Gymnastics Key Stage 1

Children need to be able to hold and support their body weight with small body parts. They can use apparatus to support gymnastic skills at different levels whilst holding and receiving their own body weight.

To extend the use of balances you can:• Move supporting body parts further away from each other• Use less supporting body parts• Stretch, extend and elevate unused body parts• Stretch and extend supporting body parts

Spread mats around the room. Children travel around the room avoiding contact with other children and without touching the mats.

Ask children to perform a balance with their hands touching a mat and other body parts touching the floor.

Children can use their hands to travel across the mat but their feet must stay on the floor.

Encourage children to change their balance each time they visit a mat.

Children travel low in and out of the mats. When a mat becomes available children must travel in a small or springy motion.

Ask children to hold their balance still and stretched for 5 seconds before looking for a new mat.

Children work with a partner to create a balance on the mat. Only 1 body part can touch the mat for each balance. Teacher to change the body part regularly.

Learning Objective:

To support their body weight on hands when creating balancesTo hold a balance still

Encourage the children to stretch supporting and unused body parts and keep them still for 5 seconds.

Challenge children to exit apparatus taking weight onto their arms

Encourage children to keep changing the body part that touches the floor for each balance.

Challenge children to create their shapes with their bodies going through or under apparatus.

Set out apparatus and mats. Children can pass under, over and through with the aid of one body part.

Ask children to create a 5 second balance touching the floor and apparatus.

Ask children to create different ways to travel over the apparatus with a pushing or pulling motion.

Encourage children to think of different ways to enter and exit apparatus.

Learning Objective:

To create different ways to travel on apparatus using a pushing or pulling motion

Stretching, tucking and sinking are all flowing movements that should be performed with good body control. They can be performed as a small sequence together. Gymnastics skills can be performed together by using stretching, tucking and sinking. They can also be used to support changing levels within a gymnastic sequence.

To extend the use of stretching, tucking and sinking you can:• Move supporting body parts further away from each other• Use less supporting body parts• Stretch, extend and elevate unused body parts• Stretch and extend supporting body parts• Maintain flowing motion throughout

Children start by travelling around the room changing directions to avoid contact with other children.

Ask children to find as many places to show a stretched shape for five seconds.

Children can now create different ways to travel along the apparatus. Encourage children to change their apparatus if it becomes busy with other children.

Encourage children to use different body parts to travel on.

Challenge children to be mobile when completing their slow sink into a tuck.

Children must change the way they travel every ten steps or slides.

Ask children to create a high travel for ten steps then a low travel for ten steps.

Challenge children to include gymnastic skills during their travelling. Example, when sinking introduce spins and twists, add jumps to a high way of travelling. Children could even start or finish their travel in a balance.

Children create a high travel for ten steps, using a further ten steps children gradually sink down low before completing their low way of travelling for ten steps. Children can also use a extra ten steps to slowly rise to their feet.

Set out low apparatus and mats. Children explore the apparatus without touching them. Encourage children to go under, over, through and around the apparatus.

After holding their stretched shape can children slowly sink into a tucked position for five seconds.

In pairs children take turns to create a stretched shape big enough for their partner to create a tucked shape underneath. Stretched shapes should be touching the floor and the apparatus.

Encourage children to interlock their bodes when creating shapes.

Learning Objective:

To use different body parts to travel onTo create shapes and tucked position

A spring can be used in combination with a variety of gymnastic skills or in isolation. Springs can inject pace or link gymnastic skills together. Completing a spring requires good strength, balance and coordination.

To extend the use of a spring you can:• Combine jumps together• Legs astride• Use a change of direction inbetween jumps.

Children work in pairs to create as many different ways to travel using jumps.

Encourage children to use their jumping/bouncing ideas from earlier in the lesson to travel on the floor to their next piece of apparatus.

Children can now combine both springs to create a larger sequence. Example, ten jumps/bounces into a jump with a shape then ten jumps/bounces into a jump with a turn.

Ask children to create different ways to enter and exit the apparatus.

Ask children to travel along the apparatus using the jumps and bounces from earlier in the lesson.

Challenge children to safely jump off the apparatus and immediately spring back onto the same piece of apparatus using a different jump technique.

Allow time for practise before discussing as a group. After discussing ideas children should now have some more ideas to put into practice.

Children now create small sequences travelling side by side with their partner. After ten small jumps/bounces children must spring up into a jump with a shape.

Ask children to spring up into a jump with a turn.

With their partners, challenge children to create ideas travelling with their hands on the floor with the inclusion of jumps/bounces.

Set out low pieces of apparatus and mats. Children explore different ways to travel under, over and through apparatus.

Challenge children to jump off a piece of apparatus and spring onto a new piece of apparatus using a different jump technique. Children may need to add an extra bounce to reach their next piece of apparatus.

Challenge children to land as quiet as possible bending knees on landing.

Learning Objective:

To create a sequence using jumps and bouncesTo find different ways to enter and exit apparatus

A bridge can be achieved by placing hands and feet on the floor. Ideally legs and shoulders should be straight with their belly facing upwards. Children are expected to create different styles of bridges by replacing and changing supporting body parts.

