KS2 · Physical education · Year 5
Controlling the game from the serve
Net and wall games: tactics to overcome an opponent through tennis
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/10
Your learning goal
I can control the game from the start by thinking about how and where to accurately serve the ball underarm.
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Controlling the game from the serve: slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
What you’ll learn
I can control the game from the start by thinking about how and where to accurately serve the ball underarm.
Key learning points
- Move: to serve, after one bounce, swing the racket back waist height and aim for the opposite side of the court or wall.
- Move: quality serves require us to aim for the corners of the service box so our opponent must move to return the ball.
- Think: evaluating our serving technique helps to identify strengths and weakness to improve our performance.
- Feel: trying to improve the accuracy of our serve by practising demonstrates self motivation.
- Connect: encouraging others when they find serving difficult shows you understand the importance of being respectful.
Words to know
- serve
- a player hits the ball towards the opponent to start a rally
- aim
- pointing or looking at something you want to hit or reach
- return
- hitting the ball back into play after our opponent has served
Common mistakes
Pupils may struggle to co-ordinate, letting the ball bounce before serving underarm. Pupils struggle to aim diagonally across the court into the service box.
Make sure pupils are bouncing the ball in front and to the side of their body and that they are stood side on to help them make contact with the serve. Pupils need to make sure their feet are lined up correctly to help them aim diagonally.
For parents, carers and teachers
- It is always useful to have different sized rackets/bats/paddles and balls of different sizes and bounce levels as pupils may struggle to control their serve with a racket and tennis ball. Allow students the opportunity to return to throwing underarm to serve if they are struggling to use a racket.