Title:

Volleyball The Volley

Subject/Course:

Healthy Active Living Education/PPL3O

Time:
70
Minutes
Strand:
Physical Activity, Active Living, and Living Skills
Grade:

11

Stage 1: Desired Results

Lesson Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students should:
Be able to describe the key points of an effective volley.
Understand how to maintain a rally, move to receive and defend a space.
Demonstrate strategies for giving constructive feedback to their peers.
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation
Physical Activity
Demonstrate personal competence in applying movement skills and principles.
Active Living
Participate regularly in a balanced instructional program that includes a wide variety of enjoyable physical
activities that encourage lifelong participation.
Living Skills
Demonstrate the social skills required to work effectively in groups and develop positive relationships with
their peers.
Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation
Physical Activity
Demonstrate the development of movement skills in a variety of physical activities
Active Living
Demonstrate personal improvement in their performance of a variety of physical activities.
Demonstrate positive, responsible personal and social behaviour in physical activity settings.
Living Skills
Use strategies for giving constructive feedback to individuals and groups.
Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction
Student Groupings
Instructional Strategies
Entire class
Performance Demonstration
Students will be divided into groups of 6
Hands-on Activity
Students will work in groups of 3
Cooperative Learning
Students will work in pairs
Guided Discussion
Classroom Management (use music to cue
attention - when the music stops playing, students
stop, look and listen)
Materials
Considerations
Dodgeballs (x8)
Safety (equipment, clothing and footwear,
Practice volleyballs (x10)
facilities, rules and instructions, and supervision)
Volleyballs (x10)
Need to include water breaks throughout the
Criteria sheets for the volley
lesson
Prepared exit cards
Need to be aware of any pre-existing injuries
and adapt accordingly
Be ready to provide additional prompts if
students are unable to answer certain questions
after an activity

Accommodations

Instruction presented in a clear manner, with gradual steps and logical progressions
Physical, visual and auditory cues used throughout lesson
Choice of equipment (e.g., smaller/larger balls with more/less bounce)
Modify rules (e.g., no bounce/one bounce)
Exit cards allow students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways
Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction
Motivational Hook (3 MINS):
Tell students that today we will be learning more about net and wall games
Ask students what games or activities they have played that involves a net or a wall?
What kinds of things can they think of that are similar between all net and wall games?
What skills are needed?
Ask students to think more specifically about volleyball. What skills are needed?
Warm-up (10 MINS):
Fireball
Required Equipment: 6-8 dodgeballs
Number of Players: Entire class
Object of the Game: To eliminate all of the other players.
Boundaries: There are no boundaries. Players may travel anywhere within the playing area. When a player
has possession of a ball, they may take up to a maximum of three steps before they have to throw it.
Eliminating a Player: A player is eliminated if a ball that is live makes contact with them and then touches
the floor, wall, ceiling or any other part of the facility or makes contact with the ball that they are holding
and that ball is then dropped. The player sits down where they were eliminated.
Headshots: If a player is standing normally and is hit directly in the head with a ball, then that player is not
eliminated, but the player that threw the ball is. If a player attempts to dodge a ball resulting in being struck
in the head, then standard elimination rules apply.
Live Ball versus Dead Ball: A ball is considered live as long as it remains in the air and does not touch the
floor, wall, ceiling or any other part of the facility. A ball that bounces off another ball or any other player is
still live until the previous criteria is met. A ball is considered dead once it touches the floor, wall, ceiling or
any other part of the facility.
Blocking: A player may use a ball to block a live ball. If that ball is knocked out of their hands and touches the
floor, wall, ceiling or any other part of the facility, then that player is eliminated.
Catches: A caught ball
does not
eliminate the player that threw it.
Tag-outs: There are no tag-outs in fireball.
Self-revival: A player may revive themselves if they are able to reach a ball from where they are sitting and
eliminate another player. No travel is permitted from an eliminated player and they must throw from a
seated position.
Revival: A player is revived if the player that eliminated him/her is eliminated.
Body (50 MINS):
Keep Going (10 MINS)
Students will be divided into groups of 6.
Equipment: A ball of their choice for each group.
Tactical Problem: To maintain a rally.
Primary Rule: The ball must not stop.
Secondary Rule: Any striking motion is acceptable.
Accommodations: one bounce allowed, students who are unable to strike the ball into the air can catch the
ball and throw it instead.
Groups try to achieve a group record of consecutive hits.
Tactical Talk: What are the skills necessary to maintain a rally? What skills do you need to improve? What
was your strategy when your ball crossed into the space of another team?
The teacher asks for some input as to how the game could be improved.

