This swimming/aquatics unit plan contains a sequence of activities (thank you Water Safe - http://www.watersafe.org.nz) that are easily adapted to a range of ability levels, incorporating things like: hypothermia and its effect on the body; rip education in the swimming pool and life-jackets.

1. N E W T O N
C E N T R A L
S C H O O L
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION UNIT PLAN
Integrated Strands - Levels One and Two
Term: 1
Year: 2014
Class: Whānau Nohinohi
Duration: 11 wks
Context / Topic:
Aquatics
UNDERLYING CONCEPTS:
KEY AREAS OF LEARNING:
XHauora
XAttitudes and Values
XSocio-ecological Perspective
Body care and physical safety
Physical activity
Sport studies
XHealth Promotion
Outdoor Education
STRAND A: PERSONAL HEALTH AND
STRAND B: MOVEMENT CONCEPTS AND MOTOR SKILLS Students will:
STRAND D: HEALTHY
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT Students will:
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES – Level 1
COMMUNITIES AND
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES – Level 1
B1 Movement skills; B3 Science and technology
ENVIRONMENTS Students will:
A2 Regular physical activity
- Develop a wide range of movement skills, using a variety of equipment and play environments.
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES –
- Participate in creative and regular physical activities
B2 Positive attitudes;
Level 1
and identify enjoyable experiences.
- Participate in a range of games and activities and identify the factors that make participation safe
D2 Community Resources
A3 Safety management
and enjoyable.
- Identify and discuss obvious hazards in
- Describe and use safe practices in a range of contexts.
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES – Level 2
their home, school, and local environment
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES – Level 2
B1 Movement skills
and adopt simple safety practices.
A2 Regular physical activity
- Practise movement skills and demonstrate the ability to link them in order to perform movement
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES –
- Experience creative, regular, and enjoyable physical
sequences.
Level 2
activities and describe the benefits to well-being.
B2 Positive attitudes
D2 Community Resources
A3 Safety management
- Participate in and create a variety of games and activities and discuss the enjoyment that these
- Identify and use local community
- Identify risk and use safe practices in a range of
activities can bring to them and others.
resources and explain how these contribute
contexts.
to a healthy community.
Diversity
Equity
Community and Participation
x
Ecological Sustainability
Integrity
x
Thinking
Using Language, Symbols and Texts
x
Managing Self
Relating to Others
Participating and Contributing
x
Post-test (Summative)
Sample
Observation
x
Self Assessment
x
Peer Assessment
x
ARB’s
Other e.g. Exemplars, asTTle, etc
Computer/Word Processing
Publisher/Excel/PowerPoint
e-mail/Fax/Phone/Scan
Internet-Research
x
Digital Camera/Video
x
Internet – Webquests and Web 2.0
Video Conferencing
Inspiration and Other Programmes
Programming
OTHER CURRICULUM LINKS
Respect
E-LEARNING (ICT)
Pre-test (Diagnostic)
ASSESSMENT
x
KEY COMPETENCIES
x
Innovation, enquiry and curiosity
VALUES
Excellence
English
x
Mathematics and Statistics
x
Science
x
Social Sciences
Technology
The Arts (Music/Dance/Drama/Visual)
x
Health and Physical Education
x
Learning Languages (Te Reo etc)
x
EOTC
x
SPECIFIC LEARNING INTENTIONS
ACTIVITIES, THINKING TOOLS AND OTHER RESOURCES
We are learning to:
(What will I do to help my students achieve this?
SUCCESS CRITERIA
Strategies/activities linked to Key Competencies to help students achieve)
We know we have achieved this when we can:
SPECIFIC LEARNING INTENTION/S:
stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/9195941/ - Man Drowns after Yacht Fall (not harnessed, not
What is hypothermia? What effects does
wearing life jacket)
hypothermia have on my body?
sundayworld.com/top-stories/news/three-fishermen-drowned-off-coast-died-of-hypothermia
(ie. We are learning about
(were wearing lifejackets)
hypothermia and the effects it has on
Or take the positive angle with 10 top sea survivors: listverse.com/2012/02/16/top-10-sea-
our bodies)
survivors/
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
Brainstorm: what are the things we need to do to stay safe near water? Could be done as a
- Completes the activities
bus-stop activity - a formative assessment to find out what students know and what
- Participates in discussions, sharing
questions they have.
observations and ideas.
And/or use - The Dragon’s Water Safety Rhyme as your week’s shared poem:
STOP! It’s exciting to go for a swim,
But think of these rules before you get in.

