Gymnastics
Unit 5
Acquiring and Developing Skills
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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To perform actions, shapes and balances consistently and fluently in specific activities
SUGGESTED TEACHING ACTIVITIES
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Can you join together a jump weight on hands activity and a roll? – If the jump is tucked the roll must be
stretched and vice versa.
Join with a partner can you perform a contrasting jump and roll together.
Travel, turning on hands and feet, turn into a balance and return to feet.
Travel symmetrically using feet.
Bounce up and down symmetrically.
Bounce feet in and out symmetrically.
Balance in a symmetrical shape and move to standing.
Find ways of balancing on small parts of the body, twist out of balances and return to feet.
Take weight on a large surface and create a symmetrical balance/asymmetrical balance.
Balance on four points, making a symmetrical shape and move out of this balance.
Balance in a tucked up symmetrical shape and move out to standing.
Bounce on the spot symmetrically and travel forwards asymmetrically.
As in 5 but travel in different directions.
Roll symmetrically, transfer weight to feet and jump asymmetrically.
Roll asymmetrically, transfer weight to feet and jump symmetrically.
Balance symmetrically on hips, transfer weight by rocking into an asymmetrically balance on some other
part of the body.
Find ways of rolling into a balance and twisting out of it.
Can you jump around the room with body high and feet far apart – demonstrate a “leap”, head up – take off
one-foot land on other – legs spread far apart.
Can you jump by taking off on one foot and land on the same foot? – (Hop)
How can you use your arms to help you?
Can you run, jump, sink down and roll – look at different directions to roll.
Can you move from a stretched up balance slowly, sink down into a curled up shape and roll over
sideways? – Look for examples and try.
Can you find 2 bridges one long and thin and the other far and wide and join these together by rolling.
Hold a bridge position. Can you keep your hands still and walk your feet around them still keeping a bridge
shape?
Find different ways of travelling in a bridge position?
Link together travelling and moving from one bridge shape smoothly into another.
Explore ways of pivoting into different balances using different body parts to pivot on.
Rock between two body parts and move to feet symmetrically.
Transfer weight from a symmetrical balance to an asymmetrical one.
Transfer weight from feet to hands to feet asymmetrically by placing hands to the side of the body.
Balance on three body points, making an asymmetrical shape and move out of this balance.
Explore apparatus over, under, along, through.
Find a part of the apparatus you feel happy to jump off – TP. land on 2 feet, bend knees, back straight.
Travel onto apparatus, jump from apparatus, land safely and travel away on hands and feet.
Explore the apparatus over, under and along.
Travel under apparatus where possible.
When you stop make a bridge.
Can you use apparatus to help you make a bridge?
Using the apparatus can you adapt your floor work to the apparatus?
Balance on bench, transfer weight onto hands and turn away from bench.
Move towards the bench with a turning action, balance on bench and move off bench with a twisting action.
Turn across the bench and finish with an inverted balance on the mat.
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Cross the bench with a turn by putting one hand on the bench and one on the floor the far side of the
bench.
Run towards bench, jump on and off symmetrically.
Balance on the bench symmetrically, move onto floor and roll away asymmetrically.
Spring onto the equipment with an asymmetrical action, transfer weight onto another part of the body and
come off the equipment with a symmetrical movement.
Spring onto the equipment using hands, transfer weight on the equipment using an asymmetrical action
and get off using an asymmetrical action.
Spring onto the equipment landing on some body part other than feet, transfer onto feet using a
symmetrical action and spring off asymmetrically.
Can you find different ways of springing onto apparatus and jumping off, emphasise controlled landings?
Can you travel away from the mat, travelling on hands and feet?
Can you spring onto apparatus and slide off? Can you add a roll?
Practise springing onto and off the equipment on hands and feet using symmetrical/asymmetrical actions.
Gymnastics
Unit 5
Selecting and Applying Skills, Tactics and
Compositional Ideas
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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To choose and apply basic compositional ideas to the sequences they create, and adapt them to new
situations
SUGGESTED TEACHING ACTIVITIES
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Develop a sequence which moves out of a balance by turning into travelling and turning into a balance.
Develop a short sequence of turning jumps moving from one to two feet.
Create a sequence which includes turning jumps and pivots.
Roll onto/along/off the equipment using symmetrical/asymmetrical actions.
Make a sequence using symmetry and asymmetry which includes two hands and feet actions and two
balances.
Balance either symmetrically or asymmetrically away from the equipment, travel towards the equipment
and balance on the equipment symmetrically/asymmetrically.
