modify and extend their movement skills according to the play environment and the equipment used (1/2B3);
demonstrate responsible and safe behaviour to ensure their own and others' well-being. (1D1/3).

Underlying concepts

Hauora

Developing movement skills for physical confidence and enjoyment.

Attitudes and values

Developing commitment, perseverance, courage, and a positive and responsible attitude.

Socio-ecological perspective

Recognising the need for mutual care and shared responsibility.

Possible learning activities

To motivate the students:

read pirate stories, discuss pirate antics, and look at pictures of pirate ships;
discuss the potential of the playground to become an imaginary pirate ship, deciding what to add to the ship from available materials and what dangers there may be aboard the ship;
make pirate maps.

Create pirate crews of four to five students and ask each crew to choose a name for their ship.
Allocate each group a task to complete on board the pirate ship. Tasks could include:
- rescuing Frisky, the ship's cat, from the top of the ship's mast and bringing it safely back to the deck;
- as a group, and without dropping it, carrying a flag or a telescope (a cardboard tube) to the ship's lookout point (the students can select the object and decide on the purpose of this task);
- discovering some of the different faces pirates can pull and some of the different shapes they can make with their bodies as they walk the plank and jump into the water (on to a mat);
- taking treasure from their boat to the island (using three hoops as stepping stones), without falling off the stones and into the shark-infested waters;
- because the waves are crashing over the side of the boat, moving the pirate crew safely to the other end of the boat. Crew members must be linked together in some way so that no members are lost overboard (1/2B3).

Rotate the groups through the tasks, setting time limits according to each group's age and abilities. If time is limited, each group of students could undertake one task per day for a week.

Variations and extensions to this activity could include the following:

Other problems could be created for the pirates to solve.
The adventure playground could be used as a source for creating another imaginary environment, such as a castle, a mountain, or a machine.

Assessment opportunity

Students modify and extend their movement skills when using playground equipment imaginatively (1/2B3).

Teachers' notes

Resources required for this activity could include:

access to an adventure playground;
blankets, a flag, a cardboard tube, and a soft toy cat;
suspended hoops, low benches, and a mat.

Before commencing this activity, the students will need to practise a range of co-operative activities that encourage them to:

accept and take responsibility for allocated roles and tasks within the group;
exercise leadership skills;
acknowledge individual differences and demonstrate respect for the rights of others in the group;
demonstrate safe and appropriate behaviour on playground equipment. (Refer to page 10 of Adventure Experiences in the School Grounds (metadata record) in this series for information on spotting techniques. The students should practise these techniques before beginning activities where they work on play equipment above ground level.)

Movement skills

This activity allows the students to experience the sensations of moving backwards, forwards, and up and down through the air by their own efforts. The use of playground equipment gives the students the opportunity to develop, in a safe environment, such movement skills as climbing, jumping, landing, balancing, and swinging.