It's the beginning of August, so you are either already back in school or will soon be. When I look at different forums and Facebook posts, the number one question I see everywhere is, "What do you do during your first week of PE?" Rules and expectations are primary, especially if you are a new teacher with classes you have never worked with. However, as soon as possible, I always do a sportsmanship lesson for the first week of class. You can get the lesson plan in this previous blog post if you are interested.
The next question I see pop up quite frequently is, "What is your go-to game that works for every student level?" One of the games that I have found that works at every age and ability level I call Ant Hill (for lower elementary), Greek City States (upper elementary), and United Nations (middle school). The rules are straightforward, but the game's strategy can have a lot of depth. It also does not require many materials or even a designated play space. For lower elementary, this game symbolizes ant colonies working together and battling over resources. For upper elementary, a new component is added between games and negotiations, which can drastically alter the events of the next game based on what was agreed upon. This game also demonstrated how the Greek city-states were not a unified country but many states that went to war and made alliances. For middle school, we can extrapolate how they play the game and how countries interact with each other on friendly and non-friendly terms.
Because this game has so much to offer your students, I am including the lesson plan for free in this blog post. I have also uploaded the video tutorial to YouTube for everyone to access. If you like this video, I have over twenty more video lesson tutorials exclusively in the Member's Area. Becoming a member also means you can download every lesson (over 150!). Plus, with the back-to-school sale happening now, you also get 50% off your first year of membership when you use promo code BACKTOSCHOOL2024 at checkout!
Introduction:
This game may be the easiest one your students will ever learn. It only has a couple of rules! However, the depth of strategy in this game ensures that no two games will ever be completely the same. For the lower elementary students, this game replicates the dynamics between ant colonies as they gather resources and coexist or battle other ant colonies. This game demonstrates the complex relationships of the Greek City-States of 600 BC for upper elementary students. The city-states were not a united country as some believe, but independent nation states that worked together and warred against each other. This seemingly simple game will have your students negotiating, making and breaking alliances, and having lots of fun. For middle school students, this game demonstrates how nations interact with each other and the environment. Nations create alliances and treaties and sometimes break them and go to war. However, by middle school, I am trying to see if they can figure out how to play the game where they all coexist peacefully. After hundreds of games, I've seen it attempted only several times, but they were never entirely successful. How will your students play the game?
Materials:
Four cones
A large playing area (gym or field)
Many colored pennies or jerseys or flags
Minimum Amount of Students Needed: This game could be played with as few as four students, but each round must be much shorter. This game works much better with 16-20 students and can accommodate more than that.
Prior Knowledge: Lower elementary students should have had lessons on biology (mainly insects and ants), and upper elementary students should have had lessons on the Ancient Greeks.
Presentation
Divide the class into four teams (as equal as possible). Each team will take a corner of the large rectangular playing area. Place many jerseys, flags, or scrap cloth material in the center of the playing area. Have as many flags as possible, and if possible, make the number divisible by four.
There are only a few simple rules.
Only one player can be in the playing area at a time, relay-race style. The other players wait outside the playing area in a line by their corner. When their teammates return, they must touch the hand of the next player so they can enter the game.
When the player is in the playing area, they must grab only one jersey. Then, they must move that jersey to a different spot than where they got it.
There is no defense against a player who wants to steal a flag from a team's corner. They must let them take one.
For lower elementary, the goal at the end of each round is for an ant colony to have a certain amount of flags (to meet a food requirement). For example, every ant colony is trying to get at least ten flags by the end of round one. Most will be successful, which means the ant colony has enough food. If an ant colony is unsuccessful, the teacher should advise them to do better during the next round. Decide if you want subsequent rounds to have more demanding requirements. For example, if in the first round, a colony needed 10, in the next round, they should need 15 or 20.
Optional: Make one of the students the "queen ant" or the team leader for each round. They can decide where to get the resources from.
For upper elementary, each Greek city-state is trying to get as many resources as it can each round. Before each round, each team sends one player as an ambassador to the middle of the playing area. There, they discuss any alliances or strategies with each other. After a few minutes, they return to their team and tell them what was discussed. The city-state team will then decide what choice to make: will they honor the agreements or break alliances?
Each round should be three to five minutes.
At the beginning of the game, teams should steal resources from the middle, but soon into the game, they will begin stealing from each other. The advantage of stealing from a close colony is that a flag can be taken more quickly from them than from the middle. However, the other colony can steal it back relatively quickly. If a team runs to a farther away colony, it takes more time to get there than grabbing a flag from the middle, but it also takes more time for the other team to retaliate.
