NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
*Please note: Not all games fit on this handout. Please visit website listed at bottom for all info.
Blending Beanbag, Bowling and Ball-based Games with Fitness & Health
Achieving MVPA through active play! Fun ways to incorporate health and fitness into beanbag,
bowling and foam ball games while using pedometers to measure MVPA.
PEDOMETER POWER:
1. Step count formula: Goal is to estimate 80 steps per min. of activity. Want students to be active
50% of class time (NASPE Best Practice).
2. Self-assessments: Students set a step goal and try to reach it. Ask them to show thumbs up/down
if they did. Can just show you informally, or record on team sheet, sheet on wall, or log.
3. Teacher assessment: Check some student’s steps during/at end of activity. Or have all line up at
end of lesson and hold up pedometer. Go down line & do a quick check (+/-).
4. Meet or Beat Challenge: Stop half-way through activity and check pedometers. Reset and make it
a goal to “meet or beat” that step count (or compare it to step count from previous day or a
different lesson (maybe you are comparing jogging to game).
Game #1: BUILDING YOUR BRAIN!
EQUIPMENT: (For a class of 30) 24 Bowling Pins, 24 Hulahoops or Polyspots, 48+ Beanbags
(or use foam skin balls to emphasize bowling skills).
SKILLS: Use of Opposition during Throwing, Agility, Strategy, Individual Challenge,
CONCEPTS: Brain Rules connections to how we learn and how the body operates.
SETTING: Place hula hoops with a bowling pin in the middle of the hula hoop in a grid pattern
on the gym floor. I use the volleyball court boundaries on our main gym floor. Place the hoops
and pins closer together for younger player s and farther apart for older players. One player is
assigned to a pin. Each player gets two bean bags to start. You need to have a few extra players
OUT to rotate in when players get their pins knocked down. For a class of 30, I try to have 24
hoops set up and 6 waiting in line at the start. The game moves quickly!
The “out” line or
health center
line. Can make it
an active waiting
zone.
HOW TO PLAY:
1. The goal is to protect your pin from being knocked over and to knock over the pins of
other players. All players start with two beanbags at the beginning of the game.
2. If your pin is knocked over you are temporarily out. You can go to the end of the “out”
line or “activity line” and enter the game when you get to the front of the line and a spot
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
is available. When waiting in line, students are watching, encouraging others,
strategizing. Or, if you make it an “activity line” that day, students are to do 5 reps at
each spot/station as they move up in line. Make your ‘out’ line on one sideline at halfcourt. *Modification I like to use: When your pin is knocked down, you take your pin to
the “out” line and hand it off to the next person and then go to the end of the line. This
keeps the line in check to pay attention and add another dimension of movement and
cooperation.
3. You may collect as many bean bags as you can to use to knock over the other pins (if this
becomes an issue you can always modify the rule to limit the number of beanbags in
possession at one time). You may leave your hula hoop to do this. You may also leave
your hula hoop to knock over another player’s pins that are close to you without losing
sight of your own pin. Once your pin is knocked down you must go to the end of the
activity line/sideline/out line. Once you reach the front the line you re-enter the game
when the next open spot is available (person hands you a pin or tags your hand to let you
know it’s time to re-enter).
*Skills/Concepts to reinforce: Fairplay and honesty. Respecting the rules and playing within
the spirit of the game. Use of opposition when throwing something, Agility and decision making.
*Building Your Brain: Can use this game as an analogy to how the brain works and the
importance of exercise and how it impacts the body/brain. Explain to students that exercise fuels
the brain by providing more oxygen and creates BDNF (read chapter 1 of Brain Rules by Dr.
John Medina and SPARK by Dr. John Ratey or visit their websites for more info). This allows
the brain to make better and faster connections, fight stress, and a zillion other awesome things!
The beanbags can represent all the neurons firing in the brain, creating BDNF, making
connections and encoding memories, etc.
