The British Columbia Integrated Resource Package (IRP) outlines provincially prescribed curriculum for Physical Education K to 7. The development of the PE K-7 IRP was guided by the principals of learning which are included below as outlined by the Ministry of Education (MOE, 2006):
1)Learning requires the active participation of the student
2)People learn in a variety of ways and at different rates
3)Learning is both an individual and a group process
The following web-based unit plan provides four detailed and sequenced lessons in the games area of Volleyball at a Grade 6 level. The principals of learning were paramount in the development of the following lessons and it is intended that the aims and goals of the IRP will be realized through the presence of these principals during lesson application.
“The aim of Physical Education K to 7 is to provide opportunities for all students to develop knowledge, movement skills, and positive attitudes and behaviors that contribute to a healthy, active lifestyle” (MOE, 2006). As the creators of this website, designers of the following lessons and as future Physical Education teachers, we believe that by adopting a Teaching Games For Understanding (TGFU) method of teaching - a whole, part, whole approach - teachers can provide clearly defined, efficient and enjoyable opportunities to students in which to truly realize these aims; therefore better facilitating the success of their young students in the area of Physical Education.
The TGFU model is based on “a sequence of developmentally appropriate game and gamelike learning activities…that focus on tactical problems for students to solve - first cognitively and then through the execution of skilled motor performance” (Metzler, 2005). Bunker and Thorpe (1982) offer six components, or steps, that comprise the methodology of teaching a particular game within the TGFU model. Sequentially, the six components include:
1)an introduction to the game,
2)promotion of student interest in the game by teaching its history and traditions,
3)development of students’ tactical awareness by presenting the major tactical problems within the game,
4)the use of gamelike learning activities that teach students to recognize when and how to apply tactical knowledge,
5)a combination of tactical knowledge with skill execution in game like activities, and
6)the development of proficient performance ability, based on the combination of tactical and skill knowledge, students apply that knowledge in game forms or full version games. (Metzler, 2005)
The TGFU model offers all students the opportunity to participate productively in their own learning and the learning of others in an enjoyable way. Students are continuously active and learning as they discover the Why of particular game techniques, skills and strategies instead of an initial focus on the How.
We believe that the following lessons, and the TGFU model in general, reflect the goals outlined for Physical Education K-7 particularly in that “students will develop age-appropriate knowledge and skills for participating productively, safely and responsibly in a range of physical activities” (MOE, 2006). Through a practical experience in applying these lessons to a Grade 6 class at a local school we observed first hand that students were engaged, active, learning, participating productively in their own learning, working with others and enjoying themselves. It is our hope that these lessons will prove to bring forth the same response in more classrooms.
Lindsay and Bryce.
