Year 5-8 - Lesson 1 - Run
A detailed 1 hour lesson plan for Year 5-8 students to understand and practice the basics of running in the field of athletics.
Lesson Overview
Key Objectives
- Ensure that all students understand the safety protocols before beginning the lesson.
- Plan for the duration of the lesson, including warm-up activities, instruction, and practice activities.
- Encourage students to practice proper running techniques, such as good posture and foot placement.
- Ensure that each student gets a chance to practice and receive feedback.
- Encourage students to stay active and engaged throughout the lesson.
- Provide opportunities for students to ask questions and offer feedback.
- Ensure that all students are aware of the cool-down activities at the end of the lesson.
- Running shoes and appropriate clothing for students.
- Track or field for running.
- Stopwatch or timer.
- Markers or cones for running drills.
- Stretching mats or yoga mats.
- Music for warm-up and cool-down activities.
Athletics (Run) - Can you Sprint like?
Cone off a large enough area for students to be able to run around in. This game is designed as both a warm up to prepare for sprinting and to get the students thinking about the correct technique needed for sprinting. Ask the students to run / sprint around in a number of various ways as follows: 1. Running on their heels 2. Running on their tippy toes 3. Running with their foot flat (stomping) 4. Running on the balls of their feet - this is the correct sprinting technique Ask the students which of the above techniques they think is correct for sprinting and why? 5. Running with their arms by their sides 6. Running with their arms like an aeroplane 7. Running with their arms moving across their body like a washing machine 8. Running with their arms moving from their nose to their hip ("pick your nose, put it in your pocket"). This is the correct sprinting technique. Ask the students which of the above techniques they think is correct for sprinting and why?
Modifications
Add in different variations of movement.
Athletics (Run) - Sprinting
Line students up in 8 (or less) lanes with the remaining students lined up behind each lane. Lanes can be marked on the grass or cones may be used to show the lanes. The first group of students will sprint to the finish line and then walk around the outside of the lanes and back to the start line. The second group will then sprint and so on. Each time a group sprints change the focus. Sprint 1: focus on arm technique (pick your nose / cheek to cheek) Sprint 2: focus on feet (balls of feet) Sprint 3: eyes looking forward, not slowing down for finish line (imagine it is 2-3m past the actual finish line) Sprint 4: starting technique – “take your marks” (student steps up to the line and place their feet one in front of the other, once placed on the ground the students are no longer allowed to move their feet), “set” (arms ready with opposite arm forward to their foot, bend knees to lower their centre), “go” or “clap” (students push off their front foot as they swing their back foot forward).
Athletics (Run) - Donkeys and Dragons
Students pair up with one partner standing approximately 2m behind. The aim of the game is for the back person to try and tag the front person trying to improve their reaction time. On "take your marks" both students step up to their mark, "Set" both students bend their legs to lower their centre and have their opposite arm forward to their leg, "Go" both students push off their front foot. When the students come back to the start line they swap roles.