Athletics Festival

In the sixth lesson of the Year 6 Athletics Unit, students participate in an Athletics Festival designed to test and enhance their athletic abilities. The objectives for this lesson are multifaceted: students are expected to accurately reproduce athletic techniques within a competitive environment, strive for maximum performance against their peers, and demonstrate a clear understanding of the event rules and fundamental principles. To facilitate these objectives, various resources are provided, including cones, SAQ ladders, hurdles, and throwing objects such as javelins, shot puts, and balls, accompanied by a resource card detailing key concepts like acceleration, coordination, balance, and changeover techniques.

The lesson commences with a dynamic 5-minute warm-up, 'Hoop Fast Feet', where pupils engage in fast feet drills involving a variety of movements such as hopping, jumping, and speed variations to encourage light, agile footwork. Following the warm-up, the 30-minute main activity, the 'Athletics Festival', involves pupils rotating through different stations, each representing a core athletic discipline: running, jumping, and throwing. As they spend 5 minutes at each station, students work in teams to score points, with techniques demonstrated beforehand to ensure clarity. Emphasis is placed on improving speed, jumping height or length, and throwing distance, with specific attention to the technical aspects of each event. The lesson concludes with a 5-minute 'Athletics Statues' cool down, where students creatively freeze in various athletic poses upon a signal, reinforcing their knowledge of athletic events and allowing for a fun, reflective end to the session.