What’s up PE Friends!
Today I want to give you a few tips for teaching a CLASSIC game to your students that every kid should experience at some point in their life.
It’s called Four Square!
Four square is an awesome game that is easy for kids to play and popular because of the tons of variations and also the low cost of entry. Buy a playground ball and grab a piece of chalk and you’re ready to go no matter where you are. There are probably a thousand different “type’s of games” that you can play and kids enjoy the creativity and the different variations keep the game interesting.
When Do I Start Teaching Four Square to Students?
With my K-2nd students, I’ve found that playing an actual game of 4 square usually doesn’t work, so we do some skill challenges leading up to the game and also I teach them a few similar games.
I focus on cooperative learning and skill challenges with K-1 and then in 2nd we do a competitive game of 2 square to lead into learning 4-square when they get to 3rd grade.
What do you focus on when teaching Four Square?
Similar to sports like Volleyball or Spikeball, we are focusing on the physical skill of Striking a Ball with control using our hands …
But…
My main focus is to make sure my kids can work together with each other and be a good sport during the gameplay. This is a really important thing to emphasize with your students and make sure that a big part of the game is explaining to other why they are “out”.
Make sure kids are actually taking the time to explain the rules of the game to other students who might be confused, otherwise you’re going to have a lot of frustrated kids.
With the right mix of competition, cooperation and good sportsmanship – Teaching Four Square can really be a great experience for students and one that’s valuable because it teaches them something they can easily take to the playground, driveway, summer camp or their neighborhood.
Why is it such a no brainer game to cover for PE Teachers?
- It’s a low cost entry game all you need is some chalk to draw a court and a playground ball
- The BASIC rules are very easy to learn (there are tons of variations, but for starters I recommend focusing on the basics)
- It doesn’t take up much space you can play it almost anywhere with concrete, in your driveway, in a neighborhood park, on a school playground, parking lot or basketball court.
- There is a ton of strategy involved in the game to keep it interesting and engaging and if you get bored with the basic version, there are A TON of different variations, just consult Dr. Google
- It’s FUN and appropriate for all ages (once you get the skill of striking a ball – which I’ve found at my school is usually around 3rd grade for a quality game of 4-square)
When Do I Teach Four Square?
Because of the reasons above I always teach my students to play Four Square at the beginning of the year so that kids know how to play at recess (we have a court on our playground) and also as a station activity in PE Class on our Station Days (tips for station activities here) and towards the end of the year for our “Summer Training” when we do fun summer yard games like bocce ball, kan jam, polish frisbee, cornhole and spikeball.
Like most of my units (similar to Jump Rope or Gymnastics) I normally kick it off by using my TV to show students a funny and quick video that will engage students and get them interested in the content, check out one of my favorites below:
How Do You Teach Four Square?
You can check out the video below for an example of how I explain the game to students:
Recap of the Video:
- Intro: Go Over Striking with Hands
- Game Objective: To become the
KingRoyalty (and have fun with your friends)- Update: A few years ago I stopped calling the #4 square the “King” square and now we just call it “Royalty”, it’s an easy edit and makes it more friendly language for EVERYONE 🙂
- Court and Boundaries: Overview of different square names/numbers and how the rotation works (see diagram below)
- GAME RULES:
- Server (King) must put one foot behind the service line
- Everyone must Hit UNDERHAND
- Ball must bounce ONCE and only ONCE in your square before your strike it (including on the serve)
- If someone makes a mistake you rotate up and that person goes to the back of the line (outside the #1 square)
- Server takes care of any arguments (unless it involves the server – then vote as a group, or play rock paper scissors)
- Inside lines are out, Outside lines are in
- Why? Because inside lines are shared, while outside lines are not shared so you know who’s square it bounced in.
- You can move anywhere outside the square or in your section of the square
- If it bounces in your square you MUST strike it
- Server Must Ask “Are you Ready” before serving
- No Carrying, Stalling or Holding – you must Strike or Hit the ball
- Just to Clarify… You are out if…
- The ball in your square bounces 2 times or you hit it before it bounces
- You hit the ball out of bounds
- You hit the ball to an inside line
- You hit the ball Overhand
- You hit a ball that was another players ball (it bounced in their square and you hit it before it bounced a 2nd time)
- A ball bounces in your square an you are unable to get to it before it bounces a second time
Some other game variations that we sometimes learn:
As I mentioned before, I start teaching the full game of 4 Square in 3rd grade in my Physical Education Program.
