicine). The job of the germs is to tag as many people as possible in the time given. The medicine will be given a relay baton each. Their job is to release anyone who has been tagged. To do this, they will hand over the relay baton to the person who has been tagged.
They will then become the new medicine who must find someone else to release.
Play this game 3-4 times changing taggers each time
Skill Development
Hurdle technique
When completing the hurdles, its important that you have a lead leg and a trailing leg. The leading leg should be your dominant leg (which foot would you kick a football with) but allow the children to use whichever they feel more comfortable using. You use the lead leg to initially jump over the hurdle with the trail leg you bring over the hurdle afterwards.
Hurdle Practice
Place small sized hurdles around the safety zone and ask the children to move around the area and when they reach a hurdle, ask them to jump over using the technique. Make sure they are really focusing in on their technique at this point.
Hurdle in rhythm
Set the children up into groups of similar ability. Look for around 4-5 per group. Depending on which group they are in, will determine what height of hurdle they are using for this task. Set up the hurdles (3-4 depending on how many you have available and the space available) in a row with around 5 steps between each of them. The children will take it in turns in their groups to run and complete the hurdle race (we aren’t racing against other teams, we are looking for good technique and rhythm)
Allow them to practice a couple times each before stopping the class and asking them to watch their ‘rhythm’. Again, allow them to practice a couple of times each and stop the class.
Rhythm – What we want is to ensure that we are not slowing down or disrupting our sprint between each hurdle. We want a smooth transition between the jump and the sprint so that we aren’t slowing down and affecting how fast we can complete the race.
Progression:
>Start the hurdles off with a larger gap between each hurdle (6-7 steps) and ask the children to complete the task without slowing down or taking smaller steps.
>As the groups are practicing, if we see good practice and think they need to be challenged more, bring in the hurdles one step.
>Introduce them to a higher hurdle which will make it more difficult to jump over
Game – Hurdle Relay Chase
Start the class in the same game as the Year 3/4 session
Split the class into 4 even teams. Create a large circle area (track) with each team lining up at different points (one at the north point, west point, south point and east point). Each team will line up one behind the other on the inside of the circle with the person with the baton on the outside.
The aim of the game is to continuously complete laps, passing the baton to the next person and joining the back of your queue. Your aim is to overtake the team in front. If you overtake the team in front, your team wins a point and the game stops. You then head back to your start point and the game starts again.
The team with the most points when the game finishes win the game. Can we encourage our team mates throughout the game to help and support them.
Progression:
>Introduce two sets of hurdles between each group. Have one smaller sized hurdle and one larger sized hurdle. Go around each team and tell each participant which hurdle you want them to use (higher ability using the larger hurdle, lower ability using the smaller hurdle). Again, get the groups to complete the game using the hurdles. Remember to look for the rhythm between each transition between running and jumping.
Teaching Points:
- Bring your leading leg up and once you reach the height of the hurdle, extend your knee and point toes towards the hurdle
- Quickly bring your trailing leg over the hurdle, making sure it is tucked up to avoid hitting the hurdle
- Land on your leading foot with a slightly bent knee
- We are looking for good rhythm in their running. We don’t want to see the children breaking their stride whilst running and jumping over the hurdle, or taking more steps as they approach the hurdle
- For the relays, look back at teaching points in year 3/4 section to improve skills in passing the baton
Key Questions:
- What do we mean by lead leg and trailing leg
- What do we mean by ‘rhythm’ when completing the hurdles?
- How does good rhythm help us in this session?
- What happens if we don’t have good rhythm and technique when completing the hurdles?
- How can we help our team mate who is both receiving and handing over the baton?
National curriculum links:
- Using running and jumping in isolation and combination
- Developing technique, control and balance
- Playing competitive games against others through races
Social/environmental skills:
- Developing team work and collaboration skills
- Developing communication skills when working with others
- Showing encouragement and empathy with others through good sportsmanship
Lesson 5: Athletics Competition Session
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To apply athletics skills in a competitive setting.
- To demonstrate improved performance.
- To show respect and sportsmanship.
Success Criteria:
- I can perform with correct technique in events.
- I can record and compare results.
- I can show respect to others during competition.
Key Words:
- Competition
- Performance
- Respect
Equipment:
- Shot puts/Bean bags
- Cones
- Hurdles
- Relay Batons
- Metre sticks (if available)
Preparation Ideas (warm up) – Team Warm Up
Depending on the size of the class, look to split the class into even groups of around 5 people per group. You may want to split them into houses/groups that are used on sports day but you don’t want groups to be more than 5-6 per group
Allow the groups to pick their own game to play as part of a warm up in their own small space. Give each group the ability to choose from the following equipment:
>Cones
>Bibs
>Baton
>Small balls
>Bean bags
>Hoops
Game – Athletics Competition
For the competition there will be 4 stations set up that the class will move through and compete at:
>Station 1 – Shot put
>Station 2 – Hurdle Relay race
>Station 3 – Triple jump
>Station 4 – Long distance run
Points per race/throw/jump:
1st – 5 points
2nd – 3 points
3rd – 2 points
4th+ – 1 point
Station 1 – Shot Put
Set out the children out into groups of 4-5 per group depending on how many are in the class. Give each team a colour cone (red, blue, yellow etc). Get them lined up in their teams making sure there is a 3-4m gap between each team. Each person from the team will take it in turns to throw the shot put using the correct technique. When they have thrown, someone else from their team will measure the throw and place a cone where the bean bag landed. Each player will do this and then will measure their own score, taking note of their score. Each team’s highest score will be taken and used to give points to each team
Station 2 – Hurdle Relay Race
Lay a track out similar to that laid out in the relay and hurdle session plan. Each team will start at the start line, taking it in turns to complete a lap of the track before handing the baton over to a team mate. Once all have completed a lap take the overall time. Allow each team to compete and take a time for all teams.
