Year 1 Gymnastics: individual movements and balances worksheet

“Reaching up high” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 PE unit “Gymnastics: individual movements and balances”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 19 to 24 of the year, 12 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Reaching up high

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · PE · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can move my body up high and land safely.

A Look back3 min

1.
When you stop running, what should you do first? Circle your answer.
Slow downRun fasterJump high
2.
When you balance on one foot, what should your body be like? Circle your answer.
Still and steadyWobbling all overMoving fast
3.
Which movement sends a ball away from you? Circle your answer.
ThrowingSittingWalking slowly

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ali rises onto his toes and lifts his arms as high as they go. Is this a high movement? Keep the space clear, with a grown-up watching.

Watch me

Ali is stretching, so his body is long and tall.

Stretching is a high movement.

So this is a high movement.

Now you

1.
Mia jumps up with two feet and lands with bent knees. Is this a high movement? Circle your answer.
YesNo
2.
Zara leaps from one foot to the other. Which word names this movement? Circle your answer.
JumpBalanceThrow

C Your turn6 min

Put each set of steps in order. Then match the skills and do three high jumps.

1.
Number these jump steps in the right order, from 1 to 4.
1. Land with bent knees
2. Lift off the ground
3. Bend your knees
4. Push down through your feet
2.
Number these stretch steps in the right order, from 1 to 4. Start the way Ali did.
1. Reach your arms up high
2. Stand tall on your toes
3. Hold still for a count of three
4. Lower your arms slowly
3.
Draw a line from each skill to the coaching point that helps most.
Jump upStretch upLand softlyReach high to catch
Watch the ball and reach with both handsBend your knees to soften the landingPush down through your feet to liftStand on tiptoes with arms long
4.
Do three high jumps with two feet. After each jump, draw a smile in a box if you landed softly.

Say it out loud: What happens first in every high movement, before your body lifts up?

D Spot the mistake2 min

Kit says: “Land with stiff, straight knees so you do not wobble.”

1.
What should Kit change about his landing? Write it on the lines.

E Think deeper3 min

1.
Make up your own high movement with three steps. Write the steps on the lines and tell your grown-up.

How did it feel?2 min

Tell your grown-up which high movement felt best. How did your legs feel when you landed?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Reaching up high · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Slow down If they choose Run faster, they may think speed helps you stop. Ask: what does your body do before it can stop?

2. Still and steady

3. Throwing

B

1. Yes If they choose No, they may think only standing still counts. Remind them that a jump lifts the body up high.

2. Jump If they choose Balance, they may think standing on one foot is the same. A leap lifts the body off the ground, so it is a jump.

C

1. 1 Bend your knees · 2 Push down through your feet · 3 Lift off the ground · 4 Land with bent knees If Land comes first, they have put the landing before the push. Ask: what must happen before your body can lift off?

2. 1 Stand tall on your toes · 2 Reach your arms up high · 3 Hold still for a count of three · 4 Lower your arms slowly If Reach comes first, look back at Ali. He rises onto his toes first, then lifts his arms.

3. Jump up → Push down through your feet to lift; Stretch up → Stand on tiptoes with arms long; Land softly → Bend your knees to soften the landing; Reach high to catch → Watch the ball and reach with both hands

4. Look for: A smile for each jump that the grown-up saw land softly with bent knees.

D

1. Look for: Bend the knees when landing so the body lands softly, not stiff and straight. If they only say jump harder, they have missed the landing. Ask how bent knees help the body land softly, like a spring.

E

1. Look for: Three steps that include a high movement such as a stretch or jump, and a safe landing with bent knees or a hold.

Words to use

Say“Show me how your knees bend when you land. Which jump felt the highest?”

Instead of“Jump as high as you can, the landing does not matter.”

After the sheet

In a clear space away from windows, lay a rolled towel on the floor. Jump over it with two feet and land with bent knees, with a grown-up watching.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

11 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

High jumping steps(with a plan)
Moving low and slow(with a plan)
Moving on apparatus(with a plan)
High and low moves(with a plan)
High, low, over, under(with a plan)
Making wide shapes(with a plan)
Narrow shapes(with a plan)
Curled and rocking(with a plan)
Wide, narrow or curled?(with a plan)
Moving Between Shapes(with a plan)
Linking Two Moves(with a plan)

Every Year 1 PE worksheet

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