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TGFU - Badminton

Game Sequence #1

Tactical Problem / Focus: Students will learn about placing shots in an open area which
makes it impossible for an opponent to execute a returning smash.

Skill Focus: Students will learn how to:

Move backwards and forwards in order to get to the birdie
Make their opponent move backwards and forwards
Execute a variety of badminton shots including the underhand / overhand clear and the
underhand / overhand drop shot
Description
1. Students need to be in groups of two
2. Each group will need a tennis ball and a long, narrow badminton court (about one half of
the actual badminton court is ideal)
3. The object of the game is to make the tennis ball land on the opponent's side of the net
using only underhand throwing
4. The tennis ball must be caught before bouncing, and then immediately thrown
(underhand!) back across the net
Simplification

Students can use a larger ball if the tennis ball is too difficult to catch
A "once bounce" rule can be put into effect if students have trouble moving quickly
Exaggeration

The court can be made wider so that students need to move further to catch the ball
A rule can be put into place so that students can only move when the ball has crossed
the badminton net. This would reduce the time that the students have to get to where the
ball is going in order to make the catch.
Modification

Use a rubber chicken instead of a ball. The purpose of the game is to get students to
realize that they should be throwing the ball into areas that are furthest away from the
opponent. Any implement that will make the game more fun while keeping this goal in
mind should be used.
Questions

Q: Why is it easy to catch the ball sometimes while it is difficult at other times?
A: I had to move to get the ball or the ball wasn't in the air long enough for me to get to
it.

Q: If you don't want your opponent to catch the ball, where should you throw it?
A: To an open space far away from where my opponent is standing.

Q: Are there any sports that you can think of where this strategy would come in handy?
A: Yes. Badminton, tennis, volleyball, etc.

Progression #1

Description
1. Students will swap out the tennis ball for badminton rackets and a birdie
2. The court is the same, but now underhand and overhand shots are allowed
3. Instead of catching and throwing, students must now get the birdie across the net by
hitting it with their racket
Simplification

Reduce the size of the court. Although we are trying to teach strategy regarding
movement, some students may really struggle with just hitting the birdie. Reducing the
area of play makes it a little bit easier so that students can concentrate on placing shots
rather than just worrying about getting the shot over the net.
Exaggeration

Emphasize hitting the birdie as high as possible during clear shots to ensure that it goes
over the opponent's reach, and to develop the specific muscles associated with hitting
clear shots.
Suggest hitting the top of the net with the birdie during drop shots. This is very tricky to
do while still making the birdie go over the net, so it will give the students who are
badminton pros something to strive for during this game.
Modification

Disallow smashes. Lots of students have trouble hitting clear shots far enough, and we
don't want those students to become scared of the birdie as a result of getting it
smashed into their faces repeatedly.
Use a volleyball net. This allows students the time to get under the birdie, and it also
enforces nice high clear shots so that the birdie travels above the opponent while
staying out of his or her reach.
Questions

Q:What is the easiest shot to return? Why?
A: Shots that were in the middle of the court. I didn't have to move in order to get them.

Q: What is the most difficult shot to return? Why?
A: Drop shot / clear shot / smash. I didn't have time to get to the birdie.

Q: How can we use this in a real game of badminton?
A: Hit a drop shot, followed by a clear, followed by a drop shot, etc. Get the opponent
moving constantly.

Progression #2

Description
1. Students play again, this time in pairs on the full badminton court.
2. This is very similar to the actual game of badminton, but in true TGFU fashion, we aren't
going to emphasize protocols for starting a game, rules of serving, or ideal shot
mechanics. The students should again be focusing on placing shots away from the
opponents, as well as how the extra opponent changes the various strategies regarding
movement.
Simplification

Go back to throwing a ball if the students don't understand the new strategies. Some
students may be too focused on hitting the birdie rather than thinking about the tactics
when there are two people per side.
Exaggeration

Tape some circles in the corners of the court. If the team scores a point by getting the
birdie to land in one of these designated areas, the point is worth 2 points. This will
encourage students to place the birdie in areas which are extremely difficult to get to for
the opposing team.
Modification

Make the students switch who has to hit the birdie every time. So if I hit it this time, my
teammate would have to hit the next return, then me again, etc. This would bring about
new movement strategies related to other wall games such as doubles squash.
Questions

Q: What is the main difference when playing against two opponents rather than only
one?
A: I can hit the birdie side to side with the wider area of play and it's harder to catch the
opponents out of position.

