PLAYWORKS GAME GUIDE for recess staff, educators, youth workers & parents PLAYWORKS for every kid. The Playworks Game Guide Playworks is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play. Page | 2 Table of Contents Ice Breakers ………………………………………………………….. 5 Readiness Games………..……………………………..……………. 32 Tag Games ……………………………………………..…………… 90 Cooperative Games ……………………………………………….. 134 Core Playground Games and Sports………………………………. 186 Suggested Core Games Modifications…………………………….. 281 Health and Fitness: FitKid Program ……………………………… 282 Minute Moves and Energizers…..…………………………………. 292 Page | 3 Toolbar Codes On the bottom of each game description, there is a convenient toolbar so you can quickly identify games that meet your specific needs. Example Toolbar pK-6th+ I N M T C Ad,Au,Bl,Cp,De,Ed L1 Toolbar Key th pK-6 + Grade Range: Indicates games appropriate for grade level. I Inclusive: A game that facilitates every student being able to participate. N No Equipment: Games that are played with no equipment. M Minute Moves: 2-5 minute classroom activity providing students with a quick break to increase blood-flow and classroom readiness. T Transitional: Small, quick activities that allow for a fluid change in games, to create a line or to travel from one place to another. C Good for Classroom: Games that can be played in classrooms in case of inclement weather. Special Needs: Games that are suitable for students with different special needs; see back of page for further descriptions. Ad- A.D.H.D/A.D.D Au- Autism Bl- Blindness/Visually Impaired Cp- Cerebral Palsy De- Deaf/Hard of Hearing Ed- Emotionally Disturbed L Level: Progressively identifies the developmental level of each game - Level 1, 2 or 3. L1 are accessible for all skill levels L2 and L3 require some prior skill development Be sure to teach the appropriate skills prior to playing an L2 or L3 activity. Page | 4 Ad – A.D.H.D. – For students with A.D.H.D./A.D.D. it is best to use games that have little or brief instruction and involve lots of movement. Au – Autism – There is a spectrum of autism, so be aware that some students will have an easier time than others. Autism often affects the development of social skills, as well as some resulting delay in speech. Use visual cues to help students understand expectations. Bl – Blindness/Visually Impaired – Use games that have clear, verbal cues and movement in a personal space. Cp – Cerebral Palsy - Use games that encourage lots of body movement to improve fine/gross motor skills and abilities. De – Deafness/Hard of Hearing – Use visual cues to help students understand expectations, as well as act out/demonstrate what you want the students to do. Ed – Emotionally Disturbed – Allow for students to have personal space, as well as a safe area or person who will support the student if s/he is feeling upset. Page | 5 Ice Breakers Ice breakers are an effective and fun way to begin building community among your students. The most basic of these games help students familiarize themselves with each other’s names. Other games encourage students to share information about themselves. These exchanges help students build relationships with their classmates as they get to know each other. Participation in these ice breakers also helps students feel more comfortable engaging in further games and activities. Ball Toss Race Group Size: 10-30 Age Group: K-5th grades Length of Activity: 10 minutes Developmental Goals: To combine physical and verbal skills to enhance awareness, learn everyone’s name Skills Practiced: Passing, catching, memory and verbal communication Equipment Needed: One or more balls Before You Start: Have the group get into a circle and have one or more balls ready. How to Play: The leader will begin by throwing, rolling, or bouncing a ball (depending on the age and skill level) to another player while saying the other person’s name loudly. Explain that it is very important to remember to whom they passed the ball. Keep passing the ball around the circle so that everyone has received the ball one time. You can have students sit down once they have received the ball, to make sure nobody gets it twice. When the last person gets the ball have them pass it back to you. Now without the ball, go around the circle in the same order and have the students say to whom they will pass the ball. Once students have that, try it with the ball and see how fast they can go. Mid-point questions: Who has an idea how to get the ball to everyone more quickly? What