Keep It REAL Trashketball

This is not a new game, per se. However, I don’t particularly perform it as I’ve seen on many sites. And, it works for students of all ages. I mean–who doesn’t love throwing items into a hoop?! *wink* And raise both hands high if you’re missing the March Madness tournament?! This Kansas Jayhawker is, for sure!

The version below is the #COVID-19 Quarantine Version–for teaching or engaging small groups of kids (at home). 

Materials:

• 4 pieces of wadded up paper (old bills, copy paper, newspaper, old magazine articles, etc.)
• One trashcan ​​​​​
• Optional: Painters tape (You can also use an object to mark point places on the floor like a shoe or a canned good, etc. Any item that can hold a place on the floor.)

Directions:

Step 1:  Set up trashcan down a hallway or in a wide-open space. And, place three marks on the floor. (Space these as needed for your students age and size. It works for all ages, though.)

Step 2: Pose review questions, conversation starters, or engaging questions, etc.(see examples below), and allow the child to answer the question. Once they answer, they get four chances to throw a piece of trash into the trashcan and tally their points.

Then, it is the next child’s turn. Pose a new question and repeat Steps 1 and 2.

The person with the most points at the end wins. You can have prizes, OR you can add some more movement. I like to have the kids do Trashketball player exercises.

For example, the winner has to do “losing point number of” jumping jacks, but the person with the player who “lost” has to do burpees or sit-ups or air squats or any exercise you find fitting for Trashketball players!

Possible Question Stems/Discussion Starters:

If your kids are younger, you’ll likely want to join them and ask the questions. If it’s review type questions, and your children can read, maybe you’d like to print them and have them faced down for each “player” to flip over and answer during their turn.

• What was one of your favorite ideas you learned today?
• In what ways will you apply (fill in the blank) in the REAL world?
• Name one new concept you learned today.
• How might you describe the character in our story today?
• What seems to be the problem with our science activity, lego creation, (fill in the blank), etc?
• In what ways is the setting from the story alike (or different) from our city?
• What would you do differently if you had the opportunity to repeat today?
• What is something new you hope to learn tomorrow?
• *You could use specific review questions for content, too. Example: What is the capital of Kansas?

The questions are endless–click here for a little map for forming open-ended questions. If you need more help using the map, see this post.

If you try Keep it REAL Trashketball, post pics, and tag me! I’d love to see the kiddos having fun while learning! Connect with me: Facebook: Tara M Martin, Twitter: @TaraMartinEDU, Instagram: tarammartin.real