Author Archives: fjames@uoregon.edu
2. Plutonium Transfer and Ball Ladder
2.Plutonium Transfer and Ball Ladder
Line up Teams behind their cones: red, blue, yellow, green
Teach both games to begin, start one group on plutonium transfer, then when they’re done, they can start on one of the ball ladders.
Plutonium Transfer: A Team Building Activity
Your mission is to move the plutonium from the nuclear power plant to a safe storage facility.
Setup and Equipment.
- 1 metal ring with 8 handles connected with a 5 ft. string
- Four Cones: red, blue, yellow, green
Guidelines:
- The plutonium transfer apparatus is set up with the ring resting on the base with a pole in the middle and a ball on top. Eight strings with the four colored handles are stretched out so that there are no overlapping strings. The other base 5-15 feet away depending on the age of the group.
- Each color team lines up in relay style (single file line, everyone facing the same direction).
Guidelines:
- The first person and second person on each team step to the plutonium transfer site. Their mission is to carefully move the plutonium from the atomic energy plant to the safe storage facility.
- They should each go to one of the handles that matches their color (red, blue, yellow, green.
- When the 8 people are ready they can slowly try to lift the ball up together, then try to walk without dropping it to the safe storage. On their first turn, if they drop the ball they should take everything back and lay out the string, handles and the ball in the same way it was when they started.
- If a team makes it all the way and is able to put the plutonium on top of post, they should rest the string and handles on the floor.
- The next team of 8 now, does the same thing. Continue until everyone completes a turn.
- Once students have a turn, it’s time to move to the Ball ladder
Variation: Use different sized balls.
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2. Ball Ladder: A Team Building Activity
Move the ball down the steps of the ladder.
Setup and Equipment.
- 2 ladders with four steps: eight people per ladder
- 2 yoga balls
- 1 ball
- Four Cones: red, blue, yellow, green
- Line up in color teams at the cones to start
Guidelines
- Start two teams at each ladder (4 on each end)
- There are four ropes on each end of the ladder.
- Put the ball on one end (the last step) of the ladder.
- Once you get it balanced, see if you can slowly roll it down the ladder. One team will need to lower their end, while the other team raises their end up.
- It helps if the people holding the ropes spread far apart from each other.
Limbo and Hula Hoops
Limbo dancing is a dance that is originally from the island of Trinidad, although Hawaii is often mistakenly referred to as the birthplace of the Limbo dance.
Setup and Equipment.
- Limbo Pole 3 ft.
- Limbo Music
- Single file line starting with the Green, followed by yellow, blue, then red
Guidelines
- Stand two feet from the stick, bend your knees, and lean backwards so your chest is facing up. Inch your way toward the stick
- Shimmy your body back and forth while leaning backwards. Try not to touch the stick or lean forward.
- Once you’ve made it through, you may circle around back to the end of the line and try going lower.
- When you miss (everyone will eventually!) Just cheer on your classmates or try some hula hoop tricks.
Depending on Time: Leaders might want to have the Yellow and Green teams do the limbo and the Red and Blue teams hula hoop for a couple of minutes, then switch.
Keep Away
Setup and Equipment:
- One soft ball for 6-7 players standing in a four square or circle (10X10)
- One player is in the middle
Guidelines:
- Players pass the ball around or through the square – no passing to the person next to you.
- If a ball is dropped the person that dropped it goes to the middle
- If a ball is uncatchable, the person that threw it switches places with the person in the center.
- If the center player steals the ball, they switch places with the player that threw the ball
- The center player may also get out by tagging the player that is holding the ball
Inclusion Tag
Inclusion Tag: This is a variation of Blog tag
No equipment needed
● There are no safe bases in this tag game.
● Pick four people to be “taggers”. You may tag with your hand, using a gentle touch (shoulders
and below). Ready, Go:
● When you are tagged, join hands or elbows with your tagger. Now two people are taggers and
they move together in an attempt to tag more people.
● When the group has four people in it, it breaks into two groups of two and both groups
continue tagging and growing their group to a maximum of four.
● This continues until all or nearly all of the people in class have been tagged.
Knee Tag
Knee Tag: Everybody It
Setup and Equipment: No equipment needed.
Guidelines:
- This is an “Everybody It” Game:
- The object of this game is to tag other players on the knee
- If you get tagged on the knee, you immediately go down to one knee and extend a hand. You may continue playing the game after a classmate gives you a “five” with their hand.
- Variation: You may have students do a 5 second or 5 repetition exercise such as push-ups, sit-ups, etc.
- You are immune from getting tagged whenever you are standing still with your hands covering your knees. This is the same as standing on a base in many other tag games.
- Players may only have hands on knees for three seconds, then they have to move.
- You may not move or run with hands on your knees.
- This is continuous game.
- Speed Up Variation: To add some excitement near the end of the activity– The Teacher stops the music and asks everyone to raise their hands in the air. For the next minute you cannot cover your knees so there are no bases and the other tag rules remain.
- After a minute is up, stop the music and everyone returns to the regular Knee Tag rules.
