Recess Games for Upper Elementary and Middle School
Group recess games are a staple of every school playground, but sometimes teachers and students alike can grow weary of playing the same ones over and over again. Here are a few recess games you might consider adding to your rotation.
FRISBEE/TENNIS BALL GOLF
Materials needed: A frisbee or tennis ball for each student. (Using tennis balls instead of frisbees makes the game easier, especially if students are not proficient at throwing frisbees.)
Considerations: Works best outdoors.
The aim of the game: Like golf or disc golf, to complete the “course” in the least number of throws.
Instructions: This game is, quite simply, disc golf without fancy tees or baskets. Create a plan for a course that stretches around your school property. You will want to choose a succession of starting points (tees) and ending targets (holes). This will be things like “start by standing on first base of the baseball diamond and try to hit the second maple tree beside the playground.” You can either instruct your students about the “tees” and “holes” verbally or create a little map for them.
Students start on the tee and try to throw their frisbee/ball to hit the hole. Wherever their first throw lands is where they will stand to throw their second shot and so on, until they hit the final target. They keep track of their number of throws.
If you have a small number of players, you could travel through the course as a whole group. With a larger number of players, you will want to divide them into small groups and have them start at various places along the course.
POST TO POST
Materials needed: A large outdoor space with 3-5 “posts.” These posts are merely stopping points in the game; they could be a tree, a base on the softball diamond, the corner of a building, a strategically-placed cone, etc. You will want these posts to be arranged in a somewhat circular pattern around the property.
The aim of the game: To be the first player to complete the route three times.
Instructions: Start by choosing the posts and making sure each student understands where they are and what route they must run in order to reach each post in succession.
Choose several players to be “it” (probably around 10-15% of the players). They are trying to tag as many players as they can.
The other players will go to any post to start the game. While on the post, they are safe and cannot be tagged. Their goal is to run from post to post without getting caught. Those who are “it” may hide around corners, behind trees, etc., in order to catch players unawares as they run by.
Each player is attempting to be the first to run three complete circuits (at which point they are declared the winner). If a player is tagged, they must return to their starting point and start that circuit all over again.
If a player gets tagged three times, they also become “it.”
Options for variation:
We used to play that players were allowed to take seven steps from a post and still be considered “safe.” This allowed for them to get a bit of a start from the post without being in danger of getting tagged, which helped the game keep moving. Once a player took an eighth step, they were then able to be tagged from that point onward. This is an optional rule.
You might choose to allow students to reverse their course throughout the game and run around the route in the opposite direction. However, specify that they may only change directions at the post on which they started the game. That way, students can easily keep track of how many complete circuits they have made.
WAVE
Materials needed: A cone or landmark (such as a step, post, tree, etc.) to be the home base.
Considerations: Works best as an outdoor game.
The aim of the game: To be among the last players to be caught and to help free those who have been caught.
Instructions: One person is chosen to be “it.” They close their eyes and count to fifty (or some other chosen number) while everyone else runs and hides somewhere nearby. The person who is “it” may circulate freely to try to find people. If they see someone, they catch them simply by calling out their name.
If a player’s name is called by the person who is “it,” they must go to the home base. They will stay there until they see any player who has not been caught waving at them. If they see someone waving, they may run away and hide again. If the person who is “it” is nearby and sees them escaping, they may call out their name again, in which case the player must return to the base and wait to see another wave.
You will want to make it clear that players need to escape within around thirty seconds of seeing a wave, otherwise the wave is “too old” to count anymore.
Choose a certain number of students that the person who is “it” must have caught at one time before the game is over. It usually works best for that number to be around 50-60% of the total number of players.
TUBES
Materials needed:
An assortment of balls; dodge-ball type balls work best, though soccer balls could be used as well. You will want somewhere between 10-20 balls.
“Tubes.” You need one tube for each player. These can be created out of a wide variety of materials. My school had large PVC pipe (around 4-5 inches in diameter) cut into chunks, each creating a free-standing tube around 12 inches tall. The same could be done with stiff cardboard tubing. Another option would be going to a department store or flooring store and asking for old carpeting tubes.
Alternatively, you could collect large empty jugs (at least gallon-sized or larger) and use those as your tubes.
A rectangular playing area with a central dividing line.
Considerations: Could be played inside or outside, though a contained space like a gym will more conveniently keep errant balls from getting away.
The aim of the game: To keep your own tube standing and knock down the opposing team’s tubes.
Instructions: The group is divided into two teams. Each team goes to one side of the dividing center line and sets their tube upright on the ground. The balls are placed along the center line. Players are not allowed to cross the center line.
Once the game begins, players may run to grab the balls. They then try to throw them at the opposing team’s tubes and knock them over. Each player is also trying to stop balls from hitting their own tube. If a player’s tube is knocked over, they are out of the game and watch on the sidelines until the game is over (which happens once all the tubes of one team have been knocked over).
Options for variation:
You could also play that once a player’s tube is knocked over, they join the opposing team.
Another variation is to delineate a narrow section at the back ends of the playing zone. When a person’s tube is knocked over, they go to the back end behind the opposing team and try to knock down tubes from there. If they successfully knock a tube down, they may return to their side and set up their tube again.
MANHUNT
Considerations: This game works best if played outdoors on the whole school property.
The aim of the game: To be the last player to be caught.
This game is essentially like tag, though it is played in a very large area. One or two people start as “it.” As each player gets tagged, they become “it” as well and help to catch as many players as they can. The game continues until every player has been caught.
SPUD
Materials needed: A dodgeball or soccer ball
Considerations: Can be played indoors or outdoors, though if you have a lot of players a gym will not be enough space.
The aim of the game: To be the last player to spell SPUD.
Instructions: For this game, you will want to have the students in groups of approximately 5-7 players. For the purposes of explanation, I will assume a group of 5. Start by giving each student a different number from 1-5. (These numbers should be a secret from the other players. Either let them choose a number written on a piece of paper in a dish, or whisper it in each student’s ear, being sure to assign the numbers randomly so that initially the players don’t know who has which number.)
The game begins with all the students standing in a clump, with one student holding the ball. They will throw the ball straight into the air as far as they can. As soon as the ball is in the air, the person who threw it will yell a number from 1-5 (not their own number). As soon as the ball is thrown and the number is shouted, all the players scatter, except the player whose number was called. That player tries to catch the ball (or grab it as soon as they can). Once the ball is in their possession, they shout, “Spud!” At this point, all the other players must freeze exactly where they are.
The person with the ball may take three steps in any direction towards a frozen player. They will then try to hit the player with the ball (only shoulders and down). The player who is being thrown at is allowed to try to catch or dodge the ball, but they may not move their feet.
If the person throwing the ball doesn’t hit the other player or the ball gets caught, they “receive a letter” (the first time they get an S, the next time a P, and so on until they have received four letters and spelled SPUD). If the person being thrown at gets hit by the ball, they receive a letter instead. Each player must personally keep track of how many letters they have and does not have to reveal that information to anyone, even if asked.
The game then continues by everyone gathering in a central spot again. This time, whoever’s number just got called is the person who throws the ball up and calls a new number.
To add a fun twist, once a player has received all four letters of SPUD, they are then “poison.” Anyone who calls their number when throwing the ball in the air or who hits them with the ball receives a letter themselves.
