My upper elementary students have begun studying early humans, and they really wanted to play a game that they loved in lower elementary called Hunting and Gathering. I thought, “Why not?” I looked over the lesson plan and was ready for the game. During the pre-game rules explanation and questions, students noticed that the skills got a little trickier because dribbling was not an option anymore, and half court shots were the new megafauna. We also implemented a target score that they were trying to achieve that would represent the necessary food they needed for their tribe (their class).

After tweaking the scoring system for upper elementary, I also went back and updated the diagrams for the lesson plan. If you students are studying early humans, I would encourage you to give the lesson plan Hunting and Gathering a try!

Hunting and Gathering

Montessori Physical Education

Introduction:

When studying humans, one of the major lessons is that all humans have the exact same fundamental needs. However, they can be fulfilled in different ways. For example, everyone requires shelter, but those shelters have looked very different depending on the era or environment. Everyone wears clothing, but that clothing can look very different depending on climate and decoration. Everyone requires food, but there are a variety of styles of cooking, as well as different plants and animals available for consumption.

In the past, before grocery stores and modern farming, all humans had to work very hard to collect their food. In the time of early humans, they started primarily as hunters and gatherers. Foraging and gathering food was the easiest and least risky way of obtaining food. Still, a lot was needed to feed a (growing) group of people. Hunting small game was typically not very risky but required skill or ingenuity and was more difficult than foraging. Plus, the small game provided a complete protein source. Next, there was big game hunting, which required many hunting skills and could be dangerous. However, the amount of food (fat and protein) and functional bone, hide, and tendon material was substantial. Finally, there was massive game hunting, like ancient moose and wooly mammoths. High levels of skill and patience were needed for megafauna hunting. The threat of danger was very high because one swipe of a trunk, tusk, or antler could quickly kill someone. If they were unsuccessful during the hunt, they and their tribe could starve, but if they were successful, it yielded giant amounts of meat and supplies. This game will simulate the risk versus reward of hunting and gathering. 

This game can be played indoors and out. If played outdoors, this version will emphasize throwing, bouncing, and punting a ball in an attempt to hit a target. Suppose you play indoors and can access several basketball hoops (even better if adjustable). In that case, you can work on various basketball skills. Students decide what to do to best help the class (tribe). The children's decisions will ultimately affect their team’s score as they weigh the pros and cons of each hunting and gathering decision. Afterward, it's interesting to discuss what strategies the students used and whether they were successful or not. Ultimately, the game revolves around the idea of risk and reward. Students will either decide to try a complex skill worth more points or go for the easier skill that is worth less. The students will experiment and see which skills they are best at so that they can contribute the most to the overall effort.

 Materials: 

·      Outdoors

o   At least two substantial containers (55-gallon trash containers work well)

o   At least two balls of the same type that can be thrown bounced, and punted easily (a soccer ball or kickball work well) (one per person is best)

·      Indoors

o   Basketball hoops (more the better; adjustable is better)

o   As many basketballs as possible (one per person is best)

·      For both

o   Whiteboard or chalkboard to record scores

§  Chalk or marker

 

Minimum Number of Students Needed: This game could theoretically be played by a single person but won't be as fun. However, it can accommodate large groups if you have enough materials for each student. 

 

Prior Knowledge: The students should know about the Fundamental Needs of humans.   

 

Presentation for the outdoor version

·      The students work together to score the most points possible: hunting and gathering the most food in a round. The class has become a tribe, and every student needs to contribute to its well-being.

·      Place the large containers at the corners and have students make lines starting at a certain distance from the container. The students will be in lines that meet closer in the middle. The distance the children are from the container depends on their strength and athleticism. You may decide to make a line for the first years, one for the seconds, and one for the thirds to make the organization easy for yourself. However, you may have some stronger younger students or less skilled older students who would benefit from allowing the choice. The child should be able to hit the container with the ball from where they stand.

