Flying Chicken Baseball

Download/Print

Activity Overview

Participants learn about and practise sending an object into an open area while attempting to score runs. Participants learn about and practise fielding an object and preventing the opponent from scoring runs.

  • Intermediate (Ages 13-15)
  • Senior (Ages 16-18)

Facility

  • Gymnasium
  • Outdoors

Materials and Equipment

  • 8 pylons
  • 2 rubber chickens

Safety

Inspect the activity area and eliminate potential hazards. Check that the activity surface provides safe traction. Set boundaries for the activity a safe distance from walls and obstacles. Remind students to be cautious when moving and to be aware of the personal space of others.

Activity Information

Activity Set-up

  • Divide participants into four groups to play two games, each with two groups.
  • Participants set up four pylons in a diamond shape for each game to represent three bases and home plate.
  • For each game, one group starts at bat, while the other group starts in the field.
  • The group at bat lines up single file behind the first batter at home plate. This will be the order for the game.

Activity Instructions

  • The batter uses an overhand throw to toss the chicken as far as he or she can.
  • The batting group runs together in a single file around the bases as many times as possible while maintaining the order of the line. The group scores a run for each participant who passes home plate.
  • Meanwhile, the fielding group retrieves the rubber chicken.
  • The first participant to reach the chicken holds it up in the air while the other group members form a line behind.
  • Once the entire group is in a line, they pass the chicken down the line using over-under passing. The first participant passes the chicken over their head to the second participant who passes the chicken through their legs and so on. This pattern continues until the participant at the end of the line receives the chicken.
  • The last participant to receive the chicken runs to the front of the line and then yells “Stop!”.
  • If the batting group stops with half the group past home plate, count 1 point for each person who has crossed.
  • The batter then goes to the back of the line and the next participant becomes the batter.
  • The batting group has three turns at bat before they become the fielding group.
  • Each time a group becomes the batting group, the participants resume where they had left off their last turn.

Adaptations

To maximize the challenge and the fun, participants could identify their own ways to increase or decrease the challenge.

To decrease the challenge, participants could:

  • Choose the object they want to send (e.g., soft-skinned ball, beanbag).
  • Position the bases closer together.

To increase the challenge, participants could:

  • Use different locomotion skills while travelling from base to base (e.g., jumping, skipping).
  • Use a bat to send the ball.
  • Start in a sitting position when fielding and get up once the batter throws the object.
  • Use a smaller object (e.g., tennis ball).
  • Change the manipulation to kicking.
  • Alternate batting and fielding groups, with the fielding group throwing the rubber chicken as soon as they finish passing it down their line.

Pause for Learning

Throughout the activity, consider highlighting the following skills, concepts, and strategies to send an object into an open area or field an object. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and further learning opportunities may arise during the task.

Movement Skills and Concepts

  • Body awareness: Location of self when sending/receiving an object, and the relationship of how the body moves while playing with other participants (e.g., when performing an overhand throw: facing sideways with your weight on your back foot, the throwing arm lengthening down and back behind your body; the foot opposite to the throwing hand being forward; rotating your body to face the target, transferring your weight onto your front foot while straightening your throwing arm; keeping the ball above ear level; pointing your throwing hand toward target, releasing the ball slightly above and in front of your head, and the throwing arm following through down and across the body)

Movement Strategies

  • Understanding and developing tactics to send the object into an open space to make it difficult for participants to catch it (e.g., throwing the object away from fielders to allow for more time to score), or, stopping the batter from scoring runs (e.g., passing the object over-under quickly to another group member)

Sport Connections

Contains aspects of:

Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines

For health benefits, children aged 5-11 and youth aged 12-17 years should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.

For health benefits, children aged 5-11 and youth aged 12-17 years should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.

This activity qualifies as vigorous intensity.

Vigorous-intensity activities at least 3 days per week. This activity qualifies as vigorous intensity.

This activity does not strengthen muscles and/or bones.

Activities that strengthen muscle and bone at least 3 days per week. This activity does not strengthen muscles and/or bones.

More daily physical activity provides greater health benefits.

More daily physical activity provides greater health benefits.