Big Cuz and Little J are very excited that Sissy is coming to play with them over the weekend. They both see Sissy as their special friend. Big Cuz wants to play a ‘Sisters Only’ talent quest just for she and Sissy, and Little J plans an obstacle course for all to play. Eventually, Little J, Big Cuz and Sissy come together to test their skills on the obstacle course.

Explore - Perform fundamental movement skills in a variety of movement sequences and situations

Theme - MOVEMENT

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 6 ‘Big Plans’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding about performance and movement skills.

Revisit the three-legged race scene, and focus students’ attention on the skills needed to perform this type of race. Students should be directed to skills such as balance, coordination, control, timing, rhythm, perception, concentration, strength and speed, etc.

At the start and end of each session, conduct warm up and cool down stretches.

• Quick Warm-ups without equipment 
• Fitness for Kids - Warm-Up Routine 
• Warm Ups & Cool Downs for Children

Have students attempt a three-legged race, and slow down the action so that they are moving one step at a time. Have students list the parts of their bodies that are used to make the action of running: legs, feet, arms, head, body, etc. Students should list almost all parts of the body to realise that the momentum of movement is a coordination of all muscles, bones and nerves, etc.

As a class, view the video clip: Man running slow motion with mountain backdrop. Have students analyse the way the man is running and what is happening to his arms and legs while running. Have students practise their own slow-running style.

Explain to students that many Aboriginal dances and/or Torres Strait Islander dances imitate the movements of animals they know and hunt. These movements are then adapted for tracking, hunting and for dancing. For example,

• Ray Mears – Tracking in the desert 
• Crazy Emu Dance 
• Kangaroo and Emu Dance 

Have student devise their own movements from their experiences of animals they are familiar with. The movements can involve, running, hopping, skipping, etc. Ask students to explain their movement/s and how it resembles the animal of their choice.

**Teacher note: Warning that some Aboriginal dance moves and/or Torres Strait Islander dance moves can only be performed by certain genders. It is important to not have students imitate Aboriginal dance moves and/or Torres Strait Islander dance moves without cultural permissions; students can adapt these movements to their own invented movements.

Have students participate in the following movement games:

The Chase

Focus on: throwing, dodging, following simple rules

• Establish a start line and a finish line.
• Provide 3–4 large items a student could hide behind such as a cardboard box, a rubbish bin or a chair. Place these items between the start and the finish line, to left and right of the race area.
• Nominate three students to hide behind these items. These students are the pitchers.
• Give each student three small damp sponges (or sponge balls, or bean bags).
• Three student runners enter the course, mimicking animal movements, such as hopping like kangaroos, slithering like snakes, flapping like birds, or any other animal of their choice.
• The pitchers try to hit the runners with their sponges BUT they are only allowed to hit them from the front (i.e. before the runner has passed them), not from behind.
• Appoint line-keepers, placed at the sides of the playing field, to watch what happens. Explain that the line-keepers are the judges, and must decide the outcome of a dispute about this rule.
• Pitchers must not leave their hiding spot (they must have a hand or foot on their box/bin/chair at all times).

The runners that get through with the fewest hits are celebrated as the fastest and most agile.
So are the pitchers who make the most hits without breaking the rules are the most accurate.

Allow each group to participate as being a pitcher, or runner, and a line-keeper.

Discuss the strategies and techniques with the class to encourage reflection, as students swap roles.

Variations

This course can be run as a relay race. Assign points for each ‘hit’, e.g. 3 points if hit by the first pitcher and 1 point if hit by the last one. The runner with the fewest points wins.

Gorri

Focus on: throwing, aim, hitting a moving target.

To play the Aboriginal target game, Gorri, players must stand behind a line and attempt to hit a large ball that has been rolled down the line by a fellow student. For full instructions, background and variations, go to Gorri, Yulunga, Traditional Indigenous games, Australian Sports Commission.

After the games, ask students to reflect on what they learnt, and devise a statement about how these types of movements help young people develop skills for working together.