Learning about the American PE curriculum

Student PE teachers were introduced to Ultimate Frisbee and POP Lacrosse at part of their training – both games are widely taught in North American high schools.

Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee, officially called simply Ultimate, is an exciting, non-contact team sport that mixes the best features of soccer, basketball, American football and netball. Many schools now include Ultimate in their PE curriculum as an alternative to more traditional competitive team sports to widen appeal.

Ultimate has the components of goal-throwing invasion games where the objective of the game is to manoeuvre an object through a defended territory, to an agreed target, within set parameters over a prescribed period of time. The seven-a-side game  requires cardiovascular fitness, tactical awareness and technical ability and can be adapted to suit each individual pupil.

Players score goals by sending and receiving a frisbee into the opponent’s end zone. One unique feature of Ultimate is that it is played without a referee with players making decisions reciprocally.

Physical Education PGCE and School Direct route leader, Dr Gary Stidder, said: “Ultimate Frisbee is a great alternative to other forms of invasion games and requires very different skills and techniques. If taught correctly they can be extremely inclusive for all pupils of all abilities and provide variation in terms of curriculum content.

“I particularly like the fact that players have to take responsibility for making refereeing decisions collectively and ensure that it is played in the spirit of the game. This is a great example of how respect for opponents can be embedded and contributes to the holistic development of pupils.

POP Lacrosse

POP Lacrosse is the form of lacrosse played in schools – it is non-contact and uses inexpensive plastic-headed sticks and large, softer lacrosse balls. It is particularly suitable for delivering invasion skills within the physical literacy PE curriculum. The game is usually played as a five-a-side mixed game and is fast paced and fun to play.

On introducing these sports to the student PE teachers, Dr Stidder said: “Having taught physical education in North America during the early nineties I soon realised how different the curriculum was compared to England.

“Games such as Ultimate Frisbee and POP Lacrosse were extremely popular amongst the student body but also an integral part of the formal PE curriculum at my school. I noticed that these types of team games can be extremely inclusive for all pupils of all abilities and can be played in mixed-sex teams.

“Games such as these could be celebrated during an International Week within schools where other cultural aspects such as food, music and dance can also be included.”

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