Jetsetter Four Square

  1. Rotational Games
  • Any Size

  • Grades 1-2

  • Balls

  • Less Than 10 minutes

Development Goal

Eye-hand coordination, conflict resolution, geographic knowledge

Before You Start

  • Review the rules of four square so that everyone is familiar with the basics.
  • Introduce the concept of hitting the ball out of your square before it bounces
  • Introduce the concept of throwing the ball into the court from outside of it.
  • Talk about countries. Ask if anyone can name another country. Ask if anyone has ever visited or lived in another country. Explain that in this game, students will get to “visit” several countries.

Set Up

Using sidewalk chalk, write the names of four different countries in the squares of the court. These can be countries that are actually next to each other, or ones from around the globe. If you like, you can also draw an “island” or two next to the court and name them Greenland, Madagascar, Australia, etc. Draw a small square about 7-10 feet from the court.  This is where the “traveler” will stand. Draw a line behind the square for students to line up behind.

How to Play

  • The court starts out empty while the students line up behind the line.
  • The first student steps into the square. This person is the “traveler.”
  • The traveler throws the ball into the court, aiming for a country.
  • If the ball lands in a square, the traveler gets to go stand there. (If the ball bounces in Hungary, he/she goes to stand in Hungary.) Note that it doesn’t matter where else the ball rolls – the first bounce is what matters.
  • The next student steps up into the square and aims for a country.
  • As students fill in the square of the court, they try to stop the ball from bouncing in their own squares. The traveler gets to take whatever square was hit, and if that square is already occupied, the previous occupant goes to the back of the line. (If the next traveler hits the ball in Hungary, he goes to stand in Hungary, and the first player goes to the back of the line.)
  • Players can protect their countries by hitting the ball out of their squares, but they may not catch the ball. There is no limit on the number of hits they can have.
  • If a player hits the ball out of her country, and it lands in another country, the traveler occupies the country the ball lands in.
  • If a player hits a ball out of her country and it lands outside of the court, in the “ocean,” the traveler does not claim a country, but goes to the back of the line.

Variations

  • Level 2: This level is played with regular four square rules. Players let the ball bounce one time before hitting it. If any player hits the ball out, catches the ball, or hits it into his own square, he goes to the back of the line, and the traveler claims that square.
  • Level 3: In this level, players can claim more than one country. If a player is in the square “Japan” and she hits the ball into the square “Guatemala,” she is now occupying both countries, and the player from “Guatemala” goes to the back of the line. In this level, the traveler can only claim a country if the ball hits the square it was thrown at.