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Subject: Physical Education
Topic:  Tag Rugby
No. of Pupils: 25
Gender: Boys
Average Age: 15-16 years
Year: 4th years
No. of Lessons: 6 lessons
Duration of Lessons: 80 Minutes
Specific Pupil Needs:  A handful of students in this class have asthma but nothing that would prohibit them from participating in PE

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Learners Level of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes:

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Learners Level of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes:

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Prior Knowledge:

The students have participated in modules including team challenges, spike ball, basketball, gymnastics and athletics in junior cycle. They have also engaged in a HRA module in the previous five weeks. Through this they have developed a good understanding of how the body reacts to different types of exercise.

Prior Skills:

Students have developed mixed levels of FMS development in the previous scheme. These include locomotor, manipulative and stability FMS. Students have not worked well in group activities requiring skills such as communication and working with others skills.

Prior Attitudes:

They appeared far more enthusiastic when they are given the maximum amount of time to participate in activity. I will need to be creative to motivate participants and ensure they engage with the learning intentions through the activities.

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Rugby is part of the games strand under the PE syllabus. It is classified as an invasion game. The main aims of these types of games as stated by the JCPE syllabus is to improve learner’s decision making by developing their tactical awareness. Furthermore it aims to develop learners own technical proficiency thus enhancing self-esteem and sense of personal fulfilment. These qualities such as tactical awareness development and technical ability are immediately transferable to many other sports in the games strand. Therefore improving the learners in these areas can give them the confidence and skill set to participate in a number of other games.

Rugby is one of the most popular games played not only in Ireland but all over the world. There are currently over 150,000 registered players in Ireland with the numbers growing in recent years (www.irishrugby.ie). This largely due to campaigns aimed at popularising the game for children. Therefore providing learners with an opportunity to engage with the sport is certainly valid.

This tag rugby approach is hugely suited to children of this age as the focus is not on physical development or prowess. The focus instead is on running, handling, defensive and attacking skills (www.irishrugby.ie). These provide learners with the basic, essential skills needed for rugby before they begin to think about physical development. It also may give students who may fear the physical aspect of the game an opportunity to engage with it.

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Rationale for selection of instructional model - Teaching Games for Understanding

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Rationale for selection of instructional model - Teaching Games for Understanding

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This six week scheme will attempt to give students an understanding of all basic skills needed to play rugby. It will follow the TGFU approach allowing students a lot of participation in adapted games. (Griffin & Butler, 2005) state that this model has numerous benefits. These include developing student’s tactical awareness as learners witness what their decisions during game play lead to. Furthermore it has benefits in the affective domain as learners enjoy this approach more and thus are more motivated. Finally (Griffin & Butler, 2005) argue that performing skills in a competitive environment improves the learners technical execution of these skills. Therefore there are many positives to using this approach.

I do believe that this is one model
that allows me to incorporate other areas, and one such example is in this scheme, where I will aim to also make use of the cooperative learning model

"Cooperative Learning is a teaching arrangement that refers to small, heterogeneous groups of students working together to achieve a common goal" (Kagan, 1994)
"The general consensus is that cooperative learning can and usually does result in positive student outcomes in all domains (Johnson & Johnson, 1999)"
Normally we would associate Cooperative learning with activities such as team challenges it can be equally implemented and used successfully across many other PE Strands. In this tag ruby scheme, I believe cooperative learning can be
used to develop and improve the relationship between the students in this class. It will also be used to use the stronger students to help those who are struggling.

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This six week scheme will attempt to give students an understanding of all basic skills needed to play rugby. It will follow the TGFU approach allowing students a lot of participation in adapted games. (Griffin & Butler, 2005) state that this model has numerous benefits. These include developing student’s tactical awareness as learners witness what their decisions during game play lead to. Furthermore it has benefits in the affective domain as learners enjoy this approach more and thus are more motivated. Finally (Griffin & Butler, 2005) argue that performing skills in a competitive environment improves the learners technical execution of these skills. Therefore there are many positives to using this approach.

The initial lessons will focus on handling and running skills. The focus will be placed on these skills both in games and drills. As learners develop proficiency in these areas the focus will move more to tactical awareness. This will require the focus of lessons to move to attacking and defensive principles. Each lesson will begin with a recap on the previous lesson and then an explanation of learning intentions. The lesson will then move to adapted games and drills which focus on the lesson topic. The lesson will then close with a recap and checking of understanding. All lessons will take place in the PE hall. Learners will be provided with a learning wall consisting of visual aids for the main topic of the lesson. Peer learning will be encouraged through demonstrations and team games. An approach of guided discovery will be adopted especially during the weeks focused on tactical development.  The scheme will conclude with a tournament as the learners will be split into four teams.

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·  Learners become associated with the language related to tag rugby.

·  Learners complete worksheets where they must convey their knowledge.

·  Learners communicate in group work to persuade others about a tactical approach

·  Learner’s covey knowledge when questioned.

·  Learners read learning wall.

·  Learner’s link related words to defending and attacking.

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·  Learners improve spatial awareness.

·  Learners count score in the game.

·  Learners count passes in the game.

·  Learners become aware of angles when passing and running.

·  Learners become aware of width and depth when passing and running.

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Students will be visually assessed during all adapted games and drills. Furthermore they will be questioned for understanding throughout lessons. Higher and lower order questioning will be used to differentiate. This will not only take place during activities. It will take place at the end of lessons to recap on the themes covered. Furthermore it will take place at the beginning of lessons to look back over what was covered in the last lesson. This will create linkage between lessons and help students form foundations to build on. Learners will always be provided with the success criteria before any activity begins. This allows the focus to be on the learning rather than the teaching. I agree with (Weatherby-Fell, 2015) as she states that adopting this student-centred approach rather than teacher directed approach improves student cognition, motivation and engagement. Learners will also be asked to demonstrate previous skills learnt in order to display knowledge. The learners will use placemats to share what they have learnt during the lesson. This will allow me to ascertain if the learners have engaged with what the lesson targeted. Also it will allow for peers assessment when the placemats are spun to read the groups work. All of this assessment will be formative as further chances will be given to learners to correct any mistakes and display progress. Learner’s enjoyment of the lesson will be assessed by using a sheet which they must tick after every lesson. I think all of the above measures will allow me to assess learners in the psychomotor, affective and cognitive domain.

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Staying well

Learners develop skills of staying well as they develop competency and confidence in rugby. These skills they develop are transferable to many games and provide learners with the opportunity to participate in many sports with confidence. This leads to a greater chance of lifelong physical activity engagement and of course staying well.

Managing Myself

Learners develop skill of managing themselves as they increase confidence and leadership skills. These leadership skills can allow learners to become more independent in general life and make better informed decisions.

Communicating

Learners develop communication skills throughout all activities. They discuss skills and tactics with their peers. They listen to explanations and try to explain to others. They also attempt to convey the knowledge they have learnt both orally and on paper.

Working with others

Learners develop working with others skills as teams discuss tactical approaches. Learners also self-assess each other and provide constructive feedback.

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Passing a ball in tag rugby. Tag rugby skills and techniques