Game Play in Physical Education

As teachers we want the best for our students. The Physical Education Hall of Shame
bundle of articles resonated with us all and forced us to look within and evaluate our stance on
playing traditionally accepted games during our Physical Education sessions. We became
cognizant of the dangers and the damage that could be done to a childs psyche with the
seemingly harmless elimination type games. We could not help but compare the activities
described with our own childhood experiences. Long forgotten memories resurfaced and were
accompanied by negative emotions, and while bereft of their sting, they still left a bitter taste
more than twenty years later. We all had various experiences with the same negative end result.
This underscored one of the main themes of the article for us- elimination type games in addition
to not targeting the students who are most in need, also leaves emotional scars on the
unsuccessful participants.
This forced us to re-examine our own (and soon to be) practice as ours is a mixed group
of teachers and non-teachers. We experienced a paradigm shift and are determined that
unmodified elimination type games will not be played during our P.E. sessions. This is an active
choice as two factors became apparent in our group discussion, firstly we cannot teach what we
do not know and secondly we must unlearn the negative actions that are commonly accepted by
not only our peers, but our community at large. Williams (1994) advises that, As professionals,
we must re-examine our practices and programs and think critically about what, how, and why
we are teaching the children in our care. These words affected us deeply, and as we revaluate
our craft we are forced to answer the following questions, What is the focal point of our Physical
Education Classes? Are we focused on developing skills or promoting an active lifestyle? Are we
trying to produce winners? Or should the emphasis be on win-win situations? Do we want our
students to compete against each other? Or do we want them to learn a new skill while
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Game Play in Physical Education

promoting team building? While our questions seem to have obvious answers, as we compared
them to what actually occurs in the Trinidad Elementary classroom we learnt that while
modifications have been incorporated for almost every other subject area, Physical Education
remains largely unaltered from our school days. Arguably, we encourage and introduce new
methods to teach academic concepts to students who are having difficulty e.g. manipulatives in
Mathematics, field trips and experiments for Science, videos for Social Studies. However,
weaker students who need extra help for PE are relegated to the side lines as observers when
elimination games are played.
Unanimously, we disagreed with Blum (1996) in her article, Elimination Provides a
Valuable Lesson as she identified learning perseverance as a direct result of losing in an
elimination type game. We agreed that losing is an inescapable part of life, however our views
are consistent with those expressed by DeTommaso-Kleinert (1996) when she asks, Is it
educational to orchestrate an elimination experience for children who in their daily lives will
already have many chances to experience being and feeling eliminated? Daily we interact with
students who come from broken homes and issues of abuse and neglect threaten our nations
children. Instead of reading about it in the newspapers these children in our classrooms today.
This strengthens our resolve to eliminate elimination type games from our classrooms. Noted
American psychologist Abraham Maslow identified safety as one of the needs in his hierarchy of
needs that must be fulfilled before the higher order self-actualization can occur. We accept it as
our responsibility to provide a safe learning environment for all the students in our care.
Williams (1992) also identified other less than ideal game elements that should not be
included in our chosen activities. These included games which have the potential to embarrass
students in front of the class, have a low participation time factor, extremely high likelihood for
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Game Play in Physical Education

danger, injury, and harm, lack of emphasis on teaching motor skills and lifetime physical fitness
(p. 59) among others. This facilitated our discussion on the attributes that we wanted our sessions
to include. As one of our group members reiterated, teachers have the power to either be positive
or negative influences .We do not want to instil a dislike of physical education by including
ineffective and inappropriate gameplay for our charges. Our ideal game will develop our
students, their skills, maintain interest and motivation, be safe, allow maximum participation for
all students, cause no embarrassment or harm, and be fun! This demands that we as teachers and
future teachers invest time in Physical Education just as we would for our other subject areas.
Our students cannot participate fully if they are not taught the proper skills or given the
opportunity to practice such skills. Moving forward we are encouraged to hone our skills as we
teach the next generation the skills that will assist in the development of the unity of their
minds and bodies to enable them to live as healthy and productive adults in our society
(Williams, 1992, p. 57). These are exciting times for us!

