I think it's extremely important as an ESL teacher to make sure that you also fulfill your responsibility to show your students activities, including sport, that they most likely have never had the chance to see or do. I have always found sporting activities popular with the boys however here in China, the girls are a little less enthusiastic. In the past I have shown them dodge ball, tunnel ball, streets and alleys, cat and mouse and even brought an AFL footy across for the kids to have a try. The girls often take some coming around to the idea of physical activities, feeling out classed by the boys....BUT...I have found a solution.Do you remember playing Four Square, sometimes also known as Square Ball? This simple and easy to set up activity is one sporting class that even the girls enjoy participating in. You can chalk out the squares in the traditional way (like in the above photo) or mark the court out using tape (I use the coloured electrical tape).
Basic Vocabulary - before starting I ask them why they think the game is called four square...After they answer, I run through some basic vocabulary for the game like -
Serve, bounce, out, in, hit and some sporting phrases like "YOU'RE OUT! and YOU'RE GONE! It is also a good idea to teach them the word Queue, and get them to queue in an orderly fashion around the four square court awaiting their turn.
You can even get the kids to take turns at becoming the umpire for a few rounds, getting them to us
ed to the new vocabulary and exert some authority.
For those of you whose memories are a little foggy, here's the general idea.
Basic Memory Refresher The court is divided into four equal size squares. The four players on the court hit the volleyball sized ball around into the other players squares trying to get the other players out by either missing the ball or hitting it out of bounds. When someone is out, they leave the court and any players in lower ranking squares than them, move up one position...allowing a new player to come into the court and action.
It is a tactical game offering some physical activity and bucket loads of fun, and the best thing is...you don't have to necessarily be good at sport to play well. I often have some very unlikely students making it all the way to the kings square.
For the full write up on how to play, I have put the whole kit together in the following link. It includes the rules and an instructional video, which you can show to your kids if needed.
Facts For Fantastic Four Square Fun
Make sure you get involved in the fun, the kids love it when you get fully involved in the action!
Photo by , hellosputnik via Compfight cc">some rights reserved.
