Year 6 Invasion games: scenarios, tactics and power play through tag rugby worksheet

“Passing to create space” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 6 PE unit “Invasion games: scenarios, tactics and power play through tag rugby”, for children aged 10 to 11, and takes about 22 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 7 to 9 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Passing to create space

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 6 · PE · about 22 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can pass the ball legally and move to support a teammate.

A Look back3 min

Safety first: use a clear space away from windows, with a soft ball and a grown-up watching while you do this sheet.

1.
Before a game, what should you do first? Circle one.
Warm upCool downStop and sit
2.
Put these catching steps in order. Write 1, 2 and 3 in the boxes.
1. Reach out with both hands
2. Watch the ball into your hands
3. Bend your knees and get ready
3.
Name one light activity that warms your body up.

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ali has the ball in a game of tag rugby. Sam is on her team and wants to receive a pass that helps the attack.

A flat garden lawn beside a wooden fence, with a soft ball on the grass and no people

Watch me

Ali has the ball.

Sam moves to the side and slightly behind Ali.

Ali passes sideways, and Sam runs on to catch it.

Now you

1.
Mia has the ball. Leo wants to run on to her pass at speed. Where is the best place for him to stand? Circle your answer.
Ahead of Mia, near the try lineLevel with Mia, far out wideSlightly behind Mia and at an angle
2.
Mia runs and tries to pass to Leo, who is in front of her. Is this pass legal? Circle one.
Yes, because it is sidewaysNo, because it is forwardYes, because it goes over her head

C Your turn8 min

Work through the rows in order. Keep the space clear and a grown-up watching.

Three orange cones set in a triangle on a flat lawn, with no people

1.
Put these steps of a two-handed pass in order, starting with a check on where your teammate is. Write 1 to 4 in the boxes.
1. Point your fingers where the ball should go
2. Hold the ball with both hands
3. Swing the ball across your body
4. Look at your teammate
2.
Join each skill to its coaching point with a line.
Two-handed passSupport positionFollow-throughChecking the receiver
Point your fingers where the ball should goStay slightly behind and at an angleLook where your teammate is before you throwSwing the ball across your body
3.
Sam has the ball and wants to pass to Ali. Which pass is NOT legal? Circle your answer.
Forward to Ali, who is in frontSideways to Ali, who is level with SamBackwards to Ali, who is further back
4.
Walk forward with your grown-up for 30 seconds, passing back and forth. Before each catch, the catcher moves level or slightly behind the passer. Count the legal passes. Colour one bar for each try. Write your best score here.

Say it out loud: Which row showed you most clearly where a teammate must stand for a legal pass?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “A backwards pass means throwing the ball over your head.”

1.
Kit is wrong. Write what a backwards pass really means.

E Think deeper3 min

A flat open grass area with a painted line across one end, and no people

1.
Your teammate has the ball near the middle of the pitch. Name two places you could move to so a pass is legal. Explain how you know.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Passing to create space · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Warm up your child has started with the end of the session. Ask: what do we do before the game, to get the body ready?

2. 1 Bend your knees and get ready · 2 Reach out with both hands · 3 Watch the ball into your hands your child has reached out first. Ask: what must your body do before the ball arrives?

3. Look for: A light activity such as jogging, skipping, walking briskly or gentle stretching.

B

1. Slightly behind Mia and at an angle If your child chose ahead, the pass becomes forward and illegal. Ask: which spot lets Leo run on to the ball?

2. No, because it is forward If your child said yes, ask: is Leo closer to the try line than Mia? A pass to anyone in front is forward, wherever the ball goes.

C

1. 1 Look at your teammate · 2 Hold the ball with both hands · 3 Swing the ball across your body · 4 Point your fingers where the ball should go

2. Two-handed pass → Swing the ball across your body; Support position → Stay slightly behind and at an angle; Follow-through → Point your fingers where the ball should go; Checking the receiver → Look where your teammate is before you throw

3. Forward to Ali, who is in front your child may have picked the sideways pass. Ask: is Ali closer to the try line than Sam?

4. Look for: Three bars coloured, one for each try, counting only passes caught level or slightly behind, with the best try written as a number.

D

1. Look for: A backwards pass is judged by where the receiver stands compared with the passer, not by a throw over the head. your child still thinks the ball must go over the head. Ask: if you pass sideways, is it illegal? Then ask: where must the receiver stand?

E

1. Look for: Two places level with or behind the ball carrier, with a reason that the pass stays sideways or backwards.

Words to use

Say“Show me where your teammate is before you throw. Where are you standing compared with them?”

Instead of“Tell them they threw it wrong and move on to the next run.”

After the sheet

Set up three cones or shoes in a triangle about four to five metres apart in the garden. Take turns as ball carrier and supporter, passing ten times each, with the supporter always slightly behind and at an angle.

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:

Defending together in tag(with a plan)
Defending in tag rugby(with a plan)
Attacking tactics in rugby(with a plan)
Powers in the game(with a plan)
Switch and hold your shape(with a plan)

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