Category Archives: Lesson/Game/Activity

School: Long Rope Jumping Activity

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 Long Rope Activity for All: School  

red polejump ropeThis activity works well with grades 1st to 5th.  It’s also a great recess activity.

Equipment: One long rope with one end attached to a wall or pole. At our school we like to attach the rope to a moveable post that can be easily moved around the gym or outside.

  • The teacher is the rope turner.
  • Students line up at one end behind a cone, facing the rope and the teacher begins to turn the rope.
  • Students take individual turns to see if they can pass the grades K-12.
  • One advantage in doing this with a large group of students is that the turns are fast at the start. This gets more involvement with everyone in the line, because they are not just standing and watching everyone else jump. You can certainly continue beyond 12th grade, if the line is shorter and there is time.
  • To pass Kindergarten: Students must run through the rope.
  • 1st Grade: Run into the middle and make one jump, then run out the other side, and run around to the end of the line.
  • Students continue to run in to the middle and make the number of jumps that corresponds to each grade level.
  • If you fail to make the jump for a certain grade, you may try that grade again on your next turn, though we usually give some leeway, so we create a more inclusive atmosphere..
  • It helps to put a line on the floor where the rope hits when you’re turning it. There is a tendency for many students to run past the best place to jump the rope, which is in the center of the rope.

Class Jumping Activity: Work together as a class and see if you can get everyone to run through the rope each time it circles around. The teacher will turn the rope with one full swing in between each turn. Students will really have to focus and run hard to do this. You can have the class do this activity a number of times until they are able to do it together.

Ultimate Class Jumping: Do the same activity as above, but this time work together as a class and see if you can get everyone through the swing of the rope with no extra swings between each student. This will be very challenging for any class to accomplish.

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Ball Skills Introduction

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Equipment and Setup:

  • For Grades K-2 Use playground balls
  • For Grades 3/4/5 Use basketballs
  • Students spread out in their personal space
  • Adjust this list to the level of your students
  • Teacher up front to lead activities

Teacher Leads –  Students Follow

  • Foot Dribble: Bounce ball up to self using foot
  • Hold ankle dribble: Dribble ball while holding one ankle and balancing on one foot.
  • Heel Slap Dribble: Dribble with one hand while slapping your heel with the other
  • Massage and Dribble: Can you rub the back of your neck and dribble a ball?
  • Bounce High: Bounce ball high while ball doesn’t go above hand
  • Bounce Low: Bounce as low as possible
  • Catch while you’re off the floor: Throw ball and catch while jumping
  • Catch as low as you can: Bounce ball and catch as close to the floor as possible
  • Butterfly Drill: Hold ball between legs – do scissors – ball stays between legs
  • Throw back to front: Hold ball in back with both hands and throw in front to catch
  • Throw front to back: Throw ball up and catch it behind your back
  • Throw, jump 360, catch: Throw ball up and make a complete turn and catch
  • Roller ball: Balance ball behind your neck, let the ball roll down your back, then catch ball at your lower back.
  • Floor slap: Throw ball on the floor – slap both hands on floor – then catch
  • Stand to Lying Down Dribble: High dribble, medium dribble, sit on the floor and keep dribbling, then lie down on your back and keep dribbling. Keep dribbling and slowly begin standing up.
  • Homer Simpson: Run in a circle while dribbling your ball in the same place.
  • Monkey Walk: Walk while moving the ball between your legs
  • Crossover Dribble: Dribble right -left- right -left.
  • Heads Up Dribble: Watch the teacher move a ball side-to-side and move accordinglyHold ball in back with both hands and throw in front to catch
  • Homer Simpson: Run in a circle while dribbling your ball on an exact spot on the floor. Then reverse directions. Can you do it while skipping? Skipping backwards?

Basketball/Playground Balls Game and Activity Links

Ball Skills Intro

Dribble Train

Rotating/Stationary Line Passing

Recycle the Basketballs

Polyspot Basketball

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Hoop Driving

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Equipment and Setup:

    • One Hula Hoop for each student.
    • Set cones (at least four) up as the outline for a large track on the floor.
Guidelines: Teacher Directed
Today students will be simulating driving a car by holding their hula hoop in the air as if it were a giant steering wheel.

  • Spread students out around the giant circle which is designated with the four cones.
  • Students will be following the directions of the teacher as they move around the gym in a counterclockwise direction.

Driving Actions: Teacher led demonstration followed by the students practicing the skill as they move around the gym.

