GAMES
BIG TEX, SPUD, BIG J, THE NUTMEGGER, THE YANKEE (a
Maine-iac, not a ballplayer), THE HOOSIER, THE VOLUNTEER, …
Circle Ten Council
Have all players sit in a circle
and then chose a person to be “it”. The “it” is to leave so that “it” cannot
see or hear. Choose one person to be Big Tex, Spud, Big J, The Nutmegger, The
Yankee (A Maine-Iac, not a ballplayer), The Hoosier, The Volunteer, …or
something appropriate for your state and he will act out short movements.
Examples are clapping hands three times, stomping feet 4 times, etc. All other
players must do what the leader does. Have “it” return to the group to figure
out who is Big Tex, Spud, Big J, The Nutmegger, The Yankee, The Hoosier, The
Volunteer, …or something appropriate for your state, you can give him up to
three guesses if there’s a large group.
Aggies and Longhorns (Bull Dogs and Yellow Jackets,
Hoosiers and Boilermakers, Gators and Seminoles, Bruins (UCLA) and Trojans (USC))
Circle Ten Council
Have the players divide into two
teams. Label one team AGGIES and the other LONGHORNS. Lay out two centerlines
that are parallel to each other and three feet apart. Then set up two boundary
lines about 20 feet from the centerlines for each team to cross for their safe
zone. Use hoses or rope if outdoors and tape if indoors. To start, make teams
stand with their backs toward each other at the centerlines. Toss the coin
into the air. Once the coin has landed on the ground call out if it’s heads or
tails. If it was tails, the LONGHORN team must run to their safe zone. The
HEADS team will turn around and try to tag the LONGHORN team before they reach
their safe zone. After each toss and chase, players are to return to the
centerline, expect tagged players-they are out of the game. You play until one
team has captured everyone on the opposite team and that team is the winner.
State Jeopardy
Set up a
Jeopardy Board – for categories maybe
Famous (Your Staters)
(Your State) Cities
(Your State) Parks
(Your State) Cities
Dates in (Your State)
Historic places in (Your State)
Or maybe
more esoteric – regions, on the move (transportation), trivia, All Around Our
State (What states and rivers are on your borders?), Ancestors (Native
Americans and First Settlers), Give Me Liberty (Revolutionary War questions),
Colleges, Firsts, Shore (or Mountains), Weather, Places, Sports, Scientists,
Government, Spooky things, Music, Art and Artists, Made in (Your State)
Then
develop questions for each category. Set up teams in your den and play. I
would set up Jeopardy games for my Sunday school class. It definitely
increased their attention to the lesson. And we almost would up with
“contact” Jeopardy. Some of the kids really got into it.
Although
the TV Show uses 5 categories and 5 questions, that number is not mandatory.
Four categories and four questions work, too. Decide on your group’s
attention span and your ability to create questions.
Now
let’s take this another step – How about –
(Your
State) Wheel of Fortune – use only words and phrases for your state e.g. –
Connecticut – Buckeye, Vermont – Green Mountain, New Mexico – Philmont, Maine
– Down East, Washington – Olympia.
(Your
State) Bingo – instead of letters and numbers create boards whose squares
refer to things in your state. Use column titles like the ones for Jeopardy,
then just list various parks, people, places, etc. Have a caller.
Use your imagination – the Cubs will love the
competition – but keep the questions at their level. Most school systems spend
at least one year on state history – find a teacher who teaches state history
to use as a resource. CD
