Category: Fun

Act It Out

Grade level: 3-8
Equipment: None (exercise mats if desired)
Game Description: Simple and fun creative movement activity that can be played throughout most grade levels. PE plus a bit of drama (not your typical grade 7 drama that gives teachers a headache, but the other kind of drama). So simple: make some groups, find some space, and give each group a theme or an idea that they will have to act out using the best of their physical movements capabilities! Keep it informal and have a blast, or make it more formal and specific, create rubrics and things to include, etc – groups present to the class once finished! That’s the basic idea, please watch the video for a few more details!

The Great Outdoor Treasure Hunt

Grade level: K-8
Equipment: Nature
Game Description: What better way to use outdoor space than a scavenger hunt!? This hunt is a bit different from your typical hunt, because instead of a list that players need to just check off when they see the items, they must BRING THE ITEMS HOME to their collection area. You can and should create a secret treasure item that you’ve hidden somewhere outside beforehand (for example hide a Kleenex box somewhere good and players need to also retrieve a tissue from the box). Simply start by creating a home area where individuals or partners (depending how you want to do it) put their hula hoop on the ground, which is their collection area to bring the items into. Next, go over the rules with all students, and give them a list of the items (or leave a master poster at the home area so they have to use their memory). Note that they can only bring 1 item back at a time! Obviously choose items that students can find or access in your area/community. Stress the importance of respecting property and not taking things that they shouldn’t. At the end, players will return all the items that need to be returned!

Last Man Standing

Grade level: 3-8
Equipment: None
Game Description: Just like the name says, students will try to be the ‘last man standing’ or the last one left. It’s an elimination type game, but don’t worry – the ones who are eliminated aren’t actually standing around doing nothing once they’re out – they must perform some exercises or alternate activity until the round is over. The game is played inside the basketball court area (or outside in an area marked off by cones). On the go signal, or along to music, players will move around as they wish inside the play area. When the teacher says stop, or stops the music, all players must choose one of the following actions: sit, stand, lay down, kneel down. And then the teacher will call out one of those actions (for example: STANDING) so therefore all players who are performing that action are OUT. Once out, they go outside the play area and perform exercises chosen beforehand until the round is over. Repeats like this until there’s 1 left..

Stunt Pilots

Grade level: K-3
Equipment: Variety
Game Description: Stunt Pilots is sure to be a hit – what kid doesn’t want to fly their own plane and do a whole bunch of tricks: through the mountain range, low flying, spins, backwards, bumpy riding, straight edge, and more! Either let them fly around and explore the areas on their own, or tell them all where to go at what time “ex, TO THE MOUNTAINS! UNDER THE POWERLINES! LAND IN THE WATER!” Takes just a bit of set-up before beginning, students don’t need to handle any of the equipment at anytime either, so it can be used with covid-19 measures in place. Start-up the engines and hope you enjoy this original Physedgames game!

The Spy

Grade level: 3-8
Equipment: None
Game Description: The Spy is a classic game of mystery where one player is chosen as the spy who goes around and poisons the other players. They do this by sneakily winking at them (so if you get winked at, you’re poisoned)! A poisoned player must quietly drop to the ground and lay there, or in the case of PE class they can hold a plank instead to make it more challenging. It’s important in this game that players are all making eye-contact the entire time, no dodging glances. The spy will try to poison all players to win the round. BUT in order to do this, the spy must be very sneaky – because if a different player sees that a spy has winked at someone, that player can put up their hand and say “I found the spy!” – If that player is correct, the round is over. If they were mistaken, that player is OUT!

Pinball Soccer

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Grade level: 3-8
Equipment: Foam Balls, Skipping Ropes, Pins
Game Description: This is a simple game to work on attacking, defending, kicking, guarding, accuracy, and as always it’s lots of fun! Players in the middle area will each defend a pin in hopes that it doesn’t get knocked over. The attackers along the sides will be constantly kicking foam balls to try to knock over the pins. Each pin down is a point for the attackers. Play up to a certain score, or for a determined amount of time. This game can be used WITH or WITHOUT covid-19 measures in place, hope you enjoy!

