Let’s Play a Game of Hopscotch!
History of the Game
Formed in ancient Britain during the early Roman empire, hopscotch was a game created by children who imitated the soldiers’ footwork drills. Now doesn’t this show creativity and innovation at its best!
Rules of the Game
The game involves players taking turns to throw a marker like a stone within the numbered squares on the ground. If the marker gets into the wrong square or outside of the squares, the player loses a turn. The first player tosses the marker into the first square and the player to complete all of the squares wins the game.
Getting Ready to Play!
Grab some chalk and let’s get started.
Benefits of Playing Hopscotch
Cognitive Development- learning where to throw the marker, figuring out how to hop and jump through the game, thinking about whether to land on one foot or two, making the transition at the top of the hopscotch box, how to retrieve marker and avoiding landing on the marked square.
Gross Motor Skills- maintaining balance while changing positions during the game and helps with building strength.
Hand and eye coordination- retrieving the marker, not touching the line and throwing the marker in the correct square requires this skill.
Bi-lateral coordination- moving through the path by hopping on one leg and then transitioning to using two legs as they maneuver to the top of the box and back to the starting position.
What are the barriers in the game?
– Not having an open space to play.
– The physical activity required for playing the game like hopping and jumping.
– Preconceptions and biases towards playing the game.
– The traditional design of the hopscotch box.
– Lack of prior knowledge about the game.
Who might be excluded from the game?
– Students who have difficulty with higher order vocabulary.
– The game does not cater to students who prefer individual work.
– Students who do not enjoy physical activity.
– Students with attitudes and preconceptions about the game.
– Students who need mobility access to play the game.
– Students who have difficulty reading.
– Visually impaired students.
– Students without proper proper spatial awareness.
– Students who suffer with vertigo/tinnitus.
How does the game foster creativity and critical thinking?
– If students choose to adapt the game and be creative, they can use different (safe and accessible) terrains in which to play the game as opposed to a standard pitch/paved road or sidewalk.
– Students can create their own marker or source their own throwing device for the game.
– The action of aiming to throw the marker (throwing within the parameters) will develop critical thinking.
– Students have to be remember and be aware of the position of the marker while playing the game and think critically.
– Critical thinking / problem solving is developed when students have to gauge momentum, speed and force.
– Problem solving: the game itself is a problem as students figure out how to get their marker where they want it to go and this encourages critical thinking.
What content is being handled?
– Elevating word choice in Narrative Descriptive Stories.
– Improving Vocabulary- Synonyms of words.
– Spelling.
– Meanings of words used in context.
– Reading Skills.
– Identifying lower level sight words.
Customized Hopscotch for our Creative Writing lesson
For our specific lesson plan based on Creative Writing using substituted vocabulary words, the lesson goal is for students to improve their vocabulary choices.
What skills are being activated in the game?
– Motor skills – balance, throwing, jumping, coordination and hopping.
– Balance.
– Communication and Social-Emotional learning.
– Memory.
– Counting Skills / numeracy.
– Agency – they choose their own prompt and the teacher is not dictating choice.
– Identity – they understand their role as a player.
– Customization.
– Risk taking – in throwing etc.
– Challenge and Consolidation – routine and automation through repetition.
– Performance before competence – students do not need to master the game before playing it.
– Hopscotch is pleasantly frustrating because the physical expectation is do-able.
– Explore, think laterally and rethink goals – students regroup to rethink the goal of the game and how to achieve it.
– Situational meaning of the vocabulary through the collaboration, interaction and communication usage.
How will you assess if learning is happening?
– Teacher observation of student knowledge.
– A student’s participation and collaboration with others during the game.
– A student’s vocabulary exit card that they hand in when leaving the class.
– Written sentences using the new, improved vocabulary.
In which contexts is this game applicable?
– ELA Teachers who want to teach students how to improve their vocabulary and reduce the amount of overused words in their writing.
– Students looking to edit their writing by improving vocabulary and students looking to substitute lower level for higher level vocabulary and those looking to improve their narrative.
Suggested Game Variations:
– Board Game version using hands.
– Audio instructions for game.
– Translations for ESL students provided as multimedia.
– Different design layouts for game.
– Play-doh or craft items can be manipulated for more tactile students to make their own marker.
Get Hopping!
Written by Stella Chong Sing, Francesco Emmanuel, Neela Singh-Nanan
References
Good video games and good learning … – academiccolab.org. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Good_Learning.pdf.
Welcome to Susan Whiteman’s Home Page. Hopscotch History and Variation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.albany.edu/~sw7656/.