During term 3, I put together three linked lessons in PE that centered around rugby ball skills to fit in with our RWC topic:
Rationale:
The movement concepts and motor skills unit of work falls under the physical education strand and encompasses the taha tinana aspect of Hauora, or well-being. This should be taught in conjunction with the other 3 aspects of Hauora, as this is “necessary for strength and symmetry” (Ministry of Education, 1999).
I chose to focus on a rugby context for these three linked lessons, as it integrates with the class topic of the Rugby World Cup. I realised that the children may be talking about rugby in their day-to-day lives, but many have not experienced physically handling a rugby ball. As an extension to this social studies topic, I thought it would be beneficial for the students to explore some of the movements used in playing rugby as well as gain experience in using some of these basic movements in adapted games using a rugby ball. To take more of the explored movements further (that would be very difficult for year 2’s to emulate in rugby activities), the class used chosen movements in a group dance routine to a New Zealand song made purposefully for children for the RWC. One purpose of this rugby inspired unit is for “students [to] gain an understanding that movement is integral to human expression and that it can contribute to people’s pleasure and enhance their lives.” (Ministry of Education, 2007).
I have used extensive questioning throughout this unit to engage students to think deeply about the movements used within this context so that they are aware of them and can start to utilise some of these into their activities. The specific language of movement and the experience gained by the students from this unit has taught students how to understand, appreciate and move their bodies in new ways, to relate positively to others in a different kind of situation as well as demonstrate constructive attitudes and values (Ministry of Education, 2007). As rugby is our national sport and is highly valued in many of our communities that the students live in, this unit also “enables students to understand the role and significance of physical activity for individuals and society.” (Ministry of Education, 2007).
At the start of each lesson, I will explicitly explain the learning outcome as a WALT to the children, in a way that will make sense to them. “Research shows that students are more motivated and task orientated if they know the learning intentions of the tasks being undertaken (Child Development Foundation, 2002).
To link Te Ao Maori into the unit, I will visually display the two concepts of Kaitiaki and Pumanawa on the wall and explain these concepts to the children before we start the first lesson. For each lesson we go outside and use the equipments I will allocate the responsibility to get out and put away the equipment to one or two children who I know are sensible. Each child however, needs to respect and look after the equipment and use it safely while we are playing the activities. I will also recognise the children that have strengths in this area (some children may have already had experience with playing rugby). These students can be paired with those who may not have had as much experience, and can be the ‘experts’ in the class.
