Introduction to Balance

Learning Intention

We are learning to participate in gymnastics activities that help us practice and improve our balance skills.

Success Criteria

I can:

• Hold basic balance positions with stillness and control.
• Move between balances using basic locomotor movements.

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Victorian Curriculum Links

Physical Education - Movement and Physical Activity

• ACHPEM086: Refine fundamental movement skills and apply them in a range of movement situations (including balancing and locomotor skills).
• ACHPEM087: Explore body awareness, control and coordination in a variety of physical activities.
• Emphasis on safety, control, balance, and stability when performing gymnastics and basic movement skills.

This lesson aligns specifically with development of stability skills—balancing and transitioning between poses—and locomotor skills as outlined in the Victorian Curriculum for Years 3-4 Health and Physical Education curriculum.

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Resources Needed

• Gym mats for safe practice
• Balance beams or taped lines on the floor to simulate beams
• Hoops for passing exercises
• Music player for Just Dance activity
• Space large enough to accommodate 45 students in rotation stations
• Stopwatch or timer

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Lesson Breakdown (60 minutes)

1. Warm-Up Game: Support Tiggy (10 minutes)

• Description: Students play tag but when tagged they must hold a support balance position (e.g., front support/plank or back support/bridge) to be “safe”.
• Purpose: Engages students immediately, warms up the muscles, introduces support positions in a playful context, builds awareness of balance.
• Teacher notes: Emphasise safety when moving and holding poses; encourage control and stillness in balances to “escape” tag safely.
• Group organisation: Whole class in open space.

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2. Explicit Teaching: Introduction to Balance (10 minutes)

• Gather students sitting or standing in a semicircle.
• Explain importance of balance in gymnastics for control, safety, and successful movement.
• Demonstrate front support (plank position: hands and feet on floor, body straight) and back support (bridge or tabletop position: hands and feet or hands and shoulders with hips lifted).
• Highlight key teaching points: stillness, tight core, even weight distribution, head alignment.
• Allow students brief practice holding each position with teacher feedback.

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3. Skill Development & Main Activity: Rotations with Stations (30 minutes)

Rotation 1: Just Dance Balance

• Play a dance video or piece of music with pauses.
• When music pauses, students freeze in a balance pose of their choice (e.g., one leg balance, front support, back support).
• Purpose: Develops balance control and body awareness in dynamic contexts.

Rotation 2: Beam Hoop Pass

• Using balance beams or taped lines, students walk forward balancing carefully.
• They pass a hoop to a partner without stepping off the beam or losing balance.
• Purpose: Combines static and dynamic balance, hand-eye coordination and teamwork.

Rotation 3: Partner Balances

• Students pair off to try simple partner balances (e.g., mirroring a balance pose, creating a support pose like one student in front support and the other holding the ankles).
• Purpose: Encourages communication, trust, and applying balance in different ways.
• Teacher circulates to offer modifications for different abilities.

Organisation:

• Divide 45 students into groups of 15 for three rotations; each rotation lasts 10 minutes.
• Clear instructions and signals for transition.

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4. Reflection and Cool Down (10 minutes)

• Students sit in a circle and share one balance they felt proud of holding during the lesson and explain why.
• Discuss what helped them hold their balance (e.g., focus, tight muscles, slow breathing).
• Reinforce success criteria and encourage students to think about how balance is used in other sports and activities.
• Gentle stretching focusing on wrists, ankles, and back to cool down.

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Differentiation and Inclusion

• Provide extra support or alternative easier balance positions for students with lower physical ability (e.g., hold balance near a wall).
• Challenge more physically confident students to hold balances for longer or try transitions smoothly.
• Use visual prompts and demonstrations continuously.

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Safety and Management

• Emphasise spatial awareness: ensure sufficient space between students in activities.
• Mats for floor support positions to prevent injury.
• Reinforce safe use of equipment and controlled movements.
• Monitor fatigue or discomfort and provide water breaks as necessary.

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This lesson plan supports the Victorian Curriculum aim to refine and apply fundamental movement skills in new movement situations, specifically balancing and locomotor transitions. The activities—Support Tiggy, explicit balance teaching, rotations practising dance freeze-frames, beam balance with a hoop, and partner balances—are designed to engage Year 4 students in developing control and confidence in gymnastics fundamentals relevant to their developmental level.