Game Play in Physical Education

Game #1: Hop in a hoop
Game description:

Hoops of various sizes are scattered around the designated play area.

All students would be in the middle surrounded by the hoops.

Students must hop into the hoop when directed to do so.

If there are too many or not enough children in the hoop all those involved are out.

N.B.
- Students must not push other students out of the hoop if there are too many.
- All body parts must be in the hoop
Good points about the game:

All students in the class gets to participate in the game play

Students practice the fundamental skill of hopping.

Students develop on movement concepts.

-

Space awareness i.e. directions

Effort qualities i.e. time (sudden, sustained)

Bad Points about the game:

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Game Play in Physical Education

Student are eliminated if the instructions are not followed

They may become discouraged in playing the game

Only the fundamental skill of hopping is developed

Modification 1

The teacher can expand on the instructions given by incorporating :

-

Fundamental skills into the game besides hopping.

Asking boys only or girls only to get into the hoops

Students are also assigned to a house, therefore the teacher can ask students who
belong to a specific house/ colour to get in the group

Students must pay attention to the teachers instructions before getting into the hoops.

When students get into the hoops they must pull the hoop up to their waist to ensure that
the students fit comfortably into the hoops.

There is no elimination of students.

-

The aim is to observe the students skills and how we can assist them further

Good Points about the game:

Students listening skills are developed

Game Play in Physical Education

Students develop skills according to the instructions given i.e.

-

Walk, hop, jump, gallop, slide and skip

Students develop on movement concepts.

-

Space awareness i.e. directions

Effort qualities i.e. time (sudden, sustained)

Group Discussion on Hop in a Hoop

Students were asked to lay out hoops of various sizes within the designated play area;
however, they must keep the middle of the play area clear. Students were then asked to stand in
the cleared area where they would be surrounded by the hoops. In this game, all the students
were allowed to participate. No student was left out or embarrassed because they were not able
to play the game.
The instructions were outlined and the students had no questions. They were quite
excited to start the game. The teacher then gave the instruction to the students to hop to the hoop.
We chose to allow students to do one part of the instruction in the beginning to ensure that
students understood. From this we could have singled out the children who werent listening or
were unsure about the game. Therefore, it can be deduced that this game can help improve a
childs listening skills.

Game Play in Physical Education

In this game Hop in a Hoop, the skill of hopping was reinforced as two students jumped
to the hoops as opposed to hop to the hoop. From this observation, the opportunity gave rise to
introducing modifications to the game. We later added to the second game play session,
fundamental skills such as walk, jump, gallop, slide and skip to the hoops. By adding these skills
the game became more interesting. Students were able to practice these fundamental skills as the
instructions were given.
Furthermore, the original game reinforced/ taught space awareness and by extension
direction (forward, backward, sideways) in addition to effort qualities i.e. Time (sudden and
sustained). It was further developed when the students were engaged in the other fundamental
skills.
During the second game play we modified the game further by introducing additional
instructions such as giving instructions
-

to boys only/ girls only

Students who belong to a specific colour or house system

This made for a more interesting game play.

We also observed that even though the students were asked to not push anyone out of the
hoop if there were too many students, pushing still occurred. This gave rise to another
modification. For the second game play session, students were now asked to pull the hoop up to
their waist when enough students were in. This resulted in safer game play among the students.
We observed that this game play encouraged strategic thinking among the students. The
students needed to be aware of their surroundings and determine which hoop they can get into

