Traditional Tchoukball uses specialized rebounders. They aren't particularly difficult to find, and they aren't necessarily prohibitively expensive, but they aren't exactly standard equipment in most American school gyms. Basketball hoops, on the other hand? Those are everywhere.
There is a famous Montessori quote, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, 'The children are now working as if I did not exist.’”
If you found this interesting, here is a link to a lesson plan that will show you how to play three different variations of the same wall ball style game. Each variation will use slightly different equipement resembling some of the sports mentioned above, so histroical connections can easily be made if they are studying those countries in class. What could be even more interesting is the science connection to simple machines, specifically levers. As the students increase their lever arm using different equipment, so they will experience the changes in velocity, which impacts strategy and timing. All these possible connection points make this a super versatile lesson.
Every single year, Tracking Football analyzes the high school athletic backgrounds of players drafted into the NFL. The results are staggeringly consistent: between 85% and 90% of all NFL draft picks were multi-sport athletes in high school.
Data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine show that youth sports specialization is the number-one predictor of overuse injuries. In fact, studies show that kids who specialize in a single sport early in life are 70% to 93% more likely to suffer an overuse injury than their multi-sport peers.
Take a look at the At-Home Lessons if you have to do your PE in the classroom and you need some extra help coming up with some ideas. I remember how tough it was trying to make engaging content for less than ideal settings. I hope that you can take some ideas from my lessons and use them in your classroom.
