Bowling Pins That Rattle When They Fall

Children knock down bowling pins made from bottles that rattle as they fall, rolling the ball by hand, by foot or down a ramp. It builds aim and coordination, and the sound lets everyone, including blind children, know how many pins fell.

How to play

1. Set up three lanes with five bottles each and a cardboard ramp at the start of each lane (2 min).
2. Listen to the sound: the teacher knocks a bottle over by hand and everyone hears the chickpeas rattle (1 min).
3. Taking turns in each lane, roll the ball by hand, sitting or standing; anyone who needs it drops the ball down the ramp, aimed with a buddy (4 min).
4. Listen before looking: "How many did you hear?" Then count the fallen pins together (3 min).
5. Change the way we roll: with a foot, backward between the legs or with one hand only (3 min).
6. Everyone stands the pins back up and carries the bottles to the bin (2 min).

Rules

• I roll when the lane is clear.
• We set the pins up together.
• I listen before I look.
• Nobody wins here: we count everyone's pins.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: rest the ramp on the knees or wheelchair tray so the child only has to let go of the ball; a buddy helps aim it.
• Blind or low vision: a buddy claps behind the pins to help aim, and the rattling tells the child the result.
• Deaf or hard of hearing: the teacher shows with fingers how many pins fell while saying it.

Learning goals

• Roll a ball toward a target with direction.
• Use hearing to find out the result of an action.
• Help organize the game.

Equipment for a class of 25

• bottles with chickpeas: 15
• medium balls: 6
• cardboard ramps: 3
• duct tape: 1

Teacher tip

Put a handful of dried chickpeas in each bottle and tape the cap shut with duct tape: check them before every session. Make ramps from large cardboard tubes cut in half or a plastic rain gutter.

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