Tennis
Net & Wall Games | Years 3–4 | 6 Lessons
Tennis Sessions
These tennis sessions focus on developing striking, sending, receiving, movement and team work skills within small-sided games. Lessons are progressive and suitable for indoor or outdoor delivery.
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Tennis Introduction
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To develop correct grip and basic racket control.
- To understand the ‘face’ of the racket and its role
Success Criteria:
- I can hold the racket using the correct grip.
- I can balance a ball on my racket with control.
- I can move safely whilst maintaining control of the ball.
Key Words:
- Grip
- Control
- Balance
- Face
Equipment:
- Tennis Rackets
- Tennis/small balls
- Cones for set up
Preparation Idea (warm up) – Car Tennis:
Car Tennis
Each child to be given a racket and a ball. The ball will be on the floor and will become the car that the children need to keep control of. The idea is for the children to keep the tennis ball close to the tennis racket.
>Green – Go – Children will begin dribbling the ball using the tennis racket.
>Amber – Get ready – Children will be standing still moving the ball from left to right using the racket
>Red – Stop – Use the tennis racket to stop the ball
Progression:
>Speed bump – Children to roll the ball and flick the ball up in the air
>Roundabout – moving around in a circle with the ball keeping it close to you
Skill Development:
Introduction to the tennis racket
Go through the tennis racket and how the racket itself has a face and explain how whichever way the tennis racket is facing, will dictate where the ball goes (so if the racket is facing up, the ball will go up, if the racket is facing left, the ball will go to the left)
Children to be given a ball and asked to balance the ball on the racket without the ball falling to the ball. Allow them to move around the area trying to balance the ball on the racket whilst moving. Which way should the racket be facing? (up).
Progressions:
>Allow the children to drop the ball to the floor and then ‘catch’ the ball on the racket and keep the ball balanced. If they can do this standing still, allow them to move around doing this.
>Can they now allow the ball to bounce off the floor and then strike the ball up allow it to bounce again and continue in that pattern (bounce, strike up, bounce, strike up) whilst keeping close control of the ball.
>Allow the children to strike the ball continuously on the racket (keepy ups with the tennis racket). How many times can they strike the ball in a row.
Game – Through The Gates
Set out a large number of small gates (use 2 cones 1-2m apart) around the playing area.
To begin with, get the children to move around with the tennis ball on the floor (similar to warm up). They have to dribble the ball through as many gates as possible in the time allotted (2-3 mins).
Progressions:
>Allow the children to compete against themselves and try to beat their highest score
>Change the skill to balancing the ball on the tennis racket and moving through the gates. You can progress this further by having a 1 point penalty for every time the children drop the ball
Teaching points:
- The children need to understand how to grip the tennis racket. With two hands, we want to place the weaker hand at the top of the grip, with the stronger hand underneath. With a one handed grip, we want to place the strong hand in the centre of the grip.
- They need to understand that the face of the racket (the head) and the direction that it is pointing is important. Whichever direction the face is pointing, is where the ball will go, so if they want to keep the tennis ball up on the racket, they need to be pointing the face up. Again, if they want the ball to travel forward, they need the face pointing forward
- Get the children to begin to understand the power needed to strike the ball and keep it on the racket. We do not need much power and it is about controlling the ball as we strike it. If we were to strike the ball with too much power, we begin to lose control of the ball.
Key Questions:
- Can you show me the face of the racket?
- What two things do we need to think about to remain in control of the ball? – Power and aim
- How will you know which direction the ball is going to travel?
- What will happen if we add too much power into our strikes?
National curriculum links:
- Develop control, technique and balance through tennis
- Compare their performance against a previous attempt and look to make improvements
Social/environmental skills:
- Developing resilience in trying to improve their skills
- Developing and gaining confidence in a new skill
Lesson 2: Basic Striking
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objective:
- To strike a ball with control using a forehand action.
Success Criteria:
- I can strike the ball using a controlled forehand.
