Suggested by Students, Loved by Students: Top 3 Games for PE

Sometimes kids have the best ideas! I'm glad I had a minute to listen to some of my students the past few years; their game suggestions have become regular activities in my lesson plans.

1. Clean the House

This idea actually came from my daughter, who was in first grade and attending a different school than where I worked at the time. One night I casually asked her, "What's your favorite game in PE?" She went on to describe Clean the House. This game is great for 5-6 year old children. It keeps kids busy and happy and a little math lesson can be incorporated into it too!

Object: To end the game with less balls on your team's side. (The cleaner house)

Equipment Needed: 12-16 cones, 40 yarn balls, 2 buckets (5 gallon works well)

Set-up: Make two lines of cones, about 4 feet from each side of the center line. Put half of the yarn balls on one side, half on the other. Divide the students into two teams.

Rules: Each team starts on opposite walls, just like in dodge ball. On the start signal, they may run to get the balls and start throwing them to the other side. Unlike dodge ball, they are not trying to peg anybody, the goal is simply to keep throwing the balls to the other side to get rid of them. The students may not go past the cones on their side. (I always tell them the area in between the cones is "hot lava.") On the stop signal, the students stop throwing balls and bring any balls that are on their side to their team's bucket. The balls are counted and the team that has less balls, wins.

Math Lesson: At the end of each round, I like to have the students count the balls with me. Sometimes we count by twos. The students can work on their math skills by figuring out which team has less than or greater than the other team. One time I drew the less than/greater than symbol on a large piece of paper and student helpers put it the right way, based on the amount of balls in each bucket.

2. Ships and Sailors

This suggestion came from two fourth grade girls that were twin sisters. They were new to the school, but they definitely were not shy. Every time I saw them, they would ask me if they could tell me about a fun game they did at their old school. Finally after a week or two, I pulled them into my office at the end of their PE class. I scribbled down the rules, and it has been a crowd pleaser ever since! I use this game for 2nd-5th grade classes. It is a great game to emphasize teamwork.

Object: To be the final person left in the game and become the new Captain.

Equipment Needed: 4 pinnies

Set-up: Choose 4 students to wear the pinnies who are the sharks.

Rules: This game is similar to Simon Says; the students must do the commands correctly or they are out (or as I like to say, "dismissed"). The rounds go fairly quickly, so the students don't have to be out of the action for very long.

I usually start as the Captain to get the game started. Here are the commands:

Captain's Coming! (Everyone stands at attention and salutes.)

At Ease. (The only way they can stop saluting.)

Man Overboard! (Two people, one kneeling, one standing with hand on partner's shoulder, both pretending to look for the man overboard.)

Three Men Rowing! (Three people sit in a line, pretend to row a boat, and sing "Row Row Row Your Boat.")

Crow's Nest! (Three people stand back to back, arms interlocked.)

Mess Call! (4 people sit in a circle and pretend to eat.)

Walk the Plank! (5 people stand in a line with their hands on the shoulders in front of them.)

To the ship! (Everyone runs to a designated wall. Last one there is out.)

To the shore! (Everyone runs to a designated wall. Last one there is out.)

Hit the deck! (Everyone drops to their stomachs.)

Shark Attack! (The students in pinnies try to tag the other players to get them out. To be safe from getting tagged, students become a starfish on any wall.)

There are many versions of this game out there on Google; it can be modified for any group or occasion. Last year we did a Christmas version, which was pretty fun.

3. Pac Man

I was already familiar with this game before a 3rd grade boy asked me, well, begged me every time he came to PE to play Pac Man. I had used this game for a high school youth group activity, and I got to play it in a college class one time. (It was a Coaching Basketball class and we dribbled a ball while playing - it was so much fun.) I don't know why I hadn't tried it in PE before, maybe I thought younger kids couldn't understand it, but his persistence payed off. Now it is a hit! I use it for Kindergarten - 5th grade classes. It is a great twist on the classic tag game and is good for teaching students about boundaries in games.

Object: To avoid being tagged by the ghosts.

Equipment Needed: 4 pinnies

Set-up: The students choose where they will start. They can stand anywhere in the gym as long as they are on a line. The ghosts wear the pinnies; everyone else is a pac man.

Rules: On the start signal, the ghosts try to tag the pac men. Everyone must travel along the lines on the floor. (The basketball court lines, the volleyball court lines, etc.) If tagged, the student must sit down where they got tagged. They become a block: Other pac men cannot go around them; they must turn around and go a different way. Only the ghosts may go around a block, but they must quickly get back on the line. I try to stop the game when four pac men are left, who become the new ghosts for the next round.

Do you use any games or activities that came from a student idea? I'd love to hear about it. Also, I'd love to hear if you try any of my student suggested games. Thanks!