Station 3 – Triple jump
Set out each group with a station to use. In that station they should be given a number of metre sticks to use as a measuring tool. To make it easier, you may want to mark out the first couple of metres using cones as reference points (this is because the children will no doubt jump further so it is pointless wasting metre sticks on those distances). Get the children in their group taking it in turns to complete the triple jump, alternating who measures the distance. Remember we are marking from the final part of the triple jump (the jump to land on two feet) and we measure from the furthest point back (which will normally be the heel, however if their hands reach back and touch the floor, if they lose balance, you measure from there). Everyone’s measurement is taken (remember that everyone should mark down their best score of 3 jumps) and the highest score is used against other teams
Station 4 – Long distance run
Pair each group up with another. Within the two mixed groups, pair a child from one team with a child from another. One will be the runner and one will keep time on a stopwatch. The long distance run will involve either:
>1 lap of a large field
>2-3 laps of a small field (this will be a judgement call from yourself)
>5-6 laps of a large yard
>8-10 laps of a small yard
Split the class in half, with half running and half keeping time. Once they complete, swap roles. Allow each person to keep a record of their score. Once finished, bring the groups together and mark their scores down. Take the quickest time from each group and use it to award points.
Work out the final scores for each station to work out the top 3 teams overall. Bring the class together and have an award ceremony for the competition. Ask the children how we can show good sportsmanship as the groups are announced in order? (Applauding and celebrating each team as they come up in order)
Make sure that every individual has written down their scores/times from each station and is able to keep that safe in their classroom tray ready for next week’s session
Teaching Points:
- We are looking to see the children working as part of a team. Are they able to communicate well with each other? This will involve them talking and listening
- The leader should be able to take charge of the group and put them into an order for competing in each event.
- For any station, see teaching points from previous lessons for techniques.
Key Questions:
- What do we mean by collaboration?
- How can we be a good team mate?
- How can we show good sportsmanship to other teams?
- How did we show good team work and collaboration during the session?
National curriculum links:
- Using running, jumping and throwing in isolation and combination
- Playing competitive games against others as part of a team
- Developing control, strength, balance and technique
Social/environmental links:
- Developing team work and collaboration skills
- Improving communication skills with others
- Developing leadership skills
- Showing empathy and encouragement to others through good sportsmanship
Lesson 6: Improvements Session
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To be able to show improvements to our scores from last week’s competition
Success Criteria:
- I understand how to improve my scores from last week’s competition
- I can show improvements to my work
- I can continue to show respect to others during competition
Key Words:
- Competing
- Sportsmanship
- Improving
Equipment:
- Shot puts/Bean bags
- Cones
- Hurdles
- Relay Batons
- Metre sticks (if available)
Preparation Ideas (warm up) – Creative Warm Up
Make sure that children have their individual scorecards from last week to use for this week’s session. Try to group children off with those who were able to achieve similar scores and times throughout the stations when they are competing.
Make sure that the children are grouped off in the same teams as last week. Before they start in the competition, allow each team to come up with their own warm up game to play in their group in a small area using the following equipment:
>Cones
>Bibs
>Baton
>Small balls
Game – Athletics Comp Part 2
We are going to be competing similar to last week’s session where we go around the 4 stations with a member of each team competing against one another at a time (see lesson 5 for details of the stations).
This week, instead of competing group to group, the children are going to be filling in their individual scorecards looking to better their scores/times from last week. Before we attend each station, allow the teams to come together to come up with any tactics, strategies, technique changes or any other ways that they can look to improve their scores.
It may be that some children need to change their technique when competing in a shot-put throw. Others may need to think about their tactics when completing a long distance run so that they don’t use up too much energy too quickly. Remember to give the groups time to think of this before starting each event.
To score the competition, every time a member of the team improves their score from last week, the team are awarded 1 point. For the relay, which is a team event, if the team improves their score, they are awarded an additional 1 point per individual in the team.
Teaching Points:
- Give the children some examples of different tactics and strategies they can use on each station. It may be trajectory for shot put or techniques for passing a baton in the relay races.
- Allow the children time in between each station to come up with their own creative tactics to use on each station
- We are looking for the children again to be able to work as part of a team so we should be able to see good communication skills in the team – not just them shouting over one another
Key Questions:
- What tactics have we used on each station?
- How can we show good sportsmanship?
- How can we be a good team mate?
- What do we mean by communication?
- What do mean by the term improving?
National curriculum links:
- Using running, jumping and throwing in isolation and combination
- Playing competitive games against others as part of a team
- Developing control, balance, strength and technique through athletic activities
- Comparing yours and others performance against a previous attempt and looking for improvements
Social/environmental links:
- Developing team work and collaboration skills
- Improving communication skills
- Showing good sportsmanship skills
- Using creativity when coming up with tactics
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