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Shadow Shadow

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Group Size: 
Any size
Age Group: 
Pre K/K
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Age Group: 
Grade 6+
Length of Activity: 
Under 10 minutes
Developmental Goal: 
To develop creative thinking and social skills.
Equipment: 
None
Before You Start: 
  • Demonstrate how to move and how to be a shadow.
  • Choose a volunteer to help you. 
  • Exaggerate and make funny movements to add more fun to the game.
  • Designate a signal to begin moving and to stop moving.
  • Emphasize the importance of awareness, to avoid contact with your partner and with others. 
How To Play: 
  • The object is to continuously follow a partner without running into him/her. 
  • Identify what type of movement is possible (walking, fast walking, running, etc). 
Designate signals for the pairs to: 
  • Begin moving around the play area.
  • Stop moving. 
  • Change roles after one minute so both sides have the chance to lead.
Variations: 
  • Add various movements: skipping, hopping, leaping, crawling, etc.
 

Trust Falls

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Group Size: 
Small Group (1-10)
Group Size: 
Large group (10 or more)
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
Under 10 minutes
Developmental Goal: 
To understand the concept of trust and develop communication skills.
Equipment: 
None
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced: Balance and body awareness.

  • Divide the group into partners, partners should be of similar body type.
  • Briefly discuss the concept of ‘trust.’
    Have students practice everything before beginning the game.
  • Designate a signal to get into ready position and a signal to begin the dialogue.

Demonstrations:
  • Ready Positions
  • Faller: Feet together, legs stiff, arms folded across chest.
  • Catcher: One leg back and straight, and one leg forward and bent, with both arms slightly bent in front of chest with palms facing outward.

Verbal Cues Before Fall: 

1. Faller says “Spotter ready?”
2. Catcher says “Ready.”
3. Faller says “Falling.”
4. Catcher says “Fall on.”
  • Choose a pair to demonstrate the entire sequence of ready positions, verbal cues, falling and catching and getting back to ready position.
 

How To Play: 
  • Have partners stand in two lines facing each other. Have one side turn around. 
  • Give signal for both sides to get into ready positions. 
  • Signal for verbal cues.
  • Students fall and get back to ready position. 
  • Let them go through cycle with the same roles three times and have them switch roles.
  • Once they switch, go back to the step-by-step instructions.
 
Variations: 
  • Form a circle of five students, standing shoulder to shoulder in the catcher ready position. Have one student in the center in the faller ready position. The student in the center allows their body to fall in any direction around the inside of the circle while the catchers gently support them.
  • Have two groups of six students line up facing each other with their arms outstretched and interlaced. One student stands on a chair in ready position with his/her back to the two lines. Go through the verbal cues and fall back onto the interlaced arms. If you want to make it even more challenging, have the person falling stand on a table versus a chair.

Ants on a Log

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Group Size: 
Large group (10 or more)
Age Group: 
Pre K/K
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
Under 10 minutes
Developmental Goal: 
To develop strategic thinking and cooperation.
Equipment: 
None
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced: Balance, agility and body awareness.

 

  • Line up the students on a line.
  • Number the students from one to ten (or depending on how many students are playing).

 

How To Play: 
  • Once the students are in line in specific order, the object of the game is to get the whole group to switch positions on the line without falling off the line.
  • If student #1 begins on the left end of the line, he or she should end up on the right end of the line.
  • The order of the students should remain exactly how it was before, only in reverse.
Variations: 
  • Split the students into two groups. They should be standing on the line facing the other group. 
  • The object is to have the two groups switch places while staying in the same order.
  • Vary the width of the line with a wider line being easier or vary the distance of the playing area from the ground to add a challenge. 
 

Over Under

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Group Size: 
Large group (10 or more)
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To develop cooperation and teamwork.
Equipment: 
Bouncy Balls
Before You Start: 
Skills Practiced: Running, passing and receiving. 
Equipment Needed: One ball per team (teams of eight to ten students).
 
  • Have students line up behind each other in groups of eight to ten, spreading out one arm’s length distance apart. 
  • Demonstrate how to pass the ball over someone’s head then under someone’s legs.
  • Give the person in front of the line a ball.
Set Up: 
Designate a start and finish line.
How To Play: 
  • The object of the game is for the group to pass back the ball either over their head or under their legs, alternating methods with each person (first person passes over their head, second person passes under their legs, third person over their head and so on). 
  • When the last person in line gets the ball, he or she runs/skips/jumps/etc. to the front of the line and starts passing the ball back again. 
  • Play until the students reach a finishing point (the line should have moved up with each new start) or until a specific number of turns. 
Variations: 
  • Have students shut their eyes while they are passing and receiving the ball. 
  • Play with a basketball where the players must take (or make!) a shot at a basket before returning to the front of the line. 
  • Add dribbling challenges such as left/right hand only or pivoting before passing the ball back. 
  • Play with a soccer ball and add similar challenges.

