The rain continued to hammer down outside and younger children were using the hall, so Year 5 did a different kind of PE lesson this week. Their challenge was to think and discuss what makes a good team, one that can face challenges, successes and failures. They had to look into what skills and attributes players in particular positions needed to contribute best for their role. Today we focused on football but this is a really good activity for all team sports. It really helps the children to see that it is often our differences that make us stronger as a collective.
Once they’d decided in their team the skills for each position they then had to allocate animals as each team player. Some children kept it simple having all their defenders as the same animal, monkeys for defenders and elephants as midfielders, their explanation was that they would work as a tight group because they were all the same. Others went for a variety. One team had a very impressive defensive line, two male kangaroos and two gorillas. Cheetahs were a popular choice for forwards and chimps for midfielders as they were fast, aggressive but intelligent. One team even had an octopus that moved around the pitch in its own pool of water but was great at getting the ball because of all its legs.
