Lab 16: Lesson Planning Through the Four Stages of Game Play

1.      Observe elementary students in a formal or informal play setting as they play any sport such as basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, etc. Utilize the four stages of game play to carefully determine what stage represents their level of play. Provide a brief written description of their skill level and stage of play. Write three to five recommendations for steps that could be taken to improve their level of play.

The 2^nd grade class at St. Mary’s learned the dribbling skill for floor hockey this past week. This was the introductory lesson to the unit. Mr. Mack felt it was vital to their development when learning the game of floor hockey to have students be able to control the ball and be able to keep it close to them when moving around during play. The dribbling skills demonstrated by the students are a representation of the first stage of game play which is individually controlling of an object. These drills consisted of dribbling a ball throughout the gymnasium while keeping the ball no more than a foot away from them. Another drill was having the students weave in and out of cones down to one side of the gymnasium and then back again the other way. The students had trouble controlling the ball during the first couple of minutes but seemed to catch on half way into the lesson. Most of the problems were due to hand eye coordination and gripping of the stick when dribbling the ball.

      These different individual skilled drills were successful exercises in the beginning of the four stages of game play. The continuing practice of these drills and additional modification could help students improve their level of play. These steps can include inserting relay partners when dribbling around the cones to begin the idea of using teamwork and an introduction to dribbling and passing. Another step can involve dribbling a larger ball in one place instead of moving to different areas that will help concentrate on hand eye coordination and gripping the stick without having to concentrate on moving around. A third step that could be taken to improve student’s level of play can be adding defenders to create a keep away situation.