Break the Record! - An Individual Pursuits Unit
Most Recently Taught: January/February 2024
Key Concept: Development
Related Concepts: Refinement, Movement
Statement of Inquiry: Development and refinement will progress movements.
Global Context: Scientific and Technical Innovation (progress)
Learner Profile: Principled (students will be encouraged and expected to be honest in their results, support others and complete assignments as accurately as possible)
Unit Outline
In this unit, students explore the discipline of track and field, researching world records in various events and learning how to develop their skills to be successful in events. Over the course of the six-week, 12-lesson unit, students will learn about and attempt to perform the jumping events of the triple jump and long jump, and throwing events of discus, shotput, and javelin. They will also perform sprints, relays and attempt a team 5000m race as part of the formative assessment. Alongside reflection, students will research world records to compare against their own results and gain a greater appreciation for athletic greatness. Students will research key technique points and reflect on their successes and areas for improvement in track, field and collaboration.
Learning Experiences
Lesson 1
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Intro. to track and field, pre-reflection on students' confidence and excitement for various events.
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Quick cycle through various stations for students to explore and teacher pre-assessment of mastery. (long jump, javelin, discus, shot put, triple jump)
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Inquiry Question: Why do we refine movements?
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Discussion on the importance of good technique when performing various movements including our throwing events.
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Lesson 2
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What is a world record? Discussion on famous athletes and local Bajan record holders.
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Students to learn and perform 100m sprint, and hurdle techniques.
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What is progress?
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Students will look at how world records have changed over time, and how they can identify their own progress in this unit without breaking world records.
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Lesson 3
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Students to review the last lesson's hurdle technique and practice an event of 3 hurdle to jump over.
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Introduce relay handoff technique, house team competition of 4x50m relay.
Lesson 4
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Students to be introduced to the world record time for 400m, then perform the race as a warmup. Compare results
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After reflection on pacing, students choose to run an 800m or 1600m race.
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How are movements developed?
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We will look at relay techniques and hurdle techniques. Why is the movement taught this way? What are the benefits of developing your technique to match? Discussion on efficiency.
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Lesson 5
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Criterion A Formative - Team 5000m Race
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Students are to be in groups of 4 and attempt to break the 5000m world record after research.
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Only one team member can run at a time, but they may decide how to take turns and the distances to run to stay fresh.
Lesson 6
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Criterion D Formative - Reflection
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After reflection, students to be introduced and rotate through javelin, shotput and discus stations.
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How are progress and refinement linked?
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Students will reflect on their progress in this unit through a formative reflection and look at how progress in times/distance may be linked to the refinement of their techniques.
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Lesson 7
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Class discussion on how to properly perform throwing and jumping events
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Students to explore the three throwing events from the last lesson, and long jump/triple jump.
Lesson 8
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Students to review the key technique points and perform the long jump and triple jump
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Finish with 100m and 200m sprints
Lesson 9 - 10
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Criterion A Summative - Break the Record!
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Students are to be introduced to summative and work to complete it. They will need to research world records and compare their own results to these events, alongside explaining key technique points.
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Students will complete individually but collaborate with others for timing, measuring, etc.
Lesson 11
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Students are to complete Criterion D Summative Reflection focusing on experiences throughout the unit.
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Does development and refinement guarantee progress?
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We will debate on if their distance throwing or times when running did not progress, does it mean they did not develop their skills in this unit? Does the student feel movements are more refined even if they are not noticeably placing higher in competitions?
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Lesson 12
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Relay competition focusing on fun. Students to complete full field length relays in teams as well as casual hurdle-based relays.
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Final preparation and to address any upcoming sports day misconceptions.
Formative Assessments
Students will consistently self and peer-assess their performance in the unit's track and field events. Teacher feedback will guide the students, and provide feedback on the obstacles and challenges they are trying to overcome.
Criterion A formative assessment will have students researching and performing the 5000m event as a small team. They will complete the 5000m with one member running at a time, and compare their results to the world record time.
Criterion D formative assessment students will reflect on their performance in the Criterion A formative and experiences learning the track and field skills.
Summative Assessment
Criterion A: Knowledge and understanding
Students will work individually to demonstrate their understanding of a variety of track and field events. They will research key technique points, and what/who is the world record. While competing individually to complete tasks involving long jump, 100m sprint, javelin and others, they will collaborate with others to help measure and time. Students will need to demonstrate research skills to be informed of a baseline for their performance to compare to.
Criterion D: Reflecting and improving performance
Students will summatively reflect on their performance on the Criterion A assessment and their experiences across the whole unit. They will identify their strengths and areas of improvement, and how successfully they implemented their plan to find success. Teamwork and communication skills will also be self-assessed.
ATL’s focused on in this unit
Research - Access information to be informed and inform others
In order for students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding (Criteria A): students will access information to be informed and inform others by researching world records in formative and summative assessments, as well as key technique points. They will answer questions to inform others about how they compare to the world record of track and field events.
The strategy that will be explicitly taught is:
- access information to be informed: Students will research how to perform techniques, learning about the history of events through world records.
- inform others: Students will work with others to calculate how they performed relative to world records. They will also research when learning the events and peer assess if they are performing the techniques properly.
Thinking - Identify obstacles and challenges
In order for students to reflect and improve performance (Criteria D): students will identify obstacles and challenges by reflecting on their own performance, and peer-assessing their partner's performance in different events. We will discuss the obstacles that prevent an athlete from improving, and challenges with the techniques they face when performing.
The strategy that will be explicitly taught is:
- identify obstacles: peer and self-assessment, research and discussion on what athletes main barriers to improvement are.
- identify challenges: Students reflect on the main events they struggle to succeed in. What is stopping them from being more successful? How can they overcome this?
Social - Help others to succeed
Throughout the learning experiences in this unit, students will explore how they can help others succeed. Students will look at how to encourage and share feedback to guide development and their refinement of movements. They will also work with partners to measure throwing events, and time running events, and record a peer's data.
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