Grade 2 Striking and Fielding

Central Idea:

• Actively learning new skills enhances personal growth​

​

Learner Outcomes:

• Active Living:

  • Send objects of different shapes and sizes at different levels and in different ways, using different body parts

  • Receive objects of different shapes and sizes at different levels and in various ways, using different body parts

• Identity:

  • Describe how personal growth has resulted in new skills and abilities

​

Learner Profile:

• Knowledgeable

• Inquirer

​

Attitudes:

• Curiosity

• Independence

​

Approaches to Learning:​

• Research:

  • Observing​

  • Collecting data

  • Recording data

  • Interpreting data

​

Lesson 1: Tuning In:

• I opened the new unit with a game of Strike and Run. It’s a very simple version of cricket essentially. In keeping with my love for small-sided games (see blog for more information) I broke the class up into 4 teams and divided the field into 4 playing areas.

  • Playing area 1 has a tee, a ball and a bat ​

  • ​Playing area 2 has a tennis racket and a dodge ball

  • Playing area 3 has a foam ball on top of a cone and a paddle

  • Playing area 4 has a baseball/softball (this has no striking, rather the ‘striker’ throws the ball.

  • Each team goes to their designated areas

  • These teams are not against other teams but rather against each other

  • One person is the striker the rest are fielders

  • Once the ball is struck, the striker runs to a base that is about 20 meters away

  • If they touch the base that is one point

  • If they manage to make it back, that is two points, etc.

  • The fielders need to get the ball back to the starting position to stop the striker from running and scoring points

  • Once the ball is back, rotate strikers so everybody has a go at striking and fielding.

• I explained the rules but I deliberately did not talk strategies, positions, technique, etc. But I did emphasize safety. Before striking, the striker holds the bat in front of them and slowly spins around to ensure their striking zone is clear.

• After 2 rotations, I gathered the kids around and we discussed strategies to improve their performance by going through the learner profiles.

• To ensure I am promoting the learner profiles of the unit: Inquirers and Knowledgeable, I opened the discussion floor by asking if anyone had any questions about their first 2 rounds of Strike and Run. I wrote the questions on the board and asked if anyone in the class wanted to try and be knowledgeable and share their knowledge with the class by answering any of the questions listed. By doing this I am encouraging the kids to ask questions and allowing them to also demonstrate their knowledge.

• We then went to level 2 of Strike and Run where the students are not allowed to run with the ball. Therefore, they had to work out the best strategy to get the ball back to the starting position.

• We finished the lesson by introducing the Central idea and will unpack it in the next lesson.

​

Lesson 2:

• We started the lesson by unpacking the Central Idea. We discussed what it means to actively learn. The kids determined it to mean that they should really try when learning new skills.

• We then went out to engage in a game of Tee Ball Cricket:

  • ​I split the class into 4 teams, with 2 games happening at the same time.

  • 1 team are the fielders and are spread out in the field with 1 catcher behind the tee.

  • The batters are sitting on the bench with 1 team member at the tee.

  • The batter hits the ball and runs to a base, roughly 15-20m away.

  • ​The batter keeps running back and forth to the base and then the tee until the ball is picked up and thrown to the catcher who then places the ball on the tee.

  • Once the ball is on the tee the batter stops running and they tally the runs made.

  • The fielders are not allowed to run with the ball.

• We played an inning each and then gathered around to discuss their experience. We then needed to determine what skills are needed in the game. The students said they needed these skills:

  • ​Throwing

  • ​Running

  • Catching

  • Batting

  • Teamwork

• With these skills in mind, the kids went out to play against another team.

• We ended the lesson by further unpacking the Central Idea where we touched onto Personal Growth. This is a rather advanced concept but after some prompting the kids discovered that it means continually growing ourselves through new skills and improving their talents. This did go over some of their heads but we have all unit for them to truly discover what it means and how it relates to them.

