G5 Relationships in Team Sports through the learning lens of Football (Soccer)

I started the unit with a BIG question.... "What is Football?"

With my first class I used a big piece of butcher paper to get the students to record their understanding and knowledge of what they believe/think football is. From their answers as a class we created 5 essential questions that will be the driving force behind the direction of the unit. 

Whilst working with the class in developing the 5 essential questions, I felt some students were not getting the chance to contribute to the conversation as much as I would of liked, so...

With the second class I decided that rather than the class coming up with the 5 essential questions, I would get them working in small groups that would develop their own essential questions first and then we would agree or disagree as a whole class as to which ones would be included. Letting the students work in smaller groups helped give the more quiet or shy students a chance to contribute to the possible direction of the unit.

Some of the second classes small group essential questions:

Examining the essential questions I created with the help of the first class and using the second classes own small group essential questions we have come up with the following 5 essential questions for this unit.

What is important to note in the following 5 essential questions is that the first three questions are very much about the game itself, the skill and control required to play and understand a very basic game of football. The last two questions are the ones I personally love! The big picture questions that could be considered lifeworthy learning, the ones that are transferable across subjects and that could be used throughout their lives, whether they continue to play football or not.

1. What skills do you need to play football? The students identified: dribbling, passing, heading & shooting
2. What skills do you need to be a goalkeeper?
3. What are the rules and regulations of football?
4. What traits and dispositions do we need to develop to enable us to work and learn together, with a focus as peer learners and peer coaches?
5. What are the relationships in playing team sports? The concepts of roles, responsibilities, of space, to a team and to the opposition?

Grade 3: The Relationships Between the Effectiveness of Team Play and the Sporting Level of A Team (Football & Ethics in Sport)

Linked to: Grade 3 Questions, Puzzles, Wonderings and Statements on Ethics in Sport (Football)

The above link was created by the students of Grade 3 at the start of the unit. Now the unit is coming to an end I have chosen a couple of relevant questions (below) generated by that first exercise on ethics that hopefully the students can answer themselves.

Please note: All questions have been reproduced in the students own words.

I moved some of the answers into a table to make them easier to read! The answers below are ripe for discussion when we revisit the concept of ethics in sport next school year. Particularly when we examine the concept of relationships in team sports.

Click to enlarge

Grade 3 Reflection on "What Do You Notice?"

In response to the "What do you notice?" exercise at the beginning of the unit: Grade 3 - What Do You Notice? The students of G3 reexamined the photos and post it notes that they added to the board  at the start of the unit. Now the unit is drawing to a close they have the opportunity to go back, reflect and reposition the post it notes if they think they are in the wrong category.

Reflection - I Used to Think/Now I Think: Grade 3 Football

A Reflection on Team Play in Football by G3 (Relationships)

Enduring Understanding: The Relationship between the Effectiveness of Team Play and the Sporting Level of a Team

Grade 3 Reflection on "What Do You Notice?"

In response to the "What do you notice?" exercise at the beginning of the unit: Grade 3 - What Do You Notice? The students of G3 reexamined the photos and post it notes that they added to the board  at the start of the unit. Now the unit is drawing to a close they have the opportunity to go back, reflect and reposition the post it notes if they think they are in the wrong category.

Reflection - I Used to Think/Now I Think: Grade 3 Football

A Reflection on Team Play in Football by G3 (Relationships)

Enduring Understanding: The Relationship between the Effectiveness of Team Play and the Sporting Level of a Team

Reflection - I Used to Think/Now I Think: Grade 3 Football

A Reflection on Team Play in Football by G3 (Relationships)

Enduring Understanding: The Relationship between the Effectiveness of Team Play and the Sporting Level of a Team

Grade 3 Reflection on "What Do You Notice?"

In response to the "What do you notice?" exercise at the beginning of the unit: Grade 3 - What Do You Notice? The students of G3 reexamined the photos and post it notes that they added to the board  at the start of the unit. Now the unit is drawing to a close they have the opportunity to go back, reflect and reposition the post it notes if they think they are in the wrong category.

Grade 3 Questions, Puzzles, Wonderings and Statements on Ethics in Sport (Football)

To help start the debate, example questions that were given included:

"Is winning everything? Or does everyone deserve a trophy?"

"It's only cheating if you get caught?"

Grade 3 - What Do You Notice?

To help the Grade 3's recognize some of their bad habits/gaps in knowledge of the game of football, I let them play giving them very little instruction apart from the basic rules, and took photos.

"What do you notice" gives the students the opportunity to reflect on their own game and the way they play with their peers, and it lets them comment on what is happening in the photos, both positive and negative.

I then split the comments into three areas, agree, disagree and ?

This exercise also gives direction to the unit;  hopefully filling in the gaps of their knowledge, particularly their understanding of team play, roles and responsibilities and sportpersonship.

Towards the end of the unit we will revisit the notice board and reflect on the three categories.

Grade 3: Exploring the Role of Ethics in Sport Through the Lens of Football

Exploring the Role of Ethics in Sport