3 Fun Cooperative Activities To Use with Gopher’s Rainbow Block ‘Em Equipment Set!

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Cooperative activities are some of my favorites to do with my students in the gymnasium. Over the years, I have found that cooperative activities allow my students to think creatively and utilize skills such as communication, teamwork, and strategic thinking better than any other lesson content. I this blog, I hope to share some creative uses for Gopher’s Rainbow Block ‘Em equipment set that can help your students do the same!

If you are not familiar with Gopher’s Rainbow Block ‘Em equipment set, check it out here. This equipment set contains 18 blocks of each rainbow color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple). Each block is made of durable foam and measures 12”L x 6” W x 6” H.

The colors and sizes of the blocks make this equipment set a versatile one for a variety of uses. Here are some ways I use them in my P.E. classes:

Activity #1 – Pass it Down:

This is a great small group cooperative activity! To set it up, divide your class into 6 colored teams and have each team sitting at a matching-colored cone to start. Place all of the Rainbow Block ‘Em blocks at each team’s starting colored-cone. Across the gym, place another colored cone for each team as their finishing cone. Check out the images below for how to play 2 variations of this activity:

Activity #2 – Cooperative Builders:

This is another great small group cooperative activity for your students to try and works well as a follow-up to Pass It Down. Since all the groups already have their blocks, give each group a hula hoop and their own space to build. Check out the images below for how to play 2 variations of this activity:

If you would like, you can turn Build 2 into a bit of a competition. This is where I usually bring out my leaf blower to test the “as sturdy as possible” criteria and see which group has the tallest structure after giving it a little blast! The kids really love that piece for some extra excitement!

Activity #3 – Pyramid Protectors:

This is a large group cooperative activity that also incorporates the skills of throwing and defending. To set this up, place a pile of 16 blocks for each color in a wide circle around the perimeter of your activity space. Divide your class into 6 colored groups, send them to their colored blocks and ask them to build a 16-block pyramid (5-4-3-2-1-1). Once the pyramids are built, use dome cones to create a crease around each group’s pyramid and scatter fuzz balls throughout the activity space to be ready to play. Check out the image below for the specific rules for this game:

BlockEm Activity3

These activities are ones that my students have enjoyed over the years and ones that get them using and applying those skills of communication, teamwork, and strategic thinking. Questions? Have your own ideas about how you would use Gopher’s Rainbow Block ‘Em equipment set in your P.E. classes? Please share in the comment section below to keep the conversation going!

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