Q: How did you decide who hit the birdie when it was close to both you and your
teammate?
A: We didn't and we lost the point or we communicated and one of us took it.

Q:How were you and your partner arranged on your side of the net? Could there be a
more effective way to cover the court while playing doubles?
A: Side to side / diagonal / front and back. Front and back is the best way to set up
because it's easier to move to the sides than it is to constantly move backwards and
forwards.

Game Sequence #2

Tactical Problem / Focus: Students will learn about the value and strategy of placing
shots in the short range and the long range, as well as improving their aim.

Skill Focus: Students will learn how to:


Move backwards and forwards in order to get to the birdie
Make their opponent move backwards and forwards
Execute a variety of badminton shots including the underhand / overhand clear and the
underhand / overhand drop shot
Description
1. Students need to be in groups of two
2. Each group will need rackets and 6 birdies as well as a narrow badminton court (about
one half of the actual badminton court is ideal)
3. The students will alternate and take turns trying to get 3 birdies in the front hoop (directly
on the other side of the net) and 3 birdies in the back hoop (at the very back of the court)
4. For each birdie that lands in its target the student recieves a point.
5. The game goes back and forth untill both students have improved their short and long
aim.
Simplification


Students can use a tennis ball if the birdies are too difficult for them to aim.
Once they have mastered the tennis ball, they should progress to the birdies again.
Exaggeration


Smaller hoops can be used or the hoops can be moved to practice aiming for different
range shots if the game becomes too easy.

Modification


The students can be come the targets instead of using hoops. SAFETY NOTE--> NO
OVER HAND SHOTS, ONLY UNDERHAND SHOTS CAN BE ALLOWED IF THE
STUDENT IS THE TARGET. This will allow for the students to aim for a more realistic
target, their opponent. This will help them develop the skills to rally.
Questions

Q: What is the purpose of aiming for these two specific areas?
A: These are two very difficult shots to return.

Q: Using these two shots how can I make it more difficult for my opponent
A: By alternating between the two areas.

Progression #1

Description
1. Students will put the hoops away and mark two zones on each side of the net with
cones. One close to the net and one at the back of the court.
2. The court is the same, but now underhand and overhand shots are allowed
3. The students will play a game to 5, but a point can only be scored if the birdie lands in
one of the two designated zones.
Simplification



Make the zones at the front and back of the court bigger so that the space between
them is smaller.
Remove the net and play over a line on the floor.
Exaggeration


The students must choose one area to stand in (ie they can not stand in the middle
between the two areas) and they can not leave that area untill their opponent has made
contact with the birdie.
Modification



Disallow smashes. Lots of students have trouble hitting clear shots far enough, and we
don't want those students to become scared of the birdie as a result of getting it
smashed into their faces repeatedly.
Use a volleyball net. This allows students the time to get under the birdie, and it also
enforces nice high clear shots so that the birdie travels above the opponent while
staying out of his or her reach.
Questions

Q:Where is the best place to shoot for?
A: The area that your opponent is not standing

Q: Where is the best position to stand on defense.
A: In the middle between the two areas, so that they are equal distance between each
area.

Q: How can we use this in a real game of badminton?
A: By shooting back and forth between the two most difficult areas this ensures that your
opponent is moving constantly.