To extend the use of a bridge you can:• Move supporting body parts further away from each other• Use less supporting body parts• Stretch, extend and elevate unused body parts• Stretch and extend supporting body parts• Change the supporting body parts• Arch an stretch the core of the body

Place benches and low apparatus in spaces around the room. Children must travel around the room avoiding contact with other children and apparatus.

Children now work with a partner to create bridges using apparatus. The child creating the bridge must touch the apparatus whilst keeping at least one body part touching the floor.

Encourage children to travel under, over and through with knees and ankles together.

Discus different ways to travel. Children must change the way they are travelling on the teacher’s signal.

Children now work in a space in groups of 3. Without using the apparatus children create bridges for their partners to travel under.

Show ideas to the class. Encourage groups to give feedback explaining why they like the bridges on show. This is a good time to explain the importance of straightening unused body parts and keeping bridges still with good support.

Challenge children to create ways to travel through bridges whilst keeping knees and ankles together.

Ask children to create different ways to travel under the bridges.

In their groups children select a bridge each. Groups travel around the room in a bridge shape. After ten steps children must change their bridge. When all three bridges have been created children must restart their small sequence.

Children now work individually exploring different ways to travel under, over and through apparatus.

Encourage children to travel under, over and through with wide bodies.

Remind children to create different ways to travel under the bridge.

Spread out bridge resource cards. Challenge children to recreate the picture shown on the card for their partner to pass under.

Learning Objective:

To find different ways to travel under, over and through apparatusTo travel in different directions when using apparatus

Points (smaller body parts) and patches (larger body parts) are used a lot when balancing.Points include feet, hands and knees and patches include back, bottom and belly. Children should not be asked to hold a balance, using points and patches, for longer than a few seconds.Apparatus can be used to allow children to balance in different ways and using different body parts.

To extend the use of balances, using points and patches, you can:• Move supporting body parts further away from each other• Use less supporting body parts• Stretch, extend and elevate unused body parts• Stretch and extend supporting body parts

Begin by asking the children to move around on 4 body parts, change to 3 body parts, 2 body parts and then 1.

Children now work in pairs and must take turns to create a balance and mirror their partners balance.

Encourage children to stretch and elevate any unused body parts.

Challenge children to create as many different balances before moving to the next resource card.

Spread points and patches cards around the room. Children work individually finding free resource cards to make their shape. Children must hold their balance for 5 seconds before finding a new card.

Encourage children to stretch the body part that supports their balance.

Ask children to demonstrate good ideas to the rest of the class.

Split the children into small groups and give each group some point and patches resource cards to practice with.

Encourage children to use a different way of travelling when each number is revisited.

Explain points and patches to the class. Give children examples of shapes with just points, just patches and then shapes that include points and patches. The picture shows a balance using three small body parts to support a balance

Working in pairs children visit a card and must each create a different balance using the same resource card.

Learning Objective:

To create different balances using small and large body partsTo work collaboratively to create and mirror balances

Children can now work in pairs to create and mirror the points and patches using the resource cards. This can be created on the floor or using apparatus.

Place resource cards on the floor next to the apparatus. Children must create their points and patches balance using the floor and apparatus.

Encourage children to change the way they travel each time they pass through, over, under or along.

Ask children to create as many different balances using the resource card before looking for a new card.

Set out low apparatus and mats. Children explore the apparatus travelling under, over, through and along.

Keeping knees and ankles together helps to show good body tension when travelling under, over and through apparatus. Showing good body control will help children start and finish their gymnastic skills with accuracy and posture

To extend the use of control you can:• Change the supporting body part when travelling• Travel over apparatus slowly with a soft quiet landing• Finish gymnastic skill with knees and ankles together

Encourage children to change the way they travel under and over their partners.

Lay mats in random spaces around the room. Children start by moving around the room without touching the mats. Encourage children to travel with soft touches on the floor and change direction frequently without touching the mats or any other child.

Highlight good work by asking selected children to demonstrate to the class.

Children can now travel across the mats. Children must select a different body part to travel on each time they cross a mat.

Ask children to explore different ways to travel across the mat with knees and ankles together.

Remind children to keep good posture with head up and toes pointed.

In pairs ask children to create as many different ways to travel under or over their partner whilst keeping their knees and ankles together.

Encourage pairs to change the shape of the child they are travelling under or over.

Set out low apparatus and mats. Children explore the apparatus travelling under, over, through and around.

Ask children explore the apparatus traveling under, over, through with their knees and ankles together.

Children can now travel along the apparatus. Children must find a space and create a balance with knees and ankles together before leaving the apparatus.

Challenge children to create their balances under and through the apparatus.

Learning Objective:

To travel under or over apparatus with knees and ankles togetherTo create a balance with knees and ankles together

Gymnastics

Assessment and expectations

Show a variety of gymnastic skills with improving body control.Perform skills and sequences with the inclusion of different levels.

Can use a variety of transitions to link skills together.Create small sequences with a partner.

Can follow and create small and large pathways.

Meets these expectations

Expected

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EmergingExceeding

Assessment and expectations

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