*Extensions: Overall, this is a great continuous game that keeps the students moving, heart rates
up and they have a lot of fun with it. Try a second version of this game by allowing students to
move their hulahoops anywhere they wish within the boundaries and then play again. It is
interesting to see what kinds of strategies they develop (students usually team up to help protect
each other’s pins or try to find a corner as a good position). This ties in to Chapter 2 of the Brain
Rules book that talks about how the brain evolved and how humans used relationships to team up
to survive in life. It talks about the importance for positive connections with people, etc. Again,
another great analogy/story line and concepts to tie in to students through active learning!
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
Game #2: “FITNESS FUEL-UP!”
EQUIPMENT: (For a class of 30) 20 Bowling Pins, 2 Hulahoops, 48+ Beanbags (or use foam
skin balls to emphasize bowling skills).
SKILLS: Use of opposition when Throwing, Strategy, Teamwork vs. Individual Challenge,
CONCEPTS: Brain Rules and Health connections to how the body operates.
SETTING: Divide class into two teams. Each team stays on their own half-court (use basketball
half court boundary). Each team needs 10 (or could try more as needed) bowling pins. Only
TWO hula hoops needed this round. The teams may set up the pins wherever and however they
choose within the volleyball court boundaries on their half-court (keeping it to the volleyball
boundaries made it a much smaller/more manageable space).
Fuel Up
Area or
Health
Center
with
Fitness
Spots
Baseline Area:
Fitness Fuel-up Area
or “Health Center”
with activity spots
stations or jump
ropes. Do 10 reps
and switch spots or
return to game, etc.
HOW TO PLAY:
1. The goal is to knock over your opponent’s 10 pins and/or hit your opponent’s feet (on the
slide) with a beanbag to temporarily sideline them.
2. Once a pin is knocked down it can’t return to play. It is OUT and must be placed to the
side or back of court (or other designated area).
3. If a player’s feet are hit on the slide by a beanbag, the player is temporarily sidelined and
goes to their sideline for a “Fitness Fuel Up” to goes to the “Fuel Up Station.” Options
for the “fuel up” area: Watch team play and develop strategy and cheer on team. Add
fitness stations (fitness fuel up area) or some other activity (jump ropes, medicine balls,
etc.) where students do 5 reps and rotate to another spot or continuous jump roping.
4. For eliminated players to return to play, their team must knock over their opponent’s
“Fuel Up” Pin. This special pin’ is designated as the only pin with a hula hoop around
it—and it can be placed anywhere within boundaries (again, I use the volleyball court).
5. Once a “fuel up” pin is knocked over the other team’s players are fueled up and ready to
return to play. Then that fuel-up pin must be replaced with a new pin that has NOT been
knocked over yet. The process of pin elimination will bring it down to one pin left on
each side, the first team to knock over all the other team’s pins win the game.
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
CONTINUOUS-PLAY VERSION OF ROUND #2:
Same as elimination version above except there is NO “Fuel Up Pin”…when hit in the foot,
the player goes to the sideline or baseline for a quick Fitness Fuel Up to complete a
designated fitness activity (10 jumping jacks, etc.) and then returns to play. You can set up
the fitness area in a variety of ways: various fitness component stations, or draw a card or roll
the dice and do the designated activity, follow a checklist for each time you are at the Fuel
Up station, partner activities (medicine ball twist or pushup patty-cake)…the ideas are
endless! Make it fun, make it quick and then they get to return to play.
Other “Continuous” Extension: When pin is knocked over, give to other team and they set
it up on their side. Pins go back and forth continuously.
*Skills/Concepts to reinforce: Fair Play Code of Conduct (Sport Education Model terms I post
throughout my gym). Respecting the rules and playing within the spirit of the game. Use of
opposition when throwing something and increasing agility. Improving strategy and decision
making.
*Fitness Fuel Up connections to brain and how we learn: The beanbags represent the
stressors, poor food choices and/or overall unhealthy choices in life. These attack our body
systems (the bowling pins) and if we get overwhelmed we can get knocked down but it’s
important to know how to get back up again! What does it take to bounce back from stress and
poor food choices? Answer: Eat Right and Exercise! So, that is why when you get (temporarily)
knocked out by a beanbag you go to the “Active Sideline” or Fitness Fuel Up Station to “fuelup” on good choices: eating healthy food (have some health content flash cards), exercising to
build a strong body (provide stations or jump ropes they have to do so many of). Games with
concepts like this are great ways to discuss these important topics. Have them brainstorm healthy
vs. unhealthy choices, how to resist peer pressure and bad choices, the benefits of a healthy
lifestyle vs. the consequences of an unhealthy one. It is all great content to help check for student
understanding by using this to open a lesson, take a timeout during, and/or bring closure to the
lesson after they have been working so hard during the game.
