Name: Amanda Christofis

Unit Planner for Learning Health and Physical Education

Learner context
Topic Focus: Throwing and Catching
Level of schooling: Reception
School and class context: Small Rural School in Northern Suburbs (approx. 260 students), DECD category 6, R-7,
supportive community, 22 students of varying abilities

What is the learning focus?

Concept(s): Outcomes:
Students will be able to catch, hold and throw Physical: develop and practice fundamental movement skills
objects through active play and structure movement

Social: connect with peers

Emotional: improve competence and confidence in movement

abilities

Cognitive: be able to link the category with self and process

instructions

Students will catch, control and throw objects at different levels and in different ways.
Throughout the unit students will move their bodies using fundamental movement skills (locomotor and non-
locomotor), control and co-ordinate their bodies, interact by listening and responding to instructions, use critical
thinking skills, co-operate with a partner and within a group and follow instructions safely.

Focus Questions:
- What is the best way to position my body when catching?

- What is the best way to position my body when I throw?

- What is an underhand/overhand throw?

- How can we throw and catch items safely?

How will the students engage with this learning?

Lesson 1 – Engagement/Getting to know students

Resources
Large indoor or outdoor area with no obstructions
Spots/Hula Hoop (1per student)
Poster and marker
Medium soft ball per pair

Warm Up – ‘Getting to know You’ game

Advise “we are going to play a game where we move our bodies in all different ways and use our listening skills”.
- In front of the poster paper talk about different movements and question what are some fun movements
that we can do on our spots.
- List on the poster.
- Instruct students to stand on a spot.

Explain game:
- “I will call out something, and if it matches you, you do the movement that I call out.
 - keep doing that movement until I call out something different that matches you, and then you change to the
new movement.
- Check that all students understand the instructions
- Remind students that they need to be moving all the time.
Examples (Appendix 1)

Main Activities – Catch – Receiving and Rolling a medium sized ball

Receiving Skills: Rolling Skills:
Demonstrate
Verbal: -eyes focused on -eyes focused
Activity 1: Pairs -look the ball where you are
Students sit opposite each other with feet apart -ready -behind the rolling the ball
Partners spaced 2 metres apart -catch/ direction of the -roll along the floor
- Ball rolled to partner who stops it with open hands roll ball -step forward
and rolls it back -arms and hands -swing your
outstretched to throwing arm back
Activity 2: Pairs receive the ball and forward
Students stand opposite each other -scoop the ball to -let go of ball close
Partners spaced 3 metres apart the body to ground
- Ball rolled to partner who scoops it up into the arms and stands up, rolls it back

Activity 3: Pairs
Students stand opposite each other
Partners spaced 3-5 metres apart
- Ball rolled to partner, varying the direction and speed. Receiver moves behind the ball to scoop appropriately

Activity 4: Halved the class

Students to stand in a row behind each other
Need to make our legs into a tunnel
- The ball is rolled backwards through childrens legs until it reaches the end, that student runs to the front of
the tunnel line and rolls the ball backwards, continues until all students have rolled the ball through the
tunnel

Differentiation: challenge: pairs spaced further apart, reduce size of ball

Differentiation: support: reduce space between pairs

Closing
Discuss what we did to help us catch the rolled ball and what helped us roll the ball to our partner.

Lesson 2

Resources
Cones set up to enclose an area
Bowling pins or foam blocks (6)
Medium sized foam balls (1 per pair)
Soccer goals or markers

Warm Up – ‘I see …’ game

Advise “we are going to play a game where we move our bodies in all different ways, move around this area (point
between the cones) and use our listening skills”.

Explain game:
- “I will call out something like: ‘I see bubbles floating around in the air’, and you are to act like bubbles
floating around in the air until I say the next I see statement”.
Examples (Appendix 2)

Main Activities – Catch – Practice Receiving and Rolling different sized balls (Model)
Whole Class Activity – Partner Target Roll (cones spaced 1m apart across the middle
of the gym-enough for each pair)
Students practice underhand rolling medium sized foam balls to each other
through the cones.

Station 1: Bowling Roll (2 bowling pin sets set up in front of wall) 2 balls
Students practice underhand rolling by rolling medium sized foam balls towards pins or
foam blocks, trying to knock them over. One student receives the ball
(standing behind the pins/blocks).