​

Lesson 3:

• We spent this lesson on Tee Ball Cricket but also worked on our Approaches to Learning Skills (ATLs), specifically the Research skills: Observing, Collecting and Recording data.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

• For Mini-Coaching, I do the following:

  • ​There are 4 teams.

  • 2 teams are playing each other.

  • 1 team is observing a team playing.

    • ​Each person in the class is assigned to watch one other person.

    • I.E.: Student 1 of Red team is observing Student 6 of Yellow team and vice versa

  • ​The fourth team is practicing on another court.

  • The team observing has to do the following:

    • Observe their assigned athlete

    • Using the Mini-Coach feedback form, the coach gives their athlete a score out of 4 for game 1.

    • 1 = Never, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Usually, 4 = Always

    • I uploaded the feedback form onto Seesaw as a JPEG so the kids can edit the document by writing their scores directly onto the image.

    • Once completed, the coaches click the green tick twice and it is uploaded onto their Seesaw journal for me to approve.

  • Here is a video showing the game of Tee Ball Cricket with a team observing their athletes as Mini-Coaches.​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

• You can find a blank Mini-Coaching Feedback form below. You can also download a PDF version here.​

​

​

​

​

​​

​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​Lesson 4:

• This lesson was dedicated to the mini-coaches to work with their respective athletes.

• I set up 4 stations, with each station dedicated to work on one of the skills the students chose to be necessary in order to be successful in Striking and Fielding games:

  • ​Throwing:

    • ​I set up 2 handball goals and hung hula hoops from them.

    • I then laid out 3-4 dots in front of each hula-hoop, with each dot about a meter away from the dot in front.

    • The athlete, under the instruction of their mini-coach, needed to try and throw the ball through the hula-hoop.

    • If they made it, they move further away onto the next dot.

  • Catching:

    • ​In front of a wall, I put the first dot about 3 meters away. Then 3 more dots behind it, each about a meter apart.

    • The aim of this was to throw the ball to the wall and try to catch it.

    • The ball can bounce or roll on the ground.

    • The aim was to not let the ball go past you.

    • I set up several sets of dots to let multiple partners practice their catching.

  • Striking:

    • ​I laid out several tees facing our large gym curtain/divider.

    • The athletes, under the guidance of the mini-coach, needed to hit the ball into the curtain. We did this so there are no balls flying around the gym.

  • Running:

    • ​I laid out several sets of shuttle runs to practice their running.

    • 1 hula-hoop contains 3 beanbags.

    • The other hula-hoop is approximately 5 meters away.

    • The athlete needs to pick up one beanbag, run and drop the beanbag into the other hula-hoop.

    • Once all 3 beanbags are in the hula-hoop, the mini-coach stops the timer.

• Prior to letting the partnerships get to work, the mini-coach and athlete needed to know what they need to work on. Therefore, on the projector, I had Seesaw on the screen and the partners scrolled through their Seesaw journal under the Striking and Fielding folder to find their feedback form.

• Each partnership came up and told me what they were going to work on.

• I gave 15 minutes for the first mini-coach to train their athlete. After 15 minutes, they switched roles.

• Halfway through all of this self-directed learning/teaching. I went through the Learner Profiles of the unit: Inquirer and Knowledgeable. We determined that the mini-coach needs to be knowledgeable of the skills since they are teaching the athlete how to improve their technique. The athlete needs to inquire and ask questions on how they can improve.

• It was great to see the kids working so well with each other and taking their respective roles seriously.

• Here is a video of the kids engaging in this lesson.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Lesson 5:

• This lesson was focused on Batting/Striking by engaging in an activity called, 3-Shot. I split the class into 4 teams.

  • One team are the strikers and the other team the fielders.

  • There are 3 tees all lined on one side of the field.

  • A boundary about 5 meters from the tees is set up.

  • The fielders cannot cross that boundary once all the balls are struck.