- I can send the ball towards a target
Key Words:
- Face
- Control
- Technique
Equipment:
- Tennis Rackets
- Tennis/small balls
- Cones for set up
Preparation Idea (Warm Up) – Germs & Medicine
Choose 3 or 4 taggers and the same amount of medicine. The game starts and the germs must tag those who aren’t medicine. If tagged you must stand still. To get back into the game, a medicine must throw you the tennis ball and you must catch it. You then become the medicine and look to save somebody else.
Variations can include – rolling the ball to those who are out or bouncing the ball to those who are out
Skill Development
Recap the face of the racket. What is it important to remember about the face? (where the face is facing is where the ball will go)
To me to you
Children to be in pairs. Each child to be given a tennis racket and a ball between two. Start with a 3-4m space between the groups. To start with, we want the children to drop the ball on the floor, allowing the ball to bounce, before striking the ball to their partner. Remember to keep the face of the racket pointed towards your target (your partner) before striking the ball.
Progression:
>Increase the space between the group.
>Add in a gate on cones which the children must strike through, children keeping score of how many times they can strike through the cones
>Decrease the size of the gate to increase the accuracy needed in their strike
To me to you part 2
The person with the ball must throw the ball underarm towards their partner, making sure that it bounces before it reaches their partner. The child with the racket needs to strike the ball back to their partner looking for control. Each child to have 10 tries before swapping roles
Progressions:
>Can the person with the ball throw the ball to their partner without the ball bouncing
>Can the person strike the ball with only one hand rather than two.
Game – 10 Pin Tennis
Get the children into groups of ideally 4-5. Set up a 10 pin bowling alley using cones with small balls placed on top (if there isn’t enough equipment, just use cones). Children will be standing around 7-8m away from the cones and will drop their tennis ball on the floor, using the tennis racket and grip, they will attempt to strike the ball and knock as many pins over as possible. There are two ways you can make this a competition:
>Children to compete against one another in their groups, keeping their own score
>Groups competing against each other, combining their groups score
Teaching Points:
- Underarm technique – To strike the ball themselves, have the children standing side on, with one foot in front of the other (front foot should be the opposite to the hand holding the racket). We want the children to drop the ball on the floor. As they do this, swing the racket back behind them. As the ball bounces and is traveling back up, swing forward and through the ball, pointing the racket towards the target.
- Children to use an underarm throw whilst passing towards a partner. This will firstly make it easier to catch the ball and then will make it easier to strike the ball. It will also mean they are practicing the same technique as they will use when they are holding the racket
- When striking the ball, we want to keep the racket pointing in the direction which we want the ball to travel. We are focusing on aim in this session, so ensure the children are able to understand that wherever the face is pointing, is where the ball will travel.
Key Questions:
- Show me the face of the racket?
- What do we mean by the word aim?
- How will the direction which the face of the racket is pointing affect the direction the ball travels? – wherever the face is pointing, is where the ball travels
National curriculum links:
- Using running, striking and catching in isolation and combination
- Developing technique and control through tennis
Social/environmental skills:
- Developing team work and collaboration skills
- Developing confidence in trying new skills
- Developing resilience in trying to improve skills
Lesson 3: Striking & Rallies
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objective:
- To sustain a short rally with a partner using controlled forehand shots.
Success Criteria:
- I can return the ball to my partner with control.
- I can adjust my position to receive the ball.
- I can maintain a rally with my partner
Key Words:
- Team work
- Rally
- Face
Equipment:
- Tennis Rackets
- Tennis/small balls
- Cones for set up
Preparation Idea (warm up) – Lily Pad Catching
Lily pad catching
Split the class into even teams with 4 or 6 per team. 2 players from each team will play at one time
Line up 6 spots in a line, each being around 5m away from each other. In their pairs, have 1 player start on the start line with the tennis ball in hand, the other must start on the first spot.
