Field Day Fun

It's the end of the year- which means days filled with fun, balloon tosses, tug of war competitions, and snow cones.

This year I was able to collaborate with our PAC (Personal Accountability Coach) teacher (who is a behavior goddess) and we came up with some good lesson ideas on being a good sport.

So here is my list on resources/lesson ideas on sportsmanship!

Online Resources:

Howard B Wigglebottom Learns Winning Isn't Everything.

Howard B Wigglebottom- If you haven't checked out the Howard B Wigglebottom website you should bookmark it immediately. The younger students love him and the website is full of animated books, songs, lesson ideas, coloring pages, and more. After watching "Howard B  Wigglebottom Learns About Sportsmanship" she asked them great questions like: "How are you like Howard?" "What actions made Howard a bad sport?" "Do you know anyone like Howard? Describe them without using names."
Follow up ideas: Have the students create a comic strip about Howard. You could have them draw two comics, one representing bad behavior and one representing good behavior. For younger grades, start the comic for them and have them fill in the blanks. Get a layout for a comic here.





BookFlix- Book Flix has two stories you can watch/read. "Miss Nelson Has A Field Day" and "This is the Way We Play" by Scholastic News. Follow up ideas: Use these stories introduce the expectations for field day and discuss social skills involved in playing. Create a word web of actions that good sports demonstrate and then bad sports.





Book/Printable Resources:

"Ready, Set, Swim" by Marcus Pfister. What young student doesn't love Rainbow Fish? This is the story of how Rainbow Fish and his friends decide to create their very own sports day and run into so problems.  Follow up ideas: Discuss problem solving ideas for when friends get upset and act like enemies. Discuss words to use when playing games, acts of kindness to show on field day, and adjectives that describe good sports. Then using one of the discussion topics have students design their own Rainbow Fish. You can write the adjectives in his one of his fins or perhaps a problem solving idea. You can get a free outlines of Rainbow fish here, here, and here.

Book by Joy Berry

"Let's Talk About Being A Bad Sport" by Joy Berry. This is a great book for individual students, especially those with special needs or on the spectrum. It's easy to understand and simple to follow. This would also be a good book to read with Kindergarten students. Follow up idea:   The last page talks about treating others the way you want to be treated. This is a great time to introduce or revisit the "Golden Rules." Have them create "Golden Rules for field day" and design them them to look like the Olympic Rings. In each ring have them one way they can demonstrate the "Golden Rule" on Field Day and then have them color the rings yellow or gold. Get a free outline here.

"Ping and Pong Are Best Friends (mostly)" by Tim Hopgood and "Super- Duper Dudley" by Sue Mongredien. "Ping and Pong" is the story of two friends that love to do new things, but they are also quite competitive and emotions arise when one friend is better at something than the other. "Super-Duper Dudley" is a similar story about a young dog that gets jealous when his friend gets more attention than he does. Follow up ideas: Have the students discuss what activities they are looking forward to, which activities they think they will be good at, and which activities they think may be harder for them. Discuss the role that jealousy plays in begin a good sport. Have them practice what they can say to friends that might be struggling or more successful to them. In small groups they can act out pre-written scenarios and practice using the "words" they just brainstormed.

"Michael's Golden Rules" by Deloris Jordan. This book is a big hit with boys and older students.
The story of a young boy who wants to win more than anything and faces the question "is there more to a good game than winning or loosing?" Follow up ideas: On the inside cover of the book is a quote by Michael Jordan (whose mom wrote the book)- "I've learned it takes heart to come out a winner every time, whether you win or loose." Have the students discuss this quote and share their opinion on if a good game is determined by a win or a loss. Then have the students create giant hearts and fill it with words that describe the "Golden Rules" discussed in the book and add their own. They could also create their own Olympic Golden Rules for field day.

"Brothers At Bat" by Audrey Vernick- a great story to encourage team work. Introduction ideas: Have the students try out a  team building activity like the human knot  or the sinking vessel. Have the students brainstorm what worked about the activity and what did not, what would they change, what examples of teamwork did they demonstrate and where could have they improve? Then introduce the book and follow up either by trying the activity again using the team work concepts discussed.

How do prepare students for field/fun days?