  • Once all 3 balls are struck, the striker runs to a base (20m away) and back again as many times as possible until all the balls are returned to the tees.

  • A changeover occurs once all strikers have had a turn to bat.

  • There is no running with the ball.

• After the first innings, I gathered the kids around and went through the Learner Profile questioning.

  • ​“What does the Learner Profile of Inquirer do?”

  • “Does anyone have any questions about the activity we just did?"

• Write down relevant questions.

  • ​“What does the Learner Profile of Knowledgeable do?”

  • “Does anyone want to try and answer any of these questions?”

• We then went through 3 steps of batting:

  • ​Face the tee and ball is at the belly button

  • Dominant hand on top of non-dominant hand

  • Swing back, swing forward and follow-through.

• We went back out to play a second inning against another team.

​

Lesson 6:

• We went through the Mini-Coaching procedure again. This time it is game 2 for 3-Shot.

• Students opened up Seesaw and edited the same document they used for game 1.

• They observed their athlete and once the game was complete, handed in their work for me to approve in order for it to be posted onto their Seesaw journal.

​

Lesson 7:

• This lesson was spent practicing the skills their mini-coach deemed needed working on.

• I set up the same stations as lesson 4 and the students worked in pairs for the lesson.

• Every 10 minutes or so, I called out “Hot Lesson Batting!” Here, the class and I worked together to break down the respective skill into 3 steps.

• Afterwards, the pairs were free to work on their own skills.

​

Lesson 8:

• This lesson was focused on their running and throwing. We played a game called, “Run the Bases:

  • ​This activity is best played in a gym as if it was outside, you would probably lose quite a few dodge balls.

  • I separated the class into 4 teams.

  • Lay out 4 bases about 20 meters apart to form the diamond.

  • Allocate one team to each of the 4 bases, that is their “home”.

  • Nominate one team to be the fielders, they move to the center of the diamond.

  • The remaining 3 teams are the base runners.

  • This will then be run similar to a relay.

  • One person from each team prepares to run.

  • The next person on the team cannot run until the first person tags them.

  • The object of the game is to try and get as many points as possible within a certain time limit, usually 3-4 minutes.

  • One point is scored if all 4 bases are touched without getting hit by a dodge ball.

  • The fielders can only get the runners out if the runners are off a base and get hit by the dodgeball.

  • The runner cannot get out if they are stepping on the base.

  • To keep things fair, I laid out a smaller diamond within the large diamond to keep the fielders in that area to avoid them crowding the bases.

• After 2 teams had a turn at being the throwers, we gathered around and explored the skills needed in this game. They discovered the 2 skills being focused on and went through the steps of throwing:

  • ​Step with the opposite foot

  • Point at the target

  • Turn the body during the throw

• We went back out to finish the remaining 2 innings.

• At the end of the lesson we reviewed what was accomplished and I told the kids they will be mini-coached in the next lesson. I encouraged the kids to borrow a ball during recess so they can play/practice their throwing and catching skills.

​

Lesson 9:

• We went through the Mini-Coaching procedure again. This time it was game 3 for Run the Bases. Considering there was no batting or catching in this game, the students crossed these boxes out. This left them to observe 3 skills during the game: Throwing, Running and Teamwork.

• Students opened up Seesaw and edited the same document they used for game 1.

• They observed their athlete and once the game was complete, handed in their work for me to approve in order for it to be posted onto their Seesaw journal.

​

Lesson 10:

• This lesson was dedicated to the mini-coaches to work with their respective athletes.

• I set up 4 different stations as opposed to the previous 2 practice sessions.

• Throwing:

  • Athlete needs to throw a ball through 2 hula hoops that are lined up behind one another. The purpose is to throw hard and accurately to get it through the two hoops.

  • I then laid out 3-4 dots in front of each hula-hoop, with each dot about a meter away from the dot in front.

  • The athlete, under the instruction of their mini-coach, needed to try and throw the ball through the hula-hoop.

