Titanic

    This activity will act as an ice breaker for the students on the first day of class.  It will also help to introduce students to some of the terms we will be using.  An area of the classroom will be designated as the Titanic.  We will then go over the terms that will be used in the game.  The terms that they will need to know are stern (back of the Titanic), bow (front), starboard (right side), port (left side), and crowsnest (center).  All students will then begin in the crowsnest.  The students will then procede to move around the ship.  Once they are moving the captian will yell a command, such as starboard.  All students must then make it over to that area.  As the gam progresses, more terms will be introduced.  The new terms will be abandon ship (students get out of the Titanic area, find a partner, and pretend that they are a row boat and start rowing), swab the deck (pretend to mop the deck), iceburg ahead (students must leave ship and pretend to swim), freezing water (this may be called after iceburg ahead is called, the students pretend to freeze while swimming and there is absolute silence), and lastly, all aboard (enter the Titanic).

Amazon Crossing

    Amazon crossing is slighly more complicated.  It is played in a swimming pool using a floating foam mat, jump rope, kickboards, and a medicine ball.  This game will help to encourage teamwork and creative thinking.  The object of this game is to get your entire team safely across piranha infested waters.  The students are not able to use either their hand or feet to paddle and instead must use the objects (kick boards and jump ropes) to get across the pool.  They must also have at least 75% of their bodies on the mat at all times .  They must also transport cargo, the medicine ball, over to the otherside without dropping it or getting it wet.  Anytime someone falls in the team must start over.