Year 3 Invasion games: principles of attack and defence through ball games worksheet

“Passing with control” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 PE unit “Invasion games: principles of attack and defence through ball games”, 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 4 to 6 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Passing with control

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

Today I can pass and receive a ball with control, stepping into the pass.

A Look back3 min

1.
When catching a ball, which part of you should watch it?
your eyesyour backyour ears
2.
Number these steps for an underarm throw, 1 to 4.
1. Let go of the ball at the right moment
2. Face your target with feet apart
3. Step towards your target
4. Swing your arm low and smooth
3.
Sort these cards. Write each one in the right column.
Look at the targetLook at the floorStep towards the targetThrow as hard as you can with eyes shut
Helps throwing accurately Makes throws wild

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ola and Sam pass a soft ball in the garden. Keep the space clear, away from windows, with a grown-up watching.

A soft ball on a patch of grass in a back garden, with no people

Watch me

Sam holds his hands up and calls ready.

Ola looks at Sam's hands, the target.

Ola steps forward as the ball leaves her hand, and it lands in Sam's hands.

Now you

1.
What should you do with your body as you pass? Circle the best choice.
Step forward into the passLean back and stay stillTurn away from your partner
2.
Why does Sam hold his hands up and call ready?

C Your turn8 min

Clear space, soft ball, away from windows, a grown-up watching. Read each row, then answer.

Two cones on grass with an open gap between them, no people

1.
Join each skill to its coaching point.
Step into the passLook at your partner's targetBe ready to receive
Hold your hands up and call readyMove your front foot towards the targetWatch their hands before you throw
2.
Your partner throws the ball to you. You catch it and pass it back. Number the steps 1 to 4.
1. Let the ball go as you step forward
2. Stay ready for the ball back
3. Call ready and show your hands
4. Look at your partner's hands
3.
Priya passes to Noah, who runs to a gap. Where should Priya aim the ball? Circle the best choice.
Into the space Noah is running toWhere Noah was standing a moment agoAt the defender's feet
4.
Timed challenge: pass to your partner for 30 seconds. Make one mark in the tally for each pass that lands in their hands. Record your own three tries.

Say it out loud: What changed when you stepped into the pass, and what did your partner's hands do?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A grass pitch with open patches and cones, no people

Kit says: “When a defender runs at me, I kick the ball away as hard as I can.”

1.
What should Kit do instead?

E Think deeper4 min

Open grass in a garden with a few cones at the edges, no people

1.
Describe two ways a receiver can get into space before the ball comes.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Passing with control · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. your eyes If your child chooses something other than eyes, ask them to point at the ball and then at their eyes. Keep the ball in sight as it comes.

2. 1 Face your target with feet apart · 2 Swing your arm low and smooth · 3 Step towards your target · 4 Let go of the ball at the right moment If your child lets go first, ask them to swing once slowly and say which part comes last. The swing and step happen together, so accept either order for those two.

3. Makes throws wild: Look at the floor, Throw as hard as you can with eyes shut · Helps throwing accurately: Look at the target, Step towards the target If your child puts looking at the floor in the helpful column, ask where the target is. The eyes should be on the target, not the ground.

B

1. Step forward into the pass If your child leans back, ask them to step forward as they throw. The step adds power and direction to the pass.

2. Look for: Sam shows his hands as the target so the ball goes to them, and he is ready to catch.

C

1. Step into the pass → Move your front foot towards the target; Look at your partner's target → Watch their hands before you throw; Be ready to receive → Hold your hands up and call ready If your child joins stepping into the pass to hands up, the fix is simple. Stepping is about the front foot moving towards the target, so point to the foot.

2. 1 Call ready and show your hands · 2 Look at your partner's hands · 3 Let the ball go as you step forward · 4 Stay ready for the ball back If your child puts the pass first, ask them to call ready out loud before the ball moves. Looking comes before the pass.

3. Into the space Noah is running to

4. Look for: Three tries recorded honestly, with one mark for each pass that lands in the partner's hands.

D

1. Look for: Slow down, find a teammate, look at their target, and step into the pass. If your child says kick it harder, they are repeating Kit's panic. Ask where the ball should go so a teammate can receive it in space.

E

1. Look for: Two ways to get free, such as moving away from a defender into a clear spot, or changing speed or direction before the ball comes.

Words to use

Say“Where should the ball go, and where will your partner be when it arrives?”

Instead of“Just kick it harder, you will get there.”

After the sheet

Play catch in the garden with a soft ball. Step forward on every throw and call ready first. Keep a clear space, stay away from windows, and watch together.

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

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

Moving to find space(with a plan)
Pass, then move(with a plan)
Shooting at the target(with a plan)
Marking without touching(with a plan)
Attack and defend(with a plan)

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