Physical education is an essential part of student education. The physical education games and activities that I describe in this article are not only loads of fun that will have your students begging for more but they are also useful in developing co-operation and sportsmanship.
These games can be used as part of your gym class warm up and cool down or you can play a number of these games for the whole period.
1. Face to Face
Scatter formation (possibly in a large circle) with partners. One odd player stands in the center and alternates between calling "Face to Face" and "Back to Back". The students take the positions accordingly.
When he calls "All change" the students must find new partners and the center player tries to get one too. The student left without a partner goes to the center and gives the commands.
If there was no "odd student" then I played too.
2. Charley Over The Water
Students hold hands to form a circle facing the center. One or more students stand in the center of the circle.
The circle students run or skip in one direction while chanting "Charley over the water, Charley over the sea, Charley catch the blackbird, you can't catch me".
At the word "me", the circle students immediately stop running and stoop with both hands touching the floor. At the same time the center students try to tag circle students before they can stoop.
Any tagged player changes places with the student that tagged him.
Caution students not to stoop before the word "me".
3. Stretched Baseball
Play this game on a baseball diamond or line up 4 bases about 10 feet apart with the first base being about 25 feet from home plate.
Divide the class into two teams, one team at bat and the other in the field. Each player gets a turn at bat instead of 3 outs.
Rather than a baseball, you can use a beach ball or T-ball for primary grade students or kick a soccer ball. If the fielding player throws the ball past home plate before the runner reaches home, the runner is out.
Count runs just as in baseball.
4. Treasure Chase
Students line up behind a line with hands folded so that there is a small opening at the top of their hands.
One student faces the line with a small treasure (stone, piece of chalk, etc.) in his folded hands.
The student with the treasure starts at either end of the line and puts his hands over each student's hands as if to drop the treasure into them.
One student does get the treasure and waits until he thinks no one is watching him. At that point he runs toward a goal line at the far end of the gym or field.
If he reaches the goal line without being tagged hew wins. If he's tagged, the tagger gives out the treasure for the next game.
5. Tail Snatching
Divide the class into 2 teams and place them a fair distance apart. Give each team, strips of coloured cloth, a different colour for each team. Each player sticks the tail under their belt and is not allowed to tie or hide it.
At the signal, the teams run toward each other and attempt to snatch off each other's tails. Holding and fighting,etc. are not allowed.
After a few minutes the team that has the most of the other team's tails is the winner.
6. Policemen and Thieves
Circles with about 8 students (thieves) in each circle and 3 students (policemen) in the center of each circle are formed.
One thief holds a bean bag (representing the stolen jewels). The object of the game is for the policemen is to get the jewels.
The thieves may throw the bean bag to each other in any direction. The policemen may capture the jewels by catching the bean bag, by picking it up from the floor, or by touching a thief who is holding the bean bag.
If a policeman gets the jewels, he changes places with the thief who failed to catch the bag or is touched when holding the bag.
Feel free to adapt or change these physical education games according to the needs of your class. Just be sure that you and your students have fun, and if you want more just go to my website.
Honey Krumholz has taught elementary school for 33 years. She is presently a college supervisor and mentor to student teachers. She presents seminars on teaching strategies at York University in Toronto. Visit her website and get her effective teaching strategies on a wide variety of topics, for example, her teaching strategies on classroom display ideas
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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