Territorial Games - Week 1

Early Stage 1

Equipment

Marker cones
Balls
bibs/sashes to distinguish between teams

Download the Territorial Games - Week 1 activity card to support teaching before and during the sport session.

FMS focus: Catch

Learning intention

Students are developing proficiency in the catch.

Success criteria.

Eyes focused on the object throughout the catch.
Feet move to place the body in line with the object.
Hands move to meet the object.
Hands and fingers relaxed and slightly cupped to catch the object.
Catches and controls the object with hands only (well-timed closure).
Elbows bend to absorb the force of the object.

Explicit teaching of the catch

About the skill

Catching is a manipulative skill that involves being able to absorb and control the force of an object with a part of the body, preferably the hands. The ability to catch proficiently is important to most sports and games that involve an object, for example, cricket, football codes, netball, basketball, rhythmic gymnastics and playground games.

View 'The Get Skilled Get Active - 'Catch' video to support the explicit teaching of the catch.

Model the skill:

Model the catch to students while explaining the movements needed to effectively catch:

Say to the students:

- Watch the object move into your hands.
- Cup your hands.
- Move to the ball.
- Relax your hands.
- Point your fingers up for a high ball.
- Point your fingers down for a low ball.
- Bend elbows to absorb the force of the object.

Guided practice with immediate teacher feedback:

Students standing balanced, hands lightly cupped, eyes focused. Using a beanbag, students:

throw to eye level and catch
throw to eye level, clap then catch
throw and catch with a partner

Skill development games

Choosing teams

In a sport education approach, affiliation is promoted by students being a member of the same team over a period of time. It is intended that students remain in these teams for the duration of each sport program for the skill development and the modified small-sided games, so that they can develop and learn together.

Place students in equal teams, 4 teams is optimal, at the beginning of the skill development session. Strategies for forming groups can be found in the Game-based learning in sport and physical activity e-learning course.
To further promote affiliation students can decide on a team name.

FMS focus activity - Beat the clock

Skill focus: Catch

Equipment: Any kind of light ball, markers

How to play:

Students stand opposite each other (2-3 metres apart) within the playing area and place their marker on the ground in front of them.
On the teacher's signal, the first student holding the ball throws it to their partner to catch and then both students move and swap positions after each throw.
Students perform these activities for a set amount of time.

Fast starts - Beat the clock

Playing for life - Frost and thaw

FMS consolidation activity - Frost and thaw

Skill focus: Sprint run and static balance

Equipment: 2 markers per pair, one ball per pair

How to play: One player is Frost and is the chaser. Another is Thaw. Frost tries to tag as many of the other players as possible. Once tagged, they must freeze on the spot. Thaw can melt these players by touching them. They can then rejoin the game.

Establish boundaries.
Start with running.
Encourage frozen players to call out for Thaw.

Modified small-sided games

It's game time!

Teams play each other in the game outlined below.

Names

Skill focus: Catch

Equipment: A playing area big enough for the circles of players, one medium-sized ball per group

How to play: Players in a circle throw a ball to other players in the circle. An interceptor inside the circle tries to intercept the ball. Only the interceptor can move.

Players on the circles can’t move.
The player throwing the ball calls out a name (the receiver) and passes the ball to that player.
If the ball is intercepted, the thrower changes places with the interceptor, or change after 4 throws.