- THE MOST FUN WINS!
Valentine Hug Tag
Setup and Equipment:
- Four soft red balls for the “cupid – its”
- Practice the hug: Lean forward with two soft taps
- Practice the Macho Hug: Do a thumb handshake with two hand taps on the other person’s back
- Practice becoming a “heart” by lifting arms (elbows up) above their heads and pointing their hands downwards to the top of their head.
- When a person is tagged they stand frozen in this position.
Guidelines:
- The “cupid – its” attempt to tag players by throwing or tagging them with the red ball
- If a player is tagged, they stand frozen in the “heart” position
- A heart is unfrozen and the player returns to the game when another player gives them a hug – or a “macho hug”
- Continue the game by having the “old its” pick “new its”until turns are completed by each student.
Reindeer Tag
Setup and Equipment
- Equipment: Yarn balls or stuffed animals for tagging
- Four people are chosen to be “its”
Guidelines
- When a student gets tagged they kneel with one knee down and one knee up. They put their thumbs on their head and spread their fingers out like antlers.
- In order to be defrosted from the “reindeer position” the other players approach the frozen player from the front and wiggle their antlers/fingers together to free them.
- After a one to two minute winter holiday song, a transition song is played. The theme from the Nutcracker works well right before the winter break.
Juggling and Diabolo
Juggling 1 ball: Throw – Catch, Throw – Catch
1. Throw and catch using one hand, then the other
2. Throw with one hand and catch with other
3. Throw, clap, catch with other hand
4. Throw, clap, clap, catch with the other hand
5. Throw, clap under leg and catch with the other hand and so on
5. Throw, turn all the way around and catch with other hand, etc.
Juggling 2 balls: 1. Throw – Throw, Catch-Catch
- Start with two balls in your favorite hand, throw one up, when it gets to the top, throw the other one
- Throw around in a circle, throw the first one out toward the side, when it peaks throw the second in the same arc, keep them going in a circle
- Throw in circle from outside to the center
- Do each of these 3 moves with the other hand
- Hold a ball in one hand, throw the first across like a big letter “x”, when it gets to the top throw the second up and across the other way; catch the first, pause, catch the second
Three Balls; Throw – Throw – Catch – Throw – Catch
- Start with 2 balls in your dominant hand. #1 is held loosely on the finger tips, #2 is in the other hand and #3 is deep in the dominant hand.
- Throw #1, Throw #2, Catch #1, Throw #3 and let #2 and #3 fall
- Throw #1, Throw #2, Catch #1, Throw #3, Catch #2 and let #3 fall
- Throw #1, Throw #2, Catch #1, Throw #3, Catch #2, Catch #3
CUE: THROW-THROW-CATCH-THROW-CATCH-CATCH
Challenge: Under the leg and behind the back can be used to start a juggling sequence.
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Diabolo
- Set the diabolo in front of your right foot, stand up and move to farther to the right if possible. The farther the diabolo is set to the right of you, the more spin possible. (Note: lefties will need to set the diabolo to the left)
- Before rolling the diabolo, stand pointing your sticks at the diabolo off to your left. The string should be hanging from sticks to diabolo. If not, position the diabolo even farther right.
- Roll the diabolo across the floor in front of you. Start your roll slow, but accelerate faster as the diabolo moves left.
- As the diabolo reaches a point in front of you (before your left foot’s position); gently lift the diabolo up with both sticks.
- The diabolo should be spinning counterclockwise.
- Try to center the diabolo and begin to pull harder with the Right handstick.
- Practice goals are to reach a medium speed without causing the diabolo to swing wildly after the pickup.
Rock, Paper, Scissors Partner Tag
Equipment and Setup:
- Two lines facing each other in the middle of the gym.
- Space each line so players are spread out.
- Each player should have someone across from them. This is their partner.
Practice with the teacher:
- Rock is a fist (Everyone make a fist).
- Paper is a flat hand facing down (Everyone make a flat hand facing down).
- Scissors is a hand that simulates scissors with the 1st and 2nd fingers separating and closing (Everyone make a hand that simulates scissors).
- ROCK SMASHES SCISSORS
- PAPER COVERS ROCK
- SCISSORS CUTS PAPER
Guidelines:
- Teacher gives signal or starts music to begin game.
- Partners do rock, paper, scissors by facing each other and pounding their fist into their hand and together chanting: “1,2,3 show”.
- One the word “show” each player displays either rock, paper, or scissors.
- When a player wins they become they become the tagger and do 5 jumping jacks or three spins.
- The other player may move around the gym and attempt to avoid the tag. When playing in the gym you may want to define a locomotor skill such as walking (power walking), slide-stepping, skipping, or galloping.
- The tag we use is called the peace tag. Hold your two fingers up and show the peace sign. When you tag, it is a peaceful tag, two fingers in the middle of your partner’s back.
- After the tag, you can do the rock, paper, scissors to begin a new game again. In grades K /1/ 2 it may work better to just have partners change roles each time.
- For a longer game and more interaction, pick new partners after each player has completed turns as the tagger and another turn as the player being tagged.