Title – Dodgeball war

By – Heather Black

Primary Subject – Health / Physical Education

Secondary Subject – Social Studies

Grade Level – 4/5

This activity works well when studying Revolutionary War or the Civil War.

Materials: 8-10 medium sized balls

Before beginning:

1. Divide the class into two teams sending the teams to opposite ends of the gym.

2. Place the balls in the circle at the middle of the gym. Explain that these are hand grenades. You’ve got to throw them; you can’t keep them long.

3. Students then choose one person on each team to be their “Doctor”.

Job of the Doctor:

1. The doctor must drag wounded “soldiers” to the hospital after they are hit.

2. Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be hit.

Job of the Soldiers:

1. Hitting the doctor is your goal. If you hit the doctor, you win the game.

2. Guard your doctor. If he/she is hit, you lose.

Rules:

1. When the whistle is blown, all soldiers run for the balls.

2. Soldiers try to wound the soldiers on the other team by hitting them with the hand grenades (balls)

3. If you are hit, you must immediately fall to the ground. You are wounded and must wait for the doctor.

4. If you throw the ball and someone catches it, you are down.

5. Doctor drags as many wounded soldiers to the back line as he/she can. He/she must not be hit.

6. Once a soldier is on the back line, he/she must sit for 1 minute and then they may return to the game.

7. Game is over when doctor on one team is hit. (If doctor is hit, there’s no one to take care of the soldiers and eventually all would fall)

The kids love this game! I play it with my fourth and fifth grade class every year during our study of U.S. History. They take protecting their doctor very seriously.

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Heather Black

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