Pros and Cons of Unit Based Instruction

One discussion that always seems to come up concerns the pros and cons of unit based instruction. Often, teaching by the unit approach means teaching specific sports or activity units. For example, one might teach a soccer, dance, basketball, fitness, tennis, etc. unit. While the unit approach does give the teacher a central theme to plan around, it has a number of drawbacks to quality PE.

1. Students who do not like a particular unit may be turned off for its entire length unless the teacher is very creative in the unit's presentation.
2. Units generally start with skills - many in the form of drills, better suited for teams - and culminate with the real game. Most students are not ready for the real game at the end of a unit and will become frustrated as they see the more skilled athletes take over the game.
3. Fitness should never be a unit, but should be ongoing and part of all instruction.
4. Choosing particular units involves leaving out others. Choosing which units to teach very often depends on teacher likes and dislikes.

Occasionally, it may be necessary to group lessons around a particular sport because of equipment or spatial needs. However, I believe that in most cases, it is better to plan around the NASPE standards. Rather than teaching particular units, it may be better to focus on the skills and knowledge necessary to play any game or participate in any lifelong fitness and/or recreational activity. Lessons can focus, for example, on striking, passing, dribbling, shooting, movement forms, strategy, etc. Different kinds of equipment may be used for each lesson. Modified games can be used to teach each skill. Teachers can explain how each skill is appropriate for specific sports and other movement activities. Teachers can explain which activities produce higher fitness levels, and how to increase fitness for games and lifetime activities. Here is an example: Many sports require movement without the ball. Give one ball (any kind) to each pair of students. Pairs begin at a specific starting spot and try to go back and forth between this starting spot and a designated ending spot as many times as they can in a specific amount of time. They score one point each time they successfully go from one spot to the other. Only the person without the ball may move. The ball may not be missed. If it is missed, the pairs go back to the last spot they came from. This is an easy activity to implement. The teacher is free to use any piece of equipment that involves passing. If using more than one kind, the students should be encouraged to switch pieces of equipment during the lesson. Equipment may be modified so that it is developmentally appropriate. Students may be offered various kinds of equipment depending on their abilities. For example, if teaching a volleyball forearm pass, students may use beach balls, volleyball trainers, or real volleyballs. Beginning students may self strike the ball and their partner may be allowed to catch it. More advanced students may also have the choice of continually striking and moving. By offering various choices, the teacher is differentiating instruction. Allowing the students to move back and forth across the play area provides the teacher with the opportunity to move around and offer suggestions and advice to all the students.

While teaching without specific sport or activity units may seem daunting at first, after setting up yearly, monthly and weekly goals, most teachers will derive great benefits after moving away from traditional unit planning. An additional benefit is that your students will begin to see the similarities between certain sports and activities. A student who likes team sports like soccer or basketball may find that s/he likes field hockey or lacrosse, two sports that you may not have time to teach if only teaching by the unit approach.

Here is a sample scope and sequence for grades 4 and 5 that is not based on the traditional unit approach: Sample Scope and Sequence