They each throw and catch the ball. When they do this, they can both move to the next spot. The idea is to make it down the line and back to the start, throwing and catching the ball each time. When you return to the starting position, the next pair in your group goes
Progression
>To begin with, just allow the children to practice their skills of throwing and catching. Once they have had sufficient practice, turn this into a race between each team. Which team can get their pairs back first.
>In their pair, the person who starts on the first spot is given a racket. Rather than catching and throwing the ball back to their partner, they now need to strike the tennis ball back.
Skill Development
Rally with a partner
Rally – A sequence of shots between two people
Try to keep the children in the same pairs as the previous lesson. Can they start off where they finished in last week’s session. Each pair may be at a different stage:
>Some may be in their pairs with one ball and one racket. Their partner will be throwing the ball, making sure that the ball bounces first, whilst the child with the racket strikes the ball back to their partner.
>Some may be throwing the ball straight to their partner, without the ball bouncing, who will then strike the ball back to their partner
>Some may be using one hand rather than two to strike the ball back to their partner
Allow the pairs some time to practice this, with each taking 10 turns before swapping roles. We want to make sure the children are using the correct technique and are achieving consistently before progressing them to the next stage
Progressions:
>Increase the distance between each partner. This will make the children think about the power in their throws and in their strikes. They will also need to be more accurate as a result
>Can we strike the ball straight into our partner’s hands rather than allowing the ball to bounce
Game – Racket Rally
Children to be in pairs again for this activity, however this time we want both children to be given a racket.
Can the children strike the ball to one another, allowing the ball to bounce first, before striking it to their partner. How many times can they strike the ball to one another in a row without the ball going past either of them
Progressions:
>The ball is only allowed to bounce once before they strike the ball back to their partner. For some you may allow 2 bounces first before decreasing it to one.
>Add a line of cones in between the groups. The ball has to travel over the line their partner and you cannot cross the line to strike the ball
Teaching Points:
- Make sure the child with the tennis racket is using good technique. Either one or two hands on the racket (depending on what stage they are at) with the face of the racket pointing towards their partner.
- We don’t want too big of a swing when striking to our partner. We want to allow them to stop the ball comfortably which means we need to think about the power we are putting into our strikes.
- We want to see good technique, but more importantly, good control. Can the children control their strike to allow their partner to strike the ball back to them comfortably.
- We want the children to move their feet to be in line with the ball before striking. Bending the knees slightly and being on the balls of our feet will allow us to move quicker across the floor
- Can the children be in the ready position before the ball travels towards them, so they are ready to react. The ready position is feet shoulder width apart, knees bent, tennis racket in two hands
Key Questions:
- What do we mean by the term rally?
- What two things will make it easier for our partner to strike the ball back to us or to catch the ball? – Power and aim
- Where should we be aiming when striking to our partner? – Our partners hands or racket
- What would happen if we struck the ball with too much power?
National curriculum links:
- Using running, striking and catching in isolation and combination
- Developing control and technique through tennis
Social/environmental skills:
- Developing team work and collaboration skills
- Developing communication skills through working with a partner
- Showing resilience when trying to improve in their work
Lesson 4: Serving
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To perform an underarm serve with accuracy and control.
Success Criteria:
- I can hold the ball and racket correctly to serve.
- I can swing underarm to send the ball over the net.
- I can serve into a target area.
Key Words:
- Serving
- Underarm
- Accuracy
Equipment:
- Tennis Rackets
- Tennis/small balls
- Cones for set up
Preparation Ideas (warm up) – Through The Gates
Set out a large number of small gates (use 2 cones 1-2m apart) around the playing area.
To begin with, get the children to move around with the tennis ball on the floor (similar to warm up). They have to dribble the ball through as many gates as possible in the time allotted (2-3 mins).
