Head knocks

Focus Questions

1.  What are some symptoms of concussion?

2.  Give an example of a contact sport.

3.  In your own words, describe what happens to the brain when someone gets concussed.

4.  It’s estimated that NFL players get about how many hits to the head every season

a.  100

b.  500

c.  1500

5.  What sort of problems can repeated head injuries cause later in life?

6.  What changes are being made to some Aussie contact sports?

7.  Complete the following sentence: If a player gets concussed in a game, it’s recommended they…

8.  What are some local football clubs being doing about the problem?

9.  Why do some people think wearing head protection could make things worse?

10.  Do you think wearing head protection should be compulsory for all contact sports? Explain your answer.

Head knocks

Students will research and debate the following statement:

`All children should wear head protection when playing contact sports’

Divide the class into teams of 6, 3 speaking for the affirmative and 3 against. Other roles that can be assigned are chairperson, time keeper and the remaining class members can adjudicate using the rubric at the end of this activity. Discuss with students the length of time each speaker talks for. Students will need sufficient time to research the topic. There are some web links at the end of this activity to support students.

The debate can be structured in the following way:

Speaker 1 Introduce the topic and team’s argument. The 1st speaker for the negative can also rebut (argue against).

Speaker 2 Rebuttal and continue team’s argument

Speaker 3 Rebuttal and summarise/conclude debate

Some key issues/questions students can explore for the debate include:

·  Whether wearing head protection should be optional or compulsory

·  Medical evidence that supports the arguments for or against

·  Whether wearing head protection encourages `rougher’ play

Peer adjudication rubric

Levels of performance
Criteria / Needs improvement / Satisfactory / Good / Excellent
Information / Information was inaccurate and unclear / Some information was accurate and clear / Most information was accurate and clear / All information was accurate and clear
Organisation / Arguments were illogical / Most arguments were illogical / Some arguments were illogical / All arguments were logical
Rebuttal / Counter arguments were not accurate or relevant / Some counter arguments were accurate and relevant / Most counter arguments were accurate and relevant / All counter arguments were accurate and relevant
Examples and facts / Few or no relevant examples or facts / Some relevant examples or facts / Many examples and facts given – most relevant / Many examples and facts given – all relevant
Presentation
(tone of voice, body language, enthusiastic, convincing) / Poor presentation style / Satisfactory presentation style / Good presentation style / Excellent presentation style

Reflection

Ask students to think about how difficult it was to think of arguments to support their case. Do they think they could have created a stronger argument if they were speaking for the opposing view?

8 Related Research Links

ABC Catalyst – School of Hard Knocks

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2873539.htm

BBC Sport – Concussion

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/treatment_room/newsid_2131000/2131458.stm

Kidshealth – Concussion

http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/first_aid/concussions.html

Betterhealth – Head injuries

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Head_injuries_first_aid

AFL – Stringent new concussion rules in place

http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=109725

© ABC 2011