Year 3 Gymnastics: movements, balances and sequence composition worksheet

“Quality balances” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 PE unit “Gymnastics: movements, balances and sequence composition”, for children aged 7 to 8, 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

Quality balances

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 3 · PE · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can hold a still balance and stretch fingers and toes to make it a quality balance.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which one is a balance?
holding a still shape on one footjogging around the room
2.
Put these warm-up steps in order, from first to last.
1. Fast star jumps
2. Light jogging
3. Gentle marching
3.
Your first hold wobbled. Your second hold stayed still for a count of four. Which hold shows more control?
the first holdthe second hold

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ali wants a quality balance. Watch the three steps, then try two like them.

Watch me

Ali sets a high balance on tiptoes with arms wide.

Ali stretches fingers and toes all the way out.

Ali holds still and counts 1, 2, 3, 4.

Now you

1.
Mia makes a balance on one knee and one hand. Is this a high or a low balance?
highlow
2.
Ola stretches her fingers but tucks her toes in. Write one thing Ola should do to make her balance a quality balance.

C Your turn7 min

Clear a space away from windows, on a soft carpet or mat, with a grown-up watching.

A cleared living room carpet with a folded mat on it

1.
Which one is a high balance?
on tiptoes with arms wideone knee and one hand near the floorlying flat on the mat
2.
Which one is a low balance?
on tiptoes with arms widekneeling on one knee and one handstanding tall on one foot
3.
Number these steps 1 to 4, in the order you do them.
1. Hold still and count four
2. Choose your shape
3. Stretch fingers and toes out
4. Say what you noticed
4.
Hold a high, a medium (halfway down) and a low balance, each for a count of four. Make a mark for each one you held still. Which was hardest?

Say it out loud: What changed between the high balance and the low balance, and what stayed the same?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “Balancing is easy. I just stand still, so I don’t need to think about it.”

1.
What is wrong with Kit's idea? Write it in your own words.

E Think deeper3 min

1.
You balance with a partner. Name one safe place to hold each other, and say why the head is not for touching.

How did it feel?2 min

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Quality balances · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. holding a still shape on one foot If they pick jogging, ask: does a balance move about or stay still?

2. 1 Gentle marching · 2 Light jogging · 3 Fast star jumps If they start with fast star jumps, ask: should your body get warm slowly or be pushed hard straight away?

3. the second hold If they pick the first hold, ask: which hold stayed still? Staying still shows control.

B

1. low If they say high, ask: is your body near the top or near the floor? Near the floor means low.

2. Look for: Stretching toes, arms and legs fully out, with the body under control.

C

1. on tiptoes with arms wide If they pick lying flat, ask them how close their body is to the floor. Lying flat is very low.

2. kneeling on one knee and one hand

3. 1 Choose your shape · 2 Stretch fingers and toes out · 3 Hold still and count four · 4 Say what you noticed If holding comes first, ask them what shape they are holding. Choose the shape, then stretch, then hold.

4. Look for: A mark for each balance the child held still, and one balance named as the hardest.

D

1. Look for: Says that balancing needs muscles working hard and total focus, not just standing still. If they agree with Kit, ask them to hold a balance for four seconds and notice what their legs and fingers are doing.

E

1. Look for: A safe connection such as hands, palms or shoulders, plus a reason about the partner's safety. Mentions the head only as something to avoid.

Words to use

Say“Show me your three balances. Where were your fingers and toes when you held still, and what did you notice?”

Instead of“Well done, you are a natural. That was perfect.”

After the sheet

Clear a space away from windows, with you watching. Your child holds a balance for a count of four, then you say one thing you noticed about the stretch.

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:

Balances on apparatus(with a plan)
Moving Over and Under(with a plan)
Balances in a Sequence(with a plan)
Smooth Changes in Level(with a plan)
Changes in level on the bench(with a plan)
Turning to a new way(with a plan)
Changing direction on the floor(with a plan)
Smooth sequences in pairs(with a plan)
Levels and turns together(with a plan)
Smooth beats long(with a plan)
Sequences, feedback and performing(with a plan)

Every Year 3 PE worksheet

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