Skill Development
Serving for gold
Get the children into teams of 4-5 and spread cones around the playing area in front of the teams (we want lots of cones). Line the teams up and each team will be given 1 tennis racket and 1 tennis ball
The children must serve the ball using the underarm striking technique towards the cones. If the ball hits a cone, you collect that cone, along with your ball and bring it back to your team. Each player in the team takes their turn until all of the cones are taken from the playing area. The team with the highest number of cones are the winners.
Regression:
>If some are struggling to drop the ball to strike, they can strike it from the ground
Game – Serve Into The Box
Set the class into 5/6 teams – Infront of each team there is a serve box (cones that are made into a square).
The aim is the ball must land in the box. The team to first land all their tennis balls in the boxed area wins! Each team has 5-10 tennis balls. The ball’s first bounce must land within the service box. Explain to the children that this is the rules of tennis!
Rule – You get two attempts at serving in a game. If the ball bounces outside of the service area, this is a fault
Teaching Points:
- Underarm technique – Start the ball touching the racket. One foot in front of the other (front foot should be the opposite to the hand holding the racket) We are going to swing the racket back behind us, before swinging forward and through. As we are swinging forward, release the ball
- To begin with, allow the children to focus on making contact with the ball. A short backswing will allow the children to make contact with the ball more frequently and as they get more comfortable and confident, we can then increase the backswing to increase the power in our serve
- Remember that we need to be accurate with our strikes. When serving, the ball must land in the service area, meaning that we need to be accurate with where we aim. Make sure the children are pointing the face of the racket towards their intended target
Key Questions:
- What happens if our serve bounces outside of the service area? – A fault is called. We get 2 attempts to land the ball from a serve in the service area
- How can we make sure we are striking the ball as we are serving? – Focus on dropping the ball as we are swinging forward and that our backswing is short to begin with.
- How can we increase the amount of power in our serve?
- What might happen if we added too much power into our serve?
National curriculum links:
- Develop technique and control through tennis
- Compare their performance against previous attempts, looking for improvements to their personal best
Social/environmental skills:
- Developing resilience through trying to improve our skills
- Improving listening skills by following rules and instructions
- Showing encouragement and empathy when playing games against others
Lesson 5: Competing With Others
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To be able to compete fairly and within the rules of the game
- To apply tennis skills with and against others.
Success Criteria:
- I can start a game using an underarm serve.
- I can rally during a competitive game.
- I can demonstrate good sportsmanship.
Key Words:
- Compete
- Respect
- Rally
Equipment:
- Tennis Rackets
- Tennis/small balls
- Cones for set up
- Hula Hoops
Preparation Ideas (warm up) – King/Queen of the ring Tennis
Give each child a tennis ball and tennis racket. The children will balance the ball on the tennis racket for as long as possible. If your ball falls off the racket, you are out of the game. Last person left in the game wins. The coach can give the children instructions to do while balancing the ball – be creative with these:
>Spin 360
>Move Backwards
>Sit Down
>Squat
Skill Development
Messy bedrooms
For this game, you can have 2 games going on at the same time. Create a court and create a middle line using either a net, benches or cones. There will be tennis balls scattered across both areas. The idea of the game is to pick up a tennis ball and using their hands rather than a racket, strike the ball using the forearm technique across the net to the other side.
Play the game for a set period of time and when ‘STOP’ is called children place their hands on their heads. The team with the fewest balls on their side are the winners.
Game – Human Skeletons
Split the class into teams of 6-8 per group and have areas set up one beside the other with a net or cones in the middle to represent the tennis net in a match.
Have the children line up behind a “waiting” cone on one side of the hall, with one player standing on the other side, with a tennis ball, representing the opponent. The children will rally with their team mate taking it in turns to hit the ball back.
The player opposite with the ball, will throw an underarm pass across the net to the other side, for the players in the line to strike back to them. Once you have struck the ball, go to the back of the line. Once everyone has been, swap the player on the opposite side of the court.
Progression:
>Make this a race against other teams to see which team can get all of their players to strike the ball across the net first.