·      Explain to the children that they are hunter-gatherers who need to collect food for their tribe. Their goal as a team is to score as many points as possible in three minutes. The score represents the food that they have collected for the group. There are three ways to score points, each with different point values.

o   Throwing the ball into the container gets them a score of 1 point. It is the easiest way of scoring points and represents gathering and foraging. 

o   Bouncing the ball into the container is worth 2 points, representing catching or hunting a small animal. 

o   Punting the ball into the container represents hunting a big animal; if successful, it is worth 5 points. 

o   If the students can make a backward shot representing the giant animal, it is worth 10 points.

§  The score for throwing, bouncing, punting, and backward can be adjusted for the game. Still, throwing should be the least amount, bouncing and then punting should be the middle range, and backward is the hardest and worth the most.

·      The children will go one at a time. Whether the child is successful or not, they should retrieve the ball and give it to the next player (unless you have many sports balls, they should get their own ball and try again). 

·      They must continue with the type of shot they decide to take for the rest of the round. There is no mix and matching.

·      Each individual should keep track of his or her own score.

·      This process continues for the full three minutes. Therefore, you should play at least three to four rounds in a class period.

·      Once time is up for a round, bring the class back to the center and have each student tell the instructor what type of shot they took and how many they made. The instructor will record and sum all the points together. Play another round, and encourage the students to try an easier or harder skill the second time. Repeat this until there is one round left. For the last round, encourage the students to pick the skill they were the best at so they can contribute the most to the collective.

·      Once all the rounds are over, recap what went well, what did not go well, and how the students' strategies played out. This is the time to discuss the idea of risk vs. reward and all of its nuances. If everyone tried the most challenging thing, the score would be low because it's too hard for most. On the other hand, if everyone did the easiest thing, that would also guarantee a low score because skilled players could score much more. Finding that balance that garners the most for the tribe is the ultimate goal of the students.

 

Presentation for the indoor version

• The students are all working together to score the most points possible, hunting and gathering the most food. The class is a tribe, and every student needs to contribute to its well-being.

·      How many basketball hoops you have and if they are adjustable will influence how the game is played.

o   For Lower Elementary

• Dribbling a ball will be collecting fruits, seeds, and nuts

• Shooting into a lowered basketball hoop will be hunting a small animal

• Shooting into a full-height basket will be a large animal

• Shooting a three-pointer will be a giant animal

For Upper Elementary

• Shooting into a lowered hoop will be a fruit, nut, or seed

• Shooting into a regulation basketball hoop will be a small animal

• Shooting a three-pointer will be a large animal

• Shooting a half-court shot will be a giant animal

• Explain to the children that they are hunter-gatherers who need to collect food for their tribe. Their goal as a team is to score as many points as possible in three minutes. The score represents the food that they have collected for the group. The four ways to score points have different point values.

o   Lower Elementary

·      Sum up the students' dribbles and divide them by 100. Round up to the nearest unit.

·      Sum the total amount of lowered basketball shots and divide it by 10. Round up to the nearest unit.

·      Every basket made at regulation height is worth one point. Sum the total.

·      Every three-point shot is worth ten points. Sum the total.

·      Once all points are calculated, add them all together.

·      Upper Elementary

·      Sum the total amount of lowered basketball shots and divide it by 20.

·      Sum the total of baskets made at regulation height and divide it by 10.

·      Every three-point shot is worth ten. Sum the total.

·      Every half-court shot is worth 100. Sum the total.

• If you only have one basket, I probably would play the outdoor version inside your gym. If you have two baskets, split the three-point and half-court shooters from the other shooters because long shots tend to go short and could hit kids who are close to the basket. Collecting the students who are shooting shorter shots on one and longer shots on the other can help prevent basketballs from hitting heads.

• It is best if you have a ball for each student. Otherwise, pair them up, have one shoot and the other rebound, then switch.

• They must continue with the type of shot they decide to take for the rest of the round. There is no mix and matching.

• Each individual should keep track of his or her own score.

• This process continues for the full three minutes, which is one round. Therefore, you should play at least three to four rounds in a class period.

