Category Archives: 3. Grade 3

Rotating/Stationary Line Pass

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Line Pass (Stationary Line/Rotating Line): Get a lot of practice passing balls/ etc. with a variety of partners

Setup/Equipment:

  • Line up the class so that there are two lines facing each other about ten feet apart.
  • Spread out, so everyone is directly across from a partner.
  • For K-2,  it helps if each participant has a polyspot to stand on. You may want to use playground balls rather than basketballs.

Guidelines:

  • One line is the Stationary line – each person in that line gets a ball. They are in charge of the ball and always hold it during transitions.
  • The other line is the rotating line – they will rotate down to the next person in line during the transition music.
  • MUSIC:  I set up a playlist of about 20 songs and set the time for 40 seconds. Then I place a transition song that repeats between songs that is about 10 seconds long.
  • Start music:  Students pass the ball back and forth. Start with a bounce pass which is usually more accurate and easier to catch.
  • Rotate: After the songs ends there is a ten second transition song for the person at the end of the rotating line to run up and take their place at the beginning of the line. Everyone else in the rotating line moves down one place.
  • Reminders: A good pass is one that your partner catches. How many passes can you make in 40 seconds.
  • Adjust the length of the pass according to each grade level. Then adjust during the activity for each grade level.
  • Vary the style of passes: Bounce, chest, overhead

Variations: Stop the activity at any time to make changes. The stationary line now gets a chance to run over and make the change this time. Here’s some possibilities:

  • Chest Pass with Playground Balls/Basketballs
  • Bounce Pass with Playground Balls/Basketballs
  • Beanbags
  • Foam balls
  • Deck Rings
  • Footballs
  • Spinjammers/ Soft Frisbee
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Tunnels

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Equipment and Setup:

  • (Use Soft Soccer style ball or beanbags )
  • One ball or beanbag for each student
  • Chose partners – Decide who will be the tunnel to start the activity. The partner will be moving around the gym and try to close all of the tunnels by moving their ball or beanbag through tunnel.

Guidelines:

  • The people who are “tunnels” may pass a ball to themselves in the air, while the other students are dribbling their balls. If you’re using a beanbag, the tunnel can just throw and catch with themselves.
  • The partner will get a ball and begin to dribble with their feet in the playing area. If you’re using a beanbag and just throw and catch in the air, or practice sliding it.
  • When the activity begins half of the students will dribble their balls on the floor, and attempt to pass a ball through as many tunnels as possible. If you’re using beanbags, you’ll slide it through the legs.
  • The “tunnel” students should count how many balls or beanbags pass through their legs.
  • When five balls or beanbags have passed through a tunnel, that tunnel is closed and they sit down.
  • When all of the tunnels are closed, everyone sits down.
  • Partners connect with each other and change positions. There are new tunnels and new people moving to see how quickly they can close all of the tunnels.
  • Teacher may time students, then see if they can improve the time it takes to shut down all of the tunnels.
  • Variation: Tunnels open and close (jumping jack style)
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Square Dance: Random Style

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Teach these a few at a time while students move around the gym by themselves. The music stops whenever it’s time to teach a new set of skills. When you get to the partner section, students pick someone close to them.

Group Formation: Spread out on the floor with space between you. Move around the gym in a clockwise direction (random style if group is capable).

  • Stomp Clap: Stomp one foot and clap to the Music: An Angel Went up in Flames
  • Hit the Lonesome Trail: Walk/strut to the Music: Turkey in the Straw
  • Turn One Alone: Pivot around one time while moving.           Music: Ol Joe Clark
  • Cyclone: While walking turn around 2 times and continue walking. Music: Ol Joe Clark
  • Pony Express: Do the step twice as fast Music: Boil the Cabbage Down The Grascals
  • WildHorse: Keep one foot in front and gallop like a horse around the gym. Music: Wild Horse by RaeLynn
  • Riding a Horse, Lasso: Wrist over Wrist  Gangman Style PSY

Partners:

  • Honor Your Partner: Face your partner and bow. Music: Salty Dog Blues Grisman
  • Circle Up Two: Join hands and skip in a circle. Music: Rocky Top
  • Elbow Turn: Do right arm turn, then left. Music: American Folk

New Partners:

  • Horse and Jockey: Stand one in front of the other, back partner’s hands are on the shoulders.
  • Gallop together. Music: William Tell Overture Wee Sing
  • Change Jockeys: Switch places.
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Basketball Game: Recycle the Basketballs

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Setup and Equipment:

  • Six Relay teams and one baton or ball to designate current runner.
  • One hula hoop for each team (in the middle of the gym in line to the opposite wall).
  • About thirty balls are in barrels or on a ball cart near the opposite wall.