Travel towards equipment symmetrically, use hands to get onto the equipment asymmetrically and balance
asymmetrically.
Find 3 different ways of connecting a roll and leg balance. Encourage children to make their connections
interesting. Demonstrations showing a variety of ‘answers’ may be used to stimulate ideas. Change how
you come out of the roll or you may need to add a little link movement to make a smooth connection.
Focus on 2 ways of connecting skills: by varying the ending of one skill so that it becomes the start of the
next; inserting a link movement between the 2 skills. Now find 3 interesting ways of connecting the leg
balance to a roll.
Progress to each partner selecting two favourite actions. Then make up a partner sequence which starts
with one of your chosen hand standing partner actions, contains 2 rolls, 2 jumps and 1 balance, then
finishes with the other chosen partner action. Focus children on: How will then be working together?
Between the first and last partner actions will they be matching, mirroring or following the leader?
Create a paired sequence to include 2 different examples of matched balances/shapes that travel into,
between and out of shapes/balances. Children need to explore a range of symmetric and asymmetric
actions, shapes and balances, e.g. rolling, sliding, feet only, hands and feet. Stress the need to control
actions and to combine them fluently, i.e. the end of one movement should be the start of the next.
Encourage children to show good extension, body tension and control.
With another pair, one couple observes another and identifies examples of the matched shapes. Talk to
the children about their performance, e.g. the need for accuracy, consistency and clarity of movement.
Encourage them to talk about successful combinations of actions, shapes and balances.
Create a balance between the equipment and mat using symmetrical/asymmetrical shape. Find a way of
moving out of these balances and away from the mat.
With your partner can you find a way to spring onto the apparatus, jump off, land, travel away on hands
and feet.
Think about dynamics – working in unison or cannon, speed, levels and directions.
Spring asymmetrically from the equipment, travel symmetrically to another piece get on and balance
asymmetrically.
Link movement’s onto/over/across/along different pieces of equipment using symmetrical and asymmetrical
actions.
Travel around apparatus on command, make a bridge on it or against.
Think about – wide or long and thin.
Can you link together – a way of travelling, bridge and roll? – Think about – dynamics – speed, direction,
levels.
Adapt the floor and mat sequence so that it can be performed on apparatus. For example, encourage
children to move safely from floor to apparatus, to change levels on apparatus, and to move safely from
apparatus back to the floor. Praise children who are using the apparatus in imaginative ways. Help
children to perform and combine movements with their partner, so that the movements are mirrored or
matched. Demonstrations. Children to watch performances and evaluate their success. Make children
clear about some criteria for success. E.g. was the sequence repeated accurately? Were the actions,
shapes and balances performed accurately and clearly?
Gymnastics
Unit 5
Knowledge and Understanding of
Fitness and Health
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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To know and understand the basic principles of warming up and why it
is important for good quality performance
To understand why physical activity is good for their health
SUGGESTED TEACHING ACTIVITIES
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Ask the children to lead their own warm ups, concentrating on pulse
raising and mobilising activities.
Talk to children about why gymnastic activity can be beneficial to their
health.
Ask children how they feel at the end of a gymnastic lesson e.g. Do
they feel happy, sad, excited etc.
Teach children that using energy through gymnastics activities can help
with weight balance.
Ask children what happens when they use up lots of energy? – They
fell hot, tired and muscles might feel tight as well – Teach.
Then why this is a good thing.
Teach children that changes during gymnastics activities have different
effects e.g. quick actions require strong, explosive, movements, whilst
sustaining activity requires slow, controlled actions.
Gymnastics
Unit 5
Evaluating and Improving Performance
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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To choose and use information and basic criteria to evaluate their own
and others’ work
SUGGESTED TEACHING ACTIVITIES
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Ask children to devise their own assent criteria with a partner.
Apply their own assent criteria and discuss how useful the points that
they selected were to them.
Ask pupils to ‘mark’ each others work. Do not give criteria to ‘mark’ by,
and discuss fully accurate criteria are essential.
As above, but give criteria, and now suggest one good element and
one that an improvement could be made.
Select consistency, accuracy, fluency and clarity as criteria at difficult
times.
Select speed, direct and level of criteria at difficult times.
Evaluate and individual against a set criteria in a small group situation
(3-4). Observed children should agree. Others discuss evaluation
each make. Are they the same or different.
During a piece of work, ask children to assess their feelings of
confidence with a piece of work. Encourage them to give reasons why.