Unit Plan 3 (Grade 6 PE): Agility, Pathways & Evasion

Focus: Develop stronger agility, better balance and body control, and more effective use of pathways, levels, and feints to evade defenders in fast-paced movement challenges.

Grade Level: 6

Subject Area: Physical Education

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–55 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this Grade 6 Physical Education unit, students build movement confidence through activities that emphasize agility, evasion, and controlled changes of direction. Using cone ladder drills, tag games, and small-sided evasion challenges, students learn how to move quickly while still staying balanced, under control, and aware of defenders. The unit highlights the importance of choosing different pathways, changing levels, and using simple fakes or feints to create separation and avoid being tagged. Rather than relying only on speed, students practice how smart movement choices can make them more successful. By the end of the week, students should be able to explain how agility, body control, and deceptive movement help create an advantage in active games.

Essential Questions

• How can students use pathways and levels to make evasion more successful?
• Why is body control just as important as speed during agility tasks?
• How do fakes and feints help players escape defenders?
• What helps students stay active and successful in fast-paced movement games?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Perform locomotor skills such as running, sprinting, shuffling, sliding, and quick stopping with improved control.
2. Maintain balance and coordination during agility tasks that involve jumps, cuts, turns, and level changes.
3. Use varied pathways, levels, and feints to evade defenders more effectively.
4. Stay actively engaged in moderate-to-vigorous activity during drills and game challenges.

Standards Alignment — Grade 6 PE (SHAPE America-based custom)

• PE:S1.6a – Locomotor Skills with Speed, Transitions, and Control Perform locomotor skills (run, sprint, shuffle, skip, leap, slide) with control, quickly transitioning between movements and adjusting speed in response to game demands.
  • Example: In invasion games, students sprint to open space, decelerate under control, and change direction sharply to evade defenders or mark opponents.
• PE:S1.6b – Balance, Stability, and Coordination in Complex Movement Maintain static and dynamic balance while performing complex combinations (jumping, landing, rotating, changing levels and direction) in games and fitness tasks.
  • Example: Students complete an agility course involving quick cuts, jumps, and sudden stops without losing balance or body control.
• PE:S2.6b – Using Pathways, Levels, and Feints to Create Advantage Use varied pathways (straight, curved, diagonal, zigzag), levels (high, medium, low), and feints/fakes to create offensive opportunities or deny space on defense.
  • Example: A student uses a head fake and quick low-level cut to get separation from a defender, or uses an angled approach to cut off an opponent’s path to goal.
• PE:S3.6a – Regular Participation in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Participate regularly in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during class and demonstrate effort to remain active and engaged for most of the lesson.
  • Example: During continuous small-sided games and circuits, students remain moving, limit idle time, and fully participate in drills and gameplay.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can move quickly while staying under control.
• I can use different pathways and levels to avoid a defender.
• I can use a fake or feint to create space.
• I can stay balanced when changing direction, stopping, or jumping.
• I can stay active and engaged during movement challenges.