Music Playlist and Directions:

  1. Car Start and Drive Away Snow: Turn the key or tell Siri to start it: Start your engine! 
  2. I’m Walkin: Yellow light – Move slowly 
  3. Stop in the Name of Love: RED Light – Stop – Stop your car and wait.
  4. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing: School Zone – Skipping happily!
  5. Drive My Car: The Beatles
  6. I’m a Gummy Bear: Tunnel –  Walk low to the floor 
  7. Stop in the Name of Love: STOP – Stop your car
  8. Life Is a Highway: Highway – Move faster, jogging and running
  9. Yakety Yak: Oil Slick – It’s very slippery, so be careful. Quick turns 
  10. Sirens-Remix (Sound Effect) Cops! – Pull over to the right.
  11. I’m Walkin’:  Flat Tire – Hop on one
  12. Cha-Cha Slide Radio: This song is so good on the radio that you are going to pull your car over and dance inside your hoop.
  13. Banana Song (From the Minion Movie): Potholes – leap over the holes
  14. Vehicle Reversing Beep: Reverse – Walk backwards
  15. Happy: School Zone – Skip backwards in Reverse
    Interstate: Put your Car on cruise control
  16. Rain: Hold your steering wheel with one hand and use the other as a windshield wiper
  17. Radio: The song is so good on the radio that you are going to pull your car over and dance inside your hoop.
  18. Sunshine: Reach into the glove compartment to pull out cool shades — put them on using the “John Travolta” fingers in a “V” shape moving over the eyes
  19. Muddy Road: Slide in the mud by sliding feet & moving hips
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Football without footballs

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Football Warmup: 

Equipment and Setup:

  • Equipment: Sheet of paper for each player. Crumple up a piece of paper into a ball to simulate a football.

Move around the gym

  • Throw and catch with same hand, then opposite hand
  • Tap up with the palm of your hand as many times as you can
  • Tap up with the back of your hand
  • Throw ball up and catch with both hands
  • Run and dodge  like a football player

Partner Warmup and Game

  • One partner is the center, the other is the quarterback
  • Hike the ball and the center goes out for a pass
  • After catching the ball from the quarterback – switch roles

Game Rules

  • Hike the ball – Quarterback throws the ball
  • When partner catches the ball, then try to tag them.
  • When the music stops, switch roles and continue
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Cooperative Blindfold Activities

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Blindfold Obstacle Course

Setup and Equipment:

  • Blindfolds for half of the class.
  • Soft throwing balls (yarn balls)
  • Form partners – one has a blindfold on.
  • Gym is set up with cones, hula hoops, dome cones, etc.
  • The other partner is the body guard.

Guidelines

  • The object of this activity is for the “body guard” to safely navigate their blindfolded partner through the obstacle course only using verbal commands.
  • After a short period of time, switch places so each partner has a turn being blindfolded.

Horsing Around

Setup and Equipment:

  • Blindfolds for half of the class.
  • Form partners: One is the horse, the other is the rider.

Activity

  • Teach your horse how to walk, slow trot, and gallop
  • The partner that wears the blindfold to start is the horse. They hold the middle of the rope in front of them.
  • The partner holds the reins (ends of jump rope) and uses verbal commands to move the horse around the gym
  • Teach the verbal and nonverbal commands:
    1. Use “Whoa” for Stop – Pull back on reins
    2. “Giddy Up” for Go – Loosen and shake reins.
    3. “Left”, “Right”  Tug on that side.
  • After a short time the partners should switch places.

Blindfold Tag

Setup and Equipment:

  • Blindfolds for half of the class.
  • Soft throwing balls (yarn balls).
  • Form partners – one has a blindfold on.
  • One soft throwing ball (yarn ball)for blindfolded partner.
  • The other partner is the body guard.
  • Start the game with balls spread around on the floor, so commands must be given to pick up a ball.

Guidelines

  • The object of the game is for the “body guard” to direct their partner to a ball, get them to pick it up and throw it at another blindfolded player. This can only be done with verbal directions.
  • The “bodyguard” is not able help their partner except with verbal directions. They may not block throws. (For safety reasons, body guards may intervene to prevent player from bumping into each other).
  • Partners switch roles when their player is tagged by a ball.
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Pickle Tag

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Setup and Equipment:

  • One gym mat is set up in front of each wall – these are safe bases
  • 4 people are designated as “its” – they may throw (shoulders or below) or tag players.
  • Yarn balls are generally used in this game.

