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Lesson 1 of 12
  • Year 8

Trials and team selection for a sport education season

I can take part in a range of athletics activities and identify where my confidence levels are.

Lesson 1 of 12
New
New
  • Year 8

Trials and team selection for a sport education season

I can take part in a range of athletics activities and identify where my confidence levels are.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Move: an optimal stride balances speed and efficiency, with each foot landing under your body, reducing injury risk.
  2. Think: having a positive mindset to trying a range of activities helps to understand your physical activity preferences.
  3. Feel: trying new activities helps to build self-belief in your ability to perform.
  4. Connect: recognising when athletes give their best, regardless of outcome, will help to build confidence and motivation.

Keywords

  • Mindset - staying positive, focused and determined, believing in your ability to improve and succeed, even when finding things difficult

  • Effort - trying your hardest, staying determined and working hard to do your best, no matter what the outcome is

  • Sporting behaviour - competing fairly, following rules, respecting everyone, cheering others on and accepting wins or losses positively

Common misconception

A trial is where people are judged to see who makes the cut and who doesn't.

A trial is an opportunity for everyone to show what they can do and also learn where they could focus on as priority areas for improvement.


To help you plan your year 8 physical education lesson on: Trials and team selection for a sport education season, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

This lesson is a diagnostic assessment of prior learning on basic pacing, sprinting, jumping and throwing to inform future groupings to ensure balanced competition for the remainder of the sport education season. It works well to introduce all learning cycles and rotate pupils on a carousel.
Teacher tip

Equipment

30+ cones; 10+ stopwatches; tape measures; lesson worksheet

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - physical activity

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Prior knowledge starter quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What does confidence mean?

showing off
Correct answer: self-belief
following rules

Q2.
What can being part of a team build?

Correct answer: belonging
speed
fitness

Q3.
What are the core athletic activities?

faster/higher/stronger
sprinting/hurdles/javelin
Correct answer: running/jumping/throwing

Q4.
Which word best describes sporting behaviour?

aggressive
Correct answer: respectful
sharing

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What should your effort level be in continuous running?

Correct answer: faster than walking
faster than others
a fast effort

Q2.
What does good sporting behaviour include?

focusing on yourself
Correct answer: cheering someone on
being the best

Q3.
How can we support others to achieve their personal best?

Correct answer: offer feedback
criticise them
ignore them

Q4.
What does taking part in trails allow us to identify?

who will win
an easy effort
Correct answer: personal bests

Additional material

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