Scope and sequence · PE & Health
Body Mechanics of Sport: The Physics of the Moving Body
A one-semester course in the physics of the moving body: levers, balance and the kinetic chain, collisions and spin, friction and flight, told through the scientists, coaches and athletes who discovered them, and measured by students in their own throws, kicks, jumps, swings and serves.
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What to cover
30 of 30 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: The Body as a Machine
- MUST COVER 1.1 Newton’s Laws in Sport · exam
- MUST COVER 1.2 Levers in the Body · exam
- MUST COVER 1.3 Center of Mass, Balance and the Base of Support · exam
- MUST COVER 1.4 The Kinetic Chain · exam
- MUST COVER 1.5 Muscles, Practice and Deliberate Practice · exam
Unit 2: Baseball and Softball
- MUST COVER 2.1 The Batting Swing · exam
- MUST COVER 2.2 The Pitch and the Magnus Effect · exam
- MUST COVER 2.3 Throwing Mechanics and Arm Care · exam
- MUST COVER 2.4 Fielding and the Outfielder’s Path · exam
- MUST COVER 2.5 Ted Williams and the Science of Hitting · exam
Unit 3: Soccer
- MUST COVER 3.1 The Instep Drive: The Physics of the Kick · exam
- MUST COVER 3.2 Bending It: Spin and the Famous Free Kick · exam
- MUST COVER 3.3 First Touch: Absorbing Momentum · exam
- MUST COVER 3.4 Balance, Cutting and Protecting the Knee · exam
- MUST COVER 3.5 Heading: Physics and Safety Rules · exam
Unit 4: Tennis and Volleyball
- MUST COVER 4.1 The Tennis Serve as a Kinetic Chain · exam
- MUST COVER 4.2 Topspin and the Forehand · exam
- MUST COVER 4.3 Footwork, the Split Step and Reaction Time · exam
- MUST COVER 4.4 The Volleyball Pass: Platform Angle and Reflection · exam
- MUST COVER 4.5 The Spike and the Jump Serve · exam
Unit 5: Golf and Bowling
- MUST COVER 5.1 The Golf Swing as a Double Pendulum · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.2 Loft, Spin and Launch: The Driver and the Wedge · exam
- MUST COVER 5.3 Putting: Green Speed, the Stimpmeter and the Break · exam
- MUST COVER 5.4 The Bowling Approach: Timing and the Pendulum Swing · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.5 The Hook Ball: Friction, Oil and the Pocket · exam
Unit 6: Training, Analysis and the Whole Athlete
- MUST COVER 6.1 Filming and Analyzing Your Own Motion · exam
- MUST COVER 6.2 Strength, Flexibility and Rest · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.3 Injury Prevention: Warm-Ups, Landings and Growing Bones · exam
- MUST COVER 6.4 The Body as a Temple: Energy, Heat and Sportsmanship · exam
- MUST COVER 6.5 Capstone: Your Own Motion Study · exam
36-week pacing calendar
This is a 20-week course. Pair it with another course in the same subject, or spread it over the year at a lighter pace.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Day 1: Lesson 1.1 Newton’s Laws in Sport: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 1.1: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 1.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 1.2 Levers in the Body: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 1.2: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Day 1: Lesson 1.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 1.3 Center of Mass, Balance and the Base of Support: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 1.3: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 1.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 1.4 The Kinetic Chain: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 3 | Day 1: Lesson 1.4: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 1.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 1.5 Muscles, Practice and Deliberate Practice: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 1.5: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 1.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 4 | Day 1: Unit 1 test Day 2: Lesson 2.1 The Batting Swing: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 2.1: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 2.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 2.2 The Pitch and the Magnus Effect: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 5 | Day 1: Lesson 2.2: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 2.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 2.3 Throwing Mechanics and Arm Care: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 2.3: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 2.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 6 | Day 1: Lesson 2.4 Fielding and the Outfielder’s Path: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 2.4: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 2.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 2.5 Ted Williams and the Science of Hitting: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 2.5: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Day 1: Lesson 2.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 2 test Day 3: Lesson 3.1 The Instep Drive: The Physics of the Kick: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 3.1: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 3.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 8 | Day 1: Lesson 3.2 Bending It: Spin and the Famous Free Kick: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 3.2: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 3.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 3.3 First Touch: Absorbing Momentum: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 3.3: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 9 | Day 1: Lesson 3.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 3.4 Balance, Cutting and Protecting the Knee: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 3.4: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 3.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 3.5 Heading: Physics and Safety Rules: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 10 | Day 1: Lesson 3.5: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 3.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 3 test Day 4: Review day for the midterm Day 5: Midterm exam | ||
| Wk 11 | Day 1: Lesson 4.1 The Tennis Serve as a Kinetic Chain: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 4.1: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 4.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 4.2 Topspin and the Forehand: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 4.2: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 12 | Day 1: Lesson 4.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 4.3 Footwork, the Split Step and Reaction Time: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 4.3: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 4.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 4.4 The Volleyball Pass: Platform Angle and Reflection: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 13 | Day 1: Lesson 4.4: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 4.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 4.5 The Spike and the Jump Serve: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 4.5: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 4.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 14 | Day 1: Unit 4 test Day 2: Lesson 5.1 The Golf Swing as a Double Pendulum: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 5.1: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 5.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 5.2 Loft, Spin and Launch: The Driver and the Wedge: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 15 | Day 1: Lesson 5.2: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 5.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 5.3 Putting: Green Speed, the Stimpmeter and the Break: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 5.3: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 5.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 16 | Day 1: Lesson 5.4 The Bowling Approach: Timing and the Pendulum Swing: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 5.4: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 5.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 5.5 The Hook Ball: Friction, Oil and the Pocket: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 5.5: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 17 | Day 1: Lesson 5.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 5 test Day 3: Lesson 6.1 Filming and Analyzing Your Own Motion: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 6.1: project and notebook Day 5: Lesson 6.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 18 | Day 1: Lesson 6.2 Strength, Flexibility and Rest: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 6.2: project and notebook Day 3: Lesson 6.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 6.3 Injury Prevention: Warm-Ups, Landings and Growing Bones: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 6.3: project and notebook | ||
| Wk 19 | Day 1: Lesson 6.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 6.4 The Body as a Temple: Energy, Heat and Sportsmanship: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 6.4: project and notebook Day 4: Lesson 6.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 6.5 Capstone: Your Own Motion Study: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 20 | Day 1: Lesson 6.5: project and notebook Day 2: Lesson 6.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 6 test Day 4: Review day for the final Day 5: Final exam | ||
| Wk 21 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 22 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 23 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 24 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 25 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 26 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 27 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 28 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 29 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 30 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 31 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 32 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 33 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 34 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 35 | Open week: second course, project or review | ||
| Wk 36 | Open week: second course, project or review |
Grading: Practice sets (completed and corrected) 15%, Projects (measurements, physics, decision) 25%, Scorebook (organization, honesty, completeness) 10%, Unit tests 30%, Midterm exam 10%, Final exam 10%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60.