Submitted by Tina Morgan, Mississippi
Idea posted April 12, 2002
This is an activity that I've been doing with my 6th graders. I have six playground balls - all different colors, and I think they are about 8 1/2 inches in diameter. I ordered them last spring and they were very inexpensive.
Make a circle - distribute the balls fairly evenly. There will be anywhere from two to four students between each "bouncer," depending upon your class size and how many balls you have. I start out very simple - bounce on beat one, hold and rest for beats two, three, four. Do this for eight 4-counts, then pass to the person on the right, and do the same thing. One day a little "chant" came to mind:
Hold 2 3 4
Pass it 2 3 4
Get ready 2 3 4
Bounce on beat 1.
That kind of kept the "flow." Other patterns I've tried: Bounce on beats 1 & 2, beats 1 & 3, beats 1 2 3, and beats 2 & 3.
I know this sounds sooo easy, but my 6th graders (and you all have heard me complain about some of my classes) have really enjoyed it. I think it's just the whole novelty of it - and many of them have seen the Stomp Out Loud video and remember the basketball scene. I'm going to try to do more complicated things with them, maybe combining more than one pattern. We only spend about 10 minutes or so on this (out of 55-minute periods).
Words of caution: If inflating the balls yourself, be careful not to over-inflate. You'll end up with egg-shaped balls that crack the kids up - and they're hard to control, because you never know WHERE they'll bounce. (I did this for my observation Friday with a 1st/2nd grade level 6th grade class - their eye/hand coordination isn't as good as some of the other classes. Had to take out one of the balls 'cause it was WAY too lopsided.) This morning, I stuck the needle back in and let out some air - they work much better now.
Also... I have some classes that giggle when I say the word "ball." Last week, Larry kept hitting his neighbor's ball out of his hand, so I stuck him in the corner. After a few minutes, he begged to come back to the circle. I asked, "Can you keep your hands off other people's balls?" MUCH laughter from my little gutter-minded children. (OK - I laughed, too. It did SOUND funny.)
This week I think we'll try it with some music...