G-193957
BottleBat
with Activities & Games by Pamela Powers
Introduction
Go green with your physical education class! Did you know that according to the Container Recycling Institute, we only recycle
25% of the plastic beverage bottles purchased in the United States? Using BottleBats is a great way to help your students recycle.
It is portable and can be taken to the park, the beach, or used in your physical education class.
Product Use
BottleBat is a fun and inexpensive way to add striking skills and hand-eye coordination to your program. The bat handles are
designed to fit on a 2 liter soda bottle by screwing it on to the empty bottle in place of the lid. The bottle section may then be used
as the head of the bat or as the bottom of the batting tee. The end of the handle has been designed as a tee to hold the ball.
Heavier balls are not recommended to be struck with the BottleBats.
Parts/Assembly
Each BottleBat set comes with six handles and six Fun Max Play Balls. Plastic bottles are not included. Take the lid off of the 2
liter plastic bottle and empty all liquid out of it. Attach handle to the bottle by screwing it on and you are ready to play! The handle
attached to the bottle may be used as either a bat or a batting tee. Water or sand can be added for stability.
Objectives
BottleBats help students improve their hand-eye coordination and striking skills. The larger surface area provides more surface
area on which to contact a ball and it may give the student more opportunities for success.
Games And Activities
Striking From A Tee – Kindergarten and 1st grade
Equipment:
2 BottleBats
2 Fun Max Balls
Students in Pairs
One partner is the batter and one partner is the fielder. Fielder stands on the opposite side of the open space from their partner.
Fielder is responsible for gathering all the balls when they are hit by the batter. Batter begins with one BottleBat set up as a tee on
the ground in an open space. Batter places one ball on the tee and sets the second on the ground near the tee. Batter places hands
on the handle of the second BotteBat with the index finger of one hand touching the pinky of the other hand. Batter should be
standing with belly button facing the tee and the side of their body towards the fielder. If the batter is right handed, the left side of the
body faces the fielder, and right hand should be on top of the left hand on the handle. If the batter is left handed, the right side of the
body faces the fielder, and left hand should be placed on top of the right hand on the handle. Student should use the following cues:
• Bend Knees
• Bat Back
• Swing Towards The Fielder
Once the batter has hit both balls, the fielder and batter switch places.
Assessment: Observe the student batting
• Are hands close together?
• Is the correct hand on top?
• Is batter contacting the center of the ball with the center of the bat?
Modification: Student may need to change distance from the tee, or the size of the ball, for greater success.
Keep it up! – Grades 2 and Up
Equipment:
2 BottleBats
1 Fun Max Ball
Students in Pairs
The object of the game is to keep the ball in the air without letting it hit the ground. Count how many times you and your partner
can keep it up in the air without letting it hit the ground. Try to beat your score each time.
Challenge: Join another pair and form a group of four.
Assessment: Can the students improve the number of strikes before the ball touches the ground?
Modification: Balloons are great for this activity and float slowly down, giving the students extra time to prepare to strike.
3 in a Row – Grades 2 and Up
Equipment:
2 BottleBats
1 Fun Max Ball
3 Poly Spots
Students in Groups of Three
Place the Poly Spots ten to twenty feet apart on the
field. Place one BottleBat on the poly spot with the ball
on the top. The Hitter starts at the T with the
BottleBat. The second partner will be on the center
poly spot as the Pitcher. The third partner is the Fielder
outside the poly spots. When the ball is hit off the T,
Hitter will place the BottleBat on the ground and run to
each poly spot, seeing how many poly spots they can
step on before signaled to stop. While the Hitter is
running, the Pitcher and Fielder must throw and catch the ball to each other before either runs it to the T and calls “stop!” Once
the play has ended, the Hitter goes to Fielder, Fielder goes to Pitcher, and Pitcher is the Hitter.
Assessment: Have the students keep track of how many poly spots they are able to touch during the class. Did the number go up or
did it go down during the class period? Did it stay the same? Why would the number have changed?
Modification: If a student is unable to run, they may walk to the bases while the Pitcher and Fielder count how many successful
throws they can make to one another. Once the Batter is at “home” they call for the tossing to stop.
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3 Pin Knockdown
Equipment:
4 BottleBats
1 Fun Max Ball
2 Poly Spots
Students in groups of three
Place the two poly spots 20 feet apart on the field. Place three
BottleBats in a line straight across. Players are: Batter, Pitcher, Fielder.
The Batter stands in front of the BottleBats lined up on the ground,
holding the fourth BottleBat. Pitcher stands half way between the two
poly spots. Fielder is outside of the poly spots opposite the Batter.