Helicopter

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Group Size: 
Small Group (1-10)
Group Size: 
Large group (10 or more)
Age Group: 
Pre K/K
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To develop the eye-foot coordination needed to jump rope.
Equipment: 
Jump Ropes
Before You Start: 

Skills practiced: Jumping and timing.

  • Review the concept of personal safe space when turning a jump rope.
  • Explain the concept of taking turns in a jumping order and in the different roles.
  • Demonstrate the skills needed and use students to help you.
  • Ask students to explain the game to you.
  • Caution: Make sure that students know to stay outside of the circle until the rope is low to the ground!
 

Set Up: 
Make a large (20’ diameter) circle with chalk if you will be using a long (10’-15’) rope.Make enough X’s on the perimeter of the circle for each player.
How To Play: 
  • Students stand on an X on the edge of the circle. 
  • The leader begins slowly turning the rope in a helicopter fashion over his/her head and says “Helicopter, helicopter over my head, I choose a color and the color is… (insert color).” 
  • At that point, the leader begins turning the jump rope on the ground and the students with the mentioned color anywhere on their bodies or clothes take one step forward and attempt to jump over the rope, which is now low to the ground. 
  • Play stops when a student is hit with or stops the rope with his/her feet. 
  • The leader then begins again with a new color.
Variations: 
  • Start with the rope circling on the ground and several children already positioned to jump as a warm-up. 
  • Change the chant at the start of the game. 
 

Around the World

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Group Size: 
Any size
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To provide an opportunity to practice the basic skills for traditional basketball.
Equipment: 
Basketballs
Equipment: 
Chalk
Equipment: 
Cones
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced: Shooting, rebounding and catching.

Equipment needed: One Basketball, a basketball hoop, and chalk or cones.

 

  • Explain the rules of the game.
  • Demonstrate how a player moves to the next marker and shoots again after a successful shot.
  • Demonstrate how a player, after missing their shot, moves under the basket and rebounds the ball for the next player.
  • Ask the students to explain the game back to you.

 

Set Up: 
Place cones or chalk marks around the perimeter of the key (area near the hoop).
How To Play: 
  • Line players up behind first cone/chalk mark.
  • The first student (#1) shoots from the first spot. If s/he makes the basket, s/he advances and shoots from the next spot. The same player continues around the markers until a basket is missed.
  • After #1 misses, s/he goes under the basket and rebounds the ball for player #2.
  • Player #2 rebounds the ball for player #3, etc. 
  • Player #1 returns to the end of the line.
  • When all other players have had turns, Player #1 returns to the last place s/he made a basket and continues as before from that spot.
  • A player is finished when s/he has successfully made baskets all the way around the court.
Variations: 
  • Once a player makes it all the way around, they have to go backwards around the circuit. 

Defensive Drills

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Group Size: 
Any size
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To develop an understanding of one-on-one defense.
Equipment: 
Basketballs
Equipment: 
Cones
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced:  Dribbling, defense and agility.

  • Prepare students for an activity that will have several short games.
  • Review basketball rules.

Set Up: 
Prepare an area, preferably a basketball court, marked by cones, chalk, or lines.
How To Play: 
Quickness
  • Divide players into two groups, lined up shoulder-to-shoulder. 
  • Start with both lines facing each other, while you are standing between the two lines.
  • Throw the ball down the court and the first person from each line runs down the court to retrieve the ball. 
  • The player who gets the ball first attempts to dribble the ball back to you. 
  • The other player plays defense. 
  • When the ball is back in your hands, the next people in line are up.
Shoulder Move
  • Paired off players face each other, holding onto each other’s shoulders. 
  • Players take turns leading each other, moving around the court. 
  • You can give different signals to signify different movements, i.e. one whistle means move left, two whistles means move right.
Pursuit
  • Players pair off. 
  • One player leads, moving all around the court, while the other player must follow and stay within three feet of the leader. 
  • Players switch after one minute or when you give a signal.
Cone Weaving 
  • Set up several rows of cones, side-by-side with about four feet between them. 
  • Pair students and have them line up behind each row of cones. 
  • Players must weave through the cones in pairs, without passing or tripping over each other, for a designated amount of time (i.e. two minutes). 
  • You can signal a change of direction. 
 
