Do you remember the game you played in the car with your parents, siblings, or children...the one that started with "I'm thinking of...? With the weather being questionable for outdoor play today, it might be a good day to try this game inside. Do it, however, with the names of different sports. For example, "I'm thinking of a sport that uses a puck" or "I'm thinking of a sport that uses a paddle."
1. Run off the game board template that I have provided below, or make your own, and let children move a game piece (lego, penny, etc.) forward for every correct answer. Remember that a clue might have more than one answer (racquet = tennis, badminton, racquetball) so you need to decide if you are going to accept all answers or just the one you are thinking of. If you choose the latter, let children know that their answer is not wrong if they choose the one you are not thinking of, it just isn't the one you had in mind. It's OK if children are not correct every single time. That's how they learn.
2. If you play this with more than one person, have them raise their hand to answer so everyone has a chance to move their game piece forward. Another option is to alternate to whom you direct the question.
3. A fun option is to have everyone take turns asking the questions. Children get excited about this opportunity and it gives them a feeling of being in charge.
4. With older children, you can have them write down their answer so they can work on sounding out the correct spelling.
5. If you want to add some physical activity to the correct answer, have children move their game piece and then act out the sport.
6. Another option is to say a skill from a sport and have the players guess what sport it might be from. Example: dribble (soccer, basketball), trap (soccer), tackle (football, soccer), punt (football, soccer), cartwheel (gymnastics), etc.
7. Varying the idea from above, have one person act out a sport and have others guess what it is.
8. HINT: If you have more than one person playing this game, run off one game board template for each. Children really like to have their own paper.
A FEW SPORTS EXAMPLES:
1. Stick - hockey, lacrosse
2. Backboard - basketball
3. Ball - this will work for many different sports
4. Birdie or Shuttlecock - badminton
5. Cleats - soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse
6. Rim - basketball
7. Helmet - football, lacrosse, motor cross, bicycling, race car driving
8. Goggles - swimming, lacrosse
9. Board - skateboard, snowboard
10. Poles - skiing
11. Putter or Club - golf
12. Mitt - baseball
13. Glove - baseball, football, hockey, golf, bicycling
14. Balance beam - gymnastics
15. Mats - gymnastics, wrestling, judo, karate
16. Paddle - table tennis, pickle ball
17. Oar - rowing, canoeing
18. Rope - jump rope, water ski, rappelling
19. Stone - curling
20. Knee Pads - volleyball, roller blading
Have fun playing this game!
If you do this activity, remember to send me a picture
for the "Spartans in Action" post on Friday.
