Year 1

Health and Physical Education Support Materials

Assessment Principle 3

Assessment should be fair

Physical Education snapshot: Underarm throw and catch

Health and Physical Education/Physical Education/Movement and physical activity/Moving our body

Content Description

Object control skills:

  • underarm throw
  • bounce

Fundamental movement skills involving the control of objects used in simple games:

  • kick
  • catch
  • bounce

Nature of the assessment

Performance observation of students’ ability to perform a catch and an underarm throw

Purposes of the assessment

To monitor student ability in each of the skills and provide feedback aimed to improve performance

Stage in the Teaching sequence

This type of assessment is continuous and may be conducted at any stage or at the end of a unit of work – formative and/or summative assessment

Although one practice drill is outlined below, the skills may be demonstrated in a variety of drills or activities.

Assessment task

  • Students worked in pairs approximately 3 m apart. (This distance may be varied to accommodate those with different ability levels.)
  • Each pair was provided with either a small ball (tennis ball size) or a small bean bag.
  • Students took turns to underarm throw and catch with their partner.
  • Teacher monitored how each pair was performing and moved students depending on ability levels.

Diagram showing student positions and 3 m distance between them

Assessment process

Assessment of proficiency in each skill was made according to the teaching points below.

Underarm throw:

  • stands face-on to direction of throw
  • stable head and trunk, eyes focused on target area
  • ball held in front of body
  • steps forward with opposite foot to throwing arm
  • well-timed release
  • follows through with straight arm

Catch:

  • feet move to place body in-line with the ball
  • eyes focused on the ball
  • hands reach out to meet the ball
  • hands adjust to path and size of ball
  • fingers soft and slightly cupped
  • caught in hands only
  • hand and finger closure well-timed
  • elbows bend to absorb impact

Using the information

The teacher used this information to develop additional activities to monitor and correct individual students’ techniques.