  • If they made it, they move further away onto the next dot.

• Catching:

  • ​The coach is practicing their throwing while the athlete is practicing their catching.

  • ​The coach stands on a dot

  • The athlete stands on a dot a meter away

  • If the catch is successful, the athlete moves back a meter to the next dot, so on and so forth.

  • If the catch is unsuccessful, the athlete moves forward.

  • I set up several sets of dots to let multiple partners practice their catching.

• Batting:

  • ​I laid out several tees facing our large gym curtain/divider.

  • The athletes, under the guidance of the mini-coach, needed to hit the ball into the curtain. We did this so there are no balls flying around the gym.

  • The difference with this is that I laid out several targets in front of the curtain.

  • The athlete can hit any target but needs to shift their feet towards that target.

• Running:

  • ​We did Tic Tac Toe shuttle runs.

  • I laid out 9 hula hoops in a 3x3 fashion.

  • The athlete and coach compete against each other in a game of tic tac toe.

  • Each student receives 3 bibs.

  • At “go!” the two sprint with 1 shirt and places it into a hula hoop.

  • They then sprint back to get their next shirt.

  • They need to try and get 3 shirts in a row with only 1 shirt allowed in 1 hula hoop.

  • If they run out of shirts, they need to run back, touch the start line and run back to the hula-hoops and move 1 shirt into another position.

  • Game ends when 3 shirts are in a row.

• Prior to letting the partnerships get to work, the mini-coach and athlete needed to know what they need to work on. Therefore, on the projector, I had Seesaw on the screen and the partners scrolled through their Seesaw journal under the Striking and Fielding folder to find their feedback form.

• Each partnership came up and told me what they were going to work on.

• I gave 15 minutes for the first mini-coach to train their athlete. After 15 minutes, they switched roles.

• Halfway through all of this self-directed learning/teaching. I went through the Learner Profiles of the unit: Inquirer and Knowledgeable. We determined that the mini-coach needs to be knowledgeable of the skills since they are teaching the athlete how to improve their technique. The athlete needs to inquire and ask questions on how they can improve.

• Here is a video of the kids engaging in this lesson.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Lesson 11:

• The kids now had a fairly solid foundation of the basic skills needed to be successful in Striking and Fielding. It was time to move onto Tee Ball.

• Most of my students never played Tee Ball, therefore we needed to take it slow and teach as we played the game.

• I split the class into 4 teams to allow for maximum participation and my teaching assistant took 2 teams and I for the other.

• We went through the various rules and how the skills we learned played a role in the new game.

• Halfway through the lesson, we gathered and discussed how learning this game and applying the new skills connects with the Central Idea.

• We switched the teams around and learned the game until the end of the lesson.

​

Lesson 12:

• Game 4 of Mini-Coaching for Tee Ball.

​

Lesson 13:

• For most of my units I want to end it with something big, may it be a performance, a competition – something that puts the unit together but in a fun and engaging way. Therefore, I wanted to do a tournament for all of grade 2.

• After receiving blessings from all of grade 2, it was good to go. I split up the 4 grade 2 classes into 2 teams and gave each team a teacher to be their coach. The PE team would be umpires for the 3 fields.

• During the day, it was great to see all of the teachers really getting into the spirit of friendly competition. One teacher had no idea how to play tee ball but learned quickly and was all in!

• Find the tournament information and draw here.

​

Lesson 14:

• This lesson was spent reflecting on the unit. The kids could choose any method they want to share their learning and areas of improvement. They could draw, write, video, keynote, any medium of their choosing. They just needed to tell me everything they learned in the unit and how they could use this new knowledge in their everyday lives.

• Here are a couple of reflections I received that were impressive. They not only shared the physical skills they learned but they went deeper by talking about active learning and personal growth.

  • Reflection 1​

  • Reflection 2

• Any questions or comments, please let me know here!