email this idea to a friend Export to pdf Export to doc

Name of Activity:

Capture the Turkey Egg

Purpose of Activity:

To work together in teams to collect as many eggs as possible without getting caught.

Prerequisites:

Students understand safety precautions when dodging and fleeing, as well as "soft touch" when tagging.

Suggested Grade Level:

3-4

Materials Needed:

18 “eggs” (small or medium-sized objects that are easy to grab, such as bean bags), pinnies of three different colors, exercise mat, 3 hula hoops, 8 cones.

Description of Idea

Set up:

Place the three hoops equal distance apart on the gym floor. Place six "eggs" inside each hoop. These are the "turkey nests". Place the 8 cones and the exercise mat at one end of the gym. The cones and mat are the "Pilgrim Palace" and will be used for a physical activity when the students are tagged by the Mama or Papa turkey.

Directions:

Split the class evenly into 3 teams, each wearing a different color pinny. One student from each team will be chosen to be the “Mama” or “Papa” turkey, and the rest of the team will be gobblers. The Mama or Papa turkeys stand inside their nests. Their job is to protect the nest and tag gobblers trying to capture their eggs. The gobblers' job is to take eggs from the opposing teams nests and place them in their turkey's nest. The gobblers can take only ONE egg from a nest at a time. If they are tagged by the Mama or Papa turkey, the egg stays where it is and the gobbler must go to the "Pilgrim Palace" to perform the designated physical activity, ie., 10 jumping jacks, 5 push ups, jump rope, etc. When a team has collected 10 eggs, the game is stopped. Continue the game with another student from each team in the nest, and replenish the "eggs" so there are six in each nest. To ensure that others have a chance to be the Mama or Papa turkey, the game can be played with a time limit of 2-3 minutes per round, rather than ending the round when a certain number of eggs are captured.

Variations:

The theme for this class is Thanksgiving, but it could be switched to other holidays by changing the name of the taggers.

Assessment Ideas:

Assess team strategy by observing how well the students work together to help protect the eggs in their nest while capturing eggs from the other nests. Before dismissing the students at the end of class, discuss strategy by asking questions on how they were able to capture more eggs.


Adaptations for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities can use a peer helper to assist in the nest. When on the floor as a "gobbler" the peer helper can capture the egg, then give it to the student to place in the nest.

Submitted by Rachel Ford in Ewing, NJ. Thanks for contributing to PE Central! Posted on PEC: 2/25/2009.
Viewed 58296 times since 12/9/2008.

| More

Capture the Turkey Egg

Post a Comment:

Let others know how this idea went when you implemented/tried it with your kids. Include any variations, suggested teaching tips, positive comments, etc. so others can benefit from your tips. Please be helpful and positive with all comments. Look below to see all posted comments.

 

Name:
Comments:
 

Previous Comments:

Elizabeth Andrews

I tried this game at the middle school level with 6th graders and they loved it. We changed it to "Capture the Turkey Feathers" and used juggling scarves as the item to be captured. We designated "Mama and Papa Turkeys" with flag football flags just so students would know who was supposed to be tagging and who wasn't. We used hula hoops for nests and spread them out in a triangle shape on the gym floor. I added a twist to it since we have up to 4 classes in the gym at a time, and the fourth team of students were Pilgrims/Hunters. They used gator balls and threw them at all the gobblers. If a gobbler got hit by a ball, they had to go to the Pilgrim Palace to perform exercises, and then they were able to hop right back into the game. We had the 'hunters' stay on the outside edges of the game, and the only time they were allowed inside the playing area was to pick up balls that had come to rest in the playing area. After about 5 minutes, we would stop the game, count the feathers in each hoop, and then have students change roles... we allowed each team to get a chance to be hunters and they really enjoyed it!



Search for lesson ideas