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
Game #3 “My Plate” Bowling!
EQUIPMENT: One Sportime RAINBOW Bowling Pin Set and Bowling Ball per team (or you
can use beanbags or soccer balls depending upon the striking skill you are reinforcing). Or LOTS
of colored bowling pins to represent the “My Plate” colors. Sportime makes them. Or duct tape
tops of your old pins. My Plate Colors: Blue = dairy, Purple = Protein, Red = Fruit, Green =
Veggie, Yellow/Orange = Grain. *As an extension, you can tape a black piece of paper or bad
food image onto a few yellow, orange and blue pins and these represent poor food choices that
go on their plates if they knock them over on accident or they can put on someone else’s plate!
Have one cone per team to mark starting point to bowl. One hulahoop per team as their “Plate”.
SKILLS: Bowling Skills, Strategy, Cooperative Team Challenge
CONCEPTS: My Plate Nutrition
SETTING: Teams of 5, six teams.
Rotation:
1-Bowler (follows
ball)
2-Ball Retriever
(rolls ball back)
3-Pinsetter (sets
other pins back up
except for first one
knocked down)
4-MyPlate
organizer
5. On deck to bowl
Pins are randomly scattered all over one side of court.
Teams have a
hula hoop by
their bowling
start area (have
a cone for each
team too).
Teams bowl from here to knock over colors to create a MyPlate
1
2
3
4
5
6
HOW TO PLAY:
1. The goal is to build a health meal using the MyPlate nutrition by knocking over 10 pins.
The goal is to knock over 1 Blue (dairy), 1 Purple (protein), 2 Red (fruit), 3 Green
(veggies), 3 yellow/orange (grains) for a total of 10.
2. Use the rotation listed above to be sure all students are taking turns in all aspects of the
game. If a student bowls over multiple pins, they may only use the first one that is
knocked down. The rest must be put back up.
Option 1: Students must use the first pin they knock over and bring it to their hulahoop
“MyPlate”. They can add the pin to their plate or, if they do not need that color anymore (or
don’t want it because it is a “poor food choice pin”—a black one) then they can go put it on
another team’s plate. If a team has a pin on their plate they do not want anymore, they can
exchange for one that is brought in and then go place on another team’s plate. The first team
to have a balanced meal wins. OR, do a timed option where at the end of “x” amount of time,
you go over and discuss all plates. Choose a winner based upon best overall meal.
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
Option 2: Play a round where the team may choose to NOT take the pin that was knocked
down b/c they do not need that food group color. They may set it back up and take no action
and just rotate through to next bowler. Again, play to a time limit or first one to perfect plate.
Skills/Concepts to reinforce: Fairplay and honesty. Respecting the rules and playing within the
spirit of the game. Use of opposition when throwing something, Agility and decision making.
My Plate Bowling: really keeps the kids moving and active. Allows them to get a lot of steps in
on the pedometer! This game sets up the class for a good discussion about food choices. You can
look at a certain team’s plate and have students brainstorm healthy food choices for each color
OR you can introduce new foods they may not have heard of yet (like Quinoa) and even bring in
healthy samples.
Extensions: Use a black or other colored pin not used in MyPlate (or tape a picture of a food
group choice) to a pin. If you get this pin you can put on another team’s plate or keep it. Try to
knock over pins using beanbags or by kicking soccer balls.
Tips & Tricks: The Rainbow Pin sets are the best, but a temporary solution as you accumulate
rainbow sets is to get colored cardstock that represents the “My Plate” colors (again, the Red is
for Fruits, Orange is for Grains, Green is for Vegetables, Purple is for Protein, and Blue is for
Dairy) and cut it into sizeable pieces (1/4 page postcard) and tape to the pin OR buy colored
painter’s tape or duct tape and tape around the top of the pin to change its color. Student then
know which pins represent which food group when choosing a pin to knock over.
