Formative Assessment of Sport Strategy
How do you explain how to play offense and defense? Students don’t magically walk into class understanding the tactics and strategies of the sports we play; it is our job to teach and assess these. To start, we like to ask our students what they know about offensive and defensive strategies by brainstorming a list (see form 4.17). We find it is best to use a T-chart (both before and after we have taught these strategies). Few of our students have cognitive comprehension of what to do to maintain or get possession or what to do when they lose possession. Let’s put it this way—their before list is short and often blank. Take a look at form 4.27 to get an idea of strategies that are common among all sports. This is a good starting point. After we have explained these strategies and asked students to apply them in sport, we then complete form 4.17 with the offensive and defensive strategies that they understand and can apply.
Also, you can give students a strategy and have them choose whether it is an offensive strategy, defensive strategy, or both. Our next assessment (form 4.18) checks just that. We give seven examples and students determine which strategy they fall under.
We have found that most physical educators do not teach these strategies and are often frustrated when a team or individual players dominate activities. Power standard 1 supports helping students to develop their technical skills and their tactical understanding of sport and games.
