I started teaching 5th and 6th grade PE this year. I have searched to find fun games/activities that the kids would like and have not had much luck... Until NOW. I introduced this game to the class about a month ago and the students LOVE it!!!!!!!!! This is the ONLY game they want to play. THANK YOU for sharing 3 Ball!
I play a similar game called Free Ball. We use 4 balls with similar rules but the player that are out will sit down where they got hit. If a ball rolls to them, they can pick up the ball and hit a standing player while sitting or from their knees. Last player standing wins.
I used as many as 10 balls and took away the jail break hoop shot. This created more movement and interest. With 3 balls the slower kids would give up and the kids on the outside kept the balls and continually tried to make the jailbreak shot. I renamed it Shark Tank. Great game suggestion!
I played this game today with a group of teenagers whilst out on a forest walk. We used cones to mark out the perimeter of the pitch. We added the following four rules: 1. If player A throws the ball towards player B and the ball bounces before hitting player B, then player B is not out. 2. If player A throws the ball and it hits player B and then player C without bouncing, then players B and C are both out. (It’s a double kill.) 3. If player A is holding a ball and they release it by either throwing, rolling or dropping it, they cannot pick that ball up again until another player touches it. (This is to fully prohibit players from moving with the ball.) 4. A hit only counts if it’s below the neck, i.e. shoulders and below. (This is to discourage head shots.)
We played with 2nd - 5th grade last week, and the kids had a blast. For 3rd - 5th we used the big hoops for the jailbreak. For 2nd grade, we used two lower side hoops, and that worked really well. It was fun seeing how excited the kids got when there was a jailbreak. We'll definitely be playing this in the future.
I play a similar version but I play with teams (2 or 3 depending on class size) that wear pinnies or football flags and each player gets 3 lives. When someone has lost all 3 lives they have to remain outside the basketball court but they can still hit players with the dodgeball to help their team win the round. The last team that is inside the basketball court wins, sometimes that is 1-2 players or sometimes that is a whole team. I don't use the tagging rule.
Looking at doing this for my last class of the year instead of just having some equipment out so they can pick what they do. If they catch it I assume the person that threw it is out.
Great idea! But what types of balls are being used? Gator skin type Dodgeballs? If so it would seen hard to make a basketball from the outside since they're not heavy enough.
Played this game today with my 5th and 6th grade classes! It was a hit! I only changed up how many balls I used. I have bigger classes so I used 6 balls in the game. So fun!
We call this Champions Court Dodgeball. I cal second line and then the in area is the volleyball court. Never played with tagging though. I will have to give that a try.
Once a jailbreak has happened and the students outside are going back into the game, what happens to any remaining balls that were outside. Are students allowed to bring them back into the court and then aren't they moving with the ball?
In the case that there are no balls in the playing area, then you could either allow students to bring the balls from the outside back in (give them a free 3 steps). Or alternatively as the teacher you could roll the 3 balls back in.
When this happens, we play that a player from the outside may grab a ball and take one step into the playing area (and not move). However, they will be close to the outside edge becoming a very risky play as someone can easily step out on purpose and tag that person with the ball getting them out, and themselves back in. A very strategic play!@@physedgames
Im currently a Pe major in college, and I’m trying to find games to teach in my student teaching…. It’s too bad this one involves elimination and my professor is against it….
I agree, that’s too bad as students aren’t even ever fully ‘eliminated’ in this game. Though some professors are sadly against any form of dodgeball games. This game is AWESOME. If you want other great ideas that your prof will approve of, take a look at physedgames.com
The first time I taught this game, I stressed the importance of integrity. Once the students played it for the first time, they were all playing the game by the rules and managing themselves! It was super cool to see!! A great lesson about game integrity:)
What if you are playing outside and at the start of the game kids throw the ball and they go out of bounds? I was thinking about making a rule where you can leave to get a ball at the start of the game until a few people have gotten out then I blow my whistle and yell boundaries up! I played the other day and it was slow at the start because the ball kept going out and I went to get them or a kids did and that was breaking the rules but I allowed it so I did not have to chase them down and that confused kids. I'll try the boundaries up rule but any other thoughts?
Hmmm that’s a tough one. Never played it outside because of the fact the balls constantly go out of bounds, so having walls is important. But try that out and let me know how it goes!
I want to play this today and all week with my classes, sounds amazing. I assume you can add a few more balls?? My class sizes are pretty big. What’d you think? Thanks!
I did it with 3/4s but without using the bonus basketball rule. It started off just a bit slow compared to older groups but once they figured out the jist of it it was great. If you want to try with 1s or 2s them I’d suggest a smaller court (volleyball court) and maybe 4 or 5 balls
Can the players move around who are "In" or are they statues and have to wait for the ball to come to them? sounds like a fun game, will try with my 6th graders today! thanks!