2. LOOK! Is a grown-up close by and in sight?
Is the water calm and theweather all right?
Read all warning signs. What do they say?
Is there anything sharp that might be in your way?
Before you dive in, is it deep down below?
LISTEN to lifeguards and always GO SLOW!
If you’ve got the okay, it’s time to get in,
Take your buddy along and be safe when you swim!
1-2 sessions.
Materials: 1 ice-cream container per 2-3 students or a bucket for each small group; ice;
water; either shoe-laces or a threading/fine motor literacy or numeracy activity; stopwatch.
Challenge the class – who do you think is able to keep your hand in a container of ice water
for 10 minutes (ideally – for younger students, could find out who can last the longest). Part
2 is to challenge the students to a fine-motor skills challenge, appropriate to the level of
your class (with some groups you may want to do this challenge before and after the ice
water). Last section of this is the class discussion:
-
How did your hand feel before you put it in the ice water?
-
How did this change over time?
-
Did the ice water change how well you were able to ‘lace your shoes’?
-
Why do you think this happened?
Viewing of segments of “Lost at Sea – the Rob Hewitt Story” DVD. Recap the ice-cream
activity. Link questions:
-
How did Rob Hewitt feel before he went diving/when he realised he was lost?
-
What was happening to his body?
-
What did he do to try to survive?
niwa.co.nz/our-science/oceans/common-questions/all/icebergs - Information about
icebergs off the coast of NZ (down by Otago).
stuff.co.nz/southland-times/6584432/Family-tragedy-in-deadly-Foveaux-Strait - Video and
article about Southland survivor.
- Google images search
Take a thermometer down to the pool for swimming sessions. Measure and record the
temperature of the water.
Could also have a stop-watch and time how long each student is in the water, before
needing to get out. Non-swimmers could be in charge of the equipment: thermometer, chart
paper, vivid, stopwatch.
Thermal regulation, vasodilation and
vasoconstriction are important (abstract)
related concepts. Best way to introduce is
to:
1. Link to Get Set Go! Why did we warm
up? What happened to your body?
2. Pre and post-PE / morning tea / lunch
discussion (could even be at line-up time).
Heating and cooling of the body.
How does your body feel when you have
been sitting calmly and writing quietly? How

3. does your body feel when you have been
jumping, running and playing?
SPECIFIC LEARNING INTENTION/S:
Suzy’s World Vol 20 – Safe and Sound.
We are learning about why and where we
Why do we need to wear life-jackets? (10 mins) floating, density, colour, heating the body.
need to wear life-jackets.
- Either ask the question before watching and have a discussion to bring out main ideas,
We are learning how to put a life-jacket on
then follow-up with something you learnt or checking our ideas, or
correctly.
- Watch the segment and then ask the question.
Draw pictures and write stories about wearing life-jackets – sea, boats, floating and sinking.
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
Could make a poster explaining to younger children why they should wear a life jacket, or
Student is able to:
record a play, freeze frames, write a jingle.
•
participate in discussion and share
th
Pickup date: Thursday 20 February
th
Return date: Monday 10 March.
their ideas
select a life jacket that is the right
lifesavingsociety.com/who%E2%80%99s-drowning/about-lifejackets.aspx
size for them
maritimenz.govt.nz/Recreational-Boating/Lifejackets/Survive-in-cold-water.asp
•
put it on correctly
watersafe.org.nz/page.asp?page=518
•
safely enter the water and float
mountainsafety.org.nz/safety-tips/River-Safety.asp
•
while wearing the life-jacket
First session – classroom-based or pool-side, but not in the water. Focus on:
-
Making sure you have the right size (could set homeplay the week before to bring
in your weight in kgs – Child size/CS= under 25kg, Child size medium/CM= 2540kg etc).
-
Sitting in a circle, so that the teacher can demo, but also be able to see who
needs help with zips.
-
If you would like to repeat, works best as a timed competition.
2-3 sessions – pool-side and in the water.
-
Recap putting life-jackets on correctly.
-
Juniors – Safe entry to pool and floating on front/back.
-
Extension – Putting life jacket on either blindfolded, or working in pairs. 1 in the
water, friend throws them a life jacket and they put in on lying on top/on their back
and then kick to the other side of the pool.
SPECIFIC LEARNING INTENTION/S:
We are learning about hazards in the
There are a range of ideas here. Choose what is most appropriate for your class/level.
-
water and things we can do to be safe
Practise Dragon’s water safety ideas in weekly swimming sessions by having
buddy swimmers.
around these hazards.
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
Building up to duck dives: doing hand stands in the water
-
Playing a hunt the hoops/coins/flutterboards game while wearing blackened
Student is able to:
•
goggles.
participate in discussion and
share their ideas
-
Exploring pool-side rescues and buoyancy. Could discuss what things would float
•
select a life jacket that is the
the best and why you would throw something to a person in trouble instead of just
right size for them
•
jumping in the water yourself.
put it on correctly
In buddies, one person is lifeguard (A) and one person is a swimmer who is in
safely enter the water and float while
trouble (B). B puts hand straight up ine air to show they need help. A chooses
wearing the life-jacket
something that will float to throw to their buddy. Then they coil rope into their
writing hand and get balanced before throwing the rope. Might need another B
buddy to help pull in A and stay balanced. Swap over.
Extension – Ideas about balance/centre of gravity
** stand on 1 foot. How long before you lose your balance (or senior students –

