Let’s all think back to when we had Physical Education in elementary school. Do you remember wondering what you were going to do for the day as you entered the gymnasium? Then, image you entered the gym and saw a parachute laying out on the gym floor. Best day ever, right? For kids, the excitement of the parachute is like having your birthday and Christmas on the same day. The only other piece of equipment that even comes close to that same level of excitement is scooters. Every time I say we’re playing a scooter game, my students go crazy. Sometimes to the point where I have them use breathing techniques to calm down.
However, like the parachute, the scooter can be a difficult piece of equipment to manage in a class. Not every teacher feels comfortable using or teaching with them. A lot of times this is because of a lack of ideas for how to use them. Below are 6 scooter games that will engage and excite your students!
1. Jellyfish Tag Scooter Game
This is an awesome PE game that you can use as an instant activity or as the main activity for the day. What makes this scooter game awesome is that you can use it for any grade level.
Set Up: As students enter the gym, hand a scooter to about two-thirds of the class. Based on your class size, create a few groups of 4 students and have them hold a parachute. These groups are now the jellyfish.
How to Play: The students on the scooters avoid being caught by the jellyfish. If they are caught, they pick up their scooter and exit the game. To re-enter the game, the student does a designated number of a certain exercise (the exercise and repetitions are totally up to you). This game is an adaptation of an activity in The Great Games Handbook.
2. Spaghetti & Meatballs Scooter Game
This activity is a lot like Jellyfish Tag, but instead of the chasers being jellyfish (parachutes), they are now noodles (the spaghetti) and small OMNIKIN balls (or any large ball) are the meatballs.
How to Play: The spaghetti is carried by some of the students while on their scooter. The meatballs are being rolled by students around the gymnasium. If tagged, students exit the game and do an exercise 5 to 10 times and come back in. Play for a few minutes and change the spaghetti and meatball taggers. Remember the amount of taggers you have depends on the size of your class. Check out Justin Wiese’s class performing this activity in this video. Activity Idea by Coach Pirillo.
3. Scooter Boats
This scooter activity is great for teamwork and cooperation.
Set Up: How many boats you play with depends on how many gymnastic folding mats you have. I have seven and put between 4 or 5 students on each boat.
How to Play: To make mats move, the students put two scooter boards under their mat and sit on it like they would a chair. The first challenge is to drive the boat around the gym without crashing into the walls or other boats.
The second challenge is to play a game called Pirates. All of the students on their boats help collect treasure from the center of the gym (yarn balls) by driving their boat using their feet. Each boat can only collect one piece of treasure at a time. Play for a predetermined amount of time and see how much treasure each pirate ship can collect.
The third challenge is to have two students sit on top with their feet up while another student drives the boat around the gym without crashing. This can be used with the game Pirates also.
The last challenge is to play a game called Battleship. Scatter cannonballs (coated-foam balls) throughout the gymnasium. Each battleship places a cone on top of their ship. The captain then drives the battleship around the gym collecting cannon balls for their battleship to use for throwing. If your battleships cone gets knocked over or down your battleship then switches drivers (captains). Activity idea by Coach Pirillo.
4. Hungry, Hungry Hippos Scooter Game
Set Up: Divide your class into groups of three. Place these groups on the baselines of your gymnasium. Each group should get a scooter board and a net. Place balls across or in the middle of the gym.
How to Play: One student lies on his/her belly on the scooter board. The second player is the driver and holds both feet of the scooter board player (hippo). At the signal, the driver pushes and pulls the hippo out to the center to collect as many objects (marbles) as he/she can using a bucket until all the objects are gone or the predetermined time is up. Have the third player count the objects as they are being collected. Play until each student gets a turn to be the driver, collector, and counter.
Check out Gopher’s Scoot-N-Scoop to get a full equipment set for your school! They also have a video demo of how to play.
5. Scooter Board Sports
Throughout my 19 years of teaching Physical Education, I have played many different sports and activities with scooter boards. It doesn’t matter what sport or activity you play, if it’s with scooter boards, students absolutely love it!
You can try scooter basketball, soccer, hockey, and football. As long as you have enough scooter boards for everyone in class, all of these activities are possible. What I love about playing these sports with scooter boards is that it evens the playing field. It doesn’t allow the most athletic students to take over and allows other students to each evolve.
Get everything you need for scooter board sports and games with Gopher’s Ultimate Scooter Boards and accessories!
6. Fitness 500 Scooter Game
Set Up: Make an oval around the gym using cones. Place 3 students behind each cone with a scooter board. In the middle of the oval, place a list of exercise for the students to perform. I usually have 10 listed.
How to Play: At the signal, one student stays behind the cone and performs the 1st exercise. While that student exercises, the other 2 students use the scooter board to drive around the oval. Have one student sit with his/her legs crossed on the scooter while the other student drives it by putting his/her hands behind the partner’s back. When they return the teammate that was exercising becomes the driver, the driver becomes the rider, and the rider performs exercise number one until they come all the way around the oval. Play for a specified length of time or until the students perform all 10 exercises.
Before playing any of these scooter games, you’ll want to make sure you cover basic scooters rules to ensure the safety of your students. SST Scooters are safe, reliable and durable – great for all scooter games. What scooter games for PE do you use in your physical education classes? Share your ideas below.
Related Blogs:
– 3 Parachute Games Your Students Will Love! by Shannon Jarvis Irwin
– Elementary Cross-Curricular Activities – Learning by Doing by Mike Graham
– Three Excellent Flag Activities and PE Games for Elementary by Mike Graham
Scooters and Scooter Games:
– SST Scooters: A scooter board engineered for lasting performance—with speed and safety in mind!
– UltimateScooter Boards: A big 24” diameter scooter with incredible durability and versatility.
– UltimateScooter Bumper: Bump, shoot, and score with this fun scooter attachment!
4 Responses
Thanks for the ideas. I’ve been teaching for 25 years, but I’m a newbie in PE. I do remember LOVING scooter days in PE when I was a kid, and I’m eager to give my students that same joy. However, aside from ‘don’t stand on the scooter’ and ‘watch out for your fingers’ what are the basic safety rules for scooters? I’m not finding much from my lengthy Google search and lesson viewing.
Two others might include sit in the center of the scooter and never send the scooter across the floor. Children who sit in the center avoid tipping off either forward or backward. The scooter becomes a missile when traveling without a rider.
Good rule of thumb is if the scooter has 2 handles, have the students put their hands through the handles instead of on the outside. This way, if they tip, they don’t mash their knuckles. Also, do not allow them to run behind the scooter as they hold it in front. It’s a good way to faceplant. ONLY on their bottom, knees or belly.
Very helpful and Great information, we appreciate advise especially coming from a professional.
Thanks again and keep up the great work!