My name is Tyler Staup and I am currently teaching a Lincoln Elementary in Brownsburg, Indiana. The activity I am going to be writing about is called: “Hula Hoop Car Road Trip.” This activity is great for teaching kindergarten and 1st grade students how to move safely, at different levels, speeds, pathways, and directions. It also is a great activity to incorporate locomotor skills. My cooperating teacher from student teaching taught me this activity and I have loved incorporating it in my classes.
Equipment: 1 hula hoop per student.
Set Up: Each student sits crisscross inside of a hula-hoop on the floor around the gym.
Activity Instructions:
When playing this game with students, I start by telling them to imagine the gym is a giant road. I ask the students questions about driving in a vehicle. I always talk about the importance of not crashing your car because real cars don’t crash into each other on purpose. I then explain to the students all of the things they may have to do when I call out certain things. After I explain each possible direction, I tell students to stand up and hold their hula-hoop around their body. When I call out high way, students run as fast as possible in their car. When I call out bumpy road, students skip. When I call out curvy road or zigzag road, students show me what that looks like. When I call out stuck in the mud, students jog in place. When I call out turn up the radio, they drop their hoop and dance inside of it. When I call out school zone, students walk in slow motion. Lastly, when I call out “out of gas,” students sit back down criss cross in their hoop.
Kindergarten learning to move safely and at different levels, speeds, pathways, and directions by doing Hula Hoop Car Road Trip… I love their imagination! My favorite is when I tell them to turn up the radio.. awesome dance moves 😎 #Physed @LifeAtLincoln pic.twitter.com/Gy64bYZzGW
— Mr. Staup (@MrStaupsPE) August 20, 2018
I have thought of other things to call out that would enable the students to practice various skills. This activity is great for teaching spatial awareness, moving at different speeds, moving at different levels, moving in different pathways, and practicing locomotor movements. My students love pretending they are driving a car and always have a blast!
I’m using this activity for summer school with TK and K students. I made some picture cards to go with the activity and typed up the lesson plan with standards added. Thanks for the great idea! I think the students will love playing this!
Here are the links for those interested:
Calling Cards: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UFOebOfyVy-cX5DiljYUMWp4Fe6oagJ1CTtCQCVB80Y/edit?usp=sharing
Lesson Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FOGxOrYZNSRKEfrND4EVlv26i8Wh7wnvTw2N-DUe4vA/edit?usp=sharing
These are great, thanks so much for sharing Margaret! If you have any photos of your students doing the activity, feel free to email us at [email protected] and I can add them to this blog post and mention your school!
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I play a version of this in preschool, another thing to call out is “flat tire” and they have to stand on one foot.
This is great for our younger students. They will love it! I do something similar without hoops at the beginning of the year to teach what to do and where to go in an emergency situation then I add other fun things like smiling silly at the door sitting criss cross because the Principal is coming.
Similar to the old Shipwreck/ Captains coming game.