Pitcher will throw the ball at the Bottle Bats. The object of the game
is for the Batter to hit the ball so that it does not knock down any of
the BottleBats.
If the Batter hits the ball, he/she begins to run. Batter tries to reach the opposite poly spot before any BottleBats are knocked
down. If Batter reaches the poly spot, he/she is safe. Batter returns to starting spot and hits again. Batter’s turn ends after three
at bats, or when all the BottleBats are knocked down.
Once the ball is hit, the Pitcher or the Fielder may get the ball and begin trying to knock down the BottleBats. The object is to
knock down as many as possible by throwing the ball at the BottleBat before the Batter makes it to the opposite poly spot.
• Pitcher moves to Batter
• Batter moves to Fielder
• Fielder moves to Pitcher
Assessment: Each group will keep track of how many turns it took for the group to knock down all the bottles. Ask the students to
try to improve their score through one rotation.
Modification: If the students are unable to run, they can walk to the opposite Poly Spot, counting how many steps they take while
the Pitcher and Fielder tried to knock down the bottles.
Calorie Game – Cross-Curricular Activity: Math, Nutrition
Equipment:
2-liter Bottle of Coke or Similar Sugar Drink
1 C Measuring Cup
Drinking Glass
Open Space
Ask one of the students to read how many ounces are in a 2-liter
bottle of soda: (67.6)
Ask one of the students how many ounces are in a cup? (8 ounces)
Ask the students to divide 67.6 by 8. How many cups of soda are in a
2-liter bottle? (Approximately 8)
Pour 1 C of soda into the measuring cup. Pour this amount into the
drinking glass. Show the students what one serving looks like.
Ask them if they only drink one serving?
Explain to the students that they are going to do the amount of exercise needed to work off the calories from that soda.
Give the students a number of options:
• Jump rope
• Jog
• Hula hoop
• Other aerobic activity that is independent
Start the timer and keep students going for 15 minutes. Remind the students that they need to keep moving continually until you
stop the timer. Once the timer has stopped, explain to the students that they have just exercised for 15 minutes. Explain to the
students that for one serving of soda, they would need to spend 15 minutes performing cardiorespiratory activity such as:
• Jumping rope
• Jogging
• Inline skating
• Soccer
Assessment: The calories from a soda are known as “empty calories” because they contain no nutritional value.
What other foods could you eat that might fuel your body for exercise?
What could you drink instead of soda that would be better for your body?
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How Much Sugar is in a Soda?
Cross-curricular integration: Math, Nutrition
Equipment:
Teaspoon
Measuring cup
Funnel
Sand or Sugar
2-liter Soda Bottle, Empty
Soda is full of sugar. In fact, there can be as many as 13 teaspoons of sugar in one can of soda! (source: www.wikipedia.org) Take
the teaspoon and measure out 13 teaspoons of sugar or sand into the 1 Cup measure. Wow! That is a lot of sugar! Show the
students. This is how much sugar is in one can of soda.
One 2-liter bottle contains 5.6 cans of soda or 73 teaspoons (1-1/2 Cups) of sugar. Take the empty 2 liter bottle and using a 1 Cup
measure and the funnel, pour 1-1/2 Cups of sugar or sand into the bottle. Show this to the students. This is how much of the
bottle of soda is actually sugar!
Modifications
BottleBats may be used in place of a plastic type bat used for striking. BottleBats have a larger hitting area that could benefit
students first learning to strike.
The larger the ball, the easier it is for a student to strike. Use a larger ball when first learning to strike. Use the smaller ball for an
added challenge.
When first learning to strike, hitting a stationary object is easiest. Begin by having students hit off a tee, then progress to a tossed ball.
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Evaluation
Striking is one of the most difficult skills for children to learn. Adding a long- handled implement makes it more challenging.
Allow for multiple attempts when first learning to strike
On this chart, to fill in the students’ names in the column on the left. Observe through the various stages of skill development.
Check off as each student reaches the next level of proficiency.
Student name
Student holds the bat
with correct hand
on top
Student stands
with side to target
Student can hit
the ball off of
the tee
Student can hit
a ball that is thrown
to them
Safety
When using this product, NEVER attach a glass bottle or container. Use only with plastic bottles. If the bottle cracks, recycle the
old bottle appropriately and attach a new plastic bottle.
When getting ready to strike, look around you before swinging to avoid hitting others. Make sure you are in an open space.
After swinging the bat, place it on the ground and do not throw the bat!
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