Grades 3-5

Locomotor & Manipulative Games

Lesson 6


Equipment: Fluffilos (one per student) and hula hoops.

Focus Standard for the Day:

While traveling, avoid or catch an individual or object (NASPE Benchmark for fourth grade). Recommended Activity: Stuck in the Mud or Wolves and Rabbits (see below)
  1. Unpack:
    • What is the verb: While traveling
    • What is the skill or content: avoiding or catching individuals or objects
  2. Evidence of learning:
    • The student can avoid or catch an individual or object.
  3. Assessment tool/task:
    • Structured observation: The student will avoid or catch and individual or object.
  4. Criteria for competence:
    • Demonstrate how to properly avoid or tag ("catch") a person or thing by moving toward the object and gently tapping it or picking it up. Remember to be gentle when tagging someone.
    • Demonstrate how to avoid or dodge an object while walking by stepping around the object, by turning and moving in another direction, or by faking one direction and then quickly changing to the other direction (dodging). Be aware of the people and objects around you, and be sure not to bump into anyone or anything.
  5. Levels of quality for avoiding or catching an individual or object (5-point rubric - record scores at www.myPEscore.com )

    0 points: Student refused attempt. Student absence = BLANK score.
    1 point: Student demonstrates random attempts to avoid or catch an individual or object while traveling.
    2 points: Student demonstrates the initial stage for avoiding or catching an individual or object while traveling.
    3 points: Student demonstrates the elementary stage for avoiding or catching an individual or object while traveling.
    4 points: Student demonstrates the mature stage for avoiding or catching an individual or object while traveling.
    5 points: Student demonstrates the mature stage for avoiding or catching an individual or object while traveling in an open setting.

WARM UP: Jog and Jack in Place / Stretch

  • Jog and do jumping jacks in place, switching the moves on whistle cue.
  • Do it 'till they're warm!
  • Stretching:
  • Remind the students the RULES FOR STRETCHING: 1) Hold for 30 seconds, 2) No bouncing, 3) Only stretch as far as it is pain-free, 4) Relax and breathe.
  • What is the purpose of stretching? (to improve flexibility)
  • Why is it important to be flexible? (to reduce injury and increase your range of motion)
  • Neck Stretch: Beginning in the upright position, slowly tilt your head to right until the stretch is felt on the left side of your neck. Hold and then return your head to the upright position. Repeat to the left side, and then to the front. Turn and look over the right shoulder, hold, look over left shoulder, hold.
  • Side Bend: With your feet shoulder-width apart, place your hands on your waist and slowly bend to one side. Hold and then relax. Repeat on other side. Twist around and look as far as you can behind you, hold. Repeat in other direction.
  • Arm Circles: Hold arms straight out with to the side with your palms facing up. Start moving your arms slowly in small circles and gradually make larger and larger circles. Come back to starting position and reverse the direction of your arm swing.
  • Thigh Stretch: Keep your body upright and with your right hand, place the ankle of your right leg behind your body close to your buttocks until you feel stretch in the front of your thigh (quadriceps). Hold the stretch and then repeat with the other leg. It's OK to do a little forward lean with this one, but be sure not to arch the back.
  • Hamstring Stretch: One foot out in front, toes up. With back straight, lean forward until you feel the stretch in the back of your thigh (hamstring). Hold. Repeat with other leg.
  • Calf Stretch: Gently move into a comfortable lunge, with one knee bent slightly in front of your body while your other leg is extended backward until your foot is placed on the floor. "Imagine your heel is nailed to the floor. Do you feel a stretch in your calf?" Hold and then repeat with the other leg.

Duck-Duck-Goose

  • In this version of Duck-Duck-Goose, players face off in a ducky-duel.

  • Set up a playing area with a center line, and an endline on both sides of the center line, approximately 10 yards away.

  • Divide into two teams, each player with a partner. Line up team "A" and team "B" so they are facing each other across the center line. Each player needs a partner. Spread out!!

  • When ready, players begin the game on their own by tapping each other lightly on the shoulder and saying "duck." Tap back, and say "duck." When a player feels brave enough, s/he will tap and say "goose" then turn tail and RUN for the endline!

  • If the player gets tagged, the tagger gets a point. If the player makes it to the endline, the runner gets the point.

  • Play for a few minutes with this set of partners, then have one team rotate down one or two players so that everyone now has a new partner. Play again! Play short rounds with the opportunity to score 2-3 points per round. Tally anew with each round.

Bear Crawlers

  • Divide students into equal teams of 3-4 players each.
  • Designate the relay distance with two lines. Keep the distance relatively short - bear crawling is very difficult! About 20 yards should do the trick.
  • Have one or two of the players go to the other side of the field. (One if teams of three; two if teams of four)
  • On "go" signal, first bear crawls across the field. As soon as s/he crosses the opposite line, the next player takes off.
  • Objective: to bear crawl across the field as many times as possible before time is called. Every time a player crosses the line, their team gets a point. Continue to tally points until time is called.
  • Teacher: time the round, and continue play until players have completed approximately 3 turns each. Note the time, and play one more round - with the same amount of time. Have teams try to beat their OWN score!
  • *Bear crawls are GREAT for building arm strength!

Stuck in the mud

  • 20% of players are designated to be "It" players. They all are holding a Fluffilo. Their mission is to tag everyone that is playing and stop all action.

  • Once a player is tagged, he/she must stand still with feet apart and hands on their head.

  • The remaining players can free a player by crawling between their legs. Wham! They're back in the game. A continuous exhausting tag game.

  • Change players who are "it" frequently.

  • If it works out, you may want to have the stuck players become the next taggers.

  • VARIATION: Play leap frog tag! Same idea, but when tagged, players become a nice little rock for other students to leap frog over.

  • OPTION: allow tagged players to EITHER get stuck in the mud or become a rock!

Wolves and Rabbits

  • Scatter the hoops randomly around the playing area.
  • Teacher designates students (about 10% of class) as wolves. The rest are rabbits.
  • Wolves begin the game by standing with their pack in the center of the playing area.
  • The rabbits must all be in a rabbit-hole (hoop). They are "safe" as long as one foot is inside the hoop.
  • Rabbits stay in their holes until the wolf-pack unites in the center and howls together. "Oooooowwwww!"
  • At the sound of the howl, rabbits must flee from the wolves that are chasing them and find a NEW rabbit hole.
  • OPTION 1: Once tagged by a wolf the rabbit then goes to the middle where they join the wolf pack. Play until there are about 4 rabbits left, and they begin the next game as the wolves. OR
  • OPTION 2: When tagged by a wolf, they TRADE places. The rabbit becomes a wolf, and now the wolf joins the rabbits. Continuous play with new wolves in every round.

Cool Down: Basic Stretch

  • While performing the stretches, discuss the purpose and function of muscles.
  • Why do we need muscles? (to make our bodies move)
  • How do they work? (Muscles and bones work together to provide a lever-system that provides movement. Muscles are like rubber-bands. Talk about new, strong, thick rubber-bands vs. old, skinny, brittle rubber-bands.)
  • How do we make sure that we keep our "rubber-bands" healthy and strong? (exercise!!!)