Using the suggestions from the students (e.g., you have to call the name of the group member who you are
passing the ball to, you can only use your arms), the group agrees upon two or three modifications to the
game. The groups go back to their area of the gym and play the game using the new modifications.
The students are given the option to drink water.
Teach Key Points of the Volley (5 MINS)
Teacher discusses and demonstrates the key points of the volley to the entire class:
1. Fingers form triangle
2. Hands in the shape of ball
3. Use inside of fingertips
4. Contact in front of forehead
5. Extend arms and legs
6. Soft wrists
Switcheroo (5 MINS)
Student will get into groups of 6.
Students form two lines that face each other.
The first person volleys the ball to the first person in the other line, and then follows their pass to the back
of that line.
This pattern continues as students try to keep the ball in the air.
Ask students to see how many consecutive passes they can make.
Peer Assessment of the Volley (10 MINS)
Students will get into groups of 3.
There will be three roles in this activity: the person observing and using the
Ubersense app
, the person
throwing and the person volleying.
Students will take turns in each of these roles.
The observer will assess the person volleying using a criteria sheet (Appendix A) and provide verbal
feedback.
The observer will also use their phone and the
ubersense app
to record their partners movements.

Students will be able to compare their movements on the

ubersense app
with professional volley ball
players to see if they are correctly performing the skill.
Students switch roles until all students have completed a peer-assessment and received feedback.
Hi-Lo 2 vs. 2 Mini Games (12 MINS)
Each court will be divided in half.
The mini game is played to the attack line.
Students work in pairs.
Each mini court will have 3 teams.
The game is started with an underhand toss over the net to facilitate a rally.
Teams are only allowed to use bumps and volleys and are required to have 3 touches on each possession.
The last touch must be a volley or the point is automatically awarded to the other team.
Points are scored when the ball touches the floor or goes out of bounds.
The team who wins the point stays on the floor, and the other teams switch.
Each team keeps track of their points.
When the teacher calls time, the team with the most points moves up a court and the team with the fewest
points move down a court.
Tactical Talk: How do you give your partner more time to get to the ball? Where do you aim to hit the ball to
get a point?
Cool-down (10 MINS)
Calm music will be played during the cool-down
Each group will start at a different static stretching station (4 stations)
As a group, the students must come up with a different stretch for each of station (neck, arms, hips, legs)
Remind students to hold each stretch for 30 seconds

 Groups walk to the next station when the music stops (after 1 minute)
Extension/Simplification
All students will complete the lesson at the same time
However, extensions and simplifications will be used during activities so that each student is optimally
challenged. More specifically, the complexity and difficulty of each activity can be increased or decreased by
changing the equipment, the playing area or the task goal (i.e., the rules)
Closing (5 MINS):
Discuss ways that students can continue to develop their skills and tactics of volleyball outside of class (e.g.,
open gym, intramurals, watch YouTube videos)
Have students complete an exit card to check for understanding. Students will be asked to
describe/illustrate four key points of the volley.
Assessment
Teacher assessment through discussion and observation.
Peer-assessment of the volley using criteria sheets.
Exit card Describe/illustrate four key points of the volley.
Reflective Notes/Special Considerations/Accommodations
What worked well during the lesson? What did not work well? Describe any necessary changes.

Rationale
This lesson is designed for a grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education course. Through performance
demonstrations, hands-on activities, cooperative learning, and guided discussions, students will have the
opportunity to demonstrate a number of the specific expectations in the Ontario curriculum document. First, this
lesson will allow students to demonstrate the development of movement skills in their volleyball ability. Students
will have the opportunity to learn the key points of the volley through various activities and performance
demonstrations. Second, this lesson will allow students to learn strategies for giving constructive feedback to
their peers. During the lesson, each student will complete a peer-assessment and provide verbal feedback to
support their peers in their learning. Third, students will be able to demonstrate personal improvement in their
performance in the volley as they move through the various activities. The lesson will culminate in 2 vs. 2 mini
games where students will apply their learning and begin to incorporate passing skills and tactical skills into a game
like situation. During these activities, students will be consistently reminded to show positive, responsible personal
and social behaviour. Students will be asked to complete an exit card to demonstrate their learning. By the end of
the lesson, students will have the knowledge and understanding they need to move forward with other volleyball
specific skills.

Appendix A Criteria Sheet The Volley

Name of Player:
Name of Observer:
The observer should watch the player perform volleys for a few minutes.
During this time, the observer should look to see if the player is performing the key points listed below.
The observer should circle YES or NO to indicate this for each key point.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Fingers form triangle

Hands in the shape of ball
Use inside of fingertips
Contact in front of forehead
Extend arms and legs
Soft wrists

Adapted from pecentral.org

YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES

NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO

References
DropInSports.ca. (n.d.). Dodgeball (Fireball) Rules. Retrieved January 9, 2015 from
http://dropinsports.ca/pages/dodgeball-rules-fireball
.
Mosston, M. (1990).
The spectrum of teaching styles: From command to discovery
. New York: Longman.
Oliver, G. (2010).
Beyond the fundamentals: A games approach
. PHE Canada, Ottawa ON.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2010).
The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Health and Physical Education,
Interim Edition
. Retrieved on October 9, 2014 from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/healthcurr18.pdf
PlaySport.net. (n.d.).
Switcheroo
. Retrieved January 20, 2015 from
http://www.playsport.net/activity/switcheroo