Team Island Building with Bean Bags

Grade 4 · Gym/PE · 35 minutes · Outdoor

Objective

Develop teamwork and communication skills while practicing throwing accuracy and strategic thinking

Equipment

• Bean bags
• Hula hoops
• Cones

Setup

Place 4-6 hula hoops scattered around the field as islands. Divide students into teams of 4-5 players. Give each team an equal number of bean bags and assign them a starting cone position about 20 feet from the nearest island.

How to Play

1. Teams must work together to get all their bean bags onto any island (hula hoop) by taking turns throwing.
2. Players take turns throwing one bean bag at a time from behind their team cone.
3. If a bean bag lands outside an island, the whole team must do 5 jumping jacks together before the next player throws.
4. Teams can help each other by giving throwing tips and encouragement.
5. Once a team gets all their bean bags on islands, they become helpers and cheer for remaining teams.
6. The game ends when every team has successfully placed all their bean bags on islands.
7. Teams celebrate together with a group cheer when everyone succeeds.

Variations

• Use different sized targets like small and large hula hoops for varying point values
• Add movement requirements like hopping to retrieve missed bean bags
• Create island chains where teams must land bean bags on connected islands in sequence

Safety Notes

Ensure students wait for the all-clear signal before retrieving bean bags to avoid collisions. Keep throwing areas clear of other students.

Cool Down

Have all teams gather in a large circle and share one encouraging thing they said to a teammate during the game.

Differentiation

Support: Allow struggling throwers to move closer to the islands or use larger targets, and pair them with supportive teammates who can demonstrate throwing techniques.

Extension: Challenge advanced students to throw with their non-dominant hand or add trick shots like bouncing bean bags into hoops.