FIRST GRADE – SOCCER

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DRIBBLING & TRAPPING: Part 1: DIRECTIONS. Begin with a warm up activity that allows the students practice using the three physical directions (Forward, Backward and Sideways) while moving around an open space. Encourage them to move to open spaces, watch out for others and to try different ways of traveling in each of the three directions. When you are reviewing the physical directions it is a good idea to verbally review the surfaces of the body and what body parts will lead them as they travel in each direction. For example the front of the body has the face, chest, stomach, knees and toes, as you travel forward those parts of the body would be arriving to your destination first! Part 2: Review the steps to dribbling and trapping. You can do this verbally as well a physically. Remember it has been a year since their last lesson so be sure to cover the points they would have learned in kindergarten. Part 3: Play a game that uses dribbling and trapping. Be sure to remind the students that they cannot touch other players, only the ball. This is important if they are stealing the ball from other players. Encourage them to use their feet to move the ball, even if it goes out of bounds. Explain that this is a rule in the game of soccer.

KICKING REVIEW AND GAMES: Part 1: Practice dribbling and include the opportunities to practice the concept of Directions (forward, backward and sideways). Part 2: Review the points of kicking, and the different parts of the foot that can be used. As with dribbling, be sure to cover all the points you introduced in kindergarten. 3: Try at least a couple games that include kicking. It’s best to choose games that do not have defenders since you have not introduced the skill of defending yet! Clean up your backyard is a great game, which you have already taught in kindergarten. After a short game, try at least one other game or drill that works on kicking.

DRIBBLING AND KICKING PRACTICE AND GAMES: Part 1: Set up stations to review dribbling and kicking skills. Review the skills verbally with the class before doing the circuit. Part 2/3: Find a game that allows the students to work in groups of four or less and also practices the skills of dribbling and kicking. Do not play games that introduce any other soccer skills. You could even make up a game that uses these concepts! Do not use the same games later in Kindergarten. This will allow you to have something new for them as first graders.

TURNING: Part 1: begin with a warm up game that includes directions, forward, backward and sideward. If you don’t have any ideas for a running game, then modify travel tag and play direction tag. Be sure to encourage safety when traveling, remind them to be safe, especially when they are moving backwards. Part 2: The basic concepts of twisting and turning seem very similar to a 6/7 year old. Introduce the concept of turning first. Turning is spinning on one body part or axis. You can turn on a variety of body parts. It is important to explain the concept of turning and what it is, the class might not have a clear concept of what you mean by the term turning. “Sit down on your bottom in your own space. Keep your bottom on the ground in that spot, and using your feet or hands, spin around in a circle. Make sure you stay in that own space, using your bottom to spin on.” Be sure to give them a variety of body parts to turn on. (Foot, bottom, back, stomach, knee, hand) The lesson will be more fun if you allow them to find a new own space every couple of turns! The body part they are turning on will stay in contact with the ground in this lesson, in another lesson you can discuss turning on an axis, or jumping and turning. After you have them try a variety of parts to turn on, you can move onto the next part of the lesson. Part 3: The first task of part three is to allow the students to pick the part they will turn on. “When I say go, travel to a new own space and begin turning on a body part that you choose. Keep turning until I tell you to freeze.” The next step should be to sequence the task. “When I say go, travel to an own space and once your there, pick a body part to turn on. After you have turned for 3 seconds, stop and move to another own space. Once you’re in your second own space, choose a second body part to turn on, and turn on that part for 3 seconds. When you have finished your second turn, wait there until I give you the next instruction.” If time permits have the students sequence three turns.

TWISTING: Part 1: Warm up with turning tag! (there is no such game, yet, but you can make one up.) Part 2: Twisting. Twisting is one of the harder concepts, but the action is not hard.

SHOOTING: Part 1: Play one of the games, or use one of the drills that you taught last class. Be sure to review the points of kicking. This will translate directly to shooting, which you will introduce in part two. Part 2: Begin by introducing the concept of shooting, and what the purpose is in a game. Guide your class through the steps of shooting, relating it to the concept of kicking. Give the students guided discovery questions or commands that will lead them through the process of shooting. If you are using a guided discovery approach (questions that lead the students to find or discover the most efficient way to do the skill), be sure to allow the students time to explore the possibility of answers physically, before asking them to answer the question. Ask only one question at a time, beginning with the easiest and progressing to the more difficult. Understand that difficult concepts for a first grade student will seem obvious to you. If you are going to use a command style approach, tell the students the point that you want them to focus on, (Example: As you kick your ball toward your target, I want you to look at the ball when you kick it.) and allow them to practice that point before moving on to the next part of shooting. Find out which parts seem: More accurate & Stronger. Explain that when you are shooting the ball you want to shoot it away from the goalie, but into the goal. Be sure to try with either foot. Part 3: Practice the skill with goals, but NO goalie. You can also include practice with dribbling and shooting.

SHOOTING GAME: Part 1: six stations, three with shooting tasks, and three with dribbling tasks. Remember you have not covered goal tending, so the stations should not include goal tending. Part 2/3: play 1v1 game with a goal. The object of the game will be to dribble and shoot the ball into the goal. Each player can have a goal, use chalk or markers to mark the players goals. The students can set up their own field, give them direction. “You and your partner will be playing a game. You will each have a goal, and you will be playing with one ball. The idea is to dribble the ball toward your partner’s goal, and shoot the ball into the their goal. If it goes into the goal, you score a point. If your partner is dribbling the ball toward your goal, you should try to get the ball away from them because you don’t want them to score, you want the ball so you can dribble the ball and shoot it into their goal! Remember if you are trying to steal the ball from your partner you can only use your feet. In soccer you cannot use your hands. You also must keep your hands to yourself. You cannot touch the person you are playing against. Only the ball. You can set up your own goals, remember to watch out so you don’t play in someone else’s space. Make sure you spread your goals far enough apart so that you have some room to move and play!

DRIBBLE, TRAP & SHOOTING DRILLS OR GAMES: this is the last lesson this year for soccer. You can set up stations with all the skills, or you can find a couple games that allow the class to play using only the skills you have taught. Regardless of how the game is written, do not play with less than 1 ball for every 3 or 4 students. It is ok to modify the game if it is safe to play. Or you can have more than one game going on at once.