Year 6 Gymnastics: matching and mirroring worksheet

“Matching before we move” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 6 PE unit “Gymnastics: matching and mirroring”, for children aged 10 to 11, 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 16 to 18 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Matching before we move

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 6 · PE · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can agree and practise a matched sequence before we move.

A Look back3 min

1.
Warm up, , perform. Which word fills the empty box?
2.
Number these three steps 1, 2 and 3 in the order you would do them at home.
1. Start gently
2. Clear space
3. Warm up slowly
3.
Which word goes in the first box? Circle one.
Clear spaceRun fastStretch hard

B Watch me, then you4 min

Priya and Leo are showing a three-move sequence to the family in the living room. Before they move, they agree each shape and count the moves together.

Watch me

They agree each shape before they move.

They practise each move alone, then join them.

They count 1, 2, 3 as they go.

Now you

1.
Ali and Mia want to match a tall reach, a low sink and a slow turn. What should they agree before they move? Write it.
2.
Why do Priya and Leo practise each move alone before they join them? Circle one.
So each knows the shape before they joinSo one can lead the otherSo they can go faster

C Your turn7 min

Clear a space away from windows, with a grown-up watching. Read each row, then do the task.

A small garden lawn with two orange cones and a soft ball in bright daylight

1.
Put these four steps for matching one move in order. Write 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the boxes.
1. Join it to the next move
2. Count aloud as you perform
3. Agree the shape and the height
4. Practise alone until steady
2.
Which coaching point helps your partner read your arm? Circle one.
Hold the arm steady at shoulder heightSwing the arm as fast as you canKeep your eyes closed
3.
Join each word to its meaning. Draw a line from each word on the left to its meaning on the right.
ControlExtensionFluidity
Smooth joins with no pausesArms and legs stretched fully, toes pointedSteady, precise shape with no wobble
4.
With a partner, perform your three-move sequence 3 times. After each try, colour one box for each move you both matched. Write your best try here.

Say it out loud: Which step did you find hardest to put in order, and why did it come where it did?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A clear wooden floor with a soft ball and a kitchen timer lying beside it

Kit says: “I always lead and Ola copies me. Only one of us can do the moves well.”

1.
Write one sentence saying why Kit is wrong.

E Think deeper3 min

1.
Make up your own three-move sequence with a partner. Tell your grown-up the three moves and two things you agreed before you started.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Matching before we move · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Look for: A getting-ready step between warming up and performing, such as practise, rehearse, plan or agree. If your child writes a word that means the end, ask what happens just before the performance. Practising or agreeing the moves comes there.

2. 1 Clear space · 2 Warm up slowly · 3 Start gently If your child starts with the movement, ask what could be in the way on the floor. Making space always comes first.

3. Clear space If your child picks 'Run fast', ask where they could bump into a chair or a sofa. Clearing the space is the first step.

B

1. Look for: Says they agree the shape of each move, or its height, speed or count, before they start. If your child names a move, ask what Priya and Leo agreed before they moved. They agreed each shape first.

2. So each knows the shape before they join If your child picks 'So one can lead the other', ask what happens when one partner cannot yet do a move well. Both need to know the shape.

C

1. 1 Agree the shape and the height · 2 Practise alone until steady · 3 Join it to the next move · 4 Count aloud as you perform If your child puts 'Join it' first, ask what both partners must know before they can join anything. They must agree the shape first.

2. Hold the arm steady at shoulder height If your child picks the fast swing, explain that a fast wobble is hard to copy. Control makes the shape easy to read.

3. Control → Steady, precise shape with no wobble; Extension → Arms and legs stretched fully, toes pointed; Fluidity → Smooth joins with no pauses If your child joins Control to smooth joins, ask which word is about being steady and which is about flow from one move to the next.

4. Look for: Each bar shows 0 to 3 matched moves, and the box names the try with the most.

D

1. Look for: Says both partners can do the moves with quality, so they agree and move together instead of one leading. If your child agrees with Kit, ask what Priya and Leo did before they moved. They agreed each shape and both practised it.

E

1. Look for: Three different named moves, and two things agreed before starting, such as shape, height, direction or counting.

Words to use

Say“What did you two agree before you moved? Which move did you practise alone first?”

Instead of“Just start moving and see what happens.”

After the sheet

Clear a space on the floor, away from windows. Pick three shapes together and agree each one out loud. Set a kitchen timer for 30 seconds and perform them side by side, matching. Then swap who suggests the shapes.

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:

Matching on the step(with a plan)
Mirror, don't copy(with a plan)
Mirroring on apparatus(with a plan)
Matching or mirroring?(with a plan)
Build a group sequence(with a plan)

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