Divide class into pairs of students who spread out on a designated line at one end of the gym. All of the balls for throwing are in boxes or crates in gym center. The DO NOT CROSS line is on the far side of the gym and the students are instructed not to cross this line for any reason.

For safety reasons, students need to throw next to the line. If they throw from farther away, then others may get hit with an errant throw. Students need to respect and follow these safety rules!

To begin the activity, each pair of students take turns moving (skipping, sliding, galloping, etc.) to the center of the gym, taking one ball, continuing to the DO NOT CROSS line, stopping and throwing ball overhand at any of the targets. After a student throws, he/she returns to their partner waiting on the line who then repeats same routine.

If balls bounce off end wall into safe area, students are allowed to use one of these balls to throw. Keep playing until all of the balls remain on other side of DO NOT CROSS line, then to reset allow students to fetch and carry all of the balls to return to the boxes/crates in the gym center and play another round.

If enough room exists for safety, have students all participate at the same time without waiting for a turn while a partner throws.

This is an ideal, authentic opportunity for conducting overhand throwing assessments. Before activity begins, I go over correct technique for each grade level, and this is what I assess using a teacher checklist. You will need to remind students to stop and plant their feet before throwing overhand. Some students have difficulty avoiding a "run/throw"!