Week 4

Movement exploration games - Static balance

Equipment

Download the Week 4 Movement exploration games - Static balance task card to support teaching before and during the sport session.

FMS focus: Static balance

Learning intention

Students are developing proficiency in the static balance.

Success criteria.

Student has:

When proficient in above, student has:

Explicit teaching of the static balance

Model the skill

Model the static balance to students while explaining the components needed to effectively balance.

Say to the students:

- Stand still with your foot flat on the ground.
- Hold your bent leg away from your other leg.
- Look at something in front of you.
- Stand up tall when you balance.
- Relax your arms.

Guided practice

Ask students to talk about what is needed for good balance. Discussion should centre around the components of the balance.

In small groups students stand behind a leader on a line and complete the following activities.

Students walk forwards, backwards, sidewards along a line with arms out to the side and head held up.
As a variation, students repeat the movements balancing a beanbag on their head.
Students walk forwards along the line heel to toe, then backwards toe to heel, with arms out to the side and head up. As a variation, students repeat the movements balancing a beanbag on their head.
Mark a number of zig-zag patterns along the ground with markers. Students stand behind a leader and walk heel to toe, toe to heel with arms out. As a variation, students walk in pairs heel to toe, toe to heel, holding hands and facing sideways. This can form a train, caterpillar etc.

Skill development games

FMS focus activity - Frozen tag

FMS focus: Static balance

Equipment: Marker cones for playing area, bibs for taggers

How to play: One or two taggers try to tag other players, who must hold a static balance for five seconds.

On teacher's signal, one or two taggers try to tag other players.
Once tagged, a player must hold the particular static pose that you call out.
To become free, they must hold this position for 5 seconds.
Static holds could include front support, rear support, stork stand, crab support, straddle stand.

FMS focus activity - Frogs and lily pads

FMS focus: Vertical jump

Equipment: A 10m x 10m square marked out by 4 cones (the pond), hoops to be used as lily pads

How to play: Players continuously jump from lily pad to lily pad using a two‑foot takeoff and landing technique.

Randomly distribute the hoops inside the pond, making sure they are not too far away from each other (i.e. jumping distance).
Players jump from lily pad to lily pad and see how many they can land on in a given amount of time (e.g. 60 seconds).
If there is more than one frog on the lily pad, it will sink. If a player jumps onto a lily pad with another player already on it, the original player must immediately find another lily pad to jump onto.
Players may jump into the pond as well as onto the lily pads.

Modified small-sided games

It's game time!

Teams play each other in the game outlined below.

Musical statues

Skill focus: Balance

Equipment: Music, designated playing area

How to play: Players dance freely around the playing area. When the music stops, players must freeze and form a statue.

The music starts and players dance freely around the playing area.
When the music stops, players must freeze and form a statue (e.g. tree, stork, airplane).
Players discuss different statues and choose a favourite one. All students perform the statue that was chosen as the favourite.
Players repeat and copy a statue from another player the next time the music stops.