If my older students (4th and 5th Grades) are really grasping the basics of the game and understanding the rules and strategy – we will learn some different variations and the King will be allowed to call different games if they would like to.
Around the World
- Server must call “Around the World”
- You can go to the right or the left, they must go around the square in a circular rotation
- Anyone can say “reverse” BEFORE you strike and go the opposite direction, if you don’t say it before the strike the server can call you out (ie. If you call it while you are hitting the ball)
- If Server calls “Around the World No Reverse” you can’t reverse it
War or Battle
- Server must call “War” or “Battle” and declare their opponent
- War – Server wars with one person (2 square) until someone misses
- Battle – Starts just like war, but someone can call “BREAK” before they strike the ball and then switch to battling with a different player in another square.
Cherry Bomb
- You are allowed to use overhand hits (except on the serve) Underhand hits are also still allowed.
Other Teaching Notes
With my Kindergarten – 2nd grade students we work on the skills of striking a ball or object with control using station work and basic skill progressions. I teach the game of 2 square in 2nd grade as a lead-up for learning the full game in 3rd grade.
2 Square uses the same rules as 4 Square, but is only played with 2 people and 2 squares. You can play cooperatively (going for a goal of a specific number of hits with no mistakes) or competitively (trying to get the other person “out”)
Striking balloons with body parts is another great way to introduce your younger students to the skill of striking using hands and body parts (example below)
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*The station signs from the video are available in our TPT Store or in the Membership Program
How Long Do I Spend on Four Square?
I normally teach this content this in 1 or 2 lessons, because I don’t really have time to spend much more of my year on it (I have only once a week PE for 50 minutes).
P.S. – Click here to see how I plan out my Yearly Curriculum
If I had more time, I would plan a 3-4 week unit that would look something like I’ve laid out below:
K-2ND
Week 1 – Skill Work/Challenges,
Week 2 – Cooperative Challenges – One Square (how many hits can you get in a row without leaving the square) / Partner Striking,
Week 3 – Learn Underhand serve and play 2 Square (K-1 cooperative, 2nd Competitive)
3RD – 5TH
Week 1 – Work on bounce serve, learn basic rules of the game, just play for fun
Week 2 – Practice the game and learn more rules (Around the world, War, Battle, Students Choice)
Week 3 – Mini Tournament (allow student choice of play for fun, or compete in a mini tournament)
Download the 4 Square Rules Cheat Sheet Below:
We put together a free guide to help you remember the basic rules of Four Square the next time you decide to teach it to your students, check it out below:
P.S. If you’re a PE Specialist Member – don’t forget to go download the 4-Square Activity Guide in the Membership Forums (If you don’t know about our Membership Program, you can find out more about The PE Specialist Membership Here)
P.P.S – Here’s a great site if you want to take a deep dive into the game of 4-Square: http://www.squarefour.org/
Byron says
what if somone hits it from their square and it hits you without touching the floor
Marcus says
We play, in that scenario Byron, you are out.
Because you touch the ball before letting the ball bounce on the ground
Hope this helps!
Toni Amato says
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Marcus says
You’re welcome Toni!
Paige says
A PE friendhave played of mine and I have played a version of this game with K, by using hula hoops as the squares (we call it hula bounce) and by starting with only 2 hoops. With K we keep it at 2 hoops and with 1-2 we add 2 more to make it 4 hoops, more like 4 square. We start with a bounce pass, adn then give the option to either catch and return with bounce pass or challenge yourself by striking the ball in your return. By the end of second grade (at field day) we have them striking their returns. We then call it “Ultimate Hula Bounce”.
Marcus says
Great differentiation and modification Paige!
Thanks for sharing!
Jake says
Help!
I was playing with students and we had a disagreement on the rules. If I hit the ball and it hits a player, are they out or am I out? And does it make a difference whether or not they are standing in their square or out of bounds?
Thanks!
Marcus says
Hey Jake!
Thanks for reaching out!
Technically, if the ball touches the player it’s like a strike and they are out. It doesn’t make a difference if they are in or out. If they are in the square they need to move so they can strike it back. If they are out of the square, the best strategy would be to move out of the way to allow the ball to hit outside the square.
But it’s your gym, your rules! Haha
Hope this helps!
Goose says
Thanks so much for a simple way to play Four Square their are so many ways to play this game it was hard to tell who knew how to play four square simply.
thanks again.
