Considerations for the teacher

Many of the most important concerns for the teacher when planning a programme of work for a class are those discussed already in Curriculum planning.

In addition, consideration should be given to the following:

The learning needs of the children

It is essential to establish the experience of the class to date with particular reference to the work completed in the various strands. Liaison with the previous class teacher and consulting the class records containing information gained from previous assessment should provide the information necessary for building a new programme.

The school’s programme for physical education

The aims and broad objectives of the school’s programme and the guidance offered in the school plan on the selection of appropriate strands and strand units will provide further direction for the teacher’s work with the class.

Teaching methods and approaches

The use of a wide range of methods and approaches is essential when teaching physical education and should be considered as the teacher selects the content of the class programme. Suggestions for a range of approaches which are particularly suited to the teaching of physical education are provided on pp. 42-101.

Time

Planning a class programme involves considering the time to be devoted to each strand and the depth of treatment of each strand. It should be noted that it is not necessary for each strand to have an equal share of curriculum time, provided that the agreed objectives outlined for each class can be achieved in the time allocated to a particular activity. Some activities will require more time than others. Time for travelling to a pool or outdoor activities centre, for example, should be planned. It is recommended that the year be divided into blocks of four to six weeks. A strand or part of a strand may be completed in this time. Where a part of a strand is covered in a block of time, it may be useful to complete it at another time of the year. Fig. 1 illustrates a games unit which is initiated in September and is completed later in the programme.

When to teach each strand

Selecting the period of the year in which activities might take place i.e. when to teach each strand, may involve some of the factors outlined below

• where access to the indoor or outdoor facility is restricted at any time it may be helpful to have two strands running concurrently – one suitable for teaching indoors, the other for teaching outdoors. It is essential to consider activities which may be affected by weather and to plan an alternative activity which can be undertaken indoors, where possible, where a late cancellation is necessary.
• the time of the year at which access to an aquatics facility is possible
• the time of the year at which travelling off the school site is feasible, e.g. for an orienteering exercise
• the importance of encouraging maximum participation in vigorous activity should be considered during cold weather or when a class is conducted during the early morning.

Establishing a code of practice for physical education

Consideration should be given to devoting time in initial lessons to establish a code of practice for physical education lessons including changing of clothes, moving to and from the play area and methods of organising, distributing and setting out equipment. Suggested methods of organisation are outlined on pp. 51-54.

The availability of resources and support

It is helpful to establish what resources and support might be available:

• another staff member may share expertise
• another class may share the task of setting up or dismantling equipment
• materials or resources may be available to help plan units of work
• an in-service course may give guidance on the implementation of the strand
• a national governing body (with responsibility for a particular sport)may offer support in the form of coaching of a particular sport with teacher guidance, or a local dance group could visit the school to perform or to engage children in dance
• parent volunteers may be invited to help with certain activities, e.g. trips to a local adventure playground.

Integration

It is important to consider how certain strands or strand units can be integrated with other subjects. Integration could take place within physical education (linkage) or with other subjects. Many playground games,for example, could be planned as part of an athletics or games unit. While Fig. 1, page 35 presents a programme where a block of time is devoted to a series of lessons, aspects of the Outdoor/ adventure activities strand are particularly suited to an integrated approach combined with a full-day experience at a given time. Further suggestions for integration are described on pp. 45-47.

Involvement of pupils in the organisation of physical education

It is recommended that the teacher identifies how pupils can be active in organising lessons. Examples of such practices are:

• Children at all class levels can be involved in laying out the equipment for the lesson.
• Children from third class onwards may be encouraged to devise and present a simple warm-up exercise or series of exercises having experienced many presentations of good practice. Some children may develop this aspect further by creating a warm-up routine accompanied by music and presenting it to the class.
• Children in fifth and sixth classes may be able to devise simple orienteering exercises based on a map of the school grounds which they could present for use by younger children in the school.

Providing for differing abilities

Teachers will need to plan activities that allow children to undertake tasks appropriate to their levels of ability. When planning to suit differing abilities, consideration should be given to the following strategies:

• applying different levels of difficulty to tasks. For instance, one child may be asked to throw a beanbag and catch it with both hands while stationary, another child may be challenged further by being asked to perform the activity while moving. In a different context, a child is asked to discover how far she can run in two minutes, while another child is asked to discover how far he can run in one-and-a-half minutes.
• setting a common task but allowing children to operate at different levels. For instance, composing a dance where children may show a different response to the same stimulus allows for individual differences.
• placing an emphasis on a variety of strands, strand units or different activities within a strand. The teacher can cater for the varying abilities and experience within a group of children by selecting from a range of strands or strand units when planning the programme. In this way, he/she can provide opportunities for the children with experience of particular activities to excel and to work at a different level in other activities of which they have little or no experience. Planning should provide for a balance in the selection of activities, thus catering for differing abilities.
• grouping children sometimes by ability and sometimes by gender. Where the ‘station’ teaching method is used (see p. 51) it is possible to group children of similar ability where this may prove beneficial. In a lesson where children are playing asmall-sided version of a game, they can be more active in the game if they are playing with children of similar ability. It may be important to form single-sex groups for some activities. For instance, in a class where girls haven’t had experience of a game such as football, it may be more beneficial if a group of girls played the small-sided version of the game together. This will encourage girls to become more active in the game situation. However, it should be remembered that many girls may be capable of joining with boys in other groups. When children are engaging in contact activities, the size of the child should be considered and children could be paired or grouped accordingly.

Assessment

Assessment is an essential component of the cycle of planning, teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation. The ways in which various activities can be assessed should be considered, with reference to the school policy on assessment, as the teacher plans classes or units of work. The exemplar lessons and units of work contained in the ‘Approaches and methodologies’ section, pp. 42-101 indicate how assessment techniques may be applied in the context of lessons or units. The approach ‘Looking at children’s work’ outlined on pp. 98-100 offers further guidance on how children’s experience of physical education can be enhanced by observing their progress. The outcomes of such assessment will in turn inform the planning of future work.