Physical Education Lesson Plan Games for Children

Ball Games

• Divide the students into two teams and tell each team to stand in a circle. Give each team a beach ball or volleyball. When you say "Go," the teams must keep their balls in the air by hitting them to one another. If a team's ball touches the ground at any time, that team is out of the game. For a variation, divide the students into several teams of four to five players. The last team standing wins the game.

Relay Races

• Tell the children to divide into even teams and have each team stand in a circle formation. Select one player on each team to be "it." When you say "Race," the "it" players run around the outsides of the circles and back to their original spots. When they reach their spots, they must tag the next players in line who must do the same thing. The first team to have all their players run around the outside of their circle and back to their spots wins the race. For another idea, tell students to run backward, hop, skip or bear crawl around the circle.

Hula Hoop Games

• Play a game of musical hula hoops by scattering several hula hoops--but one less than you have players--in the middle of the gym floor. Tell students they must run around the outside of the gym floor while music plays. When the music stops, the students must race to the center and stand in hula hoops. The player left without a hula hoop is out of the game. Remove a hula hoop and keep playing. The last player standing wins the game. For a hula hoop relay race, tell the children to line up in teams and give the first player in each team's line a hula hoop. When you say "Race," the players must stand hoops on their sides and roll them to the end of the gym. They must roll the hoops back to their teams and pass them to the next players in line. Each player must do the same thing and the team that finishes first wins the game.

Basketball Games

• Split students into two teams and tell each team to stand in line at the free throw line. Give the first player in each line a basketball. When you say "Go," the players must begin trying to shoot free throws. Once they makes the shots into the baskets, they will hand the basketballs to the next players in line who must do the same thing. The first team to have all players make free throws wins the game. For a harder version, tell the children to shoot three-point shots.