Volleyball. The sport every class learns in PE at some point in the year. It has so many merits. So many of the sports we play are territorial (basketball, hockey, football, soccer), so giving students a chance at a net or wall game is awesome! In volleyball, the key skill is learning to be ready and move to the ball when it is coming towards you. A skill that transfers so many places! Not to mention, learning how to receive and send the ball! Serving, bumping and volleying are completely new skills to most students and not something we practice at home with mom and dad like throwing and catching, but nevertheless important. However this alternative to volleyball will help kids practice the skills they need all while having fun!
Why does Volleyball need an alternative?
Playing an actual volleyball game when just learning the skills is so BORING! Kids’ skills when they are first learning are not good enough to rally and play a game. They are not capable of returning the ball over the net with any consistency, let alone setting themselves up for receiving the ball, setting it for a partner and spiking it over the net! The whole game consists of taking turns to serve the ball and then one kid attempting to get it in the air for someone else to hit it.
I was trying really hard to engage the kids with just practicing their skills, but every day practicing bumps or volleys with a partner is also not engaging over the long term. So I wanted to create a game that was quick and easy to set up, individualistic and promoted a lot of practice of the skills they needed to develop. Enter Chaos Volleyball the perfect alternative to volleyball for beginners!
Why a Game?
I realized that by making a game, automatically kids would be more engaged. But creating a game at the level of the kids understanding and capabilities would be even better. An actual Volleyball game is beyond their capabilities. But by creating an alternative that they can be successful with was exactly what was needed.
Elements of the Game
- It is individual.
There is no team aspect to this game. By making it individualistic, students compete against themselves rather than others. I am able to focus their attention on their own development. We can compare their scores from yesterday to today to mark improvement. It means that every member of the class has a chance to be successful.
- Gain points based off of skills I wanted them to practice
Essentially all the game is is points associated with skills to practice. There are a few tips to make it easier, which I go to in depth here.
Motivation
I think the main idea has been for me over the years teaching PE, that each kid needs to feel successful. And if everyone feels success, the positive feelings about physical activity will grow. Without feeling success, students will become unmotivated. It’s hard to be motivated by things that you aren’t good at right? PE is no exception. We meet everyone’s needs at their level in every other subject. We won’t put a novel in the hands of a first grader learning to read and we don’t put calculus questions in front of a 5th grader. Why are we having 9 year olds attempt to play a full scale volleyball game when they can’t bump or serve a ball? They will not be successful! Yes some will be, or there will be fleeting success. But there won’t be enough success to motivate. So we need to change the presentation of the skills and adapt it to our students and meet them at their level. I hope you can enjoy this alternative to volleyball with your class!
How do you adapt your PE program to meet kids at their levels? I love hearing new ideas! Keep the conversation going!
♥ Cassandra
PS. Want to implement more physical activity in your classroom to help your students focus better? Check out this post on implementing Daily Physical Activity that kids love!
