What is Game Sense and

Why?
MRS NGUYEN, 2N
 Fundamental Movement Skills are movements that involves the use of

different body parts such as legs, arms, head, feet and hands.

What are
Fundamental Movement Skills includes:

Fundamental • Balancing

• Locomotor Skill

Movement Skills? • Running, jumping, hopping, galloping.

• Ball skills

• Catching, throwing, rolling.

(Good Habits For Life, 2019)

Why we are using a Game Sense Approach?
In 2n, we are using a Game Sense Approach with PE lessons because

• It caters to students of all different ability skills

• Includes all students in each game, does not leave any students out

• Focuses on fundamental movement skills rather then how they play

• Gets the students thinking about different tactics that they can use

• Working on safe play

What is the Game Sense Approach?
• To engage all students in minor or modified games

• Opportunities to develop skills and understanding the tactics of the game.

• Works alongside different ability levels in the group/team, which includes every student and a range
of difficulties.

• Changing the game rules, equipment, area and purpose to make sure students are able to show
fundamental skills in different motions

• Encourage critical thinking

• Get students thinking about different ways to approach this game.

(Sport Aus, 2019)

Game Sense Approach
• Game sense approach is learning within the game, the process centralizes
learning skills of the game while playing small games for further understandings
(Miller, A., Eather, N., Gray, S., Sproule, J., Williams, C., Gore, J., & Lubans, D.
2017)
• Game Sense builds on the original PDHPE model TGfU (Teaching Games for
Understanding) but it has specific educational intention on developing different
kind of players. (Pill, S. 2014).
Why Game Sense is important
When playing or participating in physical activity, students will need to be able to
think on the sport and figure out skills and tactics to be able to score or win as a
team. Game Sense Approach uses ideas from Teaching Games for Understanding
which teaches students skills and movement that would help them in the long run
with different sports. Teaching students to critically think about skills and tactics
they could implement on the spot.
Game Sense involves changing the rules and deconstruct the game into multiple
mini games that every student will be able to participate in. These mini games will
be played in small groups within the class and requires a lot of movement from all
students.
For these reason, Games Sense Approach or Teaching Games for Understanding is
an important part of teaching PDHPE to students. It allows critical thinking and
also improvement on fundamental movement skills.
References:
Good Habits for Life. (2019). Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS). ACT Government
Health. Retrieved from https://goodhabitsforlife.act.gov.au/kids-at-play/fundamental-
movement-skills-fms-1
Miller, A., Eather, N., Gray, S., Sproule, J., Williams, C., Gore, J., & Lubans, D. (2017).
Can continuing professional development utilizing a game-centred approach improve
the quality of physical education teaching delivered by generalist primary school
teachers?. European Physical Education Review, 23(2), 171–195.
Pill, S. (2016). An appreciative inquiry exploring game sense teaching in physical
education. Sport, Education and Society. Vol 21(2), pp 279-297.
Sports AUS. (2019). Game sense approach. Sporting Schools. Retrieved from
https://sportingschools.gov.au/resources-and-pd/schools/playing-for-life-
resources/game-sense-approach