Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What is sportsmanship?

25 minutes

Find Out: Shared traditions and celebrations at the Commonwealth Games

20 minutes

Take Action: Role-playing sportsmanship

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

look at the celebrations of the Commonwealth Games over time
explore respectful approaches to celebrating.

Success criteria

Students can:

demonstrate supportive ways to celebrate competitive sports and activities.

Tune In: What is sportsmanship?

Step 1

Begin by asking students about their experiences winning and losing in sports or other activities. Use the questions below to prompt discussion among the class:

How do you feel when you win a game or competition?
What about when someone else wins?
Do your feelings and actions change if they win against you?
What do you think it means to be a ‘good sport’?

Step 2

Once you’ve asked the students to explain what they think it means to be a ‘good sport’, introduce them to the term ‘sportsmanship’ and provide some examples of what ‘good’ and ‘poor’ sportsmanship might look or sound like.

Examples of good sportsmanship	Examples of poor sportsmanship
• high-fiving competitors after a game • saying, ‘good game’ to the other team, regardless of winning or losing • helping up a fallen competitor saying, ‘nice shot!’ to a competitor who scores • congratulating the winner with a smile and a handshake	• throwing equipment in frustration after missing a shot or going out • yelling at teammates for mistakes • refusing to shake hands with your competitors after losing a game • making excuses for your loss and blaming others • mocking or taunting slower runners during a race • boasting about your victory and putting down competitors

Find Out: Shared traditions and celebrations at the Commonwealth Games

Step 1

To get started, ask students what they already know about the Commonwealth Games and how it relates to sportsmanship. If they are unfamiliar with the Games, you can show them the What Are the Commonwealth Games? Visual Explainer.

Step 2

To discover sportsmanship in action, students will investigate how athletes display sportsmanship at the Commonwealth Games, including the different ceremonies that help promote respect and unity among athletes.

Display the Sportsmanship at the Commonwealth Games Visual Explainer so everyone can see it, then read the information aloud and discuss any unfamiliar words or concepts.

Extension opportunity: If time allows, you may want to show this example (9news.com.au/good-news/commonwealth-games-australia-sportsmanship-10000m-lesotho-runners/5ef4d123-ed7c-402c-aa84-959fdb26fc0b) during the 10,000m long-distance run at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and ask/discuss what sort of example of sportsmanship this is.

Take Action: Role-playing sportsmanship

Step 1

Start by acknowledging that sometimes it’s hard to show good sportsmanship when you lose a game. Use the questions below to unpack the reasons why and find out whether students believe this is something they have the power to change.

How do we usually feel when we lose at something? Why do we feel that way?
Can we think about losing in a different way?
Can someone learn to improve their sportsmanship?

Explain that good sportsmanship may not come naturally to everybody but can be practised and improved through role-play, which is what students will be practising for the remainder of the lesson.

Step 2

Invite students to form small groups (ideally 3-5), then explain how to conduct a role-play using the Role-Play Cards. Highlight that the cards will help them create a story related to sportsmanship at the Commonwealth Games. Support students who may not understand what their card says.

With the help of some volunteers and the instructions below, model how to prepare and perform a 2-3 minute role-play for the class. Depending on the level of support needed, students could continue taking turns role-playing in front of the class, or go off to prepare and practise on their own and perform them at the end.

Instructions:

One person from each group will be asked to collect 3 Role-Play Cards (1 from each of the containers).
The cards will display a sport, a setting/situation and an outcome.

sport: a sport played at the Commonwealth Games
setting/situation: a common place or situation at the Commonwealth Games
outcome: what happened

When placed together, these cards form a story for the group to role-play.

For example, a group could draw the following cards:

sport: badminton
setting/situation: at the end of a match
outcome: you lost

Using the cards, the group can appoint themselves as different characters and role-play the scenario. Using words and actions, students should be encouraged to act out the situation and whether the athlete displayed good or poor sportsmanship.

For example, a group of 3 demonstrated good sportsmanship by role-playing the following scenario (involving a narrator and 2 badminton players):

‘After competing in a long badminton match, both players walked up to the net and shook hands. Even though the player who lost felt sad, they said nice things to the winner and congratulated them on the win as they left the court’.

If you’d like to turn the role-playing into a game, students sitting in the audience could be asked to guess whether the role-play was an example of good or poor sportsmanship based on what they observed.

Reflection

To wrap up the lesson, ask students to reflect on the following questions, inviting them to share their answers in pairs or small groups.

What’s 1 thing you learned from the role-playing activity?
Why is it important for athletes at the Commonwealth Games to show good sportsmanship?
What is 1 thing you can do to improve your sportsmanship in future games or activities?

United through Sport

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