What happens when the three balls are on the outside and there is nobody out so nobody is on the outside to retrieve the ball? The rule is, if you leave the inside then you’re out!
Either: don’t say anything and when the first kid goes out to retrieve it, say ‘HA NOW YOU’RE OUT!’ 🤣 …or… give a free pass to allow for that until a first player is out. I’m guessing that situation won’t happen often, but good catch!
I have about 44 students, I wonder it this will work. Maybe I'll modify to where they roll the ball to hit a person's foot. They are really weird in my district about "dodge ball" like games. Has anyone tried this with 44 plus students in the gym? Thanks in advance for this! :)
Hey sorry if you find it confusing, but there are no teams (though it could potentially be done with teams with a few changes). I’d suggest watching the video without skipping through and then hopefully it makes sense
We use foam balls, and our rule is "shoulders and below" also we tell the kids that if they do not want to get hit with a foam ball, then they can walk the track and not play.
We should start making pdf rules for each of his games to help everyone else out
I started teaching 5th and 6th grade PE this year. I have searched to find fun games/activities that the kids would like and have not had much luck... Until NOW. I introduced this game to the class about a month ago and the students LOVE it!!!!!!!!! This is the ONLY game they want to play. THANK YOU for sharing 3 Ball!
You’re very welcome. Lots of other great games for gr 5 and 6 here too, take a look at the playlists :)
My kids want to do this thing where they roll the ball so they can travel around the court when they have a ball.
First time player of this game. Introduced it to my PE classes last week and it was an absolute instant hit.
How many ppl ? I have 40-50 ppl. Should I add some balls?
I play a similar game called Free Ball. We use 4 balls with similar rules but the player that are out will sit down where they got hit. If a ball rolls to them, they can pick up the ball and hit a standing player while sitting or from their knees. Last player standing wins.
I played this with my Grade 5 class this week - it was fantastic. Every student was playing and having fun. Thank you for the idea.
I used as many as 10 balls and took away the jail break hoop shot. This created more movement and interest. With 3 balls the slower kids would give up and the kids on the outside kept the balls and continually tried to make the jailbreak shot. I renamed it Shark Tank. Great game suggestion!
I played this game today with a group of teenagers whilst out on a forest walk. We used cones to mark out the perimeter of the pitch.
We added the following four rules:
1. If player A throws the ball towards player B and the ball bounces before hitting player B, then player B is not out.
2. If player A throws the ball and it hits player B and then player C without bouncing, then players B and C are both out. (It’s a double kill.)
3. If player A is holding a ball and they release it by either throwing, rolling or dropping it, they cannot pick that ball up again until another player touches it. (This is to fully prohibit players from moving with the ball.)
4. A hit only counts if it’s below the neck, i.e. shoulders and below. (This is to discourage head shots.)
We played with 2nd - 5th grade last week, and the kids had a blast. For 3rd - 5th we used the big hoops for the jailbreak. For 2nd grade, we used two lower side hoops, and that worked really well. It was fun seeing how excited the kids got when there was a jailbreak. We'll definitely be playing this in the future.
We play something similar called scattered dodgeball. Can’t wait to try this! Ty
I play a similar version but I play with teams (2 or 3 depending on class size) that wear pinnies or football flags and each player gets 3 lives. When someone has lost all 3 lives they have to remain outside the basketball court but they can still hit players with the dodgeball to help their team win the round. The last team that is inside the basketball court wins, sometimes that is 1-2 players or sometimes that is a whole team. I don't use the tagging rule.
This game is AWESOME. Thanks so much for sharing!
Excellent for our party this afternoon! Thank you.
Looking at doing this for my last class of the year instead of just having some equipment out so they can pick what they do. If they catch it I assume the person that threw it is out.
Well that answers that...
I play this with my grade 2's and they love it
Great idea! But what types of balls are being used? Gator skin type Dodgeballs? If so it would seen hard to make a basketball from the outside since they're not heavy enough.
Yep, we use those types and never had issues with making a basket - it’s the perfect challenge, not too easy but not too difficult to sink a basket
@@physedgames Ok thanks so much!
The same kid today probably hit six or seven jailbreak shots from the sideline of the true basketball court. With Gator skins
can they catch the ball? or they must pick up the rolled out ball?
Played this game today with my 5th and 6th grade classes! It was a hit! I only changed up how many balls I used. I have bigger classes so I used 6 balls in the game. So fun!
How many ppl? I have 40-50 ppl
Same question, how many students do you have?
played this today with middle school; they loved it!
cooperation, time to pass to the outside and have a shootout for a jail break :) thanks for the game, my 4-5s loved it
At our school we play a game like this but we call it Hunger Games (like the book/movie).
Gonna try this today....as the kids say... this is gonna be "lit"!
This game is hit and has been the most requested game thus far since I have introduced it to my MS classes. Thank You for providing this resource.