4. before someone can unbalance you)? 2 feet? With your feet wide apart?
** What about a kneeling rescue?
-
Parachute activities – place a small/large parachute on the water. In your
buddies try and go under the parachute and come out the other side or use a
demo big buddy/teacher/small group of able, confident swimmers.
More senior students could try turning / twisting / doing an underwater somersault/
not being allowed to touch the bottom (latter very difficult in 0.6m water).
“How did it feel?” “Could you tell where you would be able to come up above the
water?”
-
(Fact- Muriwai rips are 4m per second.) Exploring rips in the school pool:
Divide the class into 2 groups
1 group clockwise, 1 group anti-clockwise
Try to allow about 2m space between the circles
Get each group to walk as fast as they can to try and create a whirlpool (with
juniors this is easier either with big buddies or teacher in the pool) and when you
give the signal – try to change direction.
“What does it feel like when you try to change direction?”
-
The next time you create a whirlpool:
Same as above, but each child throws a flotation device into the pool (whether
flutterboard or empty milk bottle), before getting into their circles.
When you have completed the steps as above, add the question:
“How far have the bottles/objects/flotation devices moved?”
Relate discussion to beach experiences.
-
Rip education part 2 (for swimmers who are able to float on their back)
** Everyone spreads out and then floats on their back until teacher gives a signal
– Which way are you facing?
-
Teach and practise skulling – see youtube.com/watch?v=NvkCqpTsvEQ 3min
youtube.com/watch?v=3WYyowAvb5U 57 secs no talking, just the movement.
-
And dog paddle – see youtube.com/watch?v=hocP5YYZx2o (1 min 19 is where
the demo actually starts)
-
Swimming through waves
Set-up like a soul train line, with each child holding a flutterboard (with less
confident swimmers, could start with just 1 line of children holding flutterboards).
On the teacher’s signal, everyone makes waves, all move their board into water,
push water, lift out and repeat, while 1 person swims/doggypaddles/walks down
the line.
-
Zig-zag swimming
Children swim relays with variants, such as:
** You are not allowed to touch the bottom
** Move right at the side of the pool (without stopping)
** Turn left in the middle of the pool
** With every zig, you must change the stroke
GROUPS – CATERING FOR A RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND ABILITIES
(based on diagnostic assessment prior to unit):

5. FORMATIVE NOTES
Ideas gathered from a variety of sources, including:
Watersafe; Stallman’s model of teaching swimming derived from the causes of drowning http://sobrasa.org/campeonato/matosinhos_2007/apresenta/Stallman%20R%20et%20al.%20-%20P199.pdf).
Teaching of swimming – from the SwimSafe programme. Each swimming session to contain components of water safety (this
plan) and the SwimSafe manual.
ASSESSMENT APPROACH
(How will I assess the Success Criteria? How can learning achievement be measured? Remember to include Formative Assessment)
BEFORE THE UNIT
DURING THE UNIT
AFTER THE UNIT
UNIT EVALUATION
(Consider: Planning and preparation; catering to individual students’ needs; challenging all students; use of class time; overall delivery;
success of unit based on assessment and anecdotal observations; areas for future improvement – what would have worked better)
CHILDREN’S LEARNING
PERSONAL TEACHINGS
ASSESSMENT FOR FUTURE
PLANNING
For these students:
For teaching students in the future:

6. FORMATIVE NOTES
Ideas gathered from a variety of sources, including:
Watersafe; Stallman’s model of teaching swimming derived from the causes of drowning http://sobrasa.org/campeonato/matosinhos_2007/apresenta/Stallman%20R%20et%20al.%20-%20P199.pdf).
Teaching of swimming – from the SwimSafe programme. Each swimming session to contain components of water safety (this
plan) and the SwimSafe manual.
ASSESSMENT APPROACH
(How will I assess the Success Criteria? How can learning achievement be measured? Remember to include Formative Assessment)
BEFORE THE UNIT
DURING THE UNIT
AFTER THE UNIT
UNIT EVALUATION
(Consider: Planning and preparation; catering to individual students’ needs; challenging all students; use of class time; overall delivery;
success of unit based on assessment and anecdotal observations; areas for future improvement – what would have worked better)
CHILDREN’S LEARNING
PERSONAL TEACHINGS
ASSESSMENT FOR FUTURE
PLANNING
For these students:
For teaching students in the future: