Sonic the Hedgehog

Purpose: to apply movement concepts and strategy. To improve cardiovascular endurance.

Suggested Age: K-4

Equipment: 3-4 scooters, 50 dome cones, 40 rings, pinnies (blue, red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and black), 5-6 hula hoops, as many fuzzy or foam balls as possible, Sonic Music.

Game Objective: the objective of the game is for the Freedom Fighters to collect as many rings as possible during the allotted time.

Set Up:
Before setting up, print off a picture of the following characters from Sonic the Hedgehog, all on their own sheet of paper: Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Sally Acorn, Rotor, Bunnie Rabbot, and a SWATbot. Each of these characters will be associated with the following colors in the same order: Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple, and Black.

On one end of the gym between the baseline and the wall, set up 50 or more dome cones (or orange cones) and hide all 40 rings under the cones. This area is considered Mobotropolis. On the other end of the gym, evenly space out 6 hula hoops behind the baseline and assign each hula hoop a character, with the exception of the SWATbots. If you have less than 20 students students only use 5 hoops and characters. This area is considered Knothole and is the base of the Freedom Fighters. In the center of the gym place 3-4 scooters on the ground (wheels up for safety) and dump all of the fuzz/foam balls (blaster balls) on the ground. This is where the SWATbots will start.

Break the students into 6-7 groups (as evenly as possible) and assign them to a Freedom Fighter group or as a SWATbot. Make sure students put on their respective pinnie and wait behind their hula hoop (hole) in a single file line as you explain the rules. Remind them that though they are part of an individual group, the Freedom Fighters should all be working together. The game will then begin when the music starts.

Rules:

Since the objective for the Freedom Fighters is to collect as many Power Rings as possible during the time limit, you must first establish a threshold that must be reached in order for them to be victorious. I will usually use 30 as my first benchmark and then increase or decrease the number based on how the first round goes. I typically play 4 minute rounds.

• When the music starts the first Freedom Fighter in each line must attempt to run as fast as possible to the other side, retrieve a ring from under a cone, and return it safely to their hole.
• You may only take 1 ring at a time.
• As soon as the first Freedom Fighter returns, they drop off their ring and move to the end of the line. The second they re-enter Knothole the next student in line may go.
• If a Freedom Fighter checks under a cone but does not find a ring, their turn is over and they must return.
• While the Freedom Fighters are running, the SWATbots will ride around on their bottom on the scooters attempting to hit them with the Blaster Balls. If a Freedom Fighter is hit, their turn is over they must return to their hole. If they are carrying a ring, that ring goes out of play for the round.
• SWATbots are not allowed in Knothole or Mobotropolis.
• As soon as the time is up, students will begin picking up and totaling their rings. If the Freedom Fighters reach their benchmark, they are the winners. If not, the SWATbots win.
• Before starting the next round, choose a new group to swap places with the current SWATbots. I usually will let the group that collected the most rings decide if they want to be the SWATbots or not.

Clean up

As there is a lot of equipment and moving parts in this game, if not done right a lot of time can be lost during transitions between rounds. I have found the following to be the most efficient way to reset the game while establishing new roles.

• As soon as the time is up, have the SWATbots leave their scooters in the center of the gym (wheels up) and start picking up and moving all of the fuzz balls to the middle.
• While the SWATbots are picking up the Blaster Balls, each Freedom Fighter group should be counting up their own Ring total.
• As soon as a group is done counting up their rings, they must remember their total and quickly go hide the rings back in Mobotroplis under the cones. If not all of the group members are needed to re-set the rings, they should be helping the SWATbots move all of the Blaster Balls towards the middle.
• As soon as each group has their rings put back and the balls are in the middle, you can add up all of the groups' ring count and determine who won the round as well as who will be the new SWATbots.

Tips:

When counting the totals rings for each round, ask each group one at a time what their total was and have the class add the numbers together before moving on to the next group. I tell the students to do the math in their head and give them about 5 seconds before I have the whole class shout out the new total. This works on their math skills as well as keeps them in suspense on whether or not they reached their total.

Though this games takes a considerable amount of time to explain and set up the first time played, it doesn't take long for students to become very efficient at setting up and resetting in between rounds allowing you to get in several rounds during a class period.

Make sure to remind the students that this is a SPRINTING game because Sonic is so fast. Though rounds are short, a single student should be going 1-2 times each minute.

Try to really set the scene the first time you play this game. If done right, the students really feel that they are in a video game or a cartoon and will even role play their characters. If you want more information about Sonic, click this link.

Video:

1st Grade

2nd Grade