A sports game for a group of about 20 pupils. Pupils learn to make decisions with given variable parameters and in a limited time. The game also trains coordination and social skills.
| Creator | Anna-Leena Lounaskorpi |
| Subject | Physical education |
| Length | 20 minutes |
| Pedagogical Approach | Real-life learning |
| Competences | Problem-solving skills Social skills |
| Grades | Students aged 6-12. |
| Technologies | None |
10 differently coloured hula hoops are placed on the floor of the gym. Each hoop can accommodate 1-3 students at a time.
The aim is for the students to “survive the catastrophe” by getting into the hula hoop within a time limit (e.g. 30 seconds). Pupils must move to a new hoop each round.
At the end of the time limit, the number of students inside each hoop must be exactly the same as the number assigned for that hoop in that round for the students inside to survive and make it to the next round. If, at the end of the time limit, a student is outside the hoop, in the same hoop as in the previous round, or in a hoop that does not contain the exact number of people, he or she is eliminated from the game.
Hula hoop distribution should be for example 3 green, 3 blue and 4 red. The number of people that can be inside each hula hoop changes every round. With the hula hoop distribution before in the first round the green hoop holds 3 people, the blue one 1 and the red one 2. In the next round, the green one will fit 1, the red one 3, the blue one 2 and so on.
At the end of each round, one hula hoop is removed in the formula 2, 1, 3. For example in the first round one of the four two people hoops is removed, in the second round one of the three one people hoops, in the third one of the three people hoops and so on. This means that in each round, two pupils who cannot fit into the hoops are eliminated.
The game ends when one of each rim is left. The last six players are therefore the final survivors.
In addition to physical activity, you can also combine play with subjects such as geography or music. For example, you can set a time limit by playing music while the pupils are retrieving the hoops. The game can also be implemented as an outdoor game by drawing the necessary circles on the sand field, for example on three nested rings to mark the colour they represent.