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
Game #4 “Bone-ified” Bowling or “Bad to the Bone” Bowling!
EQUIPMENT: One Sportime Poly-Bones set or own muscle/bones setup. One Bowling Pin Set
and Bowling Ball per team (or use beanbags/soccer balls depending upon skill you are using).
SKILLS: Bowling Skills, Strategy, Cooperative Team Challenge,
Triangles
CONCEPTS: Bone Health, Anatomy-Bone structure OR Muscles
represent
SETTING: Teams of 5, six teams.
the PINS
Rotation:
1-Bowler
(follows ball)
2-Pinsetter
3- Retriever
(runs ball
back)
4-Bone
Collector
5. On deck to
bowl
Team #1
Team #2
bones
Team #3
Team #4
bones
Team #5
Team #6
HOW TO PLAY:
1. The goal is to be the first team to collect all the bones and put together your skeleton
correctly. OR, first team to collect all muscles and label them on body picture correctly.
In the version set-up above, have Teams #1 and #2 work cooperatively to build a skeleton
together and race the other team paired up (3 and 4, 5 and 6).
2. A team earns a piece to their puzzle (a bone or muscle) by knocking over the pins
correctly (different variation).
3. Be sure teams follow the rotation correctly so that all bowl and participate in the team
setting. The bowler follows their ball, the pinsetter sets up pins for next throw, the
retriever picks up ball and runs it to next person in line and then goes to bone collector
area (in the bopxes), the bone collector grabs a new bone piece (if the team knocked over
a pin) and puts it in place in their hulahoop and then goes to the on-deck spot. On deck
person rotates in to the bowler. Rotation continues.
Game option #1: Play to where a team only gets a piece for their “puzzle” if they get a STRIKE
(or whatever amount you determine).
Game option #2: Play bowling “cardio work up” (my favorite). Each team starts with just one
pin, the lead pin #1. When you knock it over you may add ONE more pin, now you have TWO
pins to knock over (setting them up in correct bowling pin set style). When you knock over these
you get to add one more pin and so on. You can only add a pin and get a puzzle piece when you
knock over ALL the pins that are there. If you do not knock them down, you just set them back
up and next person tries again.
*Skills/Concepts to reinforce: Fairplay and honesty. Respecting the rules and playing within
the spirit of the game. Use of opposition when throwing something, Agility and decision making.
*Bad to the Bone Bowling: great opportunity to discuss bone health, osteoporosis, anatomy, etc.
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com
NASPE National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year
Jessica Shawley, Moscow Middle School in Moscow, Idaho
National Standards with Goals/Objectives listed. By the end of the lesson/unit, the student
will be able to (SWBAT). Examples for games listed above. I could not fit all goals for each
game so I’m giving you a sample pulled from each.
Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to
perform a variety of physical activities.
• SWBAT Improve bowling approach through target accuracy by knocking over
specific colored pins.
• SWBAT Apply bowling skills and adapt to a more challenging bowling game version
(cardio bowling).
• SWBAT Identify and apply one tactic/team strategy in Fitness Fuel Up as identified
by team discussion.
Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and
tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
• SWBAT Apply tactics as identified during team strategy sessions to improve team’s
ability to knock over opponents pins during Fitness Fuel-Up.
Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity.
• SWBAT Use pedometers in game play and achieve MVPA (= 80 steps per minute
goal) during activity time (50% of lesson time).
Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
• SWBAT Participate in sideline fitness training to improve muscular endurance.
• SWBAT improve cardiovascular endurance during games and use skill-related
fitness.
Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in
physical activity settings.
• SWBAT demonstrate adherence to the “Fair Play Code of Conduct” through
cooperative game play.
• SWBAT Work cooperatively with peers of diverse skill levels in mixed-level teams.
*Emphasis: Peer mentoring for specific students with identified needs.
• SWBAT Cooperate in teams to achieve competitive game goal or challenge
Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or
social interaction.
• SWBAT Communicate the value of the learning activity to their personal life through
verbal expression or written work in portfolio at the end of the lesson or games unit.
Contact: [email protected]
Session Handouts: www.mygymshorts.schoolspecialty.com