Submarines & Mines

Grade level: 2-8
Equipment: 3 hula hoops, 6 foam balls
Game Description: This game is similar to the British-bulldog type of game, except the tagger(s) in the middle area get foam balls. The main object of the game is that the runners will try to go from one end of the gym to the other end without being touched by the submarines’ torpedoes (soft balls) or the mines (participants who got tagged laying on the floor on their stomach).
– 3 hula hoops are placed in center of play area – middle of gym.
– 1 captain in each submarine (hula hoop) each with 2 balls.
– at the signal, runners must try to go across gym without being touched by ball (even if it touched the ground first); if they get touched, they become mines and lay on the floor on their stomach. The only way they can move is by pivoting on their stomach. They try to assist the submarines by touching the passing participants either with their feet or hands.
– the last 3 to survive become the submarines.
– the submarines’ captains must be in their submarine while throwing and can run to fetch their balls but must come back in subs to throw again.
– remember that with the ‘go’ signal, everyone is in play until they reach a safe zone at the other end of gym.
(Thanks to Bernard Boulerice)

Castle Pool

Grade level: 4-8
Equipment: Foam balls, hula hoops, bowling pins
Game Description: CASTLE POOL (The teams castle is like the 8 ball in pool)…

– Class divided in two teams by the center line, just like a typical dodgeball game for example.
– Each team sets up a castle in the corner of the basketball court (down by the baseline).
– Each team will also set up 7 bowling pins on their side in the volleyball court.
– Each pin can have one guard only.
– The object of the game is for one team to knock down the other teams pins before they can attack their castle. If they knock their castle down before all there pins have been knocked down then they automatically lose the game. This being just like the game of pool where the 8 ball can’t be sunk until the end.

Great Game and Kids left begging to play again!
(Thanks to Erin Parsons)

Capture The Ball

Grade level: 4-8
Equipment: Cones, balls, hula hoops
Game Description: Capture the Ball is a version of Capture the Flag for PE class that is definitely worth trying out!
-Split the class in half, each team has their own side of the gym.
-Objective of the game: is to take the ball off the other team’s cone without being tagged, the ball must cross the half court line to score 1 point. The ball may be thrown but if the ball is thrown over the line the player who catches it must take a step back over the half court line because the ball must be stepped across the line.
-Every round each team must rotate their “guard”.
-The “guard” guards the ball being at least arms length away from the ball.
-The “guard” is the only player allowed to be within the 3-point arc. All other players on the team must stay on the outside of their team’s 3- point arc to help make tags to protect their side or go to the other side to get the ball or save a teammate from the “jail”.
-Players are safe and not able to be tagged when they reach the other team’s hula hoops (these are the “safe zones”)
-If a player gets tagged when going across to the other team’s side to get the ball or save a teammate from jail they must go to jail.
-Only one person at a time can be saved from “jail” and once that tag is made the players can go wherever they want in the gym.
-Both feet must be out of the hula hoop when leaving the “safe zone” to grab the ball for themselves or knock the ball out for another person to catch and begin the process of bring the ball over to their side.
-The ball may not hit the ground at any time if it does the point will not count and the ball is to be reset.
-Any player caught not following the rules will be called out and will have to go to “jail”.
-Once a point is scored that round is over, the whistle is blown and teams are to go back to their side.
-Only one player in a hula hoop at a time.

(Thanks to Sean Maguire and Kevin Williams)

Endzone Trappers

Grade level: 2-8
Equipment: Beanbags, Nerf Footballs, Poly spots
Game Description: This game can be a football lead-up game, or a stand-alone fun activity (can use different throwing skill besides football if you’d like to switch it up). Basically, 2 teams will face-off in an exciting sliding and throwing match, trying to put eachother into their jail (endzone) and escape from a jail by catching a ball thrown to them.
1. Split class into 2 teams – use pinnies to distinguish teams
2. Split court in half
3. Start game with bean bags and nerf footballs in the middle of the court and players on their respective walls
4. The goal is to try to get players from the other team in jail by sliding the bean bag on the floor to hit his/her foot (above the ankle does not count)
5. When hit in the foot with a bean bag, that player goes in the opposing team’s jail
6. To get out of jail, one of your teammates must throw the nerf football and it must be caught in the air in the end zone – when caught the player can return to their team’s side
7. Teams can have some defenders trying to intercept balls before the jailed players catch to keep them in jail
8. If players are in jail for awhile, call for a jailbreak

Key Points
-agility, throwing, sliding, catching, football vocabulary: Quarterback (throwers), receivers (catchers), defense (interceptions), complete vs. incomplete passes
(Thanks Brittany Dougher for this game idea)