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Games to Play in Gym Class

Having well-defined games can help to keep your gym class on track while you exercise and entertain your students. Simple games that don't require a great deal of skill and encourage team-building and socialization often are best so that each person in your class has a chance to participate. In addition, it's good to have a range of both indoor and outdoor games so that you're prepared to run your class in any weather.

Four Square
- Four square is a classic game played with a bouncing ball. You'll have to draw four boxes on the ground that measure 2' x 2'. One student stands in each box and the person in the lower right box claims the ball to begin. She should let the ball bounce once in her square and then hit it to pass it to another student. They should continue in this way until one person misses the ball and has to be excused. If a student hits the ball outside the square, they're out. Students should rotate to fill in the boxes that have been abandoned, moving counter-clockwise from the top right. Other students can form a line and move into the squares vacated by the student who is out.
Super Freeze Tag
- Define a boundary for the game so that students cannot move outside of a large, open area. Have students spread out so that they are far enough away from each other that their outstretched arms can't touch. Declare one student to be "it" for every seven students in the class. The people who are "it" must catch their other classmates. Students who are "it" should lightly tag their classmates who, when tagged, must hold one hand where they were tagged. The second time they are tagged, they have to hold their other hand in the new place they have been tagged. The third time they've been tagged, they become "it" and replace the third person who tagged them.
Keep It Clean
- Separate students into groups of three or four. Give them a ball to use in the game. Students must pass the ball from one player to the next without letting it touch the ground. They can throw it any way they like, but you should tell them up front to avoid being aggressive or hurting anyone. When a person drops the ball, they're out. The game continues until there is only one person in each group who has not dropped the ball. At that point, you can combine the winners of each group into smaller groups until a single winner emerges.
Paper or Plastic
- Give each student a plastic grocery bag when they enter class and then separate them into pairs. Have them stand about 5 feet apart. One of the students should throw his grocery bag into the air, using the handles to make it catch air and move toward his partner. His partner can move forward to catch it. If it does not hit the ground, each student should take one giant step back and repeat the activity until they can no longer catch the bags.

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