Dodgeball- Revolutionary War Simulation
3 Teams
1. ¼ of class with least experience (colonists) Add best player as captain Blue Team
2. ½ of class with most experience minus best player (British) Red Team
3. Remaining ¼ of class White team. (French) White Team
Round 1: Have ½ of the Red team play against the blue team. White team and ½ the red team watches. White team roots for blue team.
- Red team warms up (analogy: Trained soldiers)
- ½ red team does not play (analogy: Took time for Britain to send soldiers to the colonies)
- White team roots for blue team (analogy: France sent supplies to Americans early in war)
Round 2: Remainder of red team enters the game. Tell blue team they will win candy if they can defeat the red team. Tell one student on the blue team you cannot guarantee them the prize and allow them to switch to red team if desired. White team still watches. Ask them who they think will win and why?
- Prize offered to blue team. (analogy- Declaration of Independence gave new motivation to colonists)
- Student given chance to switch after not being guaranteed candy (Analogy- African Americans unsure if equality promised in Declaration of Independence would be extended to them. Some fought with British)
- Asking white team who will win (analogy- France thought colonists stood no chance)
Round 3: Deliver pep talk to the blue team. Encourage them to stay positive even though the situation looks bad. “These are the times that try men’s souls. These are the times when we find out about people’s true character.” Give all the balls to the blue team to start and throw loose balls to them throughout the competition. White team still watches.
- Pep talk to blue team (analogy- Thomas Paine’s Common Sense encouraged patriots to keep fighting despite poor odds.)
- All the balls start with blue team and loose balls thrown to blue team. (analogy- Colonists got a couple wins at Trenton and Princeton which gave them hope and made the British realize it wouldn’t be a super easy victory. The victories also boosted the colonists’ morale)
Round 4: In this round all the Blue team has to do to win is keep one person or more from getting out. For the red team to win they must get all members of the blue team out. Call blue team over and explain they just need to survive. They don’t have to get red team out. If they can survive for one more round help may come. Allow one volunteer from white team to join blue team.
- Winning by staying in game for blue team (analogy- Washington realized for him to win the war he only needed to keep the British from defeating and capturing his army)
- Telling blue team help may arrive if they can hold out 1 more round (analogy- French soldiers were on the way after the Battle at Saratoga)
- Volunteer from white team to join the blue (analogy- Europeans such as Baron Von Steubon, Casimir Pulaski, and Lafayette volunteered to help the colonists)
Round 5: Once again in this round the red team must eliminate all the blue and white players in order to win. This time the white team will play and will help the blue team. All the balls except for 2 will start with the blue and white teams. Tell white team they will win a prize also if they win.
- Red team needing to get all the opposing players out to win (analogy- British soldiers were getting tired out by hit-and-run tactics of colonists)
- White team enters with Blue team (analogy- France sent troops and naval support to help colonists)
Round 6: Ask the red team if they want to continue playing under the current rules. Some will say it’s not fair while others will want to continue playing. Start game with all balls in the blue team’s side. Tell them this will be the last round. When a player is out they must stay out. Allow blue and white players to return to game after they are out. 3 minutes of playing and whoever has more left over wins. After 3 minutes declare the blue team the winner and have the remaining players shake hands.
- Asking red team if rules are fair (analogy- after Yorktown many British soldiers didn’t want to fight although King George didn’t accept defeat for 2 years)
- Allow blue and white members back into game (analogy- reinforcements were arriving for the colonists)
- Have players shake hands- (analogy- red team accepts defeat showing the colonists have won the war)
- Give the blue and white team prizes (analogy- Treaty of Paris officially ended war and recognized the independence of the 13 colonies. Loyalists would be allowed to continue living their without being treated unfairly.)
Classroom Questions to Debrief
1. (to red team) How did you feel at the beginning of the game? Why?
2. (to blue team) How did you feel at the beginning of the game? Why?
3. (to the white team) At the very beginning of the game who did you think would win? Why?
4. (to the red team) How did you feel as the game went on? Why?
5. (to the blue team) How did you feel as the game went on? Why?
6. (to the white team) What rule changes helped the white team win?
Review the Analogies from Round 1 through Round 6.