>Set up hoops on the side of the player throwing the ball. The players striking back must try to get the ball to land inside a hoop for extra points.
>You can then create a competition where each time the ball lands in the hoop, the team are awarded a point, with teams competing against each other.
Teaching Points:
- Remember we are looking for accuracy when playing. Can we make sure the ball lands inside the playing area to keep the game going.
- Can we get the children to be more successful with their forehand strikes, using good technique when striking across the net.
- Can the children compete fairly and show good sportsmanship towards their partners and other teams. We want to see encouragement shown to their team mates and even looking to help each other with their technique when waiting in the line.
Key Questions:
- How can we compete fairly against others in the lesson?
- How can we show good sportsmanship when playing with and against others?
- What should we concentrate on to be more successful with our forehand strikes?
National curriculum links:
- Develop control and technique through playing tennis
- Play competitive games against others.
Social/environmental links:
- Developing good sportsmanship skills through competing against others
- Being able to show empathy to others
- Developing resilience when playing games against others
- Competing fairly with others and following instructions
Lesson 6: Tennis Games
Warm-up • Skill Development • Game
View Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives:
- To apply tennis skills in a game situation
- To follow the rules of the games
Success Criteria:
- I can combine tennis skills into a game.
- I can follow simple basketball rules.
- I can work as part of a team and show fair play.
Key Words:
- Teamwork
- Rules
- Fair play
- Decision Making
Equipment:
- Tennis Rackets
- Tennis/small balls
- Cones for set up
- Hula Hoops
Preparation Ideas (warm up) – Colour Tag
3 Different color dodgeballs for 3 different taggers. Each color ball will choose a “forfeit” for when you get tagged by their ball. For example, the blue ball will be 5-star jumps, red ball will be 5 seconds running on the spot and the yellow ball will be 5 tuck jumps. Once you have done this you are free to go. Change the taggers after ever round and allow them to change the forfeits.
Skill Development
Battleships-
Split the class into teams of 4 and give each team 4 hula hoops each. They will face against another team on a tennis court. In their area on the court, we want the team to spread their hula hoops. They may have some near to the net, some at the back, it is up to them. Each team and team members will then take it in turns striking the ball over the net to the other side, looking for the ball to land inside the hula hoop.
The first time the ball lands in the hula hoop, the team put a cone in that hoop. This means the battleship is damaged. The second time the ball lands in the same hoop, the team remove that battleship as it has been sunk.
The aim of the game is to remove the opposition teams battleships before they remove yours.
Progression:
>Swap teams to have the winners of 1 court play the winners of another court
>Use smaller hula hoops to make it more challenging
Game – 2v2 Games
Have the class get into pairs and give each a tennis racket and ball 1 between 2. Give the children 4 cones to create a “net” they can use, and the ball must stay in between. Alternatively, you can use a bench.
Have the children rally with another pair using their shot selections. If the ball bounces 3 times or bounces first time out of bounds, the other team gets a point.
Progression:
>Create a line behind each child that is a boundary line (again using cones). This will mean the children will have to be a little more accurate in their shots as they have a boundary line
Teaching Points:
- We want to see the children using their skills from previous weeks. Remember we want to see accuracy in their strikes. Can they keep the ball inside of the playing area (remember the face of the racket and the direction it is facing)
- We want to see good technique when serving and ensuring that their serve is accurate and lands inside the playing area
- We want to see the children competing fairly with one another. We don’t want to see any arguments or disagreements
Key Questions:
- How can we compete fairly with one another?
- Can anyone demonstrate the serving technique?
- How can we ensure we keep control when striking the ball across the net?
- What happens if we serve twice and neither serves land inside the serving area?
National curriculum links:
- Playing competitive games with others
- Developing control and technique through tennis
Social/environmental links:
- Learning to compete fairly, following the rules of the game
- Improving listening and being able to follow instructions
- Developing good sportsmanship skills whilst playing against others
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