• Once the time is up, bring the class back to the center and have each student tell the instructor what type of shot they took and how many they made. The instructor will record and sum all the points together. For lower elementary students, focus on improvement, and there is no set number. For upper elementary, take the number of students who played and multiply by three to get the amount of food the tribe needs for the round. The three stands for pounds of food a person needs to meet their caloric requirement.

• Play another round, and encourage the students to try an easier or harder skill the second time. Repeat this until there is one round left. For the last round, encourage the students to pick the skill they were the best at so they can contribute the most to the collective.

• Once all the rounds are over, recap what went well, what did not go well, and how the students' strategies played out. This is the time to discuss the idea of risk vs. reward and all of its nuances. If everyone tried the most challenging thing, the score might not be good because it's so hard, and only a few can actually make it. On the other hand, if everyone did the easiest thing, it would guarantee an ok score, but some players could score much more. Finding that balance that garners the most for the tribe is the ultimate goal of the students.

Talking Points

• ·This game demonstrates the division of labor. Not everyone is doing the same thing but they are doing what they are best at. When we were very early humans, maybe we all were committed to finding food. However, when more evolved early humans like homo erectus came about, we would start to see roles other than food gathering because we were using tools. With tools, someone can be an expert at something else other than finding food and still contribute massively to the effort of the tribe. Tribes would come to rely on expert medicine people, tool makers, sewists, builders, and more.

• It is crucial for each member of the tribe to choose something that they are good at. Choosing something too easy ruins the potential of doing something up to their abilities. Doing something too hard means there might not be any return for their work. The expression, "If you do something you love, you will never have to work a day in your life," is only half true. The expression should be "do something that you enjoy and are good at." Doing something you love when you are not good at it is called a hobby.

• In this game, students rarely help each other directly because they think their individual effort is the best way to contribute to the whole group. However, if two students shoot three-pointers, if one student makes ten and the other makes two, they make twelve. However, if the student who got two helps the student who got ten by rebounding and getting the ball back faster for more shots, the player who made ten might make 18 now. Even though one student didn’t even take a shot, because of the help, they have more points (food) because one enabled another to do their job better.

• However, this kind of thinking is very outside the box for students this age, but I have seen it occasionally.

• Typically, the higher the risk, the higher the reward. The opposite is also true. In modern times, people with many skills in a complex subject get paid a lot of money. A neurosurgeon not only has to be very intelligent and understand the anatomy of the brain but also have fine motor control to do very delicate procedures. The risks are tremendous because one wrong move could permanently alter the person, if not kill them. This high-risk job that requires lots of skill and expertise gets a big reward. In ancient times, going after the biggest animals would be equivalent because they would yield the most meat and usable material, but the threat of getting killed, the expertise of knowing how to hunt such large animals, and the physicality needed for hunting such large animals made it difficult. Those who could hunt megafauna successfully would be held in high esteem because the whole tribe would eat on their efforts.

• What would that mean if a team far exceeds the amount of food they need for their population? Because there was no refrigeration, some food would spoil. However, a surplus of food can feed an increasing population. So, a team that gets more food than they need means that the tribe could grow in number. When early humans invented non-refrigeration preservation methods like salting, smoking, and drying food, less food was spoiled, which increased the total yield of food they collected.

 

Aims:

Direct:    For the students to understand the fundamental needs of early humans when it comes to food-gathering practices and how risk versus reward informs the tribe's decisions on what they should do

 

Indirect: 

o   Listening to directions

o   Teamwork and team building

o   Communication among team members

o   Strategy

 

Physical skills practiced: 

o   Outdoor version

o   Throwing, bouncing, and punting a ball

o   Indoor version

o   Dribbling and shooting a basketball

                       

Control Of Error: 

The teacher and the students control errors, as they must keep track of their points. Suppose the teacher notices that students are not being truthful with their points because their numbers drastically differ from their peers. In that case, it is an excellent time to discuss the importance of honesty in being fun to play with and against.

 

Points of Interest: In addition to the physical activity of throwing, bouncing, punting, or practicing basketball skills, the children will be engaged in deciding what strategy would be best. The quick discussions afterward may help the team decide what changes to make for the next round.

 

Age: Upper and Lower Elementary