Space Invaders is a physical education game that is out of this world! The game was designed to help your students develop important fundamental movement skills, specifically overhand throwing.
Students should wait until the coast is clear before throwing their ball (e.g. no running players or Space Walkers in front of them).
Students throws should always be aimed downwards to avoid accidentally hitting opposing players.
Players should never throw pins.
Builds allow you to increase the game's complexity, one layer at a time.
The class is divided into six teams. Each team has a Space Base, all on one half of the gym, and each team is given an Energy Ball.
The teacher sets up several Space Towers, made from a hoop, a ring, and a thin pin, on the other half of the gym. The teacher assigns a Skill Key Card to five of the teams and sets up at the sixth base. Teams take a minute to look over and discuss their card.
On the teacher's signal, the first player of each team moves to a space near the centre line and, using an underhand throw, attempts to knock over a Space Tower. A knocked-over pin comes back to their Space Base along with their Energy Ball. Otherwise they simply retrieve the ball.
Right after their throw, the thrower looks to their teammates, who are acting as Mini-Coaches. If they saw the critical element from their base demonstrated, they give a thumbs up. If not, a thumbs down. At the base where the teacher is set up, the teacher works with each thrower individually, giving specific feedback and helping them set a goal.
Play continues until all of the Space Towers have been knocked over. Teams then reset the towers and rotate to a new Space Base. The build continues until every team has worked at every base and the teacher has given individual feedback to each student.
The rotation is what makes this build worth the setup time. Every student passes through the base you are staffing, so everyone gets a minute of individual coaching without you having to chase them down.
The teacher replaces all of the pins with balls of different weights and sizes, which serve as Power Stations.
Play resumes as before, except that players are now attempting to clear the meteors out of the Power Station pad. Meteors of different weights and sizes add challenge, since students must apply different amounts of force than they did knocking over pins.
Teams attempt to clear as many Power Stations as possible before the round ends, with the round length set by the teacher. At the end of the round, the class comes together to discuss what they have learned about throwing with power and accuracy.
The teacher assigns three teams to one half of the gym and three to the other. Each team is given a base area, which is their Spaceship, along with an equal number of Energy Balls. The area between both sides is Outer Space, and the teacher lines up meteors, which are basketballs placed on rubber rings, along the centre line.
Each team assigns one Space Walker who is allowed into Outer Space. The Space Walker's job is to send Energy Balls floating in Outer Space back to their Spaceship. Space Walkers may not touch the meteors or affect their trajectory in any way.
On the teacher's signal, each team attempts to send meteors rolling into the opposing team's Spaceship using an overhand throw. When a meteor hits a Spaceship, the teacher collects it and sets it aside. Depending on class size, a few helpers are useful for this.
Once the last meteor has hit a Spaceship, the round is over.
Print the game sheet, leave it on your desk, and your sub has everything they need: the diagrams, the builds in order, what to say, and what to watch for. This one is $4. #PhysEdU Plus members get all 39, free forever, for $49 a year.
Games that build on the same tactics.
