Children will begin to anticipate the flight of a ball and to move into good positions to keep the ball off the ground.

Children will begin to develop a basic understanding of net and racket games.

Tell children that they will warm up today by playing 'Touch it' (see teacher factfile). Explain to children what they have to do and spend a few minutes playing the game. Afterwards ask them if anyone has noticed a change in their bodies?

Introductory Activity and Experimentation
Ask children to practice bouncing and catching a ball. Remind them they could try to catch the ball at the 'magic moment' (the top of the bounce) or let the ball bounce twice or more before catching it. Challenge them to try bouncing and catching the ball while on the move.

Tell children you want them to spend a few minutes hitting the ball in different ways - ask them to show you ways of hitting the ball both upwards and downwards.

After children have had time to experiment stop the children and ask one or two to demonstrate the different ways they have found. Ask other children in the class to describe what they see. Recap on the important skills needed for striking - keeping eyes on the ball, keeping the ball close to the body, hitting with a firm not floppy hand, etc.

Skill Building
Ask children to each take a bat and soft ball and tell them you want them to practice bouncing the ball upon their bat. How many times can they bounce the ball upon the bat before it touches the floor? Challenge them to bounce the ball on the bat while they are moving if they find this activity easy.

Teach them how to hold the bat towards the top of the handle so that they have more control. Let children practice hitting the ball into the air, letting it bounce and then trying to hit it into the air again from the bounce.

Ask children to choose a partner and keep one bat and one ball. Ask one child to bounce the ball to their partner so that they can hit it back. The first child should then try to catch the ball. Remind children that the aim is for their partner to be able to catch the ball once they have hit it so they must not hit it too hard and must try to hit the ball towards their partner.

Children should then take a bat each with just one ball and try hitting it gently from one to the other. Encourage children to use an underarm and upwards action as it will be easier to control.

Ask children if they know any games where bats and balls are used and ask them to explain what happens in these games. Tell children they are going to play their own version of tennis. They need to take a skipping rope, cane, bench or chalk to make a line representing a net. Tell children they are only allowed to let their ball bounce once in their part of the court before hitting it to their partner. They start with ten points each and lose a point each time they fail to hit the ball over the 'net'.

Concluding Activity
Divide children into groups of 5/6 and tell them they are going to play 'Volley Ball'. Explain how to play the game (see teacher factfile) and repeat a few times depending upon skill of children and time allowed. Talk about the difficulties children encountered and ways to overcome them such as anticipating the flight of the ball and moving into a good position to be able to hit the ball back up.

Cool Down
Ask children to sit in a circle in the group of 5/6 from the last activity. Tell children to pass the ball around the circle by stretching their hands above their heads. When the ball returns to the first person pass the ball by stretching their hands out to the side, in front of them and then to the other side to pass the ball on. Next time pass the ball behind their backs to the next person in the circle. Finally gently roll the ball around the circle.

Ask children to lay on their backs and think about the activities today. Remind them of the skills learnt and the important things to remember.

Ask one child to describe how their body has changed during activity.

Can children throw/hit a ball to their partner so that they are able to catch it or return it?

Can children work cooperatively as a team?