Fly: Move and Adapt

Overview

Term 3, Week 4: a 60-minute outdoor practical lesson for 25 Year 7 students. Students learn and adapt the traditional Australian game Fly, transferring stepping, running and jumping skills while applying strategies to solve progressively more difficult movement challenges. The lesson builds on prior work with locomotor skills, safe movement and cooperative participation.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• recognise and use controlled stepping, running and jumping skills in a movement sequence
• identify and apply strategies for managing changing spaces and distances
• transfer movement skills and concepts to a dynamic game environment
• communicate respectfully, manage risk and encourage others during physical activity

Success criteria

• I can move through a sequence of spaces with control and safe foot placement.
• I can adjust my speed, stride, take-off and landing when the challenge changes.
• I can explain and apply a strategy that helps me or my group solve the movement challenge.
• I can follow agreed safety rules and include others respectfully.

Curriculum links

• PHLS-MSS-01: Students recognise and develop movement skills in physical activity or sport.
• PHLS-MSS-02: Students identify and apply strategies to solve movement challenges.
• PH4-MSS-01: Students transfer movement skills and concepts for use in a range of dynamic movement environments.
• PH4-MSS-02: Students demonstrate how strategies and actions can be transferred to solve movement challenges.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and cultural context. Teacher displays the learning intention and explains that Fly, also called sticks, has Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal childhood memories across Australia, with rules varying between communities and locations; it is not presented as one fixed version. Open with the Fly introduction and cultural context slides. Students listen, identify respectful participation behaviours and share what might make a game change when played in a different place.

2. 5–12 min · Safety briefing and warm-up. Teacher establishes boundaries, demonstrates safe spacing and explains that soft foam markers or low-profile cones replace collected sticks; students must stop on the signal, wait behind the line and never run across another lane. Students complete light jogging, side steps, high-knee walks, ankle rolls, dynamic lunges and controlled two-foot landings, then practise moving on a call of “stop”. Check footwear, surface, weather, asthma plans and any individual adjustments before starting.

3. 12–20 min · Explain and model Fly. Teacher explains that players move through a line of approximately seven markers, placing one foot in each space without touching a marker, then the final player (“Fly”) runs through and jumps beyond the last marker. The marker is then moved to the landing point, making the spaces progressively more challenging. Explain that this class version uses inclusive adaptations: no player is eliminated, a missed attempt becomes useful feedback, and the group may reset or shorten the course. Students watch a demonstration and identify safe take-off, balanced landing and an appropriate pace. Ask: “What changes as the spaces get wider?” and “How could you adjust without rushing?”

4. 20–32 min · Progressive skill teaching. Teacher divides the class into five groups of five and sets up one lane per group. Begin with wide, even spaces and have students practise walking, then jogging, through the markers; progress to a controlled leap over a foam marker. Students rotate roles as mover, caller, safety observer, encourager and equipment manager. Observers use the cues “eyes forward, one foot per space, controlled landing”. Teacher provides immediate feedback and watches for safe movement, confidence and understanding. Open the skill cues and progressive practice slides when groups change levels.

5. 32–48 min · Modified small-group gameplay. Teacher starts each group with a safe course and explains that the group chooses when to increase one challenge: spacing, approach speed, take-off distance or movement pattern. The “Fly” moves the final marker only to a safe, agreed landing point; the group can negotiate a reset. Students take turns, encourage each other and test a strategy such as shortening the approach, using a steady rhythm, looking ahead or taking a longer run-up. No racing between groups and no player is out. Ask: “Which strategy worked, and why?” “How did you transfer the practice skill into the game?” and “How can the challenge be made fair for everyone?”

6. 48–55 min · Challenge and reflection circle. Teacher invites groups to alter their course to create a solvable challenge, then checks that the change remains safe and achievable. Students attempt the course, describe one adjustment and give specific peer feedback using “I noticed…” or “Next time, try…”. Students with limited mobility may use a marked walking pathway, reduced distances or a supported two-foot jump; success is measured through control, decision-making and participation rather than distance.

7. 55–60 min · Cool-down and exit ticket. Teacher leads slow walking, breathing and lower-limb stretches, then revisits the learning intention. Distribute the Fly movement reflection and exit ticket. Students record one skill they used, one strategy that solved a challenge, one safety action and one respectful way they included someone. Collect responses as they leave.

Resources

• Foam markers or low-profile cones, approximately seven per lane
• Five outdoor playing lanes with boundary cones
• Measuring tape or floor markers
• Whistle or agreed stop signal
• Teacher device and the Fly practical instruction deck
• the Fly movement reflection and exit ticket
• First-aid kit, water access and student medical information
• High-visibility equipment-management markers or bibs

Assessment

• During practice, observe one-foot placement, rhythm, controlled take-off and landing, safe spacing and willingness to adjust.
• Question groups during gameplay to assess whether students can identify a movement challenge and justify a strategy.
• Use peer feedback and the exit ticket to check transfer of skills, problem-solving, safety and respectful participation.

Differentiation

• Support students with wider marker spacing, walking trials, visual demonstrations, rhythm counts, a shorter course and repeated attempts without penalty.
• Offer mobility adaptations including a walking or wheeling pathway, seated or supported reach-and-place option, reduced jumping distance and a peer safety partner.
• Extend confident students by asking them to design a fair variation using one changed constraint, explain its safety controls and coach a peer.
• Support EAL/D learners with gesture-based modelling, the cues “look, step, land, adjust” and sentence starters: “Our challenge was…”, “We changed…” and “This worked because…”.

Extension

• Students teach a safe, modified version of Fly to a family member or another class, explaining that rules can vary between communities and locations.
• Students record or discuss how a strategy from Fly could transfer to another activity involving changing spaces, such as long jump, obstacle courses or invasion games.