Animal Hopscotch

Each hopscotch square has a chalk animal, and when a child's beanbag lands on a square, they travel the whole grid moving like that animal. Kids practice different ways of moving and aiming in a hopscotch they can later play on their own.

How to play

1. The teacher draws several six-square grids with a simple animal in each square: frog, duck, snake, kangaroo, cat and bird (2 min).
2. Go through the grid square by square acting out each animal: frogs jump, ducks waddle in a squat, birds flap (2 min).
3. Taking turns, each child tosses a beanbag; whatever animal it lands on is the boss, so the child moves like that animal through the whole grid and picks up the beanbag on the way back (4 min).
4. If the beanbag lands outside, no problem: the friend waiting behind picks the animal (2 min).
5. At the end, rub out one animal with a foot; each group draws a new one and invents how it moves (2 min).

Rules

• Toss when the player ahead has left the grid.
• Squat to pick up the beanbag without stepping on a line.
• In or out, everyone gets their turn.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: toss from the wheelchair and act out the animal with arms and upper body (bird wings, duck neck).
• Higher skill: toss with the non-dominant hand or backward over the shoulder.
• Visual impairment: a friend names the animal in each square, and lines are traced in extra-thick chalk.

Learning goals

• Toss accurately at a target area.
• Vary ways of moving by imitating animals.
• Take turns in a hopscotch game.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Sidewalk chalk: 10
• Beanbags: 12

Teacher tip

Keep the animals simple enough to recognize from a couple of lines, since kids will want to redraw them. Use fabric beanbags, never stones: they don't roll away and don't hurt.

More main activities for Elementary