Sample Lesson Plans: Aquatics

Students throughout Saskatchewan have access to a wide variety of water-related activities; however, these choices vary from school to school depending on location, funding and human resources. Because of this, some schools will be better able to provide a comprehensive aquatic experience for students.

When planning an aquatics unit, which should be approximately 5% (that is, 5 hours) of the entire year's program, teachers should consult the foundational objectives and learning objectives found on page 100. From these objectives or by creating their own, teachers should select those which can be achieved using facilities in their own or neighbouring communities. Once the objectives are chosen, it may be necessary for the teacher to have a planning session with the facility instructor(s). This session will increase the chances that learning will take place as opposed to mere recreation.

During the two-year pilot phase of this curriculum document, teachers were meeting their objectives and the 5% requirement in the following ways: arranging the use of private pools in the community, making one-day bus trips to nearby communities and making arrangements with parents to transport students. The Teacher Resources section contains important information about transporting students.

For schools with no access to swimming pools or lakes, efforts should be made to achieve objectives through land-based, water-related activities. Examples are:

canoe strokes and safety procedures
swimming strokes and lifesaving techniques
videos on water safety
presentations by representatives of aquatic organizations

The following lesson plan contains a sample of what a one-day excursion to a swimming facility might include. It applies the basic movement patterns of locomotions, springs, landings and rotations to an aquatics environment. The lesson plan also addresses the adaptive dimension in that it divides the students into beginner, intermediate and advanced groups; in this way, students are able to work at their own levels.

Special attention must be paid to students who have a fear of water and some form of individualized instruction and support should be provided (for example, encouraging the wearing of a certified flotation device, remaining in the shallow end of the pool, sitting on the edge of the pool with the legs in the water for the first day). The aim is to gradually acclimatize these students to the water, allowing time for their fears to subside.

Lesson Plan

Date:

Activity Area:
Aquatics

Activity: Swimming and Diving

Foundational Objective: Students will develop water-related skills in order to be comfortable in an aquatic environment.

Learning Objective:

Students will display an understanding of how locomotions are specifically related to swimming. Students will display an understanding of how springs, rotations and landings relate to diving and swimming.

Assessment:
Self-assessment.
Peer assessment.
Teacher assessment.

Evaluation:Use checklists and anecdotal records. Self-assessment and peer assessment can be effective follow up activities

Teacher Notes:

It is important that students are aware of pool rules.
A prearranged set of signals can be helpful for class management.
Large, laminated instruction posters should be prepared in advance.

Personal Reflections:

Lesson Plan

Skills: Locomotions, rotations, springs, landings

Introduction:

Review of basic movement patterns covered in games, gymnastics and dance.
Discuss what basic movement patterns can be found in aquatics (locomotions, rotations, springs, landings). Talk about the similarity and differences between the basic movement patterns in aquatics and in other activity areas.

Equipment: Kickboards, diving board(s) (on land).

Warm up: Choose exercises which loosen and warm muscles in all parts of the body. Stress flexibility rather than strength and endurance. Warm up (in the water). Ask students to enter the water and swim several easy widths. Strong swimmers in the deep-end and beginners in the shallow end. Non-swimmers walk or use floatation devices. (Arm floats or kickboards). Use this time for observation and grouping into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

CELs

Skill Development: (Plan of pool and group areas)

Beginner Intermediate Advanced

Shallow End
Deep End

PS
VS

CCT

Culminating Activity:
Instructions will be posted by the pool for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels.

Closure: Discuss the basic movement patterns and performance cues as they related to the aquatics session.

Movement Patterns and Teaching Points: Aquatics

Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
Locomotion Freestyle leg kick against the wall. Teaching points:	Locomotion Freestyle leg kick across widths using kickboard. Keep feet long in the water.	Locomotion Freestyle leg kick across a width at a time (torpedo kicking - no kickboard). Feet as far behind as possible.
Locomotion Freestyle leg kick using kickboard (widths). Teaching points:	Locomotion Freestyle leg kick without the kickboard (Torpedo kicking). Keep feet long in the water.	Locomotion Freestyle arm action using leg kick. Concentrate on entry, pull recovery and lateral breathing. Keep head low in the water.
Rotations (in water) Spinning top turns round the long axis, standing on the bottom. Teaching points: Fold arms just under the water and scissor kick to turn (left and right).	Rotations Tub turns. Knees to chin, toes pointed. Rotate sideways in both directions by sculling with your hands. Knees and lower legs close to surface. Head out of the water.	Rotations Forward somersault in a curled position. From face down layout bring knees to chin and head down, move hands in small circles to achieve rotation. Return to standing position. The tighter the tuck the easier and quicker the turn.
Springs and Landings (from the side into the water) Side entry. One foot take-off and land with one foot forward and the other back. Teaching points: This method should prevent a beginner from going too deep.	Springs and Landings Two foot extended jump. Enter the water with straight body in a vertical position. Absorb the landing by bending the legs on contact with the floor of the pool.	Springs and Landings Two foot shallow entry dive (racing dive). Aim for entry point 6 to 8 feet away. Extend the body, point the toes and keep the head down for entry.
Springs and Landings Straight body jump. Take off on one foot and land on two. Enter with legs together and toes pointed. Teaching points: Bend legs to absorb contact with the bottom.	Springs and Landings Straight body jump with 1/2 turn. Work on left and right rotation. Maintain vertical position during rotation.	Springs and Landings Straight body jump with full turn 360⁰ work on rotating left and right. To increase rotation speed raise one arm and throw the other across the body.
Springs and Landings Take off on two feet, tuck in the air and open up for two foot vertical landing. Teaching points: Knees to chin and hands to shins.	Springs and Landings Take off two feet, tuck in the air, do a 1/2 turn and land in vertical position. Perform on left and right. Spring as high as possible to provide enough time.	Springs and Landings Take off on two feet, tuck in the air, do a 360⁰ turn and open up for entry. To achieve 360⁰ maybe use the diving board or starting blocks. Work on cross chest arm throw to achieve rotation speed.
Culminating Activity The instructions may be posted by the side of the pool. They should be large enough to be visible from the water. Beginner (choose from some or all of the following) Side entry spring and 2 minutes freestyle leg kick holding the wall. Straight body jump and 2 widths freestyle leg kick using a kickboard. Two foot tuck jump landing vertically and 2 widths swimming any way. Explore different shapes in the air and different strokes in the water (locomotions). Explore different rotations in flight and in the water (e.g: 1/2 twist front somersault).
Intermediate (Choose from some or all of the following) Tuck jump with straight body entry (feet first) and 3 widths using freestyle leg kick and a kickboard. Half-twisting spring into the water and 2 widths using back-crawl leg kick and kickboard (held above the head - arms extended). Two foot spring into star-jump and straight body entry and 3 widths of freestyle. Dive into the water (be sure it's deep enough) and swim as far as you can under water across the pool. Explore different springs from the side and landings in the water followed by different rotations in the water.
Advanced (choose from some or all of the following) Off the side do a racing dive and swim 4 widths of freestyle. Do a full twisting, straight body spring and entry (landing) followed by 3 widths of backstroke. In the deep water do a pike dive entering the water vertically and swim to the other side under water. Using the 1 meter diving board do the following two foot springs with feet-first landings. Tuck, pike, full twist, star, and round off, or cartwheel (hands to feet). Explore various inverted entries off the diving board including tuck and pike dives, then swim to the other side using a different stroke each time.