Rules:

  • The four “its” start the game in the center circle of the gym
  • The rest of the players stand on one of the mats to start the game
  • Players run from one mat to another and try not to get tagged
  • Players may rest on a mat for three seconds and then they must go to a new mat.
  • If they are tagged, they go to the pickle jar (center circle).
  • There are “free walkbacks” when a player is freed from the pickle jar. Players get out of the pickle jar when a player not in the pickle jar – hooks elbows with them and gets them to a mat without getting tagged. As long as the students are connected they can’t be tagged.
  • Play continues for 1:30 -2:00 minutes, or sometimes the length of a song. then new “its” are picked.
  • For all tag games, we play a game song for the duration of one turn, then transition music (i.e. Jeopardy Theme) is used to remind students to pick “new its” for a game.
  • When this song is played the students return  the yarn balls to the container and everyone sits at their gym homes”. The teacher may chose a team of students or just have the students raise their hands in the air if they want to be a new tagger.
  • The transition music is set for about forty seconds.
  • The “new its” go to the center circle to begin a new game.
  • The “old its” go to one of the mats on the floor to begin the next game.
  • After choosing the new taggers, everyone else will begin the game on one of the four mats.
  • One issue that arises when using mats as bases is that some students jump, flop, or just decide to sit on the mats. To eliminate this problem, students that exhibit unsafe behaviors shall be considered tagged and go to the center circle in the gym. This keeps students playing the game and solves the safety issue.

Note: You can shorten up games and allow more turns by ending one of the “game songs” early and jumping to the transition music.

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Parachute Activities

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  • Lay the parachute out on the groundparachute
  • Each color team finds the panels of the parachute that matches their color teams: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green
  • Roll the parachute under their fingers and grip firmly. No need to use the handles. This will spread the kids out and give you a simple way to move groups of kids by saying, “Those of you holding a (chose a color) panel, go under the parachute and find a different panel”.

Ocean Waves:  Shake the chute

  • Grip: Roll the chute under your fingers for a firm grip.
  • Big Waves: Students make big waves by shaking the chute.
  • Add balls and try to bounce them off

Color Panel Run: (Color Panel style)

  • Grip: Roll the chute under your fingers for a firm grip.
  • Cue: Shoe tops, Lift up as high as you can, pull back…
  • Leader calls out one of the four colors and the people holding that panel run underneath to the other side and take a different panel of the same color.
  • Keep calling out colors until everyone completes a turn.

Dome (Igloo) 

  • Grip: Roll the chute under your fingers for a firm grip.
  • Cue: Shoe tops, Lift up as high as you can, pull back…
  • When the teacher sees that the chute is high and pulled back well:
  • Teacher says, “Go under and immediately sit inside the chute, while keeping the chute stretched out tight”.
  • Once inside, the teacher can let the class scoot forward and the chute will get taller.
  • Optional Panel color exchange: When the teacher calls out a color, people sitting on that color can get up in the middle and exchange places with other people with the same color.

Climb the Bubble (Color panel style)

  • Teacher says, “Shoe tops, 1,2,3, lift up as high as you can, pull back..
  • SNAP the parachute down
  • Put their knees on top on the outside of the chute (You should have a giant bubble in the middle).
  • Teacher calls color teams one at a time and says to “Climb the bubble!” All of the students from that color team crawl on top  of the chute until the bubble is deflated. Then they hurry back to the outside, so every color team has a turn.
  • You will have to inflate the parachute again each time.

Merry Go Round Color Panel Run: (Color Panel style)

  • Everyone hold the panels with your left hand on your color panel.
  • Start walking (skipping?) and stretch the chute out
  • Call out a color, ie. “RED”
  • When their color is called, they let go of the parachute and run forward (the same way the chute is moving) and step into the next available color panel.
  • Continue walking and calling out the four different color until everyone has had a chance to move.

Shark Attack Spark Style:

  • Class stands holding the parachute waist high. Make ocean waves by moving the parachute up and down.
  • Chose one panel color to be the sharks. They go under the chute and place their hands above their head to simulate a shark’s fin above the water.
  • Shark should slide step or do the grapevine near the rim of the parachute  for one lap before they begin swimming and moving back and forth and underneath the parachute. They should be cruising around and looking for ankles to bite.
  • On the teacher’s signal, “Bite” The sharks grab the ankles of someone who is standing  while holding the parachute.  The sharks take their place and the bitten people become sharks. Once you’ve been bitten you are immune from a being attacked by a shark until everyone has had a turn.
  • Continue until everyone has a turn being a shark.

 Traditional Shark Attack:

  • Class sits with legs underneath parachute.
  • One panel color will be the lifeguards. They will stay outside of the parachute and try save
  • students that get pulled under by the sharks.
  • Another panel color will be the sharks under the parachute. Give each shark a frisbee to
  • hold above their head under the chute.
  • When someone is pulled under the parachute by the shark, they will exchange the frisbee
  • to the new shark.
  • The “old shark” will replace the person they pulled under on the outside of the chute.

Additional Activities:

  • Picture Perfect: Start the same as igloo, but cover your head, so you can see everyone’s face while under the parachute.
  • Mushroom: Start the same as igloo, but this time everyone step forward and walk forward so the the parachute rises in the air.
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