Outdoor Fun

This past week 5th grade has been learning about different sports in English. Vocabulary for the unit includes: surfing, snowboarding, kayaking, cricket, bowling, badminton etc.
In an effort to do something a little out of the ordinary I took 5A outside to teach them traditional "American" games. The first being "Red Rover." In case you want to play, here are the instructions for the game. 

Red Rover, also known as forcing the city gates apparently is usually played on the playground. It originated in Britain and then spread to Australia, Canada, and the United States. The game is played between two lines of players usually around thirty feet apart. The game starts when the first team, calls out a player saying "Red rover, red rover, send [name of player on opposite team] right over", sometimes sung.

Explaining Red Rover to 5A

The immediate goal for the person called is to run to the other line and break the other team's chain (formed by the linking of hands). If the person called fails to break the chain, this player joins that team. However, if the player successfully breaks the chain, this player may select either of the two "links" broken by the successful run, and take them to join the their team. Their team then calls out "Red rover" for a player on the other team, and play continues.

When only one player is left on a team, they also must try and break through a link. If they do not succeed, the opposing team wins. Otherwise, they are able to get a player back for their team.
The game needs at least five people to play, although this would be a very short game. In the southern United States, the person is called by chanting, "Red Rover, Red Rover send (person's name) right over." Red Rover is played by a mix of boys and girls. 

In addition, we played Pictionary and the Human Knot. Here is a link of several outdoor games played in the United States. Outdoor Games