tgfu Unit plans for invasion games
Here are my lesson by lesson plans for middle school TGfU invasion games (soccer, lacrosse, hockey, broomball, etc). These are resources that I have been using for years, but I have narrowed these down to the best of the best that transition, build, and work together well. Check them out and let me know what you think!
day #1 Activities
|
Dribble and chaseDribble and chase is a great introductory activity to teach students how to dribble and maintain possession on the object. This activity really challenges the student that is dribbling and help them improve their dribbling technique while playing a game at a very high level. This activity also begins to layer in defensive tactics. The defender has a major advantage in these early stages of the unit and it helps build their competence in defending the ball and taking it away. Partners will challenge someone at their ability level and that will help both of their skills improve, while having fun!
|
pass and moveHere is a very basic TGfU activity that allows passers and receivers working on their passing and receiving techniques. Along with that, the receiver has the ability to practice the offensive tactic of creating open space and moving into it. This activity challenges the passers and receivers to begin making and receiving passes in a fast moving situation but allows for the freedom of not having anyone playing defense yet.
|
|
|
pass, move & 1 vs 1This activity takes passing and moving to the next level. Pairs continue refining their technique of using different passes, passing to open space, creating, and moving to open space. Now, it also brings in some offensive and defensive tactics while playing 1 vs 1. All students in class are engaged and actively participating in the game and because of this it will allow their game play to improve quickly. Now the offensive player works on maintaining possession of the ball and making decisions on when to shoot. The defensive player is focused on taking the ball away, or playing on the ball defense. Students are active, having fun, and learning how to successfully play the invasion game.
|
2 vs 2 to a cone goalThis activity adds to the complexity of the games. Now a partner groups finds another group to play against (it usually works out where ability groups partner up and really work hard to improve their skills) and they begin playing a modified small sided game to improve their skills and strategies. This activity now has 4 different focuses. Students continuing to practice on the ball on offense and off the ball on offense along with on the ball defense and off the ball defense. In this activity, each student gets many different touches on the object, and they get a lot of time to focus on making decisions on both the offensive and defensive side of the object.
|
|
day #2 Activities
|
2 vs 2 to a cone goalI'll use this activity again at the start of the day as an instant activity for when my students enter the gym. They remember how to play and they can get right into it. It's a great way to get them in the gym and use the most of your physical education minutes. This is a fabulous time to talk to groups and question what they know as well.
|
3 vs 1 - KeepawayThis activity is a great transition from the instant activity, so you will have very little downtime or transition time in between your activities. I enjoy using this activity, because it overloads the offense so they can be continue to practice the passing and receiving technique. They are more successful, because there are more offensive players so the defense has a harder time putting pressure on the offense. This also makes the defensive player work even harder now to make decisions. They have to quickly decide to defend the ball or the player receiving a pass. These constant decisions help them become a better defender when you get to larger games.
|
|
|
3 vs 1 to a cone goalThis activity take the last one to a new level. You still have everything that you want to continue to improve on from the 3 vs 1 game, but now it gives the offense a goal. You can set a pass limit that the offense must reach before they score (ex. 5 passes completed and a goal is worth 1 or 10 passes completed and the goal is worth 2, etc. This also helps the defense step up their game, because no one wants to get scored on. You might have to remind students not to play "goalie" they must defend the ball or steal a pass.
|
2 vs 2 to 2 cone goalsBack to a game of 2 vs 2, but this time the complexity increases by having a goal to attack and a different goal to defend. This game now starts to feel like an invasion game, but the students are ready because of all their technical and tactical practice leading up to this point. Now many more offensive and defensive decisions will have to be made by all players. Again, because this game is so small everyone is actively participating by developing their techniques and tactics in a game!
|
|
day #3 Activities
|
2 v 2 with 2 cone goalsI'll use this activity again at the start of the day as an instant activity for when my students enter the gym. They remember how to play and they can get right into it. It's a great way to get them in the gym and use the most of your physical education minutes. This is a fabulous time to talk to groups and question what they know as well.
|
4 v 4 with goalies and goalsAnother smooth transition to team of 4. Your team of 2 v 2 will find another team of 2 vs 2 to play this game. This activity is now introducing goals and goalies and allows students to begin practicing and playing these positions. It also gives their team more players on the playing field so they can have people starting to play a specific position. This is a gradual change to the next level of play, but still keeps teams small and active participation high.
|
|
|
2 v 1 with a goalie - "the power play"This activity makes for a smooth transition and a fun way to challenge the offensive players with how many goals can you score in 1 minute. Set up a "Power Play" where the offense is overloaded and the defense has to work extra hard to stop the offense from scoring. Creating situations like this brings the focus back on maintaining possession of the ball, deciding when to dribble, when to pass, and moving to open space. This also gives the defender many chances to make decisions on when to take the player with the object and when to stop the target from getting the object.
|
4 v 4 with goalies and goalsWith the game, practice, game format, this 4 vs 4 activity is great to go back to. Students can have a minute or two to share what they learned from the previous two activity and apply some of it into a game. I like to mix up what teams are playing against another before we start this round. This gives the teams a good chance to see other competition and see how they are doing against them.
|
|
day #4 Activities
|
3 vs 3 with 2 cone goalsThis activity brings back a game that the student already know, but the only thing that changes is is that there is one more player per team. I will have these cones set up along with goals for other activities. This makes for a smooth transition between activities. Again, when the students arrive at the gym, get them playing as soon as you can.
|
4 vs 2 OverloadThis activity makes another smooth transition from the last. Now you take a player from each team and make them all time offensive players, with whatever team has possession of the object. This is another overload game, so it will bring the focus back to using the offensive skills and strategies along with making the defenders make quick decisions while in a small sided game. Have the all time offensive players play for 3-5 minutes and then have them choose 1 player from each team to be an all time offense for the next round. Have 2 pinnies ready for each game, so teammates can see who the all time offensive players are. Have fun and then they will be ready for larger games.
|
|
larger scale games 5 v 5 or 6 v 6 depending on class sizes
At this point in time, I feel like it's time to break down into 4 teams and start a mini tournament. My classes are small enough to keep the number on a team in the 5-6 range, so I feel comfortable with creating two fields and four teams. This way everyone plays, referees their own games (I am always watching as well), and enjoys their growth and successes of their hard work leading up to this point. Feel free to create more teams, have student referees, student peer assessors, or even a self reflection station for students that are not involved in the activity. You will be amazed to see the student growth after a TGfU unit. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.