Thank you for sharing 😊
I have 50 kids in our group. Would this be too many to play or could I add more balls?
If your space is big enough, go for it! Yeah you might want to add another couple balls though
We call this Champions Court Dodgeball. I cal second line and then the in area is the volleyball court. Never played with tagging though. I will have to give that a try.
Once a jailbreak has happened and the students outside are going back into the game, what happens to any remaining balls that were outside. Are students allowed to bring them back into the court and then aren't they moving with the ball?
In the case that there are no balls in the playing area, then you could either allow students to bring the balls from the outside back in (give them a free 3 steps). Or alternatively as the teacher you could roll the 3 balls back in.
When this happens, we play that a player from the outside may grab a ball and take one step into the playing area (and not move). However, they will be close to the outside edge becoming a very risky play as someone can easily step out on purpose and tag that person with the ball getting them out, and themselves back in. A very strategic play!@@physedgames
Keeper!!!
Big hit with our kids!
Im currently a Pe major in college, and I’m trying to find games to teach in my student teaching…. It’s too bad this one involves elimination and my professor is against it….
I agree, that’s too bad as students aren’t even ever fully ‘eliminated’ in this game. Though some professors are sadly against any form of dodgeball games. This game is AWESOME. If you want other great ideas that your prof will approve of, take a look at physedgames.com
PS… You can never go wrong with ‘Wolfs Den’ or ‘Capture The Flag’.
How many referees do you need for this game? Seems highly complicated to ref with only one PE teacher! but looks super fun!
The first time I taught this game, I stressed the importance of integrity. Once the students played it for the first time, they were all playing the game by the rules and managing themselves!
It was super cool to see!! A great lesson about game integrity:)
What if you are playing outside and at the start of the game kids throw the ball and they go out of bounds? I was thinking about making a rule where you can leave to get a ball at the start of the game until a few people have gotten out then I blow my whistle and yell boundaries up! I played the other day and it was slow at the start because the ball kept going out and I went to get them or a kids did and that was breaking the rules but I allowed it so I did not have to chase them down and that confused kids. I'll try the boundaries up rule but any other thoughts?
Hmmm that’s a tough one. Never played it outside because of the fact the balls constantly go out of bounds, so having walls is important. But try that out and let me know how it goes!
I want to play this today and all week with my classes, sounds amazing. I assume you can add a few more balls?? My class sizes are pretty big. What’d you think? Thanks!
You could add more yep
I added 3 more balls-it went much better./as I have bigger classes.
Once the ball is thrown to hit a player who can go retrieve the ball? Any of the players or just the player that threw the ball?
Any players
Maybe two different colors for the stars, or stars and squares to differentiate the teams
There are no teams
Love this idea. Has anyone had success with lower grades levels? Certain modifications?
I did it with 3/4s but without using the bonus basketball rule. It started off just a bit slow compared to older groups but once they figured out the jist of it it was great. If you want to try with 1s or 2s them I’d suggest a smaller court (volleyball court) and maybe 4 or 5 balls
Can the players move around who are "In" or are they statues and have to wait for the ball to come to them? sounds like a fun game, will try with my 6th graders today!
thanks!
They can and definitely should be moving around. Only when ball is in their hand they can’t move anymore
This is great!
i thought my PE teacher invented this game but no it was a guy named steve😭 btw imagine if it was high school
What happens when the three balls are on the outside and there is nobody out so nobody is on the outside to retrieve the ball? The rule is, if you leave the inside then you’re out!
Either: don’t say anything and when the first kid goes out to retrieve it, say ‘HA NOW YOU’RE OUT!’ 🤣 …or… give a free pass to allow for that until a first player is out.
I’m guessing that situation won’t happen often, but good catch!
outside player can move with ball??????
Yes! The outside players may run with the ball and put themselves in a better position to get a player out or attempt the jailbreak!
Good work 👏🏼
I have about 44 students, I wonder it this will work. Maybe I'll modify to where they roll the ball to hit a person's foot. They are really weird in my district about "dodge ball" like games. Has anyone tried this with 44 plus students in the gym? Thanks in advance for this! :)
With so many students, that might be a good modification. May also need to add another ball or 2, should work!
If you toss the ball to a player on your side then you are out? The set up is very confusing. Is there two teams?
Hey sorry if you find it confusing, but there are no teams (though it could potentially be done with teams with a few changes). I’d suggest watching the video without skipping through and then hopefully it makes sense
im a try hard at this game
Bro I go to the school were the gym teacher who made this is
Love it
How do you get away with students throwing a ball at other students?
We use foam balls, and our rule is "shoulders and below" also we tell the kids that if they do not want to get hit with a foam ball, then they can walk the track and not play.
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Mr Mercado my teacher at ridge park that’s crazy I didn’t know