Once we get close to the end of the year, I will inevitably begin seeing the Facebook posts and chats asking for Field Day help or ideas. While the idea of Field Day can give any P.E. teacher instant anxiety or PTSD, the silver lining is that only several years ago, we were all scrambling to figure out how to do P.E. virtually. Now we are back to the logistical headache of organizing what is their favorite day of the year for many of your students. However, if sharing is caring, the’s share the burden with our students and encourage them to help with their fun day. Have them create and run the games for each other!
One of my students’ favorite units is Invent a Sport. This lesson series integrates with the engineering process and the engineering fair our school does in upper elementary once every three years. Within the lesson series, the students invent a sport from scratch step-by-step, starting with materials and constraints and slowly building and combining prototypes until they have a workable sport over time. Once the students have invented their sport, I record the rule set, and each classroom gets to play each other’s invented sports. It’s always interesting to note the similarities and differences in the sports between the classes. This series of lessons can last anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on how many lessons you combine and how many times a week you see the students.
With the remaining time you have in the year, you could have the students invent a sport and then teach it to their classmates at field day and play the game. You could allocate a certain amount of time per game, and if you have a lot of classes, this could quickly fill up your field day time. To make this more manageable for yourself, you could limit the number of materials that the students choose from in the second lesson to make transporting items more feasible (especially if you have to travel to your field).
Let’s look at the multitude of benefits you will get out of your field day with this approach:
Students will practice their speaking and listening skills (SEL) as they teach and learn each other’s game.
SEL skills like empathy and patience will be tested as they work together.
Critical thinking skills will be engaged as they learn a new sport and its rule set, then play and develop strategies for the sport on the fly.
Students between classes will build or solidify already existing friendships.
If you have older students invent sports for younger students, this will enhance school unity as older students engage with their younger peers (who the younger students probably idolize).
You do less work on actual field day.
Since inventing sports takes time, you get the two-for-one benefit of having many classes already planned in P.E., and the sports will support your field day efforts.
Here are some examples of games my students have invented this year from the Invent a Sport Lesson Series. I had very little influence on the game creation itself. My biggest job was facilitating the organization to allow many people to speak. Even then, I only intervened when needed and tried to let the students do as much of the discussion independently.
(While these games were designed with the constraint that they must be able to be played in our gym, you could have it so these games must be able to be played outside)
Game #1
-Sharks and Minnows variation
-Runners vs. Scooter players
-Scooter team starts with four players, and each has a pool noodle
-The rest of the students are runners. They try to run across the gym without being tagged by a pool noodle. Each successful person scores a point for the running team.
-If the running team scores 75-100 points, they win the game (the score should be 5X to 10X the number of running team players).
-If a runner is tagged by a scooter, they are frozen for the remainder of the round and cannot be rescued. However, they can be rescued during the next round.
- If the frozen player tags a scooter player on the body, they unfroze themselves. The frozen player must keep their feet still but can bend and lean as long as their “feet are in cement.”
-In the next round, a runner can save a frozen player by tagging them. The previously frozen player gets a free walk back, but the player who unfroze is not safe and can be tagged. The free walk-back player does not score a point.
-If a runner is frozen for two rounds in a row, they become a scooter player.
-If the scooter team converts four more players, they win.
Game #2
Capture the Flag Variation
-Per team, two players are on scooters, and others are standing.
-Scooter players are “jailors,” and they can also catch a football thrown from the opposite safe area for a successful capture.
-Running players are the invaders who try to steal the footballs. They can repel other invaders but cannot jail them. Invaders can also free teammates who are in jail.
-Each team has three footballs residing inside the safe zone. The safe zone is the space between the volleyball line and the baseline in the gym, but this could be created with cones or rubber disc dots.
-Each team has two scooter players holding a pool noodle. They must start outside the safe zone. Scooter players cannot invade the other team’s side and must stay on their side only. Scooter players can be subbed at any point in the game.
-If an invader makes it into the opposing safe zone, they are not safe until they pick up a football. Once they have possession of the football, they can try to run it back to their side. They can also throw it to a teammate on a scooter. They can throw the ball to a teammate in the safe zone if it does not travel forward (football lateral).
-If the invader runs out of the safe zone and gets tagged by a scooter player, they put the football back and go to jail.
-If the invader runs out of the safe zone and gets tagged by a standing defender, they put the football back and get a free walk back to their side.
-The flag is captured if the invader throws the ball and a scooter player teammate catches it. The invader must escape the safe zone since they do not have a football. They are not allowed to pick up another ball immediately after. They must return to their side and invade again to throw another ball.
-if the thrown ball is missed, the invader who threw it retrieves the ball and brings it back to the safety zone. But, of course, they now go to jail and a penalty for their teammate’s drop.
-A scooter player can enter the safe zone to tag an invader if they do not have a football.
-An invader must put down the football to save someone from jail. When a player in jail is saved by a teammate who tagged them, they both get free walk backs.
- A team wins when they have possession of all six footballs in their safety area. Even if an invader from the other team is holding a ball, the game is over if all six balls are in a safe zone.
Game #3
-Polo-style sport on scooters with a soccer ball
-When a player has the ball, they may spin around but not advance their scooter in any direction
-Shots must be a two-handed chest pass.
-Goalies may stand and use their hands and feet. Goalies cannot leave a specific area in front of the goal.
-Some players who are not on scooters stand by the out-of-bounds lines. When the ball rolls out of bounds, they can pick it up but cannot move their feet once it is in their hands. The out-of-bounds player can move anywhere along the out-of-bounds line on their side when they are not holding the ball. When they have the ball, they can pass it to their teammates but cannot shoot it into the goal.
-Players on scooters can purposely pass to their out-of-bounds teammates.
Game #4
-This is a full-court dodgeball game with a throwing team and an evading team that switches roles after each round.
-The throwing team has one player on a scooter who can move on the scooter only. They can use this ability to corner evading players.
All other throwing players (except for the reloader) spread out and sit down. The sitting players cannot move but can spin in place. They should arrange themselves to cover as much territory as possible. The best configurations involve triangles. Sitting players can pass the ball to each other and the scooter player. A missed throw can be retrieved if it perfectly rolls to the sitting player.
One player reloads their teammates. The reloader should have a bag of dodgeballs. They cannot throw at anyone on the evading team. They can throw it to the scooter player but must roll it or hand it off to the sitting players. Once the bag is empty, they must fetch already thrown balls to reload teammates. They are potentially one of the most critical players in the game.
-The evading team does not want to hit with a dodgeball. However, they can catch dodgeball, which gets all hit players back into the game.
-Each round is three minutes long.
-At the end of the round, the number of hit players is the score for the throwing team. The teams switch the round afterward, and the evading team gets a chance to score points. Play as many rounds as you want.
-If the throwing team gets everyone out before the end of the round, they get five bonus points.
-After a catch, any evading player reentering the game can be hit even before reentering the game.