do you think about adding a second ball? Shall we time ourselves and then try to beat our time? Closing questions: What do you think this game teaches? Is it fun? Can you think of anything that would make this game better? Variation(s): To make the game more interesting you can add more balls and balls of different sizes. Catch and Throw Style (K-2) – Have the students form a circle around the leader. The leader can then pass the ball to each player in the circle. When the student catches the ball, everyone in the class yells out that student’s name. Go around in a circle until everyone has a turn, then randomly pass the ball and see how fast they can go. pK-5th I C Ad,Au,Cp,De,Ed L1 Page | 7 Bob the Bunny Group Size: 8-20 Age Group: 1st-5th grade Length of Activity: 5-10 minutes Developmental Goal: To develop observation skills and tactile development Skills Practiced: Teamwork and keeping a rhythm Equipment Needed: A small object, preferably a bunny Set Up: None Before You Start: Gather group of students in a circle. Have students place their hands behind their backs. Choose one student to be in the middle. How to Play: The person in the middle tries to guess who on the outside of the circle is holding the bunny. To begin, the person in the middle closes his/her eyes while the group begins chanting in rhythm, “Bob the Bunny, Bob, Bob, the Bunny!” As you are chanting start passing the bunny around the circle, keeping the bunny behind you. Once the bunny is in motion, the person in the middle opens their eyes. S/he gets 3 tries to guess who is holding the bunny; the group is still chanting and passing the bunny. If the person in the middle guesses correctly they change places with the person who was caught holding the bunny. If the person in the middle does not guess correctly within 3 tries s/he becomes part of the circle and a new person is chosen to go in the middle. Variation(s): . Give students the opportunity to change the name of the character (i.e. incorporate the school/local sports team mascot, birthday students’ name, etc.) . Play with multiple bunnies. 1st-5th I C Bl,Cp,De L1 Page | 8 Evolution Group Size: 10-40 Age Group: 4th-5th grades Length of Activity: 10-15 minutes Developmental Goal: To increase social comfort and to improve nonverbal communication Skills Practiced: Following directions Equipment Needed: None Set Up: Area with clear boundaries, classroom Before You Start: Have the whole group gather in a contained area. Explain the evolution of all life in our group goes in this order: First the egg, then the chicken, the dinosaur, rock star, superhero. Each stage of evolution has a corresponding action – egg is low to the ground with hands over their head, chicken walks like a chicken and clucks, dinosaur has arms outstretched like big jaws, rock star plays a guitar, and a superhero flies around the play space. Demonstrate clearly the different steps and order of evolution, including what to do if you win or do not win Ro-Sham-Bo. Make sure that everyone knows how to play Ro-Sham-Bo. Remind players that they can only do Ro-Sham-Bo with someone who is at the same stage of evolution; this encourages students to interact with many different people, not just their friends. How to Play: Everyone begins as an egg. Players mix up, pair up and play Ro-Sham-Bo. The person who wins evolves to the next step, the person who did not win goes down a stage. If the player is already an egg s/he remains an egg. Players pair up again, only with someone who is in the same stage of evolution. When a player evolves all the way to a superhero, s/he is finished and can fly around the area. Game ends when all the players are also superheroes or when the time limit is up. Variation: Allow players who lose Ro-Sham-Bo to remain at their current stage of evolution – this makes the game go a little faster. 4th-5th I N C Ad,Cp,De,Ed L2 Page | 9 Find Somebody Who Group Size: 3-25 Age Group: K-5th grades Length of Activity: 10-15 minutes Developmental Goals: To share and learn about one another. To understand there are commonalities within groups. Skills Practiced: Speaking and listening Equipment Needed: None Before You Start: Gather the group in a contained area. How to Play: Instructor begins by saying, “Find somebody who…” filling in the blank . Options are endless. Here are a few: …has the same number of brothers and sisters as you …shares the same favorite color as you …was born in the same month as you, etc. Students must find a partner.