Instant Activity:  Stop'N Sport
Grade Level: K-5
Equipment: Cones to mark off activity area
Directions: After the students arrive have them spread out safely in the general space you have defined by the cones. On your signal their task is to move throughout the general space using a locomotor movement of your choice. Change those patterns throughout this activity.
On the stop signal (drum, clap, whistle, voice) students are to stop and using SLOW MOTION act out an activity that is a part of a sport of their choice. For example, if they chose baseball as their sport then they can choose to act out the batting movement. This must be in very slow motion as your task is to try to guess a few while you are moving around.
After a minute of them demonstrating in slow motion, their job is to begin moving throughout general space again on your signal. On the next stop signal, have them choose a different activity in a sport to slow motion. Repeat and use the variations listed below to add excitement.
Variations:
Have them move in pairs and then they are to freeze and act out the activity with each other.
Call out the sport or activity so they don't have choices.
Write down what sports you see and tell them at the end. Encourage them to choose activities or sports that you may not
know so they try to "fool" the teacher. Swimming, ballroom dancing, ice skating, may be some choices.
Have the whole group freeze, have half the class on one side of the room stand and their task is to watch the other half doing their slow motion sport movements. Have them keep their guesses to themselves and then switch sides.
Submitted by Mark Manross who is a doctoral student in the Health and PE Program at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.

Instant Activity:Flag Drag Tag
Grade Level: 8-12
Equipment: Hula hoops (quantity depends on the number of taggers), 2 flags per student, and cones for boundaries
Directions: Use cones to establish the playing area. Place the hula hoops around the perimeter of this area. The number of hula hoops will depend on class size and also on the amount of taggers.
       Hand out two flags (one for each hand) to all students except 2-4 (depends on class size--you can have more or less). These students (called the runners) will have one flag in each hand and will move (i.e., jogging, running, walking, etc.) in the designated area dragging the flags behind them. The runners' flags must stay in contact with the
ground and behind them at all times. The taggers (who do not have flags) will then "tag" the runners by "stepping" on their flags with their feet.
       Once a runner has his/her flag "stepped on", they must release the "stepped on" flag. The tagger then takes the "stepped on" flag and places it inside one of the hula hoops. The runner (whose flag was "stepped on") continues to participate in the game until his/her other flag is "stepped on". When a runner has no flags left, he/she must step outside
of the playing area and do five jumping jacks before retrieving two flags from the hula hoops to rejoin the game. Be sure to switch taggers often.
Suggestions:
       You will need at least one hula hoop per tagger.
       Flags must be long enough so they drag at least three feet behind the runners while in a bent over position.
       Flags can be made from plastic garbage bags cut into strips; however, these tend to "float" above the ground. A heavier material, like a heavy canvas or cotton cloth, will work better.  You can substitute any appropriate movement for the five jumping jacks such as abdominal crunches, push-ups,dynabands, etc.
Submitted by Katie Mills who is an undergraduate physical education major at Virginia Tech.


Instant Activity: Paper or Plastic?
Grade Level: 4th and Up
Equipment: Cones for general space, plastic grocery bags
Directions:
Have each child get a plastic grocery bag as they enter your class. Then have them find a partner and a safe space in the playing area. They are to stand facing their partner approximately 4 feet away from each other.
On the teachers signal, both partners toss their bag into the air by throwing the bags into the air using both handles (thereby causing the bag to fill with air and float to the ground). Their job is to move in a predetermined way by their teacher (i.e., walking, galloping, skipping, etc.) and catch each others bag before it hits the ground.
If they are successful then they start again but this time they must each take a step back from where they originally started (may want to have them mark on the floor or ground where they first started from). The challenge is to see how far apart the students can get and still be able to run and catch each others bags before they touch the ground. If you have odd numbers groups of three will work fine. Please follow the Safety Tips below for successful playing of this activity!
Safety Tips
DO NOT allow students to put the bags over their heads!
Tell your students to keep their eyes up while they are moving towards the bag. If they don't you may have students
run into each other.
Have both students toss the bag up on either their right or left sides of their bodies (i.e., I would toss mine up on the
left side and so would my partner). This should make a clearer path to catch the bag.
Encourage students to stay on their feet at all times (i.e., no diving).
Submitted by Ken Bell who is a Doctoral student in the Health and PE Program at Virginia Tech.

Instant Activity: Flag Steal
Grade Level: 4th and Up
Equipment: Cones for general space boundaries and for "the stolen flag/safe area", two velcro flags, one flag belt for each
student
Directions:
Have each student put on the flag belt and then attach the two flags so they are hanging from their hips. On the signal, students are to move throughout the playing space (i.e., walking, skipping) trying to steal as many flags as possible from other students in the playing area.
Upon stealing a flag students are to go to the stolen flag/safe area (coned off area in the middle or outside of playing area) and drop the flag. They can either go back out and try to get more flags or they can put flags on their empty belt if they had one stolen. No students are eliminated. Activity stops on teachers signal.
Teaching Tips:
1. Give feedback to those making nice dodges to avoid getting a flag taken.
2. Take resting pulse before and after activity to see how this activity raises heart rate.
3. Do not let students protect their belts with their hands. They need to use their dodging skills.
Safety Tips:
1. Set up boundary cones so they are AWAY from walls.
2. Make sure students can already move safely in general space with others before doing this activity.
3. Start the activity off by walking. Then change to more difficult locomotor movements as you are satisfied with safety.
Submitted by Mark Manross who is a doctoral student in the Health and Physical Education Program at Virginia Tech.

Instant Activity:Juggle Time
Grade Level: 3-8
Equipment: Juggling scarves, bean bags, plastic grocery bags, yarn balls, tennis balls, tape/CD player, music of your choice
Directions:
Before students arrive at class set out all of the equipment mentioned above in the "equipment" section. We suggest you put them in hula hoops outside of the playing area. Best to put in hula hoops so students can see the choices of equipment they have.
When students arrive at playing area tell them that they can choose whatever equipment they want to juggle with.
Instruct them that juggling does not have to be done with 3 pieces of equipment. They are free to use two pieces but it is best to choose like pieces of equipment to juggle with (i.e., two grocery bags as opposed to a scarf and a tennis ball).
On the teachers signal they are to walk and choose their equipment, find a good self space in the playing area, and start practicing their juggling skills. Please inform them that it doesn't matter your skill level, we are just practicing for now. If some have experience they may want to try the yarn or tennis, otherwise choose the grocery bags or the scarves. Put on some quiet music (upbeat music usually doesn't work in this case) while they practice.
Teaching Tips:
After checking to make sure they are following instructions move around the area looking to see their skill level.
You need not have done juggling before for this activity to work--you are just seeing where they are at.
Use teaching by invitation to allow them to choose another piece of equipment if they want. For example: "Freeze.
When I say go if you are finding this piece of equipment pretty easy to juggle then choose another piece that may challenge you."
Do not allow students to run in this environment due to the large amounts of equipment around the area.
Don't worry about your own juggling skills. This will be a nice time for you to learn through some of the students. It is a nice skill to learn together.
Submitted by Mark Manross who is a doctoral student in the Health and Physical Education Program at Virginia Tech.

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