Badminton Mini Golf Activity For PE

14
Jan

badminton mini golf PE

I’m Heather Isler, and I teach K-5 Physical Education and Health in Lombard School District 44 in Illinois. I travel between 2 schools each day. In our district we have 25 minutes of DAILY P.E. for ALL students. At my home school (featured in this blog), our 4th & 5th grade classes are single classes with an average of 25 students per class taught by 1 teacher, and we multi-age 2nd & 3rd grade double classes as well as K-1 double classes with an average of 50 students taught by 2 teachers.

Badminton Mini-Golf is a partner activity that was created by myself and my teaching partner, Kurt Frazier. We use this activity to practice the badminton serve (manipulative striking skill) with 4th & 5th grade students. Badminton Mini-Golf also reinforces social-emotional learning as students must take turns, encourage one another and work cooperatively in an attempt to earn the lowest score possible.

Equipment:

badminton mini golf

Set Up:

  • Set 12 badminton rackets and 12 birdies off to the side (optional: have 12 mini dry erase boards and markers ready near the rackets).
  • Utilize all of the gym space that you have to create a 12-hole mini-golf course.
  • Start with Cone #1 and place a matching colored 19” poly spot next to the cone. This is where they start each hole.
  • Decide on a distance that you would like, and place a matching colored hula hoop on the floor for the target.
  • Begin Cone #2 near the target from Cone #1.
  • Repeat this pattern until you have created the entire course. I helps us to create the course with students traveling back and forth (North and South – the width of the gym).  This also helps students easily follow the number order of the course.
  • Choose equipment that you want to use to create challenges at the holes (see video for ideas).

Video:

Game Description:

It is important to demonstrate a few holes with the students during instruction.  Then, have the students get into partners – we have pre-arranged partners to make this transition quick and easy with minimal stress/anxiety on students.  Once partners are set, tell each partner group a cone number to start at, and they can get 1 badminton racket and 1 birdie to share.  If you are using mini white boards and markers to keep score, have the students pick them up at this time as well.  There should be no more than 2 partner groups starting at each cone.

IMPORTANT: after Cone #12 students travel to Cone #1.  They know they are finished with the course when they get back to the cone that they started at.

Partners will play rock, paper, scissors at their first cone to determine who serves first.  After the pattern is established, it remains the same throughout the game. The first serve at each hole MUST start with 1 foot in contact with the 19” poly spot. After the serve, the partners go to where the birdie landed, and the OTHER partner serves from that spot. This pattern continues until the partner group successfully gets the birdie to land in the target. At this time, they move to the next hole (in number order), and begin again at the matching colored 19” poly spot.

If partners are keeping score on mini white boards, they may either make tallies or add their total hits for each hole. Our goal was for the students to try to get a score of 36 or less for the course (3 serves or less per hole). In the video, students were keeping track of their score in their heads.

If a group finishes the course and there is time left, we have them continue to play and try to beat their first score.

badminton mini golf PE activity

Variations:

Additional Videos

About the Author:

heather isler pe teacherHeather Isler is an 18-year veteran K-5 Elementary Physical Education & Health teacher, presenter and author of 2 books, Active Body Systems & Nutrition: Keeping kids active while learning essential cross-curricular concepts and Sound Minds, Fit Bodies…Making the Connection.  She has been teaching in Lombard, Illinois since 2002 and presenting across the nation since 2008.  Heather creatively plans and organizes developmentally appropriate curriculum focusing on physical activity, fitness, health and social emotional development while incorporating cross-curricular concepts into lessons.  Health components are built into maximum participation activities to keep students moving as they learn important concepts about body systems and Nutrition.  Lessons are designed to instill communication, problem-solving and cooperative skills as students work to improve physical and fitness skills.  Heather earned the Illinois Elementary Physical Education Teacher Award in 2011, and her Physical Education and Health Program was honored with the Illinois Blue Ribbon Award in 2016.  You can connect with Heather and find out more about her program on her website http://sites.google.com/view/a2e, or connect with her directly on Twitter @WHS44_PE and @a2e_isler.

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