Gymnastics is one of the few sports on the curriculum that is aesthetic and thus, ideal for performance. Through the development of the strand and the final performance, it is hoped that the confidence and self-efficacy of the students will improve.

As the students are in first year in secondary school, the pair grouping and routine development aspects of the gymnastics strand will be beneficial in their development of their friendships with their peers.

Aspects from the the sport education model will be incorporated into this unit of work.
 
Students will undertake role of responsibility, as seen in the sport education model. Students will take on roles such as coaches, judges, recorders, performers, costume designers and choreographers within their groups, and they will be responsible for the development, enhancement, design and performance of gymnastics routines. The unit of work will culminate with a competition at the end of the unit of work. The sport education model will give the students the opportunity to take part in a realistic context (Luttrell & Chambers, 2013), where not all students will physically be able to excel at each skill, but all students will be able to be involved in each lesson. Through incorporating this model, it is hoped that participation levels will improve, that students will have the opportunity to identify good and poor practice and will develop socially through their involvement in the team structure. A major goal within the sport education model is to become competent in an activity but also to enjoy that activity and to gain confidence (Seidentop, Hastie, Van der Mars, 2011). 

The sport education model will also provide a greater scope for inclusion in a unit of work such as gymnastics where students with a physical disability may have found it more difficult to participate in the past. In the context of the class, this will allow a student with a physical disability to be full involved in the classroom, through the roles of coach, encourager, choreographer and judge. The students will be assessed through self and peer assessment, as well as through teacher observation of participation levels and skill acquisition.

Hoeger, W. & Hoeger, S. (2009). Principles and labs for fitness and wellness. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Hofstetter, A.B. (2007). Olympic gymnastics. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.
Luttrell, S. & Chambers, F.C. (2013) Pathways for Teacher Implementation - Senior Cycle Physical Education Curriculum and Instructional Models. Dublin: e-print.ie.

Mitchell, D., Davis, B. & Lopez, R. (2002). Teaching fundamental gymnastic skills. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Seidentop, D., Hastie, P.A., Van der Mars, H. (2011). Complete guide to sport education. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.