Station 2: Rolling Soccer (2 goals/markers 3m apart in front of wall) 2 balls

Standing 4m from the goal, students roll the ball between the goals,
while the goalie receives the ball.

Station 3: Wall Roll 4 balls

Students to roll the ball towards the wall, receive and pick it up with your hands.

Station 4: Circle Roll (students to sit in a small circle – minimum 5 students) 1 ball
Sitting on knees students roll the ball to a player on the other side who picks it up and rolls it to someone else across
from them.
Do not roll it to someone sitting next to you or the person who rolled it to you.
If the ball bounces you must run around the group and sit back in your place.

Closing
Discuss what we think helped us knock over the pins, what we needed to do to be successful and roll our balls to the
targets.
- Did we need to roll hard? fast? slow? carefully? look?

Lesson 3

Resources
Cones
Inflated balloons (1 each student)

Warm Up – ‘Sky High’ balloon game

Explain the game:
- Stay within the area between the cones/desks
- On the word go all students to throw the balloons up into the air
- Try to keep all the balloons in the air, do not let them hit the floor
Variations: count the number of times the balloon is hit up, must keep the balloon off the ground using a particular
body part and when signalled catch the balloon, increase the area size.
Differentiation: challenge: size of balloon reduced Receiving Skills: Throwing/
-eyes focused on bouncing Skills:
Main Activity – Catch – Receiving on the full – two hands medium balloon the ball -eyes focused on
Demonstrate -stand in line with the target
Activity 1: Individual oncoming ball -ball held with
Students throw balloon up and catch – low throws to higher throws -arms extended to both hands
- differentiation: challenge: throw, clap, catch receive the ball -fingers spread
Verbal: -catch ball with behind/under ball
-look both hands -step forward
Activity 2: Pairs -ready -fingers spread and -push ball forward
Students stand opposite each other -catch pulled into the body towards target
Partners spaced close
- throw balloon to partner aiming at their hands, partner catches ball and throws back
- differentiation: challenge: increase distance and speed of throws
- differentiation: support: slow throws
Activity 3: Whole Class Group in a Circle
- The balloon goes around the circle and must be thrown to the next person who catches it and passes it on
- The balloon is to be thrown up to self once, then to the next person
- Add extra balloons to keep all students engaged
To increase intensity:
- introduce more balloons
- throw up, clap x2, catch and throw to next person
- throw to someone opposite in the circle

Closing
Discuss what we needed to do to catch the balloon, and how we needed to throw the balloon so we or our partners
could catch it.
Lesson 4

Resources
Medium sized ball (1 each student)
4 beanbags (2 for challenge)
Target- waist high on wall for each student (sticker/masking tape)

Warm Up – ‘Follow the leader’ game

Ask a student to be the leader, with the class lining up behind them.
The child at the front to think of an action they can do while walking around the gym, following the lines.
The other children to follow, completing the same action.
Change leader every couple of minutes.
Differentiation: support: provide ideas to leader if needed (eg. marching, tiptoeing, big steps, hopping, skipping)

Main Activity – Catch – Receiving on the full – two hands medium ball
Demonstrate
Verbal: Receiving Skills: Throwing Skills:
Activity 1: Individual -eyes focused on -eyes focused on
-look
Students throw ball up to just above head height and catch -ready the ball the target
- differentiation: challenge: throw/catch/bounce/catch/ -catch -move body in -ball held with
throw sequence path of ball both hands
-arms flexed to -fingers spread
Activity 2: Individual absorb force behind/under
Students spaced 2-3 metres from wall -catch ball with ball
Students throw ball underarm with 2 hands at a waist-high target on the wall both hands -step forward
and catch on the full -fingers spread -push ball
and pulled into forward towards
- differentiation: support: the ball is permitted to bounce and then
the body target
scooped into the arms

Activity 3: Pairs
Students stand opposite each other
Partners spaced 2 metres apart
- throw ball underarm to partner to be caught, partner catches ball and throws back
- differentiation: challenge: increase distance, speed and direction of ball
- differentiation: support: reduce distance