Progression #2

Description
1. Students play again, this time in pairs on the full badminton court.
2. This is very similar to the actual game of badminton, but in true TGFU fashion, we aren't
going to emphasize protocols for starting a game, rules of serving, or ideal shot
mechanics. The students will still have two designated areas that they can score in, but
now it will be a three foot space along the whole back of the court and up to the service
line along the whole net.
Simplification


Go back to throwing a ball if the students don't understand the new strategies. Some
students may be too focused on hitting the birdie rather than thinking about the tactics
when there are two people per side.
Allow two hits per side, this will allow the studets to more time to decide where they will
put the birdie, it will also allow for some team work.
Exaggeration


To make it more difficult, each shot must alternate between team mates. Hopefully the
students will have realized that it is easiest to have one player taking the shorter shots
and one player taking the longer shots. (This will be addressed in the questions to
follow). While each player must alternate taking shots, the opposing team can place the
birdie in either area.
Modification


If the students are still having trouble with these strategies, play this game with a tennis
ball using only underhand shots. This will atleast allow them to learn and appreciate the
different strategies involved in badminton.
Questions

Q: What is the best defensive strategy?
A: To designate a specific area to each player (eg. onestudent takes short, one takes
long)

Q: What offensive strategy worked best when team mates had to alternate shots?
A: Putting the birdie in the same section twice, it forced the opponents to trade areas,
multiple times.




















http://trevally.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/badminton-tgfu/

Badminton TGfU
Posted on February 13, 2012 by JT
At the end of last year, I began to experiment using the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model in my
PE classes. Id used similar questioning in my lessons previously, but it hadnt been a driver in developing
lessons and units. This year, Im determined to do it more and have in fact set my department the challenge to
adopt it in to more of their units too.
Our year 9s start with a unit of badminton. In the past, weve spent a lot of time playing games and practicing
specific skills but little time on strategy. We dont have specific courts marked out for badminton, so make do we
what we can create in the space available. I have managed to string together 6 courts which means the class is
active the whole time.
Before starting this year, I did a quick search for some resources online and found a fantastic wiki with TFfU
resources for a wide range of sports. I found the Badminton resources particularly helpful in getting my class
started.
In the first lesson, the students experiemented with different types of shots. After a quick warm up with one bird
between two students, they then had to rally just with underarm shots and then with just over arm shots. Because
asking questions plays a big role in developing understanding, I asked questions like, what was easy about
playing an underarm shot at the front of the court?, What was difficult using one at the back of the court?, What
was the flight path of the bird when hit underarm? and What impact will that have on a rally?. I asked similar
questions for overhead shots in order to get them observing the flight of the shot and to work out how and when
they could use each shot in a game.
Today we had the second lesson and it was based on progressions found on the TGfU wiki for Badminton. Our
first activity, used one tennis ball between 2 players across the net. The idea was to move the opposing player
around the court trying to get the ball to bounce in open space to win a point. The video below gives a good idea
of what the students had to do.
Activity 1 Tennis Ball
This game provided a great basis for asking the following questions (taken and adapted from the TGfU wiki
mentioned earlier).
1. Why is it easier to catch some throws than others?
2. What strategies did you use to try and make it difficult for your opponent to catch the ball.
Activity 2 Singles with a racquet and bird
We progressed from this game to using a racquet and bird and asked the following questions:
1. When was it easiest to hit the bird? Why?
2. What was the most difficult shot to return? Why?
3. How and when can this shot be used effectively in a game?
Activity 3 Doubles
The third activity was to play a doubles game, using any type of shot to try and get the bird to hit the ground. It
was really good to see the students starting to think about he type of shot they would play and already working
out strategies to create space on the court.
At the end of this activity, these are the questions I used:
1. What was the main difference between playing singles and doubles? Answers included a lack of space in
doubles, harder to hit it away from opposition players etc.
2. What were the challenges of playing doubles? Answers included, getting in each others way, working out a
common strategy or knowing what the other player was trying to do.
3. What different strategies did you use on the court to manage the space? Most teams said one player at the
front and one at the back but a couple set up side by side.
4. For each of the two strategies we then explored how you could create space to attack Question: How can
you create space when players are side by side/one forward, one back?
We also discussed the types of shots players could use if they were forced out of position by the opposition and
they were able to identify using defensive lobs or hitting the ball long and high to give you time to get back in
position.

All of this was achieved in a 45 minute lesson. It was great to see the players starting to think and then putting
the strategies they were developing into action. Make sure you check out the TGfU wiki http://tgfu.wetpaint.com/ .
They have many great ideas that you can use in heaps of different sports.