Marcus says
Goose! Glad you’re enjoying the resources!
Four square is so fun to play and students love it!
You’re welcome!
Kyle Hickman says
First year teacher here… thanks for all the great resources! I’m teaching a lot of units for the first time this year so reading about how you teach different games is very helpful since it’s easy to miss a lot of the “little” things that make a huge difference when explaining games. Specifically thinking of the four square resources as I’m starting that next week! Keep up the great work!
Marcus says
Thanks Kyle! Glad you’re enjoying the resources!
We invite you to check out our podcast on First Year Teaching Advice
Reach out if you have any questions along the way!
JDrake says
Im curious, when you say you have once a week PE for 50 minutes…does that mean that each class has PE once a week?
Marcus says
Yes,
Each class has PE class once a week.
Joseph says
Instead of having the server take care of any arguments, I use the next person in line. This person is the Judge. It keeps the Judge engaged in the game, they also have to think about the rules of the game which helps reinforce the rules. If the Judge is not paying attention and can not help out with the call, they would go to the end of line at which point the players would make the call or rock paper scissors.
Marcus says
Great ideas Joseph! Way to keep the people waiting in line involved!
Anna says
Ben, a million thanks for all you do. I’m an experienced lower elementary classroom teacher who can rock a great math or language lesson but have never been that confident teaching PE. My goal this summer was to up my PE teaching skills and your website AND podcasts have been sooooo helpful. I can’t wait to get back to school in a few weeks and implement what I have learned. I’m feeling pumped and confident. I’ll be teaching four-square very soon with my Grade 3s. Thank you!
Marcus says
You’re welcome Anna! Glad you’re enjoying the resources!
Good luck with the implementation! Four square is the best!
annie says
love the inclusive language, this was SOO SO helpful and wonderfully laid out. Exact perfect instructions that I needed. Thank you fellow teacher! Looking forward to foursquare FUN 🙂
Marcus Nellems says
Hey Annie,
Glad you’re enjoying the resources! Thank you for the kind words!
ANA PEREZ GONZALEZ says
Fantastic,
Maybe talking about nutrition and hygiene would be spot on.
I’m a Spanish PE teacher. Thanks for sharing
Marcus Nellems says
Hey Ana,
Thanks for the feedback, something to think about. Glad you’re enjoying the resources.
James Charles says
So, i have a question. While playing four square can you hit the ball in the air if the someone passed it to you or do you have to let it bounce one time before hitting?
Ben Landers says
“Ball must bounce ONCE and only ONCE in your square before your strike it (including on the serve)”
Gotta let it bounce first
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Chaylie Hulme says
I am a first year PE teacher, and although I am still in survival mode, I am beginning to figure things out thanks to all the PE Specialist resources! I see my PE classes 4 days a week but for only 30 min, so introducing new things can get pretty frustrating for all of us. I have organized our days into Mon/Wed “Fun Days” and Tues/Thurs “Tough T-Days” to split up introducing new games and working on physical fitness goals. I just did my 1st “unit” on 4 square. All kids were lacking in skills, but by our 4th day of attempting it, we finally had a fun day playing the game! It gave me lots of ideas on how to better implement units into my week and how long to make units last. Thank you again for all the helpful tips and information!
Ben Landers says
SO PUMPED to hear the site has been helpful! First year is survival mode for sure, just stick in there and it will get better and better each year as your kids have had Quality Instruction for a longer amount of time.
If you haven’t seen this post, check it out: Change Takes Time
Teri Charpenel says
Hi Ben, Really appreciate all you do for our profession. I have been teaching elementary P.E. for 24 years and this past year, I have learned so much for you, Mike Ginicola, Captain Pete, Ben Pirillo!
Even now I struggle with what to teach my students. I see them 35 minutes 5 times every two weeks. Wish we could chat about how you would set up a yearly plan for that kind of time.
Ben Landers says
Hey Teri – So great to hear that, Mike, Pete and Ben are PhysEd Legends!
If you haven’t check out my yearly planning process here: https://www.thepespecialist.com/yearlyplan/
I would use the same process to plan out my year no matter what the schedule was.
You get to see your kids about twice as much as I do, but with shorter classes you’ll probably have a little lost time with transitions, I would either plan a unit a week, or maybe even a unit for 2 weeks depending on the content (which would end up being a 4 week block in your schedule since you see your kids every other week.