Rules:

  • On teacher’s signal, one student from each group runs to the original stash of balls at the opposite wall and dribble one ball to their teams hula hoop.
  • The dribbler then runs back the their team’s line and hands them the baton.
  • When all of the balls are gone from the original stash, players may now take them from the other team’s hula hoops.
  • Students may not take balls from the hoops that are directly next to them (on either side)
  • There is no guarding of the hoop
  • Dribbling challenges such as changing from dominant to non-dominant hand or doing a crossover dribble may be added.
  • The object of the game is to have as many of the balls in your team’s hoop when the teacher signals that the game is over.
  • When the teacher stops play, the second phase of the game begins.
  • Now, players will return the ball to the ball rack one at a time. The other teams may help the team with the most balls to return their balls.
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Scooters

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Scooters

  • Scooters are not skateboards, no standing on them. Start moving when you are on your scooter (Never run and jump on your scooter).
  • Get on your scooter and move in one of the six ways listed below.Set this up in your gym by putting half of your class spread out on the line at one end of the gym and the other half on the opposite end. Students will practice moving using all of the following methods. It’s important that students know that these are the only safe ways to move on your scooters. It also helps to have students make the effort to avoid collisions at the center of the gym.
  • The students follow the directions for each of the following movements by moving to the opposite end of the gym on the teacher’s signal, turning around and waiting for the next direction.
  1. Walk Forward: Pull forward with feet only – Hands on side handles
  2. Walk Backward: Push backward with feet only -hands on handles, turn head around slighltly to see behind you
  3. Arm Pull Forward: Lie on scooter and balance, use hands only to pull your body forward.
  4. Alligator: Lie on scooter – Use hands and feet
  5. Double Knee Coast: Both knees on scooters –
  6. Use hands to pull yourself forward
  7. One Knee On: Use the foot on the floor to propel yourself forward, while both hands hold onto the side handles.

Musical Scooters Warmup Activity

  • Students move in one of the modes from above.
  • When the music stops, spin yourself by using your hands only
  • Variation: Do a dead bug, by flipping on to your back, holding the scooter in the air and shaking your scooter and legs in the air.

Indy 500:

Setup and Equipment

  • Six color teams and six scooters
  • Set color team cones in a large track formation near the center of the gym to make a race track. Set the cones up so that there is one at each of the short end of the track and two on each of the long sides (straightaways) of the track.
  • Line up each team beside the cone of their team facing in a clockwise directions.

Guidelines for Indy 500

  • This will be a race around the outside of the cones. You’ll be lining up like it’s a 400 meter relay on the track.
  • Break into pairs by your team’s cone. The partner can only push when traveling around the curves. The driver has to  glide or make themselves move on the straightaways.
  • When you get back to your starting part, change places or let your other partners take a turn. Continue taking turns moving around the track.
  • How many laps can your team do in five, or maybe 10 minutes?

Glide Control

  • Two partners from each team line up at the black line in the front of the gym. One is standing, the other is sitting on the scooter.
  •  On the teacher’s signal, the person in back leans down low and pushes their scooter partner towards the climbing wall;
  • When they hit the wall or calmly stop before hitting the wall, pick up the scooter and run it back to the front of the line
  • The scooter is handed off to the next people in line and they now go to the end of the line.

Scooter Games:

Scooter Freeze Tag

Scooter Basketball

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Octopus Run

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Octopus Run: 

Setup and Equipment;

  • Select three people to be the octopuses (octopi). They stand on the center line to be the taggers. They will will try to tag people using the two-finger peace tag on the upper back of their classmates.
  • The rest of the class are crabs (octopus prey) and stands on one of the lines at one end of the gym, facing  the octopi.

Guidelines:

  • The game starts when the teacher starts the music.
  • The octopi are allowed to run anywhere in the gym and use their tentacles (hands) to tag others.
  • When someone is tagged by an octopus, they become seaweed and their feet attach to the ocean floor. Their arms are outstretched and they wave in the air as they attempt to tag people when they run by them.
  • After most of the crabs have made it to the other side the music is stopped. The students that are running turn around and face the wall they came from.
  • The teacher restarts the music and the crabs attempt to run back to their original starting line.
  • Play continues in this manner until most of the players have had a turn.
  • Anytime an octopus gets tired they may switch with one of the seaweed.
  • The game is over when most of the crabs have been turned into seaweed.
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P.E. Lesson: Spinjammers (Spinning Frisbees)

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Spinjammers

  • Hold the Spinjammer disc in both hands with fingers pointing upwards.
  • Toss the disc about two feet above your head, while simultaneously moving hands in opposite directions to create the spin.
  • To catch the disc move your finger downward when you are about to catch it.
  • Catch the disc on the tip of your finger.
  • To spin longer, turn the angle of your finger so the disc is spinning primarily on the fingernail.

