Movement exploration games- Gala day

Equipment: 8 markers (to set out playing area) and 4 markers (to set out the river). 

How to play:

• All students must line up along the 'river'. 

• Explain to students that the marked line to left of the 'river' is the bank and the line to the right of the 'river' is the shore. 

• The teacher calls out either river, bank or shore. 

• Students must run to get to the corresponding destination as fast as possible. 

CHANGE IT!

• Vary the size of the playing area. 

• Vary the starting positions. (e.g. standing on one leg, crouching down).

• Perform different actions when reaching the destination (e.g. hop onto the bank, tuck jump on the river). 

Stone, bridge and tree relay race

Dominant movement pattern: 

Skill focus: Rotation movements, teamwork  

Equipment: An indoor/outdoor playing area 20 metres in length, a starting cone for each team and three cones spaced 5 metres apart.

How to play: Players race each other in a relay using various static and movements skills.

• Teams of 6–8 players line up behind their starting cones. 

• When teacher says ’GO!’, the first player from each team runs out to their first cone and forms a stone. 

• The second player from each team jumps over their ‘stone’, and then runs to the second cone to form a bridge. 

• The third player from each team jumps over their ‘stone’, crawls under the ‘bridge’, and then runs to the third cone to form a tree. 

• The fourth player jumps over the ‘stone’, crawls under the ‘bridge’, runs around the ‘tree’ and back to take the place of the ‘stone’. The ‘stone’ takes the place of the ‘bridge’. The ‘bridge’ then takes the place of the ‘tree’, who then runs to the end of the line. 

• The game finishes when all players have had a turn at each of the positions. 

Tunnel crawl

Skill focus: Statics and teamwork 

Equipment: Any suitable flat surface, including mats, a floor or a soft grassed area 

How to play: Similar to tunnel ball but players crawl through their tunnel then execute a nominated movement at the end.  

•  Players are positioned side-by-side, performing a front support hold.

•  Player at the end of the line, crawls through 'tunnel'.

• Once in front, the team member performs an air jack next to the player they have just crawled under and shouts ’GO! 

• A team has finished when all players have crawled through the tunnel and performed an air jack. Team signals they are finished by all members performing a tuck sit. 

CHANGE IT

• Players can be on their knees rather than their toes when performing the front support hold. 

• Rather than performing a front support hold, players stand with their legs apart, extend their arms and place their hands on the shoulders of the team member in front of them.  

Hoop races

Equipment: One hula hoop per group.

How to play: Players in teams race each other by passing a hoop up and down their line while making up and down noises. 

• In groups, players form a line, one behind the other approximately 1 metre apart. 

• The first player in the line steps into the hoop, takes it over their head and then passes it to the next person at head height. 

• The next player takes it over their head, lowers the hoop, steps through it and passes it to the next player. 

• Each group agrees on an ‘up noise’ and a ‘down noise’ and makes these noises as the hoop travels up and down. 

• This pattern continues until the hoop reaches the end of the line. 

• The end player runs to the beginning of the line and starts again. 

• Play until the original leader is back at the front of the line.