World Games: Mixing Two Popular Games Together: Papers, Rock, Scissors Baseball!

I learned this excellent game while at the 2010 EARCOS conference in Manila, Philippines last year. I attended a great workshop on 'Teaching Games for Understanding' run by Carol Temertzoglou, a well-known physical education trainer from Toronto, Canada. I am going to teach this game this week to my grade 2/3 classes as part of their World Games unit. I am not taking the teaching games for understanding approach, but merely using the game as a way to show the students how two very popular world games can be combined to create a new game. Essentially, we are taking the concept of running the bases in baseball and playing "Paper, Rock, Scissors" at the same time.

I will show a You Tube clip of a baseball player running the bases and discuss the game of baseball, the main rules, and where the game originated. After that, I will have all the students play a few games of "Paper, Rock, Scissors". We will then go to the court where I will have the bases already set up.

All students will start at homeplate, find someone in the class and start right away playing "Paper, Rock, Scissors". Whoever wins must run quickly to first base. If you lose the "Paper, Rock, Scissors" match at homeplate, you stay and play again until you win. Once you make it to first base, you play against another person at first base. The winner advances to second and the loser must go back to the previous base. Winners keep advancing until they reach homeplate. A couple of students are designated as umpires at homeplate. To score a run, you must beat the umpire in "Paper, Rock, Scissors" and then start the whole process over again.

This game goes on and on. The kids love it and are active the entire time. Non-English speaking students can easily play this game and excel as well.

I will have the students play the game for about 10-15 minutes and then allow them to change one or two aspects of the game to bring inquiry into it.

I will post pictures on Monday of the kids in action playing this game.