1. Game Sense in PE
Year 6 - Riverview Primary School
A resource for parents
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2. CONTENTS
 What is Game Sense?
 What is TGfU?
 What are the benefits of Game Sense when teaching PE?
 How does Game Sense link to the Syllabus?
 Reference List
Game Sense in PE
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3. Game Sense in PE
WHAT IS GAME SENSE?
 Game sense places emphasis on cognitive aspects of a game like tactical
understanding and awareness instead of the levels of skill and technique of
the players.
 Game Sense makes learning new games more engaging and meaningful for
students by placing games into easy to understand contexts.
 Although the emphasis of Game Sense is on students’ cognitive development,
skill and technique remains at its core. The only difference between Game
Sense and the traditional “teacher-led” approach is that skill/technique and
cognitive development is being taught at the same time.
 Game Sense provides students with opportunities to evaluate their
performance in a game.
(Truong, 2014)
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4. Game Sense in PE
 The first step in Game Sense is for students to
understand the procedure of the game.
 Students then recognise the problems in the
game that require solving.
 Students then develop a deeper understanding of
the game and the rules that shape it.
 Students then incorporate movement principles
to develop their own tactics.
 Once students are comfortable in executing
tactics in the context of the game, they are then
moved onto “technical instruction”.
(Towns, 2002)
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5. Game Sense in PE
WHAT IS TGfU?
 TGfU is an acronym for Teaching Games for Understanding and refers to a
learner-centred approach to teaching that highlights the learners’ needs,
understandings of the game and capabilities (Truong, 2014).
 When using TGfU, games fall under one of four categories which were formed
based on connections in their structure and the skills used (Ellis, 1983):
 Target games – eg. Darts and Golf
 Striking games – eg. Baseball and Cricket
 Net/Wall games – eg. Badminton and Volleyball
 Invasion/Territorial games – eg. Soccer and Rugby (Mandigo, 2007)
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6. Game Sense in PE
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF GAME SENSE WHEN TEACHING PE?
 Apart from keeping students moving and active throughout the PE lesson,
Game Sense fosters motivation within participants of all skill levels as games
can be modified by the teacher when needed (Truong, 2014).
 Decision making skills are fostered through Game Sense which is a vital life
skill and an imperative asset in order to function in a variety of situations
(Mandigo, 2007).
 The Game Sense approach encourages physical literacy in students
(Whitehead, 2001). Physical literacy refers to cognitive skills such as:
 decision making
 problem solving
 perception of the environment around them
 anticipation of potential “patterns of play” (Mandigo, 2007).
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7. Game Sense in PE
HOW DOES GAME SENSE LINK TO THE SYLLABUS?
 The Game Sense approach is still relatively new to teaching and uses games
as the main focus of the lessons. In keeping the focus of the lesson on
games as opposed to skills, students fell less pressure and are more inclined
to apply tactical awareness and strategy.
 Skills from the Syllabus that are applied in the Games Sense approach
include:
 Moving – Students learn to move effectively in response to different
games
 Problem-solving – Students learn this by observing problems, identifying
solutions and applying them in the right context
 Communicating – Students learn to express their feelings and ideas
effectively
 Interacting – Students learn from one another and co operate in games
 Decision-making – Students use tactical skills and anticipation skills and
apply them to the games
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8. Game Sense in PE
REFERENCES:
 Board of Studies, NSW. (2007). Personal development, health and physical education K-
6: Syllabus. Sydney, Australia: Author.
 Ellis, M. (1983). The Classification and Analysis of Games: A system for the classification
of games. Unpublished manuscript. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
 Mandigo, J., Butler, J. & Hopper, T. (2007). What is Teaching Games for Understanding?
A Canadian perspective. Physical and Education Health Journal, 73(2), 14-20.
 Towns, J. (2002). About Game Sense. University of Wollongong. Retrieved from
https://vuws.uws.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1202164-dt-content-rid-
13887365_1/courses/101576_2014_2h/Games%20Sense%20Supplemental%20Readin
g.pdf
 Truong, S. (2014). Primary PDHPE Lecture 2: Children’s Movement and FMS. Taken from
https://vuws.uws.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1198000-dt-content-rid-
13866255_1/courses/101576_2014_2h/Lecture%202%20-%20Slides.pdf
 Whitehead, M. (2001). The concept of physical literacy. European Journal of Physical
Education, 6, 127-138.
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