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Grades 6-8

Team and Cooperative Games

Lesson 4

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Show Standards

Equipment: Fluffilos and other objects to throw (softballs, footballs, etc.)

Focus Standard for the Day:

Throw a variety of objects demonstrating both accuracy and distance (NASPE Benchmark for Sixth Grade).

  1. Unpack:

    • What is the verb: Demonstrate

    • What is the level of proficiency: Accuracy and distance

    • What is the skill or content: Throwing with accuracy and distance

  2. Evidence of learning:

    • The students throw the ball demonstrating accuracy and distance.

  3. Assessment tool/task:

    • Structured observation: Students will demonstrate their ability to throw the ball.

  4. Criteria for competence:

    • Stand with opposite foot to your throwing arm forward and pointing in the direction of the throw. Weight is evenly distributed over both feet.

    • The fingers of the throwing hand grip the center of the object.

    • The object is shifted back past the ear and the body is rotated away from the throw.

    • The elbow of the throwing arm should be kept high.

    • The opposite arm is held out for balance.

    • The ball is then rotated toward the target, the forearm and wrist are thrust forward, and the wrist is dropped to allow the ball to roll off the fingers.

    • Follow through in the direction of the ball.

    • Keep your eyes on the target.

  5. Levels of quality for a leap (5-point rubric).

    5. Student demonstrates all elements of a proper throw with accuracy and distance in all game situations.

    4. Student demonstrates all elements of a proper throw with accuracy and distance.

    3. Student demonstrates all elements of a proper throw landing close to the target.

    2. Student demonstrates a throw with accuracy or distance.

    1. Student demonstrates a throw by pulling the elbow back and tossing the ball with little forearm and wrist movement.

WARM UP: GO WITH YOUR FLO!

  • Groups of 4-6 students, lined up one behind the other.

  • Play music.

  • The leaders from each group perform a traveling move to the music. Encourage silly, creative, or sporty moves using the Fluffilo.

  • On Teacher's signal, the leader goes to the back of the line, and the next person takes over as leader and changes the move.

  • Continue until every student has been the leader at least once (or twice, or thrice...).

Accuracy Throw

  • Partner up with a Fluffilo and a softball.

  • One student will start with a Fluffilo, the other will start with the softball.

  • The student who is not throwing will have his/her object at his/her feet (do not try to catch when you have something in your hands).

  • After catching, place this object on the ground, pick up your object, and throw it to your partner.

  • With each successful catch take a step back.

  • Partners will work on accuracy and throwing for distance.

Throwing Frenzy!

  • Groups of six get into a circle.

  • The object: to get through an entire "round" of objects first.

  • Team captain starts with a pile of objects (Fluffilos, footballs, softballs, etc.) at his/her feet. (front? in a bucket? You decide.)

  • Establish a different place to put the objects as they come back to the captain. (behind? out of the bucket?)

  • Establish a pattern by throwing an object in any order as long as it starts and ends with the same player.

  • Objects must continue to follow the same pattern around the group.

  • One round is completed when all of the objects (one per member of the group) have made it through the cycle of players.

  • If your teams do not have the same number of players, "handicap" the smaller groups by adding two extra Fluffilos per missing person (or have a different "extra" player help you determine the winner for each round).

  • After each round, have the teams take one giant step back, testing their ability to still throw the ball accurately, but from a distance.

Just Passing Through

  • Set up by scattering many hoops throughout a large playing area.

  • Students in pairs with a Fluffilo.

  • Designate two end lines - all players begin on one end line.

  • The goal is to cross back and forth across the field as many times as possible.

  • Players must be standing inside a hoop in order to throw or catch the Fluffilo.

  • Player one will begin with the Fluffilo behind the starting line.

  • Player two can get inside any hoop and prepare to catch the Fluffilo.

  • Once the Fluffilo is caught, player one can advance to any available hoop.

  • If a player drops a pass, the pass must be repeated with the passer remaining in the same hoop (the receiver can move to a closer hoop).

  • After crossing the opposite end line, players turn around and come back across the field.

  • Pairs get one point for each time they cross the playing field.

  • The pair with the highest score when time is called wins!

  • This game improves accuracy in throwing short, medium, and long distances and combines nonlocomotor (standing in hoops/catching Fluffilo), locomotor (running to find a hoop), and manipulative skills (throwing and catching the Fluffilo).

Doctor Octopus (a just-for-fun Super-Hero tag game!)

  • Using half of a field or court spread students out.

  • Ask for 2 or 3 volunteers to be the Octopus Head- each Octopus Head needs two yarn balls- one held in each hand. These are his/her Suction Skewers!

  • Everyone else is a Super-Hero. The goal of the Super-Hero is to NOT get caught and turned into an Octopus leg.

  • Object: To see which Doctor Octopus can capture the most Super-Heroes and become the evil world conqueror!

  • Rules:

  • Head Octopus' throw their Suction Skewers at the Super-Heroes.

  • When hit, the hit Hero must pick up the skewer and join hands/arms with the Doctor Octopus that hit them.

  • Now the new "leg" has the skewer and must try to tag another Hero so they can grow another leg.

  • The Doctor Octopus with four legs on each side first wins.

  • If there are any Heroes who didn't become Octopus legs, have them be the Doctor Octopus Head during the next round.

  • Repeat game if desired.

COOL DOWN: Knots

  • Groups of 8 in a circle.

  • Students put hands into the center of the circle, crossing arms at the wrist.

  • Grasp hands with 2 different people across from them (not beside them).

  • Now try to untangle knot without letting go of hands.

  • Race if desired.