Body Tension & Control
Gymnastics
•Year 4
•8 Lessons
This unit develops Year 4 students' understanding of body tension as the foundation for controlled, confident gymnastics movements. Through systematic exploration of balances, rolls, jumps, and inverted movements, students discover how engaging their core and maintaining tension creates stability, control, and fluidity. The unit builds towards creative sequence work that combines individual skills with partner collaboration and apparatus use.
Lessons in This Unit
8 lessons in this unit
Lesson 1
Big Question:
How can body tension help us create stronger, more controlled balances with partners?
Key Objectives:
- • To develop safe individual and partner balances using proper body tension
- • To understand and apply safety principles when supporting or being supported by a partner
Lesson 2
Big Question:
How can we use our whole body to control rotation and land safely in gymnastics?
Key Objectives:
- • To develop control in performing and landing rotation jumps
- • To understand the principles of safe landing technique
Lesson 3
Big Question:
How can we use different body shapes and tension to control our movement when rolling?
Key Objectives:
- • To develop the straight, barrel, forward and straddle roll with increasing control
- • To understand how body tension affects the quality and control of rolling movements
Lesson 4
Big Question:
How can we use body tension and momentum to create smooth, controlled rolling movements?
Key Objectives:
- • To develop the straight, barrel, forward and straddle roll with increasing control
- • To understand how body tension affects the quality and control of rolling movements
Lesson 5
Big Question:
How can body tension help us control and improve our inverted movements?
Key Objectives:
- • To develop strength and control in inverted movements
- • To understand how body tension improves movement quality
Lesson 6
Big Question:
How can we use different pathways to make our gymnastics sequences more interesting and challenging?
Key Objectives:
- • To explore and perform travelling movements along different pathways
- • To create sequences with a partner that include changes of level and shape
Lesson 7
Big Question:
How can we combine different gymnastics skills and apparatus to create flowing, creative sequences that showcase changes in level, direction, and shape?
Key Objectives:
- • To create and perform sequences that include apparatus and inverted movements
- • To demonstrate safe use of gymnastics apparatus in sequence work
Lesson 8
Big Question:
How can we work together to create flowing gymnastic sequences that showcase different movements and apparatus skills?
Key Objectives:
- • To plan and perform partner sequences that include apparatus and demonstrate change of level and shape
- • To safely perform individual and partner balances using gymnastic equipment