Variations:

  • Pass from right to left hands – while keeping it spinning.
  • Balance on finger – touch knee to floor.
  • Balance on one finger – sit down. Then get back up.
  • Toss – Catch with partner -try catching it on your finger.
  • Walk while spinning the disc.
  • Spin it on a stick – Keep it spinning by lightly tapping it on the edge.
  • Pass the spinning disc back and forth with a partner.
  • Walk while spinning a disc.
  • On Balance Beam – walk from one end to the other.

Door Knob Start

  • Another way to start this disc is by holding the cone in the middle of the disc with your fingers and thumb.
  • Quickly twist your hand (like turning a door knob).
  • Simultaneously throw the disc into the air, then catch it on your finger.

Door Knob Start Variation:

  • You may also start the disc by grasping in the same door knob manner, while your finger stays in the center.
  • Quickly twist your hand.
  • In this case, you will not have to toss the disc into the air.
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Great Wall of China

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Great Wall of China

Setup and Equipment:

  • Pick three people to be the taggers (guards) on the Great Wall of China (center line in the gym).
  • The taggers may only slide back and forth along the line. Both feet must stay on the line.
  • Taggers tag with a gentle touch with their hands.
  • Music: Frantic Dance of Golden Serpent 

Rules:

  • All other players line up across the end line of the gym.
  • When the music begins (Music of China) players try to cross the great wall.
  • Stop the music when the players have made it to the opposite end line.
  • When players are tagged they join the Great Wall of China line.
  • If students lag in getting to the other end, the teacher may want to count down from five to one.
  • When music starts, players try to cross the “Great Wall” and return to the other side.
  • Continue until the “Great Wall” is impossible to cross.
  • Pick new guards and play another game.
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Pac-Person Tag

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Setup and Equipment:

  • Yarn balls (taggers)
  • Connecting lines on the gym floor
  • Chose 4-6 people to be the ghosts (taggers)
  • Everyone else spreads themselves out with both feet on a line on the gym floor.

Guidelines:

  • Four to six students are the ghosts and they can move anywhere in the gym and try to tag the Pac-people. If you have the class divided into six groups, then you can have students from one group at a time be the taggers.
  • The pac-people can only move while they are on the lines on the floor. For gym floors that do not have a lot of lines, you may need to allow some jumping from one line to another.
  • When one of the pac-people are tagged by a ghost, they stop and balance on one foot and raise their hand in the air.
  • To be freed from this frozen position, one of their fellow pac-people will give them a high five. They can now return to the game.
  • After one or two minutes, stop the game and choose new “ghosts”

 

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Project Adventure

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Chicken Impulse

(Project Adventure Book p. 240) Equipment: Rubber Chicken

  • Split class into 2 even groups – First 4 on each color team for example
  • Students sit down facing (backs?) to each other, 12 inches between teams
  • Students hold hands with the person on either side of them
  • The rubber chicken will be at the end of the line between the last two players on each team
  • Close eyes, except for the two people at the beginning of each line
  • The teacher flips a coin
  • If the coin lands on heads – both teams send down the pulse to the end of the line and tries to be the first to grab the chicken.
  • If the coin lands on tails, neither team sends an impulse down the line
  • Teams gets a point when they are able to send the pulse down their line by using the hand pulse technique
  • Teams lose a point if a pulse is passed down, or chicken grabbed when the coin landed on tail

Gotcha

  • Whole groups stands in a circle – close enough to touch hands.
  • Everyone puts left hand out and open (palm up).
  • Right hand with finger resting above neighbor’s left open palm.
  • On the count of three, try to catch  your neighbor’s finger, while trying to avoid being caught by your neighbor.

Team Tag:

  • This is an everyone is it game.
  • You are trying to tag other people and they are trying to tag you.
  • However, people are split into smaller groups of three or four and each group is given a different color ball.
  • Now, if a person is tagged they take a knee and can only get back in if someone from their team throws them their team ball.

Human Knot (Knot my Problem):

  • Coil-up a looped rope (ends tied together) and place it in the center of the group.
  • Ask participants to reach across the coil of rope and grab a section of rope with one hand.
  • Once this is done, ask folks to reach across and grab another section of rope with their other hand.
  • When participants have a hold of the rope with both hands they shouldn’t let go.
  • The object is for the group to untangle the rope.
  • Participants can slide their hands along the rope but may not let go.

Circle The Hoop:

  • Participants stand in a circle and link hands with a hula-hoop around a designated set link hands to start.
  • The group must then pass the hula-hoop around the circle by passing it over and under their bodies and arms, without letting go of each other’s hands.
  • An added challenge is to add a second hoop traveling in the opposite direction.

NASCAR:

  • With the group standing in a circle and each person holding a rope (ends tied together) the teacher will start a stopwatch and time how long the knot in the rope can be passed around the circle and back to the starting spot.
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