All Activities
Physical Education

Sport and Society

Overview

Students debate real issues in sport — inclusion, gender equality, cheating, and the pressure to win.

Learning Objective
Students analyse the role of sport in society and discuss issues of inclusion, fairness, and values.

Resources needed

  • None

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Pose a question: 'Should girls and boys always play sport separately?'
  2. 2 Students discuss in pairs for 2 minutes.
  3. 3 Share views — collect different opinions without judging.
  4. 4 Pose a second question: 'Is it ever acceptable to cheat to win?'
  5. 5 Structured debate: half argue yes, half argue no — then swap sides.
  6. 6 Discuss: what values does sport teach? (respect, effort, fairness, teamwork).
  7. 7 Each student writes or says one thing sport has taught them personally.

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Use a local sporting issue as the discussion topic.
  • Debate: should wealthy countries win more Olympic medals? Is this fair?
  • Focus on one topic for a deeper 20-minute discussion.
More information

Teach: debate, opinion, fair, argue, value, include, exclude. Sentence starters: 'I think... because...' and 'I disagree because...'

Provide sentence frames for students who need support expressing opinions in the language of instruction.

Can students give a reasoned opinion rather than a simple yes or no? Do they listen to others' views before responding?

Entirely discussion-based. No materials needed.

Students often think there is a correct answer to debate questions. Reinforce that the purpose is to think critically and understand different perspectives.

Sport and society discussions develop critical thinking, oracy, and social awareness alongside PE knowledge.

Activity details
Secondary Medium 20–25 minutes no prep Small Group, Whole Class Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Sport And Society Discussion Critical Thinking