Pinball
This is also an excellent lead-up game for football (throwing) and soccer (kicking) using foam balls!
Objective: To be the first group to knock over your teams pins and/or cones.
Equipment:
- 20 bowling pins (10 white, 10 multicolored) or
- 20 cones (10 each of two colors)
- 15 medium size gator skin balls
Setup:
- Divide the class into 2 groups
- The groups are at opposite ends of the gym and must stand behind a designate line to throw the ball
- The bowling pins are setup across the center line of the gym alternating white pins and multicolored pins
Description:
- The game begins upon a signal from the teacher (whistle, start of music, etc.)
- Students may begin throwing balls to knock over the pins. One group is trying to knock over the white pins, the other group the multicolored pins.
- Players may go in front of the throwing line to get one ball at a time. However, when they do this, they must stay on their half of the gym and keep their hands in front of their face to protect them against balls coming their way.
- When one group has all of their pins knocked down a designated student runs to the side of the gym and rings the bell. The round is over at that time.
- Students quickly setup the pins for the next round.
Another way of playing is as follows:
It’s a bit more difficult because of the math involved.
Objective: To be the first group to knock over as many pins as possible to score the required number of points.
Setup: Same as above except both bowling pins and cones are setup on the center line (at least 40).
Description: When a student knocks over a pin or cone, he/she reports it to a designated scorekeeper in his/her group. The scorekeeper keeps track of the group’s score. When one group reaches the required number of points, the scorekeeper goes and rings the bell. (over)
In these rounds, the teacher may need to stop the game periodically to have everyone setup pins and cones before the round continues. It may be impossible to reach the required number of points without doing this.
Round #1 – Each group tries to get 30 points before the other team
(Each pin/cone is worth 1 point)
Round #2 – Each group tries to get 60 points before the other team
(Each pin/cone is worth 1 point)
Round #3 – First group to get 100 points before the other team
(Each pin is worth 1 point, each cone is worth 5 points)
Round #4 – First group to get 100, 200, 300, or 400 points
(Use two different size cones - pins are worth 1 point, medium cones
are worth 5 points, large cones are worth 10 points)
Variations: The variations are endless depending on the age and ability level of the students. Examples:
- Have students roll the 1st round, throw the 2nd round, and do both the 3rd round
- Adjust the line from which students throw
- Adjust the scoring such as each is pin/cone is worth 5 or perhaps 10 points
(Don’t forget to raise the number of points required if you do this.)