Variations: 

None

Basketball Bowling

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Group Size: 
Any size
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Age Group: 
Grade 6+
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To develop hand-eye coordination and increase listening capabilities.
Equipment: 
Basketballs
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced:  Following directions, running and shooting.

Equipment Needed:  One basketball.

  • Review boundaries and rules, ask for questions.
  • Have students line up in a single file behind the free throw line, facing the basket.
  • Practice shooting the basketball from the free throw line.

 

Set Up: 
A basketball court-sized space, using one half of the court as the boundaries.
How To Play: 
  • The first person in line shoots from the free throw line, once the shot goes up all players in line must disperse trying to get away from the ball.
  • On a made shot the player who made the shot must retrieve the basketball.
  • Once s/he retrieves the basketball, they must yell “FREEZE”, at which point all the players must stand still.
  • The player with the ball then rolls the ball towards a player trying to hit them with the ball.
  • If the ball touches a player, that player is out of the game until the next round.
  • On a missed shot, the next player in line must retrieve the ball before it bounces three times.
  • Once s/he retrieves the ball they must also yell “FREEZE”, and attempt to hit someone by rolling the ball.
  • If they are unsuccessful they are out of the game until the next round.
  • The player who missed the shot must also run away trying to avoid the player with the ball.
Variations: 
  • Players can receive a letter instead of immediately being out of the game.
  • For instance they can use the word “B-O-W-L”, and can get hit four times, to make the game more inclusive.
 

Steal the Bacon-Soccer Style

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Group Size: 
Any size
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To develop eye-foot coordination.
Equipment: 
Cones
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced: Dribbling, shooting, defense, listening and following instructions.

Equipment Needed: Two soccer balls and four cones.

  • Set-up a large rectangular area and note the boundary lines.
  • Place cones at opposite ends of the field to make goals and put the soccer balls in the middle of the field. 
  • Stand in a position where you can see the entire play area and the students can easily hear the calls.
  • Teach the rules of the game and have the students explain the game back to you.
  • Review the basic concepts and skills of soccer that you want to reinforce throughout the game.
Set Up: 
Large rectangular area with clear boundaries.
How To Play: 
  • Divide the students into two groups.
  • Give each student a number so that each team has a #1, #2, etc.
  • Remember that younger students may have a difficult time remembering their numbers so asking them to show you their number with their fingers will help them remember.
  • Each team sits on opposite sidelines in a line facing each other. 
  • For each round, call out a number.
  • The student with that number runs to his/her team’s ball.
  • The student dribbles the ball towards their team’s goal and attempts a shot. 
  • If s/he makes it, the team gets a point, and then s/he returns the ball back to the designated team area in the center of the field.
  • Make sure that everyone has a turn at this before using variations.
 
Variations: 
  • As students’ age and skill level progress, several elements can be added or changed to keep this game interesting and exciting.
  • Two teams can play with one soccer ball so that they are playing against each other and playing defense as well as offense.
  • More than one number can be called at once to encourage passing. 

Booty Ball

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Group Size: 
Small Group (1-10)
Group Size: 
Large group (10 or more)
Age Group: 
Grades 1-2
Age Group: 
Grades 3-5
Length of Activity: 
10 minutes or more
Developmental Goal: 
To provide an introductory game to standard volleyball.
Equipment: 
Cones
Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced: Beginning set and beginning serving. 

 
Equipment Needed: Chairs or cones to mark an enclosed playing area; 1 large (4’ in diameter), light ball/beach ball.
 
  • Set up a rectangular area divided into two areas, each large enough for half of the group to comfortably sit with space for each player.
  • Set up chairs facing outward to enclose playing area and act as the “net”.
  • Teach the game to the students and ask them to explain it back to you.
  • Teach the concept of the set and passing to teammates.
  • Demonstrate the concept.
  • Be ready for students to be very silly the first few times they hear the name of the game.
How To Play: 
  • Divide the students into two teams.
  • Students sit on their team’s side, spaced out evenly on the floor.
  • Drop the ball into play in one of the team areas.
  • Players attempt to hit the ball to the other team, over the chairs which are dividing the court.
  • Players may hit the ball with arms, legs, or any body part, but may not lift their bottom off of the ground.
  • There are only three hits allowed per side so help the students count aloud.
  • Players try to keep the ball volleying back and forth as long as possible.
 
Variations: 
  •  Knee Ball – Same as above, except students must stay on their knees.
  • Chair Volleyball – Students are divided into teams and spread out on the court, sitting in chairs. They can hit the ball with any body part but cannot get out of the chair.
  • Multi-balls – Add one or more balls into the mix. Follow same exact format.
  • Competitive – Add the serving component and award points following regulation rules.
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