Submitted by Tami Mangusso, Aurora, Colorado

Idea posted October 26, 2004

Here is a new game I came up with that I am using for assessment.

Scatter Ball

Materials needed:

  1. Rubber ball (like a kickball) or a Nerf ball
  2. Craft sticks - five for each player. The sticks will each represent one letter from the word "MUSIC"
  3. CDs with various styles of music (this is optional)
  4. List of music questions, rhythm patterns, or melody patterns

Set-Up:

The players form a circle. Assign all the players a number.

How to play:

Teacher will start the game by standing in the middle of the circle. Throw the ball up in the air and call out the number. The person whose number is called (IT) must catch the ball, and everyone else begins to scatter away from the person with the ball. (The person who has the ball is to stay standing in the middle of the playing area.) Play the music as the players scatter around the room or dance around the room. The players must move around; they cannot stand in the same spot. IT will call out, "Music Time!" whenever they want or when 30 seconds is up. When the other players hear "Music Time!" they must stop where they are.

IT is then given a music question, rhythm, or melody pattern to sing. If they get it right, they may take one step in any direction. Then, they roll the ball, attempting to hit another player. If hit, that player gets a stick. If not hit, the roller (IT) gets a stick. Anyone who gets five sticks (spells MUSIC) is eliminated. If IT does not answer the music question correctly, they cannot move one step towards another player. IT must roll the ball with their back to the person they are trying to hit. IT can roll the ball under their legs without looking, or you could have IT close their eyes without turning around to roll the ball.

After each roll, have the players get back into the circle, and continue the game as before. I usually let the last roller toss the ball and call the next number. I have sticks (labeled with numbers) in a cup. I just pull a stick from the cup to call the numbers. This is how we keep track of who has had a turn to toss the ball.