Game Play in Physical Education

quickly. Students need to determine how many students would be able to fit perfectly,
comfortably and safely into the hoop, keeping in mind the various sizes of hoops.
Even though the game encourages strategic thinking, with the modified version, students
were not eliminated. If the skill was not performed properly it would be reinforced. However, if
the student performs the skill correctly but does not get into a hoop the game simply continues
with another instruction. The main idea is the development of the fundamental skills, being safe
and having fun.
We also agreed that like most activities there will always be positive aspects and negative
aspects. From observations, we as educators can modify game play to ensure the physical,
emotional and cognitive development of our students.
Game #2: Raise
Game Description:
Have all students form a circle. The space between each student should be arms width apart on
either side. There is one football (soccer ball) and one must randomly pass the ball to another
student keeping the ball airborne only using ones feet. Controlling the ball by using ones chest,
thighs or feet is permitted, however the use of hands is not. If the ball touches the ground or is
caught with ones hands, the student who is receiving the ball is eliminated. This is repeated until
there is only one winner. This was a popular game that was played in our childhood days at the
school ground, beach outings and our local recreational ground on the weekends. As such, this
game was learnt from experience.
Good Points about the game:

Game Play in Physical Education

Students can practice ball control (previously learned skill), trick shots and deceit (skill

development)
Allows students to explore their personal space
Includes the use of non-locomotor movements such as twisting and turning
Very few instructions are needed as the concept can be easily explained
Students can improve their agility, awareness, and anticipation skills as well as reaction

times as students do not know when the ball will be passed to them
Students are afforded the opportunity to work on their balance as they will be hopping

from one leg to the next as they try to control and pass the ball
It teaches students to focus on their vision as they must follow the ball with their eyes

until it reaches their feet.

Allows students to work on their fitness level as this activity helps to build cardiovascular

endurance
All students are facing the ball at all times. Once the play area is large enough to contain
the participants and obstacles are not within range, this game is safe.

Bad points about the game:

Does not allow for maximum participation from all students as the ball is randomly

passed and some students may have multiple turns before another student has one
Less skilled players are usually the first to be eliminated and will sit out the remainder of

the game. This is undesirable as these are the students who need the most practice
Time is wasted as students are standing waiting for their turn to receive the ball.

Depending on the time allotted for this activity some students may never get a turn
The embarrassment factor is present as those who are eliminated in the early stages can

be subject to ridicule
Does not foster team building skills as the main focus is to eliminate your classmate

Game Play in Physical Education

Points that can fit under either good or bad:

The more skillful players have a higher success rate as they are more adept at ball control
and passing. However, this success is also based on the failure of others

Major Problems:
The main focus of this game is elimination and most of the students have very little interaction
with the ball.
Modifications:

Instead of one large circle, students can be placed in groups of two to five depending on

the overall level of skill.

Alternatively, students can be placed in groups of two and once sufficient mastery is
achieved, two groups can be merged to increase the difficulty factor. The key is to have

the students practice the required skills without elimination.

Once all students have achieved the desired level of skill, variations can be added such as

chest trapping and head butting the ball instead of only using the feet for passing
To further develop this skill, the teacher can randomly call out Right Foot or Left
Foot, and upon hearing this the students can only pass the ball using the identified foot.
In addition to producing more skilled students, this may also lessen the divide amongst

the students as all may not have developed the ability to pass using both feet.
These sessions must now be monitored more closely as there is more active participation
by all students and as such, the physical endurance limit is now a factor for all involved.
Thus allotting a specified time for this activity or including instructional or water breaks
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Game Play in Physical Education

can be incorporated. As the students endurance increases, the time can be increased by
one minute increments if required.