Main Activity – Catch – Receiving a bounce pass – two hands medium ball
Demonstrate
Activity 4: Individual
Student bounce and catch
- sitting down,
- progress to kneeling and
- then to standing
differentiation: support: stay at level comfortable with
Activity 5: Individual
Students
- bounce and catch
- throw the ball up and catch
- differentiation: challenge: throw the ball up/clap/catch, bounce/turn around/catch, bounce under body
part(leg)/catch
- differentiation: support: use bean bag instead of ball where appropriate

Activity 6: Pairs
Students stand opposite each other
Partners spaced 3 metres apart
- bounce ball to partner aiming at their hands, partner catches ball and bounces back
- differentiation: challenge: increase distance, speed and direction of ball
- differentiation: support: reduce distance

Warm Down - Catch – Practice Receiving a Bounce Pass and Receiving on the Full with 2 hands
Whole Class Group in a Circle
- The ball goes around the circle and must be bounced to the next person who catches it and passes it on
- The bean bag is to be thrown up to self once, then to the next person
To increase intensity: introduce more bean bags or balls

Closing
Discuss when we would use these skills – netball, basketball, playing with our friends.

Lesson 5
Verbal: Receiving Skills: Throwing/
Resources -look -eyes focused on bouncing Skills:
Object Control Skills checklists: -ready the ball -eyes focused on
-catch -stand in line with the target
- Receiving a rolled ball
oncoming ball -ball held with
- Catching a ball
-arms extended to both hands
- Throwing a ball receive the ball -fingers spread
-catch ball with behind/under ball
Warm Up both hands -step forward
Ask children to stand on a line facing me, make out they have a ball and -fingers spread and -push ball forward
show me how they: pulled into the towards target
- Roll a ball body
- Receive a rolled ball
- Catch a ball
- Throw a ball

Main Activity
Provide a ball to each pair, and ask them to show me how they:
- Roll a ball and receive a ball
- Catch a ball and throw a ball
Educator – complete ‘Object Control Skills Checklists

Warm Down
In small teams children to roll the ball to each other, trying to keep it between their team, while the other tries to
intercept the ball and keep it in their team.
How will you know what the students have learnt? (Assessment)
What will you assess? How will you assess? When will you assess? Who How will you record Providing feedback
leads the assessment? your assessments?
Concept(s): Observation End of the unit Progress Ongoing to
spreadsheets: encourage
Receiving a rolled ball
achieved, almost participation
Catching a ball achieved and not
yet achieved
Throwing a ball underhand

Links with the Australian Curriculum (Use this at least once, copy and paste more if required)
Strand: Movement and Physical Activity
Sub- Strand: Moving our body
Descriptor: Achievement Standards:
Practice fundamental movement skills and movement sequences By the end of Foundation Year, students perform fundamental
using different body parts. movement skills.

Teacher Evaluation
To consider:

Which aspects were When all students were engaged in the activities.
most effective? When students with similar abilities were paired together as they could practice the
appropriate level tasks.

Which aspects were Keeping students on task while trying to assess some student abilities.
challenging? Why?

Were real world Discussions about what games we use these skills for.
connections made to
the students’ lives?
Were the skills Mathematics – counting
integrated into other Health - body parts, spatial awareness
learning areas?
Could the learning be
shared with others?
Appendix 1 – Getting to Know You game (Examples)

If you:
- are on a spot wiggle your body (everyone to move)

- walked to school today jog on the spot

- are 5 years old jump up and down

- are 6 years old jump up and down with 2 feet together, using your arms to help you

jump higher

- collect stickers balance on 1 foot – spread your arms out to help you balance

- have a pet stretch up high on tippy toes, reach up to the sky

- have a brother skip to that wall and back (point)

- had toast for breakfast march on the spot – nice high knees

Appendix 2 – ‘I see’ game (Examples)

I see
- children hopping all around within the coned area

- planes flying through the sky

- puppy dogs sleeping on the ground

- cowboys riding horses

- bees buzzing around

- rockets zooming to the moon

- soldiers marching along the lines in the gym

- worms wiggling

- monkeys jumping all around

Ending with "I see (room 6) quietly lining up on along this line looking at me”