Motivating an all boys’ class to take part in a six-week block of gymnastics and trying anything more imaginative than a forward roll is a daunting task for PE teachers.
To remedy this, my class created a gymnastics-off. Pupils chose their own partner or group to work with and created, recorded and learnt a routine for a judged finale.
I provided pupils with a different theme and equipment each week. Themes included James Bond flights, Indiana Jones rotations and Jackie Chan balances.
The routines were collated and judged for a winner on the final day by the pupils.
It was amazing how the aspect of competition and an action movie theme motivated and inspired the class to embrace gymnastics.
Russell Imrie is a newly qualified teacher at Lenzie Academy in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.