TEAM SPORTS BLOG: Bowling in Physical Education Class

TEAM SPORTS BLOG

Bowling in Physical Education Class

Posted by jw at 4/2/2009 3:27 PM

Categories: Physical Education
Tags: bowling GYM class Physical Education

Bowling in physical education class is a fun way to teach kids cooperation and coordination skills. Physical Education bowling is different from regular bowling in many ways but the biggest difference is the equipment that is used. Regular bowling balls and pins are not used. What is used are rubberized plastic or foam balls and plastic or foam pins. The balls that are used can weigh from 1.5 lbs to 5 lbs depending on the material they are made of. These ball are made for physical education class only. They are not made to be used at a real bowling ally. Bowling physical education programs are recommended for grade levels 3-5.

There are a couple ways to play.

One way is sort of like soccer. First you set up teams of about 5 depending on how many students you have. Each team will have 4 rovers and 1 pin keeper. The rovers stay out of the pin area and they use the balls to try to knock down the opposing teams pins. They pass the ball and shoot by rolling the ball on the ground. Tossing or throwing the ball is not allowed. The rovers also can block the opposing teams passes or shots using their feet or hands. The pin keepers stay in the pin area and try to protect their pins and also pass the balls back to their team mates. The game starts with pin keeper passing out the balls to their rovers who begin the game on their half of the court. The game ends when all of one teams pins are down. (See diagram below)

Rules:

Players must roll the ball to pass (no throwing the ball)
Rover can only take 2 steps with ball in hand
Rover can not enter the pin area
Players are aloud to block passes or shots with hands or feet
Pin keepers can arrange the pins anyway they want
Adult supervision required

Items Needed:

Bowling Pins
Bowling Balls
Scrimmage Vests

You can play the way above or you can play with a bowling lane just like real bowling. With this type of bowling you will want to get a bowling lane. This is played just like regular bowling where you keep score with the number of pins knocked down. You can also include strikes and spares. The number of frames in regular bowling is 10 but you can modify this number to adjust for time constraints also if you have players taking turn setting up the pins. Buying a backstop would be a good idea for this game. The back stop will keep the pins in the same area so it will be easier to pick up the pins that are knocked down. You really have full creative control over this type of bowling to fit the number of students and time that you have.

Rules: