Creative Games for Beanbag Activities (Part 1)
BANK THE BEANBAG
- Beanbags of different colors;
- Targets (trash cans or buckets) inside the activity area;
- Polyspots surrounding each target;
- Students divided into teams of three or four in relay style.
Give each team a different color beanbag, One at a time, team members walk to a polyspot and try to toss their beanbag into a target. If they make the shot, they pick up the polyspot and return the beanbag and polyspot to their team. If they miss, they pick up the beanbag and return to their team. The next student in line then takes his or her tunr. When no polyspots remain, add up the polyspots accumulated by each team. To keep the game moving, place additional polyspots in the play area when supplies are low.
Challenge one student at a time to throw targets continuously and pick up polyspots after each successful throw. Change the game to include basketballs and basketball shooting. Start with one-minute intervals; continue to add polyspots to prolong the action.
To lower the intensity, have many targets of varying sizes and shapes. Place the polyspots closer to the targets. Have the students practice without actually playing the game. The students keep their own beanbag, walk to any target, throw, retrieve, and keep their personal score.
Share this activity with classroom teachers with suggestions as to how to make it apply to other subject areas. The spots could represent the food groups, and the students have to collect one spot for each food group. Or flashcards with numbers on them could be used instead of spots. Then teams add the numbers they have collected to come up with their score. Or flashcards with letters could be used, and students try to collect letters to spell words on their spelling list.
BEANBAG ADDITION
- One or two beanbags per student;
- Targets (hoops, each with a polyspot in the middle , or posterboard floor targets; a mat with a hoop could be used as well)
- Students divided into groups consisting of two pairs;
- Partners lined up, facing each other, behind the target starting lines.
Assign each target area a point value. Partners toss their beanbags at the targets, retrieve their beanbags, and add their points together. For more activity, each partner can quickly walk to and touch an end line opposite the throwing like before getting back in line to play the opposite side of the target. Students play in timed rounds.
Each student throws two beanbags. Or students multiply their points together. Change the target size, shape or distance.
BEANBAG BARRAGE
- Give each student one hoop and two beanbags;
- Pairs of students place their hoops on the ground 8 feet (2,4 metres) apart. Facing her or his partner and holding two beanbags, each student stands behind her or his hoop.
On signal, players try to throw their beanbags into their partner's hoop. Students must stay outside and behind their hoop. Students can bat away, catch, or pick up and throw any beanbag that lands inside their hoop or their play area. They can leave their hoop to chase the thrown beanbags. On the stop signal, students count the beanbags in their partner's hoop.
To make it harder, place the hoops in two parallel lines. After each round, have one side of partners, move to the right. Students then will have new partners. If students keep score, the total number of beanbags that land inside the hoop determines the winner.
BEANBAG FITNESS CHALLENGES
- One beanbag per student
The teacher calls out an activity from the following list, followed by "Ready, set, Go!". Students then perform that activity.
Mid-body (students are seated)
- Foot toss: Place a beanbag on your feet, throw it upward and catch it with your hands.
- Around the leg: Lift one leg, and pass the beanbag under or around that leg; repeat with your other leg.
- Biking: Place a beanbag between your feet. Support your body with your hands on the floor behind your back. Bring the beanbag in toward your abdomen and back out without the feet touching the ground.
- Scissors: Lying on your back, move your legs scissors-fashion and pass the beanbag between them.
Upper-body (Students are in a push-up position)
- Bag taps: Tap the beanbag with alternating hands.
- Beenie slaps: Push the beanbag from side to side with alternating hands.
- Push around: With your right hand, push the beanbag in a circle around your left hand. Switch hands.
- Touch all: Pick up the beanbag, touch your head with the beanbag, and place the beanbag back where it was. Switch hands. Repeat, touching different body parts.
- Juggle: Repeatedly toss the beanbag from one hand to the other.
To increase the intensity, students could jog around the room for 30 seconds and then perform one of these activities for 30 seconds.
To lower the internsity, students could walk while balancing the beanbag on different parts of their body. The teacher calls out a toss-and-catch challenge or one of the easier activities from those listed above.
BEANBAG ROTATION
- Give each student a beanbag in one of the five colors or labeled with number 1,2,3,4, or 5 if colored beanbags are not available.
- Students are scattered in general space.
- Use exercise charts in which a color or number represents a particular activity, with each chart having a different code. (Hint: It is easy to create other charts by simply moving the exercise activities to a different color.) For example, one chart might be coded as follows:
Blue - Jumping Jacks (1)
Red - Sit-ups (2)
Green - Push-ups (3)
Yellow - Stretches (4)
Orange - Free choice (5)
- Have music on hand.
- For added intensity use polyspots and basketballs.
While music plays, students walk around the room and swap beanbags with each student they meet. When the music stops, students move to personal space. The teacher holds up the exercise chart. On his or her signal, students perform the exercise that correspond to their color or number. After a couple of rounds, switch to a chart with a different color or number code so that each student will perform a new activity.
For added intensity, put polyspots of various colors on the floor. Replace the beanbags with basketballs. Create a chart of basketball tricks. While the music plays, students dribble the ball. When the music stops, students stop on a polyspot and perform a basketball trick corresponding to that spot's color or number. The teacher can either call out the tricks or use a chart.
To lower the intensity, use beanbags of two colors (e.g., red beanbags and blue beanbags). When the music stops, students toss and catch their beanbag and then perform color-coded tricks such as the following:
Red - Toss, clap, and catch
Blue - Toss, touch your headd with both hands, and catch.
Building social skills is a major goal of physical education. Encourage students to greet one another by name and to say, "Thank you", after they swap beanbags.
BEANIE BAG OF TRICKS
- One beanbag per student
- Music
- Students scattered in general space
- for added intensity, deck rings, basketballs, or nerf balls.
As directed by the teacher, students perform the following activities:
One student
- One hand: Alternating between right and left handd, toss the beanbag up and down.
- Juggle: Toss the beanbag from hand to hand.
- Toss, catch behind: Toss the beanbag overhead and catch it behind your back.
- Claps: Toss the beanbag up, clap your hands one or more times, and catch.
- Under: Toss the beanbag under a lifted leg, and catch.
- Header: Put the beanbag on your head, lean forward or backward so that the beanbag falls off, and catch it.
- Back balance: Toss the beanbag up, and catch it on your back.
- Footsies: Balance the beanbag on one foot, toss the beanbag with that foot and catch.
- Rebound: Toss the beanbag overhead, and jump to catch it.
- Shake and bake: Get down on all fours, put the beanbag on your back, and shake it off.
Pairs:
Partners may choose one of the following actions to perform:
- Quick toss: Partner 1 stands with his or her back to partner 2; at the signal "Go!" partner 2 tosses the beanbag, and partner 1 turns around to catch it.
- Travel: While sliding, students toss (and catch) the beanbag with two hands.
Groups of three:
- Split second: With their hands on their laps, two partners sit facing each other. A third student stands and drops the beanbag. The sitting players attempt to catch or cover the beanbag with their hands.
- Double vision: The three students in each group form a triangle. Each of the two students at the triangle's base has a beanbag. One of these students tosses the player at the triangle's apex. That player returns the beanbag to the thrower. The action is repeated with the student at the other base tossing to the player at the apex.
To add some intensity or complexity, use deck rings, basketballs, or nerf balls instead of beanbags. Allow students to create, name, draw, post, and demonstrate their newly created activities.
From the book, PE Connections: Helping Kids to Succeed Through Physical Activity (Thomas M. Fleming and Lisa Bunting)