Group Discussion on Raise

Prior to the start of the official game, each student was given his/her own ball and
allowed to briefly practice using a wall. The group was split into two and sent to opposite ends of
the school gymnasium. This served a dual purpose- firstly as a warm-up activity and it also
allowed the teacher to quickly assess the students skillset as they practiced at their own level.
The dilemma that we faced in this activity was that five boys in the class belonged to the schools
football club (better ball control and endurance). There was a long debate on the pairings- should
we do mixed (boy/girl) pairings or same sex pairings? Should we pair by skill level? Do we pair
a stronger with a weaker player? Or do we try to evenly match the students? Or let them choose
their own partners? We were apprehensive about a stronger/weaker pairing as our awareness of
the embarrassment factor in physical education is now heightened. This seemingly contradicted
our previous notions of the scaffolding theory which we studied in our Educational Psychology
course- the difference being when placed in groups of two, the shame factor is reduced. In the
end we decided to on the simplest method- as the class was already split into two (groups of
twelve), we assigned each child a number ranging from one to twelve and then paired like
numbers together. The end result was that this gave us the exact groupings that we were trying to
avoid. This actually helped us to answer the questions we were in disagreement about.
We expected some of the girls to be more restrained or hesitant in this activity, depending
on their respective partner. For this standard three class, this proved to be unfounded. All the
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Game Play in Physical Education

students were excited to play, especially as this was conducted during a non-traditional Physical
Education period. After five minutes of game play, the activity was temporarily halted, students
were brought to the centre of the gym and asked to give their evaluation of the game. What
worked and what didnt work? What was the most difficult part? Volunteers were few but the
main issues that were voiced were: It was difficult to control the faster balls as students were
catching these with their hands instead of using ball control and when the ball came to their
weaker foot, they were trying to move around the ball and use their stronger foot. We did
have a brief talk with the football coach prior to this activity, and partly due to his instructions
we were able to successfully answer these questions. When the ball is approaching faster than we
would like, we never move towards the ball as this results in a kicking action instead of the
controlling action that is required for this game. This was routinely noted as the students tried to
kick the ball harder as opposed to using their ball control skills. Instead, the students were now
instructed to move backwards and react to where the ball is moving. They must now assess the
direction in which the ball is travelling. This improved their anticipation skills. We also used the
example of Brian Lara, arguably the best Trinidadian cricketer of all time. In his normal day to
day life he was right-handed, however he was a left-handed batsman and a right handed bowler.
On purpose, we did not use the terms weaker foot/stronger foot with the students. They were told
that they should practice using both feet, so instead of running around the ball or using their
hands, they could simply use the other foot. Additionally, students were advised not to stand still,
always move with the ball as this allows for better control and balance.
The students were given a second opportunity to play and this time we allowed them to
pick a partner and retry the game. When they could each pass the ball ten times without violating
the rules, they could decide if they wanted to join with another pair and conduct the exercise with
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Game Play in Physical Education

four players. This gave the students a greater degree of autonomy. We believe that the students
also had fun with this game judging by the increased decibel level. It was not possible to further
modify this game by introducing the higher level skills to use the head or chest during this
session.
There were many positives to be taken from this experience. It ticked all of our boxes for
the ideal game play as previously described in our reflection on the bundle of articles. It was
encouraging to see the female students take a genuine interest and attack the ball. The boys who
belonged to the football club, did try to show off their skills but they were also very helpful with
their partners as snippets of their conversation included sayings like Coach says to practice
using the outside, inside, and top of your foot. The students were interested and motivated for
the entire period, maximum participation occurred for all students as there was no elimination,
there were no injuries (although one of the girls complained that her hands did hurt after catching
a fast ball) and the embarrassment factor was greatly reduced when compared to the original
game structure. The students were active for fifteen of the thirty minute period or fifty percent of
the time. They worked on their cardiovascular system and also asked to be allowed to use the
balls to practice during their lunch break. This is a skill that cannot be mastered in one session, it
is the continued practice and repetition that will allow for greater skill development.

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Game Play in Physical Education

References
Blum, J. (1996). Elimination provides a valuable lesson. Teaching Elementary Physical
Education, 7(3), 13.

DeTommaso-Kleinert, D. (1996). Elimination games serve no purpose. Teaching

Elementary Physical Education, 7(6), 14-15.

Williams, N. F. (1992). The physical education hall of shame. Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation, and Dance, 63(6), 57-60.

Williams, N. F. (1994). The physical education hall of shame, part II. Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation, and Dance, 63(2), 17-20.

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