Grade level: K-8
Equipment: Pool Noodles, Cones
Game Description: A simple video explaining 5 fun ways to use pool noodles in a relay format. Quick, fun, ideas that involve teamwork, balance, and/or other! Could be used as a warm-up of sorts as well. May seem elementary, but it a go and you’re sure to be surprised how fun it actually is.
Category: Outdoor
Dude Perfect
Grade level: 5-8
Equipment: Variety
Game Description: Inspired by the Dude Perfect trick shots, this game gets students practicing their own myriad of skills and trickshots for a fun physical education class. Choose a bunch of tricks to try out, using whatever equipment and area that you have, break off in groups, and get going! Have groups invent their own tricks, and even do video recordings of their amazing shots.
Pace Setter
Grade level: 3-6
Equipment: Cones
Game Description: Another great game idea thanks to Joe Defreitas. This one is to help students practice pacing themselves (slow, mid, fast – walking, jogging, running) and for long distance. Set-up cones to form a large oval, enough cones 1 for each player, in a large area. Cones should be in a color sequence/pattern (example: red, green, yellow, blue, repeat). Every player must sit behind their own cone and remember which cone is theirs. The teacher or coach will have a stopwatch and tell the players they need to do 1 lap (up to you how many laps) in exactly 40 seconds. The winner is the player who got back around to their cone in the specified time that you said. So in order to be successful they will have to either walk, jog, or run.
Home Alone
Grade level: K-4
Equipment: Hula hoops, cones
Game Description: A great game to help with visual awareness, strategic play, attacking, and defense. Try out HOME ALONE. Basically goes like this: lay out 8 hoops in a playing area and choose 1 player to stand in each hoop. Give the players in the hoop a cone (or item of your choice) – the cone/item represents the key to their house. THEY MUST PROTECT THE KEY!! Everyone else who doesn’t have a key is a theif and they will try to take the key without getting tagged by the player in the hoop. If tagged then they try stealing from someone else, however, if successful, then they swap with the player in the hoop. Give it a go!!! (Thanks to Joe Defreitas)
Snow Pizza
Grade level: K-6
Equipment: Snow (or sand or concrete pad & chalk)
Game Description: Here’s a fun game to play in the fresh snow (thanks to a friend of mine Richard Turenne)! If you don’t have snow, try using sand or a cement pad and sidwalk chalk! First, players need to follow the leader (the teacher) who makes a pizza shape in the fresh snow by trailblazing a path. Throughout the process, stop and ask math questions related to fractions as you create a pizza shape (full, halves, quarters, etc). Once it’s created, time to PLAY! One player starts as a tagger in the middle of the pizza. The rest of the players start along the pizza crust. The tagger, known as the big bad pizza man or woman, will go and try to tag someone. EVERYONE MUST STAY ON THE LINES/PATHWAY. When someone gets caught, that player becomes the new tagger. Vary the size of your pizza circle depending on your numbers. ENJOY!
Mini Gym Riot
Grade level: 4-8
Equipment: None or Various
Game Description: Here’s a game idea perfect for anytime – give it a try and have a pile of fun! Teams will face-off in a series of challenges to try to earn points (like they would in a real gym riot, however with smaller groups and maybe different challenges). Create 4 teams, and have a list of challenges ready – with or without equipment or a combination. For every challenge, each team will send one member to complete the challenge against the other teams, MAKING SURE PLAYERS TAKE EVEN TURNS THROUGH EACH CHALLENGE. You could arrange ‘surprise’ challenges where students are surprised with which challenge they are going to have to complete, OR show them the list and let them choose who from their team will complete which challenge. Use the examples given in the video, or come up with some of your own creative ideas! Teams earn points whenever their member wins a challenge. See which team comes out on top at the end, and reward them if you’d like. I like to reward the winning team with 20 burpees ;p
5 Soccer Circle Ideas
Grade level: 4-8
Equipment: Soccerballs, cones
Game Description: Here are 5 soccer circle ideas you can use to work on passing (and dribbling) as well as more skills! They range from simple to moderately advanced and there’s really not much more to say about them – just find some space, bring a whole bunch of soccerballs, and have fun. Turn them into 5 different stations that groups rotate through, or have everyone doing the same one at the same time then switch to the next, or whatever works for your situation!
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!
Mini Basketball Relay
Grade level: 5-8
Equipment: Basketballs, hoops
Game Description: A simple relay idea to practice basketball skills: dribbling, shooting, rebounding. Players are sure to have a fun time playing off against each other to try to be the first team to score 10 baskets (or most baskets made in a certain time)! Best to use small groups/teams of 2-3 players per team on half courts, but could also be done on full court. Each player has their own ball. Each team faces their own hoop. On the go signal, the first player from each line dribbles the ball towards their hoop and takes a shot where they feel comfortable. Players continue to shoot until one of them scores a basket. At that time, the team who scored must yell out their score (for example, “THREE”!) and then the players must retrieve their ball and return to their teams line. As soon as they return, the next player in line can go. Game continues on and on like this! One rule you can add is that the students waiting in line can practice their dribbling skills so that they’re not just standing there (although they shouldn’t be standing for too long anyways). Should be LOTS OF FUN! (Thanks Zane Gardner for inspiring this game idea).