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Name of Activity: Whoville Strikes Back
Purpose of Activity: To practice balance and stability skills while engaging in a "Grinch" holiday obstacle course.
Prerequisites: Students need to know how to safely ride on a scooter and know balancing techniques.
Suggested Grade Level: all
Materials Needed: 5 cones, 2 jump ropes, 2 hurdles, 12 bean bags, one scooter, and 4 stepping stones for each group of 4-5 students
Description of Idea Set up: Split class into groups or teams so there are 4 to 5 in a group. Set up obstacle courses from one end of the gym to the other, using various equipment for each group of students. Make one obstacle path for each team. The path starts with stepping stones, then jump ropes, hurdles, and cones. Instructions: Tell students that they are the people of Whoville and they are going to get the presents back from the Grinch. They will be traveling to Mt. Crumpit, where the Grinch lives. They need to go through some obstacles to get there, to rescue the toys for all of Whoville. Students will "drive" to Mt. Crumpit on scooters, then send the scooters back to their teammates because they can only continue on foot. They then cross "the river" on stepping stones to the foot of the mountain. Continue up the winding road (walking on jump ropes placed on the floor), go over the log (leaping over a hurdle), under the branches (crawling under a hurdle), and through the trees (weaving between cones). They will find a giant pile of presents (bean bags) when they reach the Grinch's cave. The people of Whoville are a little strange and can only carry presents on their heads back to town. Have students take the "highway," a clear path on one side of the gym, to slowly balance bean bags on their heads (no hands!) all the way back to Whoville. Any presents that fall off their heads get returned to the Grinch's cave. The next student in each group should start on the scooter as soon as the scooter is sent back, to keep everyone moving. When all the "presents" are picked up and returned to Whoville, students can count how many beanbags they collected.
Variations: Older students can race to see who can get the most presents, while younger students can make it non-competitive, by timing how long it takes for the whole town to retrieve the presents cumulatively.
Assessment Ideas: During closure, ask students which skills were used for each part of the obstacle course.
Teaching Suggestions: The teacher can pick up any dropped bean bags and return them to the Grinch's cave, while the student who drops a bean bag returns to his/her group.
Adaptations for Students with Disabilities: Students in wheelchairs can drive around each obstacle instead of leaping over hurdles or stepping stones.
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