Submitted By: Kaleigh McNeill, HPEC Membership Grant Recipient
Teaching in June often feels like a race, except your legs
aren’t moving. The finish line is so close, yet some days it seems so far away.
Both teachers and students are burnt out and itching for summer. Let’s face it,
teachers don’t want to be reinventing the wheel in June or battling student
behaviour when they’re dreaming about how to spend their 7-8 weeks of freedom.
Teaching Yard Games in June is the solution to all of the above challenges, as
well answers every student’s question of, “Can we go outside today?”.
My favourite PE unit to teach in June is Yard Games. It’s a
unit that requires minimal prep, gives students ample choice in their learning,
and is an enjoyable experience in a more relaxed atmosphere at the end of the
year.
Yard Games Ideas:
- Spikeball
- Bocce Ball
- Four Square
- Yahtzee (great with larger dice + prepped score sheets)
- Double Dutch, Skipping, Hopscotch with chalk
- Ladder Ball
- Cornhole
- KanJam
- Grass Volleyball
- Jackpot
Yard Games Set Up:
I modify my Yard Games unit for various grade levels, class
sizes, and student interests. The equipment and spaces you have available will
play a big factor in what activities you choose to include in your Yard Games
unit. You can get creative - our Junior High Woodshop class made cornhole
boards for PE and we already had bean bags available to use. I have students
spread out with their chosen yard games in the field and I float between
groups, checking in on students. I will spend 1-2 classes teaching 4-5 different
yard games and reviewing expectations before allowing students to choose their
favourite games to play for the remainder of the unit. Once students have a
basic understanding of the games and expectations, they facilitate their own
learning in Yard Games - which my groups of students have loved!
Yard Games Expectations:
- Take responsibility for your learning: try a new yard game and be active
- Be inclusive: welcome and invite others into your group
- Sportsmanship and Respect: play fair, be respectful to opponents, and share equipment
Yard Games Prep + Planning:
I like to have rule sheets for each game printed and
laminated, so they last longer outside and I can reuse them for the following
years. If you include yard games that require score sheets (Yahtzee), I like to
print score sheets ahead of time, laminate them, and have students use
whiteboard markers so score sheets can be reused by different classes. Students
can always refer back to rule sheets and take initiative to learn a new game by
reading the rules with their peers. Having rules clearly printed also helps
prevent arguments over rules with younger classes who may struggle with
independent problem solving.
Connecting Curricular Outcomes:
Below are just a few examples of connections to curricular
knowledge, understanding, skills, and procedures that students are expected to
learn in PE.
Grades 4-6:
- Choice in physical activity can enhance exposure to a variety of active living options (Grade 4)
- Perform elements of movement when receiving, sending, and retaining an object using various parts of the body and equipment (Grade 4)
- Adjust strategies and tactics based on the strengths of participants in various physical activities and games (Grade 5)
- Practise collaboration during physical activity (Grade 5)
- Demonstrate how movement patterns are applied across various physical activities (Grade 6)
- Practise conflict resolution (Grade 6)
Grades 7-9:
- Students will acquire skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities (games) → Basic Skills, Locomotor, Nonlocomotor, and Manipulative
- Many specific curricular outcomes can be applied to specific Yard Game activities
- Ex. Spikeball: select, combine and perform locomotor and nonlocomotor skills by using elements of body and space awareness, effort and relationships to improve personal performance
- Students will experience and appreciate the health benefits that result from physical activity → Well-being
- Students will interact positively with others → Communication, Fair Play, Leadership, and Teamwork
- Students will assume responsibility to lead an active way of life → Effort and Active Living in the Community
