Long Jump in Physical Education: The Practical Handbook with Exercises, Games, and Technique Cards

This practical handbook supports the long jump in physical education from the first jumps in primary school to technique in secondary schools. Children and adolescents can first find their jumping leg and fly over banana boxes into the sandpit, later refining each phase of the jump in a targeted way. The exercises and games are designed as a modular set and can be combined to create suitable lessons depending on the students' level, objectives, and available time.

What is included in the material

• Teaching guidance with methodological principles, didactic reduction, differentiation, assessment methods, and performance evaluation in school sports
• Warm-up exercise cards with tasks for activation and mobilization, as well as the jumping ABC
• Jumping and hopping games with duration, equipment, game description, and variations
• Long jump exercises for finding the jumping leg, getting started with the long jump, and improving the approach, take-off, flight phase, and landing, each with focus, duration, equipment, and description
• Playful competitions for application and consolidation, including video-delay long jump and peer observation, with lists for recording jumps
• Technique cards for the approach and take-off, step long jump, downhill long jump, and running long jump as image sequences – without labels, with the most important technical features, and with detailed technical features
• Observation cards for the same jumping phases and techniques to check off with "Yes", "Partially", and "No"
• Assessment sheets from grade 3/4 to 11–13 with stars for best performance, technique, and individual progress, plus evaluation lists and an overview of distances for awarding stars

Tips for using the material

• Gross movement first: At the beginning, it is advisable to do away with a fixed take-off zone and simply let the learners get into jumping. The exercises for improving technique are suitable as soon as the approach, one-legged take-off, and two-legged landing are mastered confidently – from grade 7, and even earlier in more athletic groups.
• Obstacles as orientation: Banana boxes, foam blocks, or pool noodles can serve as visible obstacles. It is recommended to start with a few boxes and gradually increase the number.
• Many attempts: Small groups, station formats, and several parallel exercise lanes keep waiting times short; for example, it is also possible to jump into the sandpit from the grass side.
• Increase take-off and measuring: The exercises for the approach and take-off can initially be done without a take-off zone, then with a zone, and finally with a take-off board. Accordingly, measurements can initially be taken from the tip of the jumping foot, later from the zone or take-off line.
• Differentiation: The requirements can be adjusted using jumping distances, approach lengths, wide or narrow take-off zones, zones instead of exact distances, and additional preliminary exercises; in "Three Difficulties", the learners choose their own station.
• Feedback via video or peer: With a video-delay app on the tablet, the learners can watch their jump themselves shortly afterwards, with the technique card serving as a guide. In peer observation, two learners first agree on a phase, give each other feedback, and then switch roles.
• Assessment from multiple perspectives: In school sports, in addition to distance, movement quality, willingness to exert effort, and the implementation of feedback can be included in the assessment.

These competencies are promoted

• Rhythmic approach through target and marking runs, approach lanes, and exercises for the final rhythm
• One-legged take-off with active use of the swing leg through hop jumps and short approaches
• Controlled landing, in which the legs, arms, and upper body are led forward
• Movement observation and feedback on the individual jumping phases
• Self-assessment of one's own jumping performance in the banana box competition

Organizational notes

Most exercises work on the sports field and in the gym. In the sports hall, soft floor mats replace the jumping pit, and box lids in a "T" arrangement serve as take-off aids. For video feedback, a tablet and a tripod or box are required.

Accordingly, there are practical handbooks for sprinting and for shot put, technique cards for other athletics disciplines, and the mini-pentathlon with long jump as a discipline.