Rounders - Lesson 4

Lesson 4 of the Year 4 Rounders Striver Lesson Plans is designed to enhance the batting and bowling skills of pupils. The success criteria for this lesson are for pupils to be able to hit a moving ball and to bowl consistently to a batter. Key vocabulary includes "bowling," "batting," "bat," "underarm," and "waist height." To facilitate the lesson, equipment such as cones, tennis rackets, balls, rounders bats, hoops, and bins or boxes are required. The warm-up consists of a 'Hoop Bowling' exercise where pupils work in groups of three to practice underarm bowling through a hoop held at waist height, with one pupil acting as a backstop. This activity can be extended by introducing a batter and varying the distance between bowler and hoop to challenge the pupils further. Pupils are encouraged to discuss the meaning of terms like 'No Ball' and 'Wide' during this exercise.

The main part of the lesson, lasting 30 minutes, involves 'Group Batting' and 'Lose The Bat' activities. In 'Group Batting', pupils are divided into groups of four to practice batting and fielding with a rounders bat and tennis ball, with the option to vary the equipment and introduce scoring for hitting the ball past the fielder. The 'Lose The Bat' activity has pupils competing in two separate pitches, focusing on batting and fielding, with the objective of scoring points by running a highlighted pathway before the fielding team can return the ball. If a batter is out, their bat is removed from the game, and this continues until only one bat remains. The lesson concludes with a 'Cool Down' where pupils aim to throw a ball into a bin, with the first group to succeed being declared the winners. Pupils reflect on the skills practiced during the lesson, focusing on the key aspects of batting and bowling, and discuss how to improve their performance in these areas.