Players can take a flag to a different team or "gift" them a flag to right a wrong or pay tribute. This is not as common but is done when one player is not following the strategy the group decided. They apologize with a flag to keep the peace and prevent the other team from stealing from them.
Many strategies can be implemented, so students will want to play this game repeatedly.
If you ensured that the total number of flags is divisible by four, the students could play a version where each team collects a fourth of the pile in the center. Once all the flags are taken from the middle, if time is left over, each team takes a flag from their own pile and gives it to the team on their right (or left; the direction doesn't matter). This would be done continuously until time runs out, which makes the game a four-way tie.
I have played this game hundreds of times and have yet to see it happen. Classes have come up with parts of the idea, and some have gotten close but ultimately failed when one or two people did not follow the strategy. This can be a helpful demonstration of how (world) peace could happen, but it would be challenging to do so.
Middle School United Nations - Basketball Variation
Almost all the rules from above apply, but now, to play the game, a player must have a basketball. The basketball clarifies who is in the playing area and who is not, acting like the baton in this relay race-style game.
If a player wants to move, they must dribble the basketball.
If the player takes even one step when not dribbling, they must switch with a teammate. This includes no pivot steps.
If the player moves without dribbling and has a flag, they must return it before switching with a teammate.
Players can pick up the ball to prevent another player from hitting it and dribble it again.
There is no double-dribble rule.
However, the longer a player holds the basketball, they are using up valuable time that they could have used for acquiring flags.
In the lower and upper elementary versions, players from other teams could not interact with each other to prevent a person from taking a flag. Their only defense was offense, working extra hard and fast to recoup the lost resource. Now that the players have a basketball, they can interact with another player's ball.
Players in the game are allowed to steal and deflect a basketball being dribbled. However, if the stealing player makes contact with another player's body, that is a foul.
If there is a foul, a flag from the fouling team goes to the team that was fouled. Players can steal the ball but don't want to be so aggressive that they lose flags because they keep fouling.
If a player loses their basketball (either by dropping it or another player hit it), they can retrieve it and keep playing as long as the ball does not go outside the playing area.
If a basketball goes out of the playing area (either by dropping or being hit by another player), that player must switch with the next teammate.
If that player had a flag, they would have to return the flag to where they took it from before switching with a teammate.
Players can act as "defenders" when a player comes to their territory to steal a flag. However, they must keep their feet outside the playing area (because only one player is allowed in the game at a time). The invader automatically gets the flag if a defender steps on the court when they are not supposed to.
If a defender fouls an invader trying to get a flag, that is even more costly because the invader gets to take two flags.
Truthfully, it is difficult for a defender to prevent an invader from stealing a flag, but they can slow it down significantly, adding up over time. Also, when an invader keeps their ball away from a defender while leaning in to get a flag, they are often susceptible to a player deflecting their basketball.
An important rule is the "order of operations" a team must do to bring a flag back to their territory. The player bringing back a flag must put the flag down before handing off the basketball to a teammate. If a player gives away the basketball before putting the flag down, they lose the flag they just collected.
This rule prevents players from taking a flag and passing their basketball across the court to their teammates. This can make the game sloppy because, potentially, two players would be in the game at a time, and every team would be lobbing basketballs, which increases the likelihood of someone getting hit with a basketball.
Post-Game Discussion Points
How did the addition of negotiations change the game for the Greek City States and United Nations versions? In the Ant Hill version, the team with the fastest players willing to run the whole game usually gets the most flags. However, with the addition of negotiations, a team's persuasive abilities can substantially alter the game's result. Whether a team persuades the others to gang up on one team (thereby removing them as the target) is often a good strategy. Often, alliances are struck to ensure that both teams defend and don't attack each other. Different relationships can be established within the negotiations, such as a client state that agrees to gift some resources in exchange for protection. Finally, a team needs to decide if they will honor the treaties and negotiations in the meeting. Backstabbing and betrayal are legitimate choices that frequently produce short-term results. However, each use of betrayal comes at the expense of reputation because other countries will trust you less and may even make you a target in the next round.
Aims:
Direct: Simulate ant colonies for lower elementary, Greek city-state political dynamics for upper elementary, and the United Nations for middle school.
Indirect:
Listening and following directions
Teamwork
Inter and Intragroup communication
Strategy
Physical skills practiced:
Running
Changing direction quickly
Dribbling a basketball (middle school)
Control Of Error:
The number of jerseys helps the students keep score, and the teacher helps enforce the one-flag rule and the time per round and acts as the timer.
Points of Interest: This game is straightforward, but no two games are alike. Negotiating, alliances, and double-crossing will entertain the students. At the same time, they see how complex colony or city-state relationships can be.
Age: All Ages