Gymnastics 3 - Lesson 1

The first lesson in the Year 6 Gymnastics (3) series is designed to teach students how to combine balancing and travelling to create a cohesive floor routine. The lesson's objectives are clear: students should be able to execute point balances with precision, integrate balances with shapes, and link these skills together to form a routine. The key vocabulary for this session includes terms such as travelling, balancing, routine, shape, and linking, all of which are crucial for students' understanding of gymnastics. To facilitate the lesson, mats are the primary equipment needed. The warm-up activity involves a plank test, where students partner up and compete to hold the plank position the longest, with winners and losers moving to different sides of the mat and continuing the challenge with new partners. This activity not only energizes the students but also emphasizes the importance of a tense core and straight body for effective balancing.

During the main 30-minute portion of the lesson, students practice perfecting their balances on mats divided into four sections. In these sections, they work on patch balances using different body parts, point balances with varying numbers of contact points, holding shapes in seated and standing positions, and linking three chosen balances with shapes to create a short routine. Students are encouraged to focus on pointed extremities and smooth transitions. The lesson culminates with students creating a 50-second floor routine that incorporates various travels and balances, each with a different number of points or patches. This exercise helps students understand the dynamics of a gymnastics routine and the importance of control and concentration. The lesson ends with a cool-down activity called the caterpillar walk, which allows the students to